Videos to Inspire

Tim Doner is a polyglot who can speak over 20 languages. In his Teen TED Talk, he broadly discusses how he went about learning foreign languages on his own, the challenges he faced, and some of the strategies he used to overcome them. However, the overlying message he tries to share with listeners is one that many people overlook easily- that language learning is more than the words you know. Language is deeply intertwined with culture and this is what makes language more than just the words themselves. This video would be a great starting point for a discussion on the importance of learning about culture in the foreign language classroom, using language in authentic communication, and discussing how translation is more than translating words, but meaning as well. It can also be used to introduce discussions on the best techniques students have found for learning a language, from how they improve their pronunciation to how they memorize vocabulary, and how they can overcome obstacles they encounter on their journey to mastering a foreign language.

The video "For Anyone Learning a New Language" by SoulPancake speaks to the difficult challenge of finding your voice in a second language. The woman in the video describes how she has spent the last 20 years of her life constructing her identity in Portuguese, her native language. While learning English and communicating with native speakers, she finds it hard to always express herself and what she means in the same way she can in Portuguese. She encourages people like herself to continue on that journey and to find comfort in the fact that they are not alone. This video poses an interesting question: How has learning a foreign language affected you and your identity? Engaging in self-reflection is an important part of learning and this is a great question for students learning a foreign language to consider!

In Kid President's "Pep Talk for the World", he describes a few goals he has to make our world better, such as eliminating hunger, poverty and injustice. But he's not discouraged. He knows that we can all make a difference and work together to make the world a better place. All we have to do is set goals and work hard to accomplish them. This video would be a great way for students to begin thinking about the change they want to see in our world and how we could make that change happen. Even though the video is in English, students could reflect on the video in Spanish and perhaps address issues particular to Spanish-speaking countries or for Spanish-speakers here in the U.S. I think it would be great for students to work together to develop one goal that could help contribute to in some way throughout the school year!

The TEDXYouth talk "The Power of language" by Camila and Cecilia Lopez discusses the power language has to connect us with people and cultures and how important that is today. What is beautiful about their speech is that they state that even though they are bilingual and study up to 12 foreign languages, it's not their true passion; yet, they do strive to learn those languages so they can effectively communicate with others, get to know those who are different from them, and share their true passions and ideas with even more people because their bilingualism allows them that opportunity. They understand the power that language holds to connect us. As 6 year old Camila states, she doesn't know what great ideas she will have in the future, but she knows that she will be able to share those ideas with over 2 billion people because she is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Now that's powerful.