Learning through video lessons?

[Cainntear]

I think the other thing we've got to think about is the distinction between what is termed lean forward and lean back media (the internet suggests it was someone called Katz who coined the term). Basically, the idea is that there's a sort of "mental posture" that aligns fairly close with the physical. When watching TV you lean back, because you don't expect to interact. Using an A4 workbook, you're going to have it on a table, leaning forward to fill it out with a pencil or pen.

(Incidentally, this raises a question over the usefulness of TY-style books using a handheld paperback format. How "far back" are you leaning when holding a paperback? I personally find myself glossing over activities as I'm in lean back mode -- consuming content rather than interacting.)

Arguably, video instruction is pretty poor because it's very much "lean back", and you can't really learn without being actively engaged in learning. One thing I've noticed is that when a classroom teacher makes a YouTube video course, they often add in questions to the viewer like they would have in a real class, but for me personally, I don't really engage with these partly because I'm leaning back watching the video, whereas I'd be leaning forward if I was in a language classroom, and partly because I know there's no real interaction so I feel like there's no point doing so.

For me, video is best for listening practice, and I really feel like I need an accompanying worksheet to make myself or my students lean forward.

I feel paper is better than on-screen for this, but my reasons for that aren't really video-related, so I'll leave that for now.

[AnthonyLauder]

Some video-based courses are superb. French in Action, for example, wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective without the 52 videos accompanying the course books. Destinos was (almost) as good for Spanish. The videos complement the rest of the course materials very well.

However, those courses clearly had a lot of thought (and a healthy budget) going into them. Video courses at that level seem to be quite rare. Many language learning videos seem to be lazily made, and focus more on being "fun" rather than helpful.

Unless there are really top quality video lessons available, I tend to avoid video altogether until I can handle authentic materials in the target language, at which point I can enjoy high-quality TV shows and films, and those really are very beneficial for language learning.

[Speakeasy]

I agree that the “French in Action” videos were particularly well-crafted as were those of “Destinos”, although to a lesser extent. Regrettably, the publisher’s “Fokus Deutsch” series fell well below the standards they had set for themselves with the previously-named series.

I have the complete set of DVDs which were prepared to accompany four German courses by Langenscheidt, Hueber, and so forth (levels A1 through C1). These are NOT “video courses”; rather, they are “video supplements” which, in my opinion, provide only minimal support to the classroom-oriented course manuals and which can be easily dispensed with.

I have tried a few commercially-prepared German video-based “courses” but found that they were not much better than those prepared by well-meaning amateurs, which are freely-available via YouTube, and for which the bar is so low that I cannot recommend them.

The only video-based “supplemental materials” which I have found are worth the detour are those of Yabla and FluentU. As many of the videos in these collections were destined for an audience of native-speakers, but include subtitles and other advanced features, they are useful for aural practice and, depending upon how one uses them, one could say that they are (more or less) interactive. However, based on my six-month experience with Yabla, I would say that these types of materials are not at all essential and that very good results can be gained using non-video-based technologies.

There are a number of “campy” vintage video-based supplemental materials on YouTube (televised courses or VHS tapes accompanying courses) which were produced by the BBC and by a few German publishing houses between the 1970’s and the 1990’s. They can be fun to watch and, in some cases, the videos form a central part of the courses for which they were produced. Are they engaging and effective? Anyone having a penchant for vintage materials would consider the question irrelevant.

Finally, I have the VHS tapes which were produced on behalf of the DLIFLC for their Headstart German and Headstart Spanish courses of the 1970's. With a few minor exceptions, the video lessons follow the corresponding course manuals and audio cassettes to the letter, which causes me to wonder why they were produced in the first place. Grainy, blurred images and poor sound quality. All that’s missing is the popcorn!

All-in-all, I agree with Cainntear and AnthonyLauder.

EDITED:
Typos.

[Cèid Donn]

For me it varies considerably. I do use video lessons fairly regularly, although with some language more than other for a variety of reason. Since usually my primary reason for using video content is to hear and see people speaking that language, my personal preference is for videos that are completely in the TL, like DW's "Jojo sucht das Glück," or Français Avec Pierre or LearnGaelic's Look@ videos. But other types of video lessons are useful, if done well. The big factor is keeping the presentation well-organized, succinct and to the point. This is why I think the lesson videos on the Be Fluent in Russian or NihonGoal channels are really good for what they aim to do and I've personal used both those channels in my past studies.

Then there are other types of videos that I think help fill in gaps in whatever available resources that learners might face, like Say It is Swedish's Slow Swedish videos or the aforementioned LearnGaelic videos. Additionally I do think there is great value is videos that present the TL is a new way for learners, giving learners more variety in their exposure to the language, even if those videos don't teach a lot of new information or aren't very structured. Also, I think "fun" is a valuable factor, because your brain doesn't work as well if it's bored. A good case in point are the Easy Language videos, which while vary a lot in quality from TL to TL, most I find are beneficial for exposure, real-life context and a bit of "fun."

And on the topic of "fun": I'm really not a subscriber to the Language Learning Must Be A Dry, Exhausting Chore club. I'm more like Kató Lomb in this regard, in that I think you should enjoy your TL and not worry so much about how fast you're learning it or whether you're learning it the "proper" or "most efficient" way. I'm chronically ill and I can't sit for a straight 2 hours every night just working out of a textbook, nor would I want to. Every time I study I have to fight against my body and my brain telling me to stop and just go do sometime less energy-consuming. One way I cope with that is using videos to break up the monotony and trick my body and brain into thinking we're are doing something else. I don't use videos predominately, but instead as a way to take a break from whatever else I'm working on, yet without losing my focus on that TL during that timeframe. I find this immensely beneficial and dare say, I probably would not have gotten through my French Book SC this early without relying on this strategy.

Suffice to say, there is a lot of variety of content out there, in both what the content aims to teach you and in quality. It's just a question of if and where such content would fit with your own learning needs and goals.

[Cainntear]

my personal preference is for videos that are completely in the TL, like DW's "Jojo sucht das Glück," or Français Avec Pierre or LearnGaelic's Look@ videos.

When Look@LearnGaelic first came out, I found some of the videos pretty baffling. I understood most of the language points they were teaching pretty well before I watched the video, but struggled to follow the Gaelic in the videos.

Then there are other types of videos that I think help fill in gaps in whatever available resources that learners might face, like Say It is Swedish's Slow Swedish videos or the aforementioned LearnGaelic videos.

We're in the middle of a site redesign and there's been a reasonable bit of talk about how we're going to get more out of the Look@ videos, because while in theory they should be good supplementary resources, there are parts of some of the videos that assume you're watching them in a certain order. We've done some work to make them better integrated with the rest of the site, but there's still a lot to be done. Won't be my problem though -- my contract is over at the end of this month.

And on the topic of "fun": I'm really not a subscriber to the Language Learning Must Be A Dry, Exhausting Chore club.

I completely agree.
"fun" is our word to describe mental stimulation. Learning is the purest form of mental stimulation. Anything that is not fun isn't learning.
Which isn't to say that everything that is fun is learning, of course!

[El Forastero]

I have three good experiences concerning video lessons:

1) OneWorldItaliano: When I started italian, I follow this 85-lesson course because she has a sequence, a systematic order that I find useful for me, according to my style. Their first lessons have a terrible sound, but it improves afterwards. That was useful also to be familiar with the language from the very beginning because she uses a vocabulary and speed for absolute beginners. When I improved a bit, I used it only to practice listening. I prefered to read grammar explanations.

2) Write to top: I found this channel when I worked as an english teacher and tried to find extra resources, I was B2 at that time. When I decided to study to present the academic IELTS, this channel was extremely useful for me. HE doesn't teach english per se, that's not a channel for beginner nor intermediate level. This is a channel to reach C1/C2 in writing tasks. Usually I don't like very long videos, but some of his explanations are around 20 minutes even if the topic is rather basic (Present simple, to give an example). With this channel I realize more or less how I would like to create videos. Content is the most important part, and if the content is good, the video can be long.

3) This year, studying russian by myself, I found some channels but I use them as a complement, mainly to simulate conversations through TPRS lessons and be familiar listening slow content. To grammar explanations, I prefere to read.

And then, I want to have a good channel. I started recording the lessons I give to my students (French pronunciation with explanations in spanish) and personal experiences concerning self study. I decided to create my content in spanish because the english language polyglot-related channel community is huge and I don't like to create content you can find elsewhere with better quality. In spanish, however, there's no too much content created around polyglottery and language self study. Maybe in the future I will have spanish lessons.

[Cavesa]

I don't like them much. With some exceptions. I think video lessons can be great on pronunciation, and there are certainly some well thought out courses like French in Action. There are some excellent videos on speaking, such as recordings of exam candidats and feedback.

But the majority of what I've seen was nothing like that. I'd agree with the idea, that one of the main disadvantages is the lower speed or density of information, compared to a normal piece of text. But I don't think that is the main problem. Not even the issue of watching a screen (which can lead to passivity) is the main trouble, I'd say.

What I find to be the worst: Most youtube channels trying to teach languages are the same clones of low quality content as most ready made flashcard decks or programs are the same short wordlists of limited value. Just like many other not too serious tools, they can certainly be a supplement to one's more serious resources here and there, but it is far too easy to drown in them. To run in circles in this illusion of learning. But no, ten minutes on one phrase, that is usually not too efficient, and a set of videos on random stuff is simply not equal to a well organised course. Most video lessons are aiming at the beginners, especially the less experienced ones. But those are also the least likely people to find their way through the jungle.

There is some high quality content, but I'd say it is a minority, and I miss an opportunity to use (perhaps even pay for) a well thought out set of videos, that would really tackle some of my problems and have a clear purpose and progress.

I'd say the video lessons are still a medium that hasn't been conquered. The potential is certainly there, we could see much more content like French in Action (or more "speaking feedback" lessons, speaking situation models, or complex pronunciation guides). But for now, I don't think the youtube lessons should be relied on too much.

[Flickserve]

So recently I made the realization that youtube is a fantastic source for mandarin because there are so many videos and I refuse to memorize pinyin. Plus I can search in korean, Japanese, and English. It's feasible to find videos in formats that are helpful to you ie they only speak your target language, they speak english and your target language, they don't insert MUSIC (ugh my biggest peeve!!) or sound effects. I recently came across this one where they speak mandarin 95? 97%? of the time with english captioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un0-7NM ... Xd&index=1

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I hate the music and it's usually too loud