Authentic speech and listening is essential for all levels of language learner. The lower the level, the more “rich” the context and images must be, to support understanding and learning. But most importantly, the authentic audio and video should be something that motivates the learner and something they connect with. Their eyes, ears, brains light up when confronted with the “REAL thing”.

I came across Natalie’s videos and think they’d be superb for teens. She’s chatty but also does a great job of talking about one subject. Really interesting material and also a great example of a second generation native English speaker (Indonesian Australian?).

Two other sites with authentic video that I recommend are TrueTube – a site where British youngsters debate important issues and eHow – user created videos showing “How to” do things.

I’m sure you can find lots of other authentic videos to use in your classes! Get looking and share here – what do you think is great and authentic?