TED TALKS AS A TOOL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE ON A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LESSONS IN HIGH SCHOOL

Abstract. In today’s education, developing communication skills is very important, especially when learning foreign languages. One great tool for this is TED Talks. These are short, inspiring and interesting tool on different topics. They help students listen to real-life speech, improve their understanding, learn new words, and think critically.

This article explores how TED Talks can be used in high school foreign language classes. Teachers can include these videos in lessons and help students improve their speaking and listening skills. The key steps in working with TED Talks are to discuss the video, active listening, discuss the topic, and practice the language.

The article also focuses on different tasks that make learning more interesting. For example, students can write a summary of the talk, discuss the topic in groups, write an essay based on the ideas from the video, or do exercises to improve critical thinking. These activities help students not only understand the information but also use it in conversations and develop public speaking skills.

Another important point is choosing the right TED Talks that are interesting and useful for students. Watching these students helps them learn the language in a natural way, understand different cultures, and learn about global trends. This makes foreign language learning more exciting and motivating. Using TED Talks in high school foreign language classes is a new and useful way to help students improve their speaking and listening skills. This method helps them understand spoken language better, express their thoughts clearly, and think independently. It also makes learning more interesting and motivates students to improve. By using TED Talks, teachers can make language learning more effective and prepare students for real communication in today’s world.

Keywords. Ted talks, communicative competence, high school, effective learning, real communication, foreign language, speaking and listening skills, independent thinking

Modern education is changing, and new teaching tools are becoming important, especially for future teachers and students. One useful tool for improving communication skills is TED Talks. These tools are great examples of clear, emotional, and structured speech. They help students improve their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. TED Talks are useful tools where speakers share interesting ideas in an engaging way. Ted Talks helps students develop communication skills and other skills[1]. TED Talks are interesting tools that help people learn a new language. They are fun, easy to understand, and help develop different skills[2]:

1. Listening and speaking – Students hear different accents, speech styles, and intonations. Watching and analyzing Ted Talks helps them speak more clearly and logically.
2. Writing and thinking – After watching, students can write short summaries, share opinions, and analyze ideas. This helps them learn to express thoughts better.
3. Public speaking – Making their own TED-style talks helps students feel more confident, improve pronunciation, and connect with the audience.

Learners use simple words, gestures, and pictures to explain ideas. This makes them a great tool for learning how to speak clearly and with confidence. Also, students build their own logical and clear speech, which is very important for speaking in a foreign language. After watching TED Talks, students can practice summarizing, analyzing content, and sharing their opinions. This improves their communicative skills and teaches them how to express thoughts clearly and logically.

Good communication includes the ability to speak confidently in front of people. Creating their own TED-style talk helps students overcome the fear of public speaking, practice explaining their ideas, improve pronunciation, and learn how to connect with the audience. In today’s world, where the internet and technology play an important role, learning foreign languages becomes more efficient thanks to authentic materials. One such useful tool is video podcasts, for example TED Talks. 

TED Talks are short presentations (from 2 to 20 minutes) on various topics. These topics include science, business, culture, education and so on. They are conducted by native speakers and allow students to listen to natural English speech. This helps to understand the intonation, accents and expressions that real people use.  Watching such videos gives you the opportunity to see how native speakers communicate in a formal setting. This develops speech skills and makes learning English more interesting[3]. 

Communicative skill is an important part of English lessons. It includes dialogue and monologue. Monolingual speech (when one person speaks and others listen) is particularly well developed with TED Talks. Students learn how to correctly construct statements. The advantage of video podcasts is that they are short, dynamic and motivating to learn the language. They help to make the learning process fun, interesting and useful.

TED Talks videos are a great way to make learning English more fun and effective. They help with listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.

Table 1.

Reason for using TED talks [4]

Speaking is important for communication. To speak well, students need to[5]:

- Start and continue conversations.

- Ask and answer questions.

- Talk about themselves, their hobbies and plans.

- Summarize a video or text.

- Say things in different ways.

TED Talks help with speaking because they show how real people express ideas. Language is not just about words—it’s also about feelings. A person’s face, voice, and movements help express meaning. Watching TED Talks helps students learn how people show emotions and understand different cultures.

According to the Gavrilova E.M., using podcasts and videos like TED Talks helps students improve their listening and speaking skills. To make learning effective, it is important to use these materials in the right way[6].

At the beginning, teachers should explain the goals of using podcasts and how to work with audio and video properly. This helps students understand how to learn effectively. Students should actively participate in learning. They can record their own short presentations, introducing themselves with their name, age, city, and school. This builds confidence and improves speaking skills. Checking progress is also important. After listening to podcasts or watching videos, students can discuss what they learned or answer questions. They can think about their strengths, challenges and ways to improve them.

Bogdanova T.D. notes that TED Talks is a great tool for learning English. The short videos (5–15 minutes) on www.ted.com help students understand spoken English, learn new words, and explore interesting topics. Using TED Talks in English lessons makes learning fun and interesting. The real-life language in these videos helps students get used to different accents and pronunciation. It also improves their ability to communicate[7].

To use TED Talks effectively, teachers should choose videos that match students' interests and learning goals. Before watching, they can prepare questions and tasks to help students focus on key points. After watching, students can complete different activities, such as discussing the main ideas, summarizing the content, asking questions, and sharing opinions. This helps them understand the material better and think critically. Learning new words is also important. Students can write down new words from the video, talk about their meanings, and practice using them. This helps them remember and use new vocabulary in real conversations. Pausing the video while watching can be helpful. Teachers can stop explaining difficult parts, highlight key ideas, and check if students understand. Feedback is very important. After working with TED Talks, teachers should encourage students, recognize their progress, and give advice on how to improve. Using video podcasts in English lessons makes learning more engaging and effective. It helps students understand English better, speak with confidence, learn new words, and enjoy the process of learning. In modern education, teachers use the Internet to help students learn foreign languages. Online resources provide many useful materials, such as videos, exercises, and interactive lessons. Teachers can use ready-made materials or create their own, like online lessons, web quests, and language websites. The Internet makes language learning easier by offering materials for speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It also helps students learn about different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. Students can join online conversation clubs and do international projects, improving their communication skills.

Teachers use TED videos in different ways. The videos help students practice speakig because they show real speech from different speakers. Subtitles help students understand the words, learn new vocabulary, and study grammar. TED also offers interactive exercises, such as[8]:

- “Think” – checks if students understand the video.

- “Dig Deeper” – gives more information about the topic.

- “Discuss” – starts a discussion about the video.

TED videos also help with pronunciation. Students can listen to different accents and improve their speaking skills. Watching TED Talks is a great way to make language learning more interesting and effective. TED Talks is a great tool for improving speaking and writing skills in a foreign language. Teachers use the "Discuss" feature to ask students to write detailed comments on a topic. This helps students share their opinions with people from different countries. TED videos often cover important and interesting topics, which makes students want to discuss them. For example, videos like "Can schools make creativity?" or "Talks to inspiring teachers" can be useful when learning about education. One big advantage of TED Talks is that the content is real and modern. Teachers can create their own lessons using videos, add questions, and track students' progress. However, there are also some challenges. Teachers need time to choose and adapt videos to fit their students' level. Some videos are also too long for one lesson, so it is important to pick the right ones. Overall, TED Talks is a fun and useful resource that helps students improve all language skills and makes learning more interesting.

One of the biggest challenges in learning a foreign language is low student motivation. TED Talks help solve this by providing interesting from different fields of knowledge. They also share valuable and unique ideas. Another challenge is students’ low language skills. TED videos make it easier to understand spoken English because they are engaging and not full of unnecessary distractions like movies or cartoons[9].

TED Talks are special because their speakers use not only traditional public speaking techniques but also modern methods. These include storytelling, involving the audience in discoveries, walking around while speaking, dynamic demonstrations, and expressive body language.  At the beginning and end of each talk, speakers use greetings, introductions, and topic announcements.

Research shows that TED speakers mainly focus on engaging with the audience[10]. Even though the talks are monologues, they feel like a conversation because the speaker interacts with listeners. TED speakers also use persuasion techniques, such as sharing personal stories or real-life examples. They ask rhetorical questions or talk directly to the audience to create a sense of dialogue. 

In conclusion, using TED Talks in English lessons helps students overcome language and psychological barriers. These videos make learning more interesting, help students develop their speaking skills, and expose them to different cultures. Watching TED Talks also teaches students how to structure their own speeches, express their opinions clearly, and communicate effectively with an audience.