Viral Advertising

I use the following videos as supportive videos for SpeakOut unit 5.2, 5A/B, and prior to the speaking exercise on viral adverts.  After we watched each video, the students discuss what it was about and why they think this video went viral.  Finally, I ask them if they had seen any of these videos beforehand and to also think about which video was the most popular.  Then we check the views on YouTube to find out.
*if this post dates, as no doubt it will do, to find more up2date viral videos simply go to google and type in top 10 viral videos of similar...

Dove



Evian


Budweiser



Visit and look at the numbers for these adverts

Dove
http://youtu.be/wPG7PcI67dE
Evian
http://youtu.be/pfxB5ut-KTs
Budweiser
http://youtu.be/rrHoDJinMQI

Allan Savory, How to fight desertification

“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. And it's happening to about two-thirds of the world’s grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos. Savory has devoted his life to stopping it. He now believes -- and his work so far shows -- that a surprising factor can protect grasslands and even reclaim degraded land that was once desert.

https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change.html

I used this in class with page 117, SpeakOut Intermediate, Unit 10 - as a supportive exercise of reported speech. The students listened and then had to tell me what they felt were the key points of what he discussed.

I have also used this with IELTS, as a follow up activity to Unit 1 IELTS reading skills, where the topic and vocabulary are the same.  Please also find a wordle with vocaubulary here:
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7246611/TED_Allan_Savory_How_to_fight_desertification_wordle