Sports: Interview with rock climber Adam Ondra

Interview: Adam Ondra answers viewers questions.

From EpicTV Climbing Daily

Travel: Petra by Night

Link to BBC Website

Travel Feature: short documentary about lighting up Petra with 1500 candles.

From BBC News

Technology: Robot boats in Amsterdam

Link to BBC News Website

News Feature: Interview with Stephen van Dijk about the concept of robot boats.

From BBC News

Technology: The beach cleaning robot

News feature: An interview with the creator of a beach-cleaning robot.

From BBC News

Technology: An app to help reuse leftover medicine

News Feature: an interview with the designer of an app that allows people to donate leftover medicine.

Contains subtitles

From BBC News

Technology & Safety: Designing an alarm to protect women

News Feature: Following international teams competing to design an alarm system to keep women safe from assault.

From BBC News

Architecture: Building half a house

News Feature: BBC News talks to architect Alejandro Aravena about the housing crisis and a possible solution.

Contains subtitles

From BBC Stories

Money: What would you do with $100?

News Feature: Alice Jim from Zimbabwe talks about what she would do if she was given $100. She talks about her family and her past.

Contains subtitles

From BBC World

Extended listening from BBC World Service featuring various world accents.

Contains English, American, Colombian, Thai, Puerto Rican, Canadian, Chinese and Zimbabwean accents.

Fashion: Making dresses in 5 minutes

Link to BBC website

News Feature: An interview with Ugandan designer Latif Madoi about making dresses in 5 minutes.

Contains subtitles

From BBC Africa

Sport & Culture: Cutting the hair of famous footballers

News Feature: Ghanaian hairdresser Nikky Okyere talks about cutting the hair of famous footballers.

Contains subtitles

From BBC News




News feature: longer feature about Nikky cutting the hair for some famous Premier League footballers. He talks in more depth about his childhood.

Contains subtitles

From BBC News




Part 2 of the feature above talks about how Nikky uses his barbershop as a platform for up and coming dancers and performers.

Politics: Iranians living in Turkey talk about anti-government protests in their country

News Feature: Street with Iranian people living in Turkey about the protests in Iran.

Contains subtitles

Culturally sensitive issues: talk of political protest and revolution, criticism of religious rules

From BBC News

Architecture: Interview with architect Ole Sheeran about his work in Asian cities

News Feature: Interview with a famous architect about his work in Asian cities.

From BBC News

Issues & Food: TV chef feeds hurricane victims

News feature: Interview with Spanish-American TV chef Jose Andres whose project helped feed people after the hurricane in Puerto Rico.

Contains subtitles

From BBC News

Music: Making instruments from ice

Link to BBC Newsround website.

News Feature: Norwegian musicians who make an orchestra by carving their instruments from ice.

From BBC Newsround

Culture: Berlin or Munich - Which is better?

Vlog: Dominik discusses the benefits and drawbacks of Munich and Berlin.

From Get Germanized

Culture: Church tax in Germany

Vlog: Dominik discusses how church tax works in Germany and how this might affect people immigrating to Germany. He then invites you to discuss it.

From Get Germanized

Comedy: Daniel Simonsen has a house meeting with his flatmates

Comedy Sketch: Daniel Simonsen sketch about the issues of living in a shared house.

From All 4

Comedy: Daniel Simonsen applies for benefits

Comedy Sketch: Daniel Simonsen applies for benefits in the UK, but tries to hide it from his flatmates.

From All 4

Comedy: Daniel Simonsen gives tips on how to appear exciting

Comedy sketch: Daniel Simonsen makes people feel awkward on the streets of London.

Contains subtitles

From BBC Three

Music: Interview with Sigur Ros

Interview: Lauren Laverne interviews two members of Icelandic band Sigur Ros and discusses their new album.

From BBC Radio 6 Music

Sports: Biography and Interview with Eden Hazard

Interview: Joltter (Finnish) interviews Eden Hazard (Belgian) about his childhood and career.

From Unisport

Sports: Interview with Cristiano Ronaldo about his free kick technique

Interview: Joltter (Finnish) talks to Cristiano Ronaldo (Portuguese) about his free kick.

From Unisport

Sports: Interview and Tutorial with Christian Eriksen

Interview: Joltter (Finnish) speaks to Christian Eriksen (Danish) about football and growing up in Denmark. Includes interviews with former teammates and childhood friends. He then gives a tutorial on how to take the perfect free kick.

From Unisport

Sports: Players react to Pep Guardiola's New Contract

Interview: Fernandinho (Brazilian), Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan (German), Kyle Walker (English), Danilo (Brazilian), Bernardo Silva (Portuguese), John Stones (English) and David Silva (Spanish) discuss working with Pep Guardiola.

Danilo and David Silva speak Portuguese and Spanish respectively with English subtitles

From Man City

Sports: Pep Guardiola discusses his new contract

Interview: Pep Guardiola signs a new contract with Manchester City.

Contains subtitles

From Man City

Science: Vittorio Loreto discusses how big ideas in science emerge

Lecture: Vittorio Loreto talks about how to come up with new and innovative ideas in science.

Contains subtitles

From TED

Issues: Adong Judith on using art to bridge misunderstanding

Lecture: Adong Judith discusses her work as a playwright and how she uses it to highlight social issues.

Contains subtitles

From TED

Issues: Hadi Eldebek discusses the importance of public arts funding

Lecture: Hadi Eldebek argues for increased arts funding.

Contains subtitles

From TED

Health: Matthias Müllenbeck discusses for-profit healthcare

Lecture: Matthias Müllenbeck talks about the issues around hospitals being incentivised to carry out expensive procedures rather than prevent health problems.

Contains subtitles

From TED

Science: How Fungi can Infect Plants

Lecture: Mycologist Mennat El Ghalid delivers a lecture on how to stop fungi destroying crops.

Contains subtitles

From TED

Travel: Nightlife in Japan

Travel: Chris, Ryotoro and Natsumi take you around Hachinohe at night.

Culturally sensitive issues: alcohol

Bad language: multiple uses of fuck (towards the end of the video only)

Contains subtitles

From Abroad in Japan

Comedy: Ronny Chieng discusses adventure playgrounds and child safety

Comedy: Ronny Chieng discusses the news about the increase in adventure playgrounds in the USA on the Daily Show.

From The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Issues & Comedy: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi discusses feminism with Trevor Noah

Interview: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi discusses her new book about feminism with comedian Trevor Noah on the Daily Show.

Bad language: shit

From The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Issues: Kasiva Mutua discusses sexism and gender roles

Lecture: Kasiva Mutua talks about playing the drum; a role traditionally associated with men.

Talk is 6 minutes 30, followed by a performance.

Content warning: includes discussion of abusive comments

By TED

Issues: Dayo Ogunyemi discusses African cinema and development

Lecture: Dayo Ogunyemi talks about innovation and development of Africa through the prism of film.

Contains subtitles

From TED

Issues: Yasin Kakande discusses refugees

Talk: Yasin Kakande talks about problems relating to the refugee crisis and the lack of refugee voices.

Contains subtitles

From TED

The Environment: A printable, flexible, organic solar cell by Hannah Bürckstümmer

Lecture: Hannah Bürckstümmer presents an idea to improve solar power in housing.

Contains subtitles

From TED

Issues: Nighat Dad discusses online harassment

TED Talk: How Pakistani women are taking the internet back.

Culturally sensitive issues: criticism of patriarchal societies, references to threats of rape

Contains subtitles

From TED

Comedy: Henning Wehn's funny stories on Would I Lie to You?

Comedy: 3 clips of Henning Wehn from a panel show where contestants tell a story and their opponents have to determine whether they are lying or telling the truth.

Contains subtitles

From BBC Would I Lie to You?

Celebrity: Salma Hayek discusses her 50th birthday

Interview: Salma Hayek talks about having a mariachi band at her 50th birthday.

From the Graham Norton Show

Celebrity: Salma Hayek discusses her pets

Interview: Salma Hayek talks about getting a new pet and pretending to have an affair.

Content warning: the previews at the end of the video are inappropriate.

From the Graham Norton Show

Sports: Thierry Henry discusses racism in football

Interview: Thierry Henry discusses racism in football and possible solutions.

From the Jonathan Ross Show

Sports: Interview with Cristiano Ronaldo

Interview: Cristiano Ronaldo discusses Lionel Messi and winning the Ballon d'Or.

From the Jonathan Ross Show

Food: How to make Vietnamese mung bean seaweed soup

Instructional video about how to make Vietnamese sweet soup.

From Helen's Recipes

Culture: A Japanese and American couple discuss cultural differences in their marriage

Vlog: a Japanese and American couple discuss cultural differences in their marriage.

From Rachel and Jun

Food: Damian Kordas and Jamie Oliver make pierogi

Instructional Video: Chefs Damian Kordas and Jamie Oliver make pierogi

Culturally sensitive issues: reference to alcohol

From Jamie Oliver

Food: Maunika Gowardhan makes a mango and saffron lassi drink

Instructional video: Maunika Gowardhan makes a mango and saffron lassi

From Jamie Oliver - Drinks

Food and Travel: Bart goes fishing in Australia

Chef Bart van Olphen joins an Australian fisherman on a trip.

From Bart's Fish Tales

Food: Maunika Gowardhan and Jamie Oliver make butter chicken

Instructional video on how to make butter chicken by Maunika Gowardhan and Jamie Oliver

From Jamie Oliver

Food: Gennaro Contaldo makes a pizza

Instructional video: how to make a margarita pizza with Italian chef Gennaro Contaldo.

From Jamie Oliver

Fashion: Women react to different men's styles

Man dresses up in different styles and groups of women discuss what impression they have of him when wearing the different clothes.

Vocabulary: describing clothing and personality types

Culturally sensitive issues: references to sex

From Dating Beyond Borders

Culture: Attitudes to women in their 30s around the world

Women discuss society's attitudes to older women in their countries.

From Dating Beyond Borders

Culture: Couples discuss miscommunication

 Couples from different countries discuss cultural misunderstandings in their relationships.

From Dating Beyond Borders

Culture: People discuss male body image ideals in different countries

Vocabulary: describing looks/bodies

Culturally Sensitive Issues: contains images of semi-naked men

From Dating Beyond Borders

Food: Guessing food from different countries part 2

People eat food from different countries and have to guess where it's from.

From Dating Beyond Borders

Food: Guessing food from different countries part 1

People try food and have to guess where it comes from.

From Dating Beyond Borders

Culture: Gestures in different countries

People guess the meaning of gestures from different countries.

Culturally Sensitive Issues: innuendo, reference to alcohol

From Dating Beyond Borders

Culture: Interviews about Eastern and Central European Stereotypes

Interviews with people discussing stereotypes people have about Eastern and Central European people.

The Serbian woman is possibly Serbian-American and has an American accent so may not be an accurate representation of an L2 Serbian English speaker.

Culturally sensitive issues: alcohol
Bad Language: bitch

From Dating Beyond Borders

Culture: Interviews about East Asian Stereotypes

A video of various East Asians discussing stereotypes about their cultures.

Culturally sensitive issues: discussion of dating with some innuendo, Taiwanese flag.

From Dating Beyond Borders

Sports: Interview with Ilkay Gundogan

An interview with German player Ilkay Gundogan about signing for Manchester City.

Contains auto-generated subtitles

From Man City

Sports: Interview with Mohamed Salah

An interview with Liverpool player Mohamed Salah discussing his childhood and Egypt.

From Stadium Astro

Sports: In conversation with Mohamed Salah and Dejan Lovren

Mohamed Salah and Dejan Lovren chat about friendship, coffee and football celebrations.

Includes subtitles

From Liverpool FC

About the Lingua Franca Archive

This blog started when I was planning a workshop on teaching pronunciation for English as a Lingua Franca purposes. I wanted to provide teachers with places to find engaging context for receptive practice with a variety of different accents. Unfortunately, all I could find was the International Dialects of English Archive and the Speech Accents Archive. While these are excellent resources, they don't exactly provide the sort of engaging content that will excite learners in the classroom. I therefore felt there was a need for a place to archive all of that great content involving second and foreign language English speakers.

What is English as a Lingua Franca?
There are a number of definitions, but basically, it's when English is used as the language of communication between people who don't have English as their first language. Note that this doesn't exclude native English speakers from taking part.

Why is it important to English teachers?
In most contexts, students aren't typically learning English to speak to British or American people, they are learning English to be able to communicate internationally. That may include British and American people, but it doesn't mean that they should be the priority or, as in many cases, the sole source of receptive practice for your students. It's important to expose students to a variety of accents in the classroom to equip them with the skills to communicate with anyone.

English Unlimited by Cambridge University Press.
One of the few English as an International Language textbooks.

Why the blog?
At the time of writing, I could only find a single series from the big publishers that is explicitly marketed as an international English course. It has therefore been up to teachers who want to bring a variety of accents to their classroom to source materials for their class themselves. This blog tries to take some of the legwork out of that.

What the blog isn't.
This is not a blog of lesson plans. I'm not going to tell you what to do with the videos. I am merely providing links to engaging content and making it easily searchable. Of course, if I happen to use a video with a class and it goes particularly well, I might post a short lesson plan up, and I hope other teachers will too, but it's not the main purpose of the blog.

How do I choose videos for the blog?
To qualify for the blog, a video must have at least one participant with a first language that is not English.

Disclaimers
I will make every effort to accurately identify the first language of the speakers in the video, but I cannot guarantee I will always be correct. Feel free to contact me about any possible mistakes.

I will always try to link to the legal copyright holder of a piece of work. Of course, the legal copyright holder is free to remove content at any time, so I can't guarantee that the links will be active forever.

Some videos may come with a content warning for culturally sensitive content or bad language. This is just me watching the video and checking the content, so some may slip through the net occasionally. Basically, make sure you always check it yourself first.



And with that, happy teaching.