I thought that some of the folks on this forum might be interested in a class I taught this spring on the history of the English language. I've uploaded it on YouTube, and eventually I hope to produce a transcript and upload it as a LingQ lesson -- but it's very long, so it will be a while before I can fully transcribe it.

A lot of English learners wonder why English words are often spelled so differently from how they are pronounced. One of the main reasons is that English underwent a transformation called the Great Vowel Shift, which preserved Middle English spellings even as the pronunciation of the words changed.

Sorry for tooting my own horn, but the students in the class really enjoyed it, and now that my husband has finished making the video I thought I'd share it here. :)

Part 1: http://youtu.be/JdwzVxbqsB0
Part 2: Should be uploaded this weekend!

Wow!! I just had a peak at my computer before cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, and so I don't have time to really enjoy the whole video right now, but I am looking forward to doing so. Great stuff!!

Your video is amazing !
Very informative, very interesting.
Thank you !!!!!

It's a very interesting, very detailed information. Thank you very much!

Thank you, Charlotte!

I wish, more lectors were conscious about how much more appreciation they could get from uploading their lectures and targeting the interested audience: not just those, who happened to be in a class.

Part 2 is finally uploaded! Took my husband a bit longer than anticipated, but it seems to be a great video, so hopefully the wait was worth it. :)

You can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRZuB4pONgQ

It is super!