Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoCoordinación de Educación a Distancia CELE

Actualización en Lingüística Aplicada para Docentes de lenguas

Podcasts for English Language Teachers

Tutor: María Elena Delgado

Final Project presented by

Beatriz Vera López

May 2013

PODCASTING WITH EL BEGINNERS 3

PART I: GENERAL INFORMATION 3

Aims 3

Students’ Description 3

Students’ Organisation and Resources 3

Project’s duration 3What students are to know 3What students are to do 4What students are to appreciate 4

Teacher’s Description 4Teacher’s extraclass activities 4Teachers’s in-class activities 4

PART 2: METHODOLOGY 4

1. Setting up the situation 4

2. Defining a plan –of plans 5

3. On the way of committing to action 5

4. Juggling simple language and complex content 5

5. Recording and editing 5

6. Attaching a description 5

7. Publishing and parading 6

8. Closure 6

APPENDICES 7

A. FORMAT OF THE AUDIO SCRIPT 7

B. Rubric 10

C. Websites to downlowad free podcast-related software 11

D. Websites of useful tutorials 11

E. Websites of Royalties-free Music & Sounds 11Images 11Sounds-music 11

F. Document on how to cite creative common and copyrighted material 12How to cite images? 12

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How to cite music and sound effects? 12

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Podcasting with EL beginners

Part I: General information

AimsPodcasting and the whole range of activities that it entails is instrumental in the acquisition and improvement of communicative skills, which are not limited to oral-aural but include also language literacy (for students are expected to read and write in the target language) and digital literacy (for they use the web to look for information and as a medium to create new virtual objects, such as podcasts).

Students’ DescriptionThree groups of English level A1 (four abilities) that altogether make a total of 27 students registered for the project. Their age ranges from 16 to 30 and their academic background is from “prepa” to students majoring in Biology, Psychology, Medicine, Graphic Design and Odontology. There is medical doctor and a technician in IT systems.We share a blog and we meet three times, five hours a week and sometimes we can have a class in a computer room.

Students’ Organisation and ResourcesBecause the only meeting point for most of them is their English class, I will not insist on collaborative work (though they can do that if they so choose). They are expected to work individually in their own projects but they are encouraged to share tips and opinions both face-to-face and in their Podomatic sites. However, their interactions are not part of their marks.On the technical side, they are expected to have (easy) access to a computer with internet connection where they can download the programnes necessary for podcasting and where they can save their work. They will also need a headset (headphones and microphone). They will need time available outside the class (approximately in the ratio of 1:3 the time they spend in class).

Project’s durationThree weeks, four hours a week.

What students are to know1. There are recording and audio editing programs as well as on-line tutorials to learn how to use them.2. There is a communication tool called podcast that can be broadcast by the internet and/or stored in mobile devices such as iPods and various MP3 players.3. Podcasts are cohered by a leading theme and they are constituted by episodes, which are constituted by segments. 4. Each level of organisation (i.e. the series, the episode and the segment) requires a specific planning.5. There are sites on the internet to find information and resources in order to plan, record, edit and publish their podcasts.

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What students are to do1. To gather information on the web about (5) above, notably how to download and use Audacity and where to find music and sound effects royalties-free. 2. To create a free account in Podomatic. It is important to keep it free in order to make time limits effective: 3 minutes maximum per episode.3. Make three types of plan:3.1 For a series of three episodes.3.2 For a single episode where there is a clear and logical articulation of its constitutive three segments: an introduction, the development of the topic and a conclusion, plus a leading to the next episode.3.3 For the juggling of voice, music and sound effects in the three segments of an episode. 4. To record, edit and publish the episode planned in (3.3)5. To attach to their audioclip the description of the contents of the episode (this is dealt with as a written composition work in progress)6. To include the credits of the resources used.

What students are to appreciate1. The need to simplify and adapt what they want to express to what they can manage to say and write in their current level of language.2. The advantages of keeping within strict time boundaries.3. The importance of keeping in mind at all times the three different levels of planning.

Teacher’s DescriptionHe or she is an experienced professional in EL teaching, has already created and published podcasts and/or vodcasts and knows how to find visual and aural sources to enhance them. He or she is able to give accurate credits of the sources used.

Teacher’s extraclass activities1. To set up a class blog in order to publish links, instructions, information, formats, etc. 2. To set up RSS for the Podomatic site of each student in order to have up- dated information of what the students are doing.3. To give students timely feedback.

Teachers’s in-class activities1. To take advantage of the students’ non-verbal signs to find out their challenging areas and to motivate them to overcome them.2. To model the pronunciation, rhythm, etc. of the scripts they show.3. To give feed-back on the language and content issues detected.

Part 2: Methodology

1. Setting up the situationThe teacher introduces the topic: What is your all-time favourite topic? What is it that you can talk about for hours?Then leads to the hypothetical situation where they can talk about it in a radio show, but it can be listened to at any time, any place. For those professionally minded, the teacher suggests the possibility of using their “radio show episodes” as a portfolio of what they know and how well they can advertise it.

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Finally, the teacher introduces the term PODCAST and explains the origin of the word. She gives an overview of the kinds of podcasts available and their most popular locations in the web.

2. Defining a plan –of plansBecause the students’ linguistic and technical abilities are as varied as their walks of life, the teacher will not impose on them a common topic. Each student will present a project but they will record, edit and publish a single episode.The teacher elicit from them the different “horizons” of planning: spanning the whole series, the articulation of the parts in a single episode, and the combination of different visual-aural enhancers with the script of the constituing segments of an episode.

3. On the way of committing to actionThe teacher resumes the initial question about each student’s favourite topic. Then, ask them to highlight three main aspects of it. The tendency to vagueness and broadness to make a topic unmanageable soon becomes evident. In order to help them, the teacher prompts the need of setting boundaries of different kinds: limits of time (how long a recording to aim at, and the delivery deadline) and content (students are not going to talk about everything they know, just about something of which they can convey a clear and attractive idea in no more than 2 minutes). The teacher asks them to think to set an initial boundary of two minutes because they have to expand it for the introduction, the conclusion and the music-sound effects.

4. Juggling simple language and complex contentThe teacher asks them to check now and again the site English News in Levels (http://www.newsinlevels.com/) in order to appreciate the way in which complicated content can be reduced to very simple phrases. I remind them that the yardstick of their project is themselves which means that they should find the level of challenge that is right for them individually. They can push their boundaries only by acknowledging them. They have to check the summary of grammar, vocabulary and communicative functions at the end of each chapter studied during the previous ten weeks of the course with the aim of using them to create the scripts and the descriptions attached to the published episode.In a week-time they have to hand in their first two plans and a draft of the third one. The plans are, by themselves, pieces of composition where they can improve their literacy in the foreign language.

5. Recording and editingThis stage of the project is mainly performed by the students on their own but the teacher sets up a forum in the class blog in order to discuss their doubts and findings. This is to minimise the time of the class spent in such topics.

6. Attaching a descriptionIn the writing of a description attached to their podcasts, the students have to deal with communicative issues: to identify their audience and what effect they want to create in them, what they want them to do next, etc. Students have to work in their descriptions as a process in order to discuss emerging issues of vocabulary, grammar, usage, etc.

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7. Publishing and paradingStudents publish their episodes in Podomatic though, after my own experience, it is easier and faster to do so in YouTube where there is too the possibility for others to comment. In order to promote an active audience, a “Parade” is proposed: it is up the students to create prize labels as long as they respect their classmates. Some labels suggested are: The funniest podcast, the most serious, the most original, the simplest, the most interesting, the best in music, the best in special effects, the most elegant language, etc. “Everybody must take a prize home” is the motto here.

8. ClosureSince each student worked on a different project, the processes are expected to be different. However, errors are usually not that disparate. In order to benefit the group from the work of each individual, I explain that there are mistakes (and errors) that are not only interesting for everybody but productive as well since their solution yields a whole new picture of the language. Under this light, they are willing to let the teacher to correct and comment their work in class. The end of this project coincides with the end of the term, so it is a time of grading and promoting –or lack thereof.

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Appendices

A. FORMAT OF THE AUDIO SCRIPT

Author:<Student’s Name>TITLE:<Name of the episode>

INTRODUCTIONTotal length: <total length in seconds of the introduction>Background music: Name of each file of

music and special sound effect

Length in seconds for each one

Special sound effects:

Pauses:

TEXT

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DEVELOPMENT Total length: <total length in seconds of the episode>Background music: Name of each file of

music and special sound effect

Length in seconds for each one

Special sound effects:

Pauses:

TEXT

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CLOSURETotal length: <total length in seconds of the conclusion>Background music: Name of each file of

music and special sound effect

Length in seconds for each one

Special sound effects:

Pauses:

TEXT

CREDITS<Give credit of voices, production, music and special effects>Total length: <total length in seconds of the Credits>Background music: Name of each file of

music and special sound effect

Length in seconds for each one

TEXT

NOTICE that the total length of the episode must be equal to or less than three minutes.

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B. RubricPodcasting with EL beginners

Student’s Name:Group:Date:

GREAT OKAY NEEDS WORK

COMMENTS

CONTENT

The episode is clearly articulated in three segments: an introduction, the development of the main point, and a conclusion & connection to the next episode.Information is reliable, interesting and relevant

LANGUAGE

Grammar is correct and appropriateVocabulary is accurate and variedPhrases are connected logically (use of however, and, but, so, etc.)

PERFORMANCE

The pronunciation is clear, correct and well-paced.The voice is engaging and conveys enthusiasm.Voice is supported by music-sound (they do not compete).

Teacher’s Name:Date:

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C. Websites to downlowad free podcast-related softwareAudacity and the MP3 encoder LAME:http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows?lang=esiTuneshttp://www.apple.com/itunes/download/Windows media playerhttp://windows.microsoft.com/es-419/windows/download-windows-media-player

D. Websites of useful tutorialsThey call this sitehttp://www.howtopodcasttutorial.com/13-basic-podcasting-software.htm“The home of the free podcast tutorial”, you can take it from here to look for other tutorials either in English or in Spanish.

E. Websites of Royalties-free Music & Sounds

ImagesIn this site: http://search.creativecommons.org/?lang=esYou can find a collection of sites to look for images that may or may not be of common domain. Such sites are:

Flickr Fotopedia Google Images Open Clip Art Gallery Pixabay

Sounds-music Jamendo Freesound.org Free Music Archive.org SoundCloud ccMixter

Notice this is not all. There is much more in the web!

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F. Document on how to cite creative common and copyrighted material

How to cite images?Images downloaded from browsers or any other internet source have to cited as indicated by the author or by default in the format suggested below:

Images with Creative Commons licence

[Name of the image if given] Some rights reserved by [Author]: [URL of the image of author’s site]

Example:

Kurt Cobain Some rights reserved by Failuresque. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/failuresque/7346306860/ on May 13th, 2013.

Images with Copyright ©[Name of the image if given] © All rights reserved by [Author or name of the website]. Obtained from [URL of the image or the author’s site], on [date].

Example:Margarita de Bonampak (1949) Manuel Álvarez Bravo. All rights reserved 2011© Archivo Manuel Álvarez Bravo SC If you are using your own pictures, you can either use a Creative Commons licence or copyright.

How to cite music and sound effects?There are two main formats:

APA (American Psychological Association) formatComposer <Last Name, First Name> (copyright date). Title of the track [Recorded by <artist, if different from the composer>]. In <Title of the album>. Place where it was recorded: Record Company. (Date of the recording if different from the one indicated by the copyright).

Examples:Cobain K., Novoselic K., Grohl D. (1991). Smells Like Teen Spirit [Recorded by Nirvana]. In Nevermind [CD]. Sound City, California: DGC Records. Mercury, F. (1975) Bohemian Rapsody [Recorded by Queen]. In A Night at the Opera. Wessex: EMI.Carrillo, A. (1959). Pinotepa. [Recorded by Susana Harp and Banda de música del Estado de Oaxaca]. In Mi tierra [CD]. (2002). Oaxaca: Instituto Oaxaqueño de las Culturas.

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With Creative Commons licenceIt has to be cited as indicated by the author. Otherwise, as follows:

Title of song or audioclip. Recording with some rights reserved by the author or website. Retrieved from <URL of the source or website> on <date of the download>.

Examples:

Krackatoa The Passsing of Time. In Monkeys in the Temple. Retrieved from http://freemusicarchive.org/music/krackatoa/Monkies_in_the_Temple/ on 13th May 2013.

thanvannispen group_laugh_long_exaggerate.aif Retrieved from http://www.freesound.org/people/thanvannispen/sounds/30281/ on 13th May 2013

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