Podcasts

With podcasts you have a choice between authentic and language based and mobile vs. non-mobile. The first option I'm going to consider is mobile vs. non-mobile and really the only mobile options are homework possibilities, but I wonder about accessibility. "Raise your hand if you've got an iPod or smart phone?"...that's unrealistic, and besides it's unlikely every student will have one of these tools. So how can we use podcasts in a realistic manner that includes every student? Ipod and smart phone podcasts are quite useful for independent language learners, but what about ELLs under the director of a teacher? Non-mobile podcasts, accessible via computer, are what I envision for teachers in the classroom.

Now let's look at authentic vs. language based. Both can be used effectively in the classroom using podcasts. Authentic podcasts I think are more exciting, especially for older students who don't want the standard drills and fill-in-the-blanks of language based activities. I've been studying Communicative Language Teaching lately which encourages the use of authentic materials as much as possible, to use language in a real context. I believe the first two exercises below are best suited for practicing language is a meaningful way. These are just a few ideas I thought up for an authentic podcast such as an audio newsclip from the New York Times:

-each student summarizes the clip to the class in their own words (includes every student); can also convert the audio to a written summary
-each student listens to the same opinion piece and a point-counterpoint discussion is begun
-students look up 5-8 words they didn't recognize and make a vocabulary list.
-identify a certain grammatical feature, idiom, ect.
-can be used in conjunction with a project based activity like Web Quest where students listen to articles related to their topic

Podcasts can be used as a warm-up/icebreaker, used with conjunction with a class theme/unit (for example, a NY Times or NPR podcast on the 2012 election when the class theme is politics, American History, ect.), or even background or cultural information (Breaking News English features a podcast on how wasteful Americans are with food).The main advantage of podcasts is their accessibility. You'd likely have little trouble getting them in public schools or abroad because of their wide availability and range. They're also usually free of charge. There is a wide variety to choose from; for example, the United States Peace Corp offers 10 free courses in Arabic. iTunes offers many podcasts for free and you can find a bevy of websites for many, many languages. One site, http://www.openculture.com/freelanguagelessons, is a guide to direct you across the different languages. I scrolled down to the English tab and took a look. The first one, Connect with English, is not an I-pod podcast, but a DVD and website video. This is their summary:

Featuring the story of Rebecca, an aspiring singer on a journey across America, Connect With English offers 50 fifteen-minute video programs that will teach English as a second language to high school students, college students and adult learners. Produced by WGBH Boston.

The English We Speak, by BBC World Service, is a subscription offered by iTunes where new podcasts become available each week like a magazine. The content varies widely. Breaking News English is a popular destination for podcasts. The flexibility of podcasts is limitless; you can find any theme, any topic, any content for either authentic or language based activities. Age groups also vary widely; Scholastic offers educational podcasts for kids. You can find whatever you need, and so I think it's a tool I'll definitely use.