Language Podcasts
In a traditional language classroom, listening comprehension and conversation are limited to time spent in the actual classroom. Using podcasts to supplement in-class time provides students with additional opportunities to hear and speak a language; anytime, anywhere on mobile devices.
Podcasts can be produced by a teacher or student or can be chosen from many existing options on the internet. For example, the website Italian Language Resources showcases several podcasts that cater to specific topics such as science and culture. Allowing students to pick the topic of the podcast based on their own interests will promote greater meaningfulness to their learning.
"...Worthwhile learning does not entail the reception of ready-made facts, but must involve the building of new personal meaning and understanding" (Williams and Burden, 1997).
Allowing students to create their own podcasts based on their own interests to practice their speaking skills empowers them. This creates a learning environment in which the student invests personal interest and meaningfulness using skills or intelligence styles that they have strengths in. For example, a musically talented student could produce a podcast by playing an instrument and then explain their performance and describe the music using the foreign language they are learning. A student could write a song using the vocabulary taught during class. These activities bring the student into their own learning; making them responsible for what and how they learn. It also taps into several of the constructs of Gardner's MIT; the musical/rhythmic frame & verbal-linguistic.
Podcasts can be produced by a teacher or student or can be chosen from many existing options on the internet. For example, the website Italian Language Resources showcases several podcasts that cater to specific topics such as science and culture. Allowing students to pick the topic of the podcast based on their own interests will promote greater meaningfulness to their learning.
"...Worthwhile learning does not entail the reception of ready-made facts, but must involve the building of new personal meaning and understanding" (Williams and Burden, 1997).
Allowing students to create their own podcasts based on their own interests to practice their speaking skills empowers them. This creates a learning environment in which the student invests personal interest and meaningfulness using skills or intelligence styles that they have strengths in. For example, a musically talented student could produce a podcast by playing an instrument and then explain their performance and describe the music using the foreign language they are learning. A student could write a song using the vocabulary taught during class. These activities bring the student into their own learning; making them responsible for what and how they learn. It also taps into several of the constructs of Gardner's MIT; the musical/rhythmic frame & verbal-linguistic.