1 minute recording… lots of learning and fun!

Hello friends!

I’ve recently tried at home with Andrea (my elder daughter/guinea pig)  , and thought it worth sharing here, as I believe it might work for all ages and levels.

“Lend us your ears!” via kwout

Basically, it goes like this:

SETTING: a radio programme in which  a guest must answer 10 questions in a minute.

RESOURCES: in the classroom: an audio/video recorder (students may be asked to share their MP3s, MP5s or mobile phones). For publication: access to the Internet (1 computer – less than half an hour). For the extension: pendrives or CDs + audio player in the classroom.

Software required: Web browser. Depending on the format you record files in, you may need an audio converter (recommended: convert to MP3 before uploading to podcast). An HTML Online Editor is advisable if you plan to beautify your entry. To check your final product is OK, the computer you’re using should be able to reproduce audio (i.e. you’ll need speakers or headphones too!)

1. Preparation: In pairs, students plan 10 questions (personal, or on a given topic) that can be answered briefly. Alternatively, you may draft the questions yourselves (suggestion: allow for, at least, some personalization). Then they rehearse as if one was the radio speaker and the other the special guest.

TIMING: in class, or at home, between 5 and 20 minutes (depending on how much thought is given to the questions, and how much they need to decide).

2. Recording: using MP3s, MP5s or even their mobile phones students record their dialogues. Alternatively, they may want to video themselves!

TIMING: 2 minutes at the most (not taking into account time at the beauty parlour if they go for video, that is! !!!).

3. Publishing: get the recordings uploaded to a school/class podcast or blog. Tag the entry in ways that can attract potential listeners. Post a poster in the classroom (or just give them the link on a slip of paper), and share the news via institutional sites you may have available. Use your networks (Facebook, Twitter, CoPs you belong to, email) to promote it. Encourage everybody to comment!

TIMING at the computer: 15 minutes to post the episode to the podcast (make sure your recording is in the right format before you get started, and if you want to beautify your entry with some glitter text, images or bold/italic fonts, prepare your HTML in advance, to avoid frustration). Remember you can ask volunteer students or parents to do it for you (just make sure they all have posting privileges at the podcast or blog in advance.)

4. Extension: download a couple of recordings onto your pendrive(if you have a recorder with a USB port in class, or the cables to connect them to the TV or player in your room) and play them in your class or to other classes. (NB: you can also ask your techie sts to do this for the class). Recordings may also be downloaded onto a CD. You can give the class a listening task (e.g. anticipate the answers / complete the qs / T or F) or just do it for fun! (and ask them to rate the programme, or whether they’d like to be the next guests!)

This frame can be used to practise:

• SYNTAX: asking questions; auxiliaries; question words; answering yes-no questions; any given tense; indirect questions;
• LEXIS: any given lexical area;
• PHONOLOGY: intonation of short and wh-questions (BTW, I was quite concerned about mine when I listened to this recording!:-(!); weak and strong forms (auxiliaries and pronouns);
• SKILLS: listening and speaking

Just make sure the questions follow some thread, and the whole thing sounds more like a radio programme than a test on questions!

If you have already tried something like this, why not post a link to your final product under the “Comments” below? If you try it after reading this, please come back and share how it went with your class!

Peace,

Gladys