1: Podcasting? That’s not a ‘new’ technology!
That’s right. Podcasting was one of the earliest Web 2.0 tools to be picked up by educators (along with blogs and wikis), and it’s been around now for well over a decade. But although podcasting appeared to be on the wane a few years ago – at least in education – it has more recently undergone something of a resurgence.
2: Let’s start with the basics. What is a podcast exactly?
The word podcast is a combination of the words iPod (a portable MP3 player produced by Apple) and broadcast (as in a radio broadcast). A podcast is essentially an audio file that is produced on a regular basis and shared (or ‘broadcast’) online as part of a series – think of a radio programme that is regularly produced and broadcast to the public. In fact, radio stations like the BBC or NPR have comprehensive lists of podcasts that you can subscribe to. Podcasts can also be in video format – these are known as video podcasts, or ‘vodcasts’. Unfortunately, some confusion has arisen over the term podcast, because it is sometimes used to refer to any audio file on the internet. But to really deserve the term podcast, an audio file needs to be regularly produced and shared online. Keep the radio programme analogy in mind – this is the best way to distinguish between a podcast and a single audio file stored online.
3: Can you recommend specific podcasts for English language students?
Probably the easiest way to start with podcasting is to recommend ready-made podcasts for your students to listen to on their mobile devices. This is a good way to give them additional listening practice and exposure to English outside the classroom.
There are professionally-produced authentic radio programme podcasts on a huge range of topics, made by organisations like the BBC and NPR. These are ideal for higher-level learners, and you can encourage your students to search the BBC or NPR sites to find podcasts on topics of interest, and to subscribe to these on their mobile devices. But there are also plenty of podcasts created for English language learners at a range of levels. The BBC Learning English website has a number of short weekly audio podcasts for adult students. Particularly recommended are 6 Minute English, The English We Speak and English at Work. The British Council also offers audio podcasts for learners that include scripts and pitch control to help with listening and understanding. The Learn English audio and video app combines a range of British Council audio and video podcasts into a single app (visit learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/apps/learnenglish-audio-and-video).
4: Could I create my own podcasts for my students?
Absolutely. As one simple example, you could create a weekly (or bi-weekly or monthly) dictation podcast for your students. Prepare a short dictation on a topic recently covered in class, and include any vocabulary and language structures that you’d like your students to review. Record your dictation as an audio file (see how to do this in point 5 below). Give your students the link to the audio file and ask them to listen to your dictation and to write out the text. In a subsequent class, give them the original text so that they can compare it with their own. Dictation is an excellent holistic language activity, which provides students with worthwhile additional listening practice while reviewing work covered in class. You could even get your students to start preparing podcast dictations for each other after a couple of months!
5: How do I create a podcast?
A podcast is essentially an audio file, so you could use the built-in audio recorder on your computer or mobile device. The important thing is to save the audio file online (eg in Google Drive or Dropbox) in MP3 format, and then to share the link with your students so that they can listen to it out of class. Alternatively, you could use an online voice recorder like Audioboom or Vocaroo, or podcasting software such as Podbean, PodOmatic or PodcastPeople. Register for an account to try these tools out.
The important thing about creating your own podcasts is to try to keep it up for a period of time. For example, you could decide to run a podcasting project with your students over a single term, or a couple of terms, or even over an entire academic year. Remember to get ongoing feedback from your students about what they think of podcasting, and whether they find it worthwhile.
And finally, you too can subscribe to education podcasts as part of your own professional development. Search iTunes U for likely candidates. You could also subscribe to the TEFL Commute podcast, specially created for English language teachers.
Nicky Hockly has been involved in EFL teaching and teacher training since 1987. She is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E, an online teacher training and development consultancy. She is the prize-winning author of several books about language teaching and technology, most recently Focus on Learning Technologies (OUP) and ETpedia Technology (to be published by Pavilion later this year). She maintains a blog at www.emoderationskills.com.
