Reflections on Listening and Speaking with Online Audio and Video

• How can online audio provide more autonomous listening skills practice?

I have never used podcast, but they seem to be very intersting and effective tools for online learning. They serve as autonomous way of providing a radio like content, but it can be listened whenever, whereever and as many times as the listener wants. So they are ideal ways of practice litening in lessons and at homes, too.

• How can you use student recordings in your teaching?

There are a number of ways to use podcasts. First of all, they are ideal tools to practice speaking and listening skills. They are also good for completing projects. Finally, they are ideal for making the lessons more authentic.
I designed an activity with the use of a podcast:
I have chosen the following podcast: Series 01 Episode 07
It is for elementary students. The aim of the activity is practice talking about families. While the children listen to the podcast, they can do the accomanied activities. The activities contain multiple choice questions, gap filling, open ended questions and follow up activities: They have to describe their family to their friends.

• From the sites and suggested lesson ideas what do you think will work best with your learners in your school?

I already have used youtube, but I think vimeo and teacher tube also will be very useful. Regarding the activities the silent viewing and watch and respond tasks will be my favourites.
Here I describe a task for young students:
They watch the video about Matt:



While they are watching, they have to write down as many country names, as they can. After they collect the countries on the board. They can choose 5, and write them down into their activity book. Then they watch the video again, and play bingo; The winner is who has all 5 countries watched first.



Podcasts:
Podcastinenglish
BBC
ESL Pod
Learnenglishkids
Voicethread
Googletalk
YackPack

Create online audios:
Audacity
Podomatic









Useful websites:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/podcasting-elt
http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/2007/09/interactive-presentations.html
http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/video-young-learners-1
http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/2008/11/things-you-can-do-with-your-webcam-1.html


Using videos:
Wordia
Dotsub
Bigthink

How to use youtube in the classroom?
How to make films?

Task types for using video:

Silent viewing tasks:

• Ask students to watch a clip with the sound muted and try to script what they think the people in the clip are saying. This works best with clips that have two or three people interacting in familiar settings.

• Ask students to watch clips and compare the culture depicted within the clip to their own culture. This works well with clips that depict everyday life in the target culture.

• Ask students to watch a clip and try to describe what people are feeling and why and what kind of character they are. This works best with clips that have people interacting.

• Ask students to watch and order / note down steps in a process. This works well with instructional clips such as cooking videos or showing how to do things.

Listening tasks:

• Ask students to watch a clip and write down what they hear as a dictation activity. This works well when the clip is quite short and the sound quality is good

• Ask students to listen for specific facts and information. This works well when you create true false statements for students so that they don’t have to write too much and they know what to listen for.

• Ask students to listen and answer questions. This works best when the answers required are quite short and don’t require them to stop and write a lot.

Watch and respond:

• Ask student to watch and see if they agree with the information being given. This works well with clips such as interviews where opinions are being given.

• Ask students to watch and decide if they like what they see. This works well with entertainment videos such as music videos or with clips which show other cultures or exotic places.

• Ask students to watch the first part of a clip and then describe what they think will happen next. Students then watch and check. This works well with video clips that show narrative.