Integrating podcasts into an ESL listening course: The What, the How, and

the Why

Anne O’Bryan

Applied Linguistics Colloquium

November 27, 2006

Background

What is podcasting? Use of podcasting in other educational

contexts Tap into current practices among our

students

Surveying the field

Advantages of podcasting Excellent means for audio distribution Seamless integration of in-class and out-of-class

activities (Thorne & Payne, 2005, p. 386) Encourages “listening on the go” (Goodwin-

Jones, 2005, p. 11)

Podcasting Project

Investigate: How we could integrate podcasts into the

existing listening course Whether students would like interacting with

podcasts as part of a course How students interacted with podcasts

Project Timeline

Thinking and planning phase (Spring & Summer 2006)

Development & curricular reorganization phase

(Summer & Fall 2006) Implementation phase

(Fall 2006)

Thinking and Planning Phase

ESL Pod English idioms and slang Learn a song podcast

The Bardwell Road Centre podcast

Thinking and Planning Phase (cont.)

SLA theory Interactionist approach

Listening comprehension Rost (2002), Buck (2001)

Language strategies Cohen (1998), Rost (2002)

Strategy instruction and language learning O’Malley and Chamot (1990), Hubbard (2004)

Instructional Purposes

Input salience--summary, modeling, practice

Enhanced input-- multiple modes of input

Authenticity-- real input, guest speakers (native and non-native English speakers)

Motivational appeal

Curricular integration

Development Phase

Curricular changes: Syllabus for Unit 3 (video)

Homework (due on date assigned) Unit 3: Key words, symbols and abbreviations

Read unit 3

Unit 3: Visually representing relationships Download notes for podcast from WebCT, or get notes in class; Watch video podcast “Taking notes during a lecture”; complete quiz with the notes you downloaded in WebCT

Taking notes: In-class Practice Review video podcast Taking notes: In-class Practice Listen to podcast “Tips on taking notes in

class” Unit 3 quiz; Non-academic English Listen to “Unit 3 summary podcast” and

watch part 2 of the “Spider” lecture. Take notes, and bring both your notes and ones from video podcast to class

Development Phase

Primary function of podcast/vodcast Number

Summary, Repetition 5

Outside perspective 3

Demonstration 2 (videos)

Targeted Practice 2

Raise awareness of strategies 1

Welcome/Intro to course 1

Total 14

Podcast Blog

Research Questions How do students perceive and interact with the podcasts? Does student interaction with the podcasts help to shift their

role from “overhearer” to “non-addressee” (Buck, 2002, p. 254)?

Do having course podcasts help “to foster a more seamless integration of in-class and out-of-class activity and materials” (Thorne and Payne, 2005, p. 386)

Does the strategy instruction from the course podcasts help to raise awareness of strategies, as perceived by the students?

Does the strategy instruction from the course podcasts help to increase strategy use by students in class, as perceived by the students?

How do students feel about/ interact with the podcasts?

Ave SD

How interesting? 4.11 0.32

How informative? 4.15 0.38

Frequency 3.07 0.16

Minutes 40.93 8.21

N = 6; Information for first 9 podcasts

First two questions based on Likert scale from 1-5 (1 = not at all, 5 = very)

Does student interaction with the podcasts help to shift their role from overhearer to non-addressee?

“…sometimes I listen the whole podcast, sometime I just stop when I don't understand what they're saying. I just stop and listen again, and then I continue” (DV)

“In the past I never stop, but now I stop. Another student gave me a suggestion-we can hear every word of these listening materials…I used to be not stopped… But now sometimes I stopped. I want to figure out what this sentence-every word” (JJ)

“…if I don't understand I have to repeat. Re-listen.” (TV)

“I listen on the computer…when I was listening, the missing word-I don't know the sometimes the word's meaning so I stop it and find electronic dictionary and typing and see that words and I knew the word's meaning…” (DK)

Do having course podcasts help to foster seamless integration of in-class and out-of-class activity and materials?

“Yes, I think so. Because the time of the class very short. If we want to practice you need to pay a lot of time on this, because one class only 50 minutes. I think it's very important” (JJ)

“Yeah, I think for this class podcast is important for the class. Yeah, I think it help summarize the detail from class for student to review…” (NW)

"They are important…because you can practice the strategies that are mentioned in the class, like you want to listen to number, you can listen to that. When the instructor show you how to recognize the number, how to write it down, then you should practice and write it down. I think it's really good” (DV)

Raising awareness, influencing strategy use “Yes. Before I also use not like use, I know this…main idea here, I know this

one, but I didn't know…before I don't know this is strategy. But I use it. I know this strategy is kind of strategy, I can use strategy for listening, is more helpful for understanding professor talking about....I think that in the class is many many example. If the professor talking about-for main idea in this class, he will say 'we will focus on' something. This is main idea. So, I need concentrate, focus on something.” (ZY)

“Ok, so-yes, at the beginning of the course when I sit for the lecture, I just keep writing down everything I listen…so I'm not going to listen to what is important or what is the cues, or the main idea I just keep writing. And it takes me time, I think. Thinking and listening and writing everything I think it's time. But when I learn some strategies there's no need to write everything. Concentrate on what is important, what is key words, what is lecture cues, tells me what professor is going to say. And then I just keep the notetaking...You don't need to write whole word or key sentence to keep the key idea...it helps” (DV)

Final Thoughts from the Instructor

Podcasts have the potential to expand class time by:

-- responding directly to students’ needs

-- annotating audio or video materials from class materials

--exposing students to outside speakers, accents

Thank you!

Anne O’Bryan

Applied Linguistics Colloquium

November 27, 2006