ELL+Student+and+Podcasts

There are many uses of Web 2.0 techniques in the classroom. One technique in particular is podcasting. Podcasting is a powerful tool which gives a teacher another medium to engage their students. A podcast can be created a posted to the Internet to be accessed by all students. This podcast can be something as simple a nightly homework or as complex as a college lecture. The beauty of a podcast is that it is always accessible and can be played and replayed as often as needed. There are different types of podcasts that stimulate learning:


 * Audio Podcasts** – which are audio only, and generally in a MP3/ACC format. It is the easiest to create and listen to. You can find thousands of audio podcasts online, especially on iTunes.


 * Enhanced Podcasts** – combine audio with synced images. Enhanced podcasets possess various images (much like a slideshow) where you can also add live URL links as well as chapter markers to skip around the podcast.


 * Video Podcasts (also known as vodcasts/vidcasts)** – although it is the most difficult to create, it contains both audio and video files.

Colorín Colorado, a bilingual site for families and educators of English Language Learners, gave suggestions for teachers when supporting their ELL learners:

1. Provide Foreign Language Materials in Easy-Access Displays 2. Provide Books and Information on Countries of Origin 3. Provide Electronic Access to Materials in Other Languages 4. Provide Audio Materials and Instruction on How to Use Them 5. Share Culturally Meaningful Stories 6. Watch your Words 7. Make Story Time Interactive 8. See Visuals at Story Time 9. Use Visuals in Your Correspondence Home 10. Promote the Public Library

When looking at the list above, providing audio materials and electronic access to materials in other languages are essential to the engagement and motivation for learning. A tool that supports this learning is podcasting, and one group that can benefit from podcasting is ELL students. As a teacher, I can think of many uses of podcasts to help these students. Most importantly, a common issue that ELL students face when entering a "foreign" classroom for the first time is fear of failing/lack of confidence. When you are learning a language that is different from your mother tongue, it can be quite intimidating to be limited in oral expression. Podcasts allow students to learn what they want (content), where they want (digitally), and how they want (using various mobile devices). Students can explore for "business or pleasure" - content relevant to material learned in class or content pertaining to an interest or passion. ELL students would benefit from a podcast containing vocabulary words with their spelling/meaning. Also, a teacher can create a podcast to accompany a reading in a text book. An ELL student could read along while listening to the podcast. Additionally, podcasts allow students to mainstream into American society by learning current and relevant cultural information.

Another use of podcasting is to develop oral presentation skills. An ELL student may be more comfortable with spoken English than written English. This student would benefit from creating a podcast for assessment in a subject. This student would gain confidence in their academic abilities that would result in a greater self-esteem and higher achievement.

As an ELL student, there are sometimes barriers to using Web 2.0 techniques. For example, the student must know how to access and play the podcast. This would be difficult if reading was a challenge – the student would not be able to access the correct website. To overcome this challenge, the teacher or a fellow student would need to assist.

English learning students are usually recognizable in the classroom because most of these students stay silent in class while they adjust to their new surroundings and community, except for when they have a fellow ELL in the same class. From experience, when another ELL student of the same native language is in a class together, they can be quite talkative with each other as they speak in their native language, but when these students do not have another native companion in the class they can be particularly quiet. This discreetness is usually due to the English language barriers they are introduced to. Learning a second language can be extremely challenging for some ELL students but there are tools that teachers can use to help them become successful at acquiring a second language.

Web-based learning tools are becoming prevalent in and outside of the classroom for ELL students. Teachers are discovering ways to engage students in technology beyond the classroom in order to increase English language acquisition. The web can be a positive learning tool to get silent language learners actively creating and collaborating using different platforms without the insecurities that may arise. Using Web 2.0 tools, students can control how they want to present something they are working on at home or at school. For instance, creating or listening to podcasts gives students the opportunity to listen to episodes or record their voice in English and collaborate with peers in shared settings in a nonthreatening way. According to the article, //Podcasting and English Language Learners,// podcasts can help students remember English longer, improve comprehension, and demonstrate how real speech and grammar are spoken in the English language are spoken. In the article, //Why Use Web 2.0 Tools With Ells,// the author suggests podcasts are suitable for ELLs because it gives them a chance to have additional practice in listening to the English language and to practice speaking it as many times as they need to without being restricted to working just at school. In addition, this article also concludes that ELLs can benefit from Web 2.0 tools like podcasts because they are fun! When using these platforms students are provided with a more authentic and personal approach to learning that can eventually create a sense of awareness and motivation as they take charge of their own learning.

Iris Erickson Summer 2013

Brandi Hoyos Summer 2014

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@http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/33008/

@http://icoblog.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/types-of-podcasts/