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.

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. 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.

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

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