"Speak, record, broadcast and listen"

I apologize for the delay since my last post but I will make up for it. Tomorrow, actually in a few hours, my AP-German students will take their BIG exam and I think I am just as nervous as they are. The weeks since we returned from spring break just flew by.

However, as the title of this post indicates, I am going to talk about something completely different: I had the opportunity to give a workshop at the OFLA (Ohio Foreign Language Association) conference in Cincinnati last month. I had 16 participants who attended a two hour session on Saturday morning from 8:00-10:00 a.m. (!). The title of this post was also the title of the workshop, which got really good reviews by the way :-) Here is what we did:

During this workshop, I presented tools such as hardware, software and websites that allow recording, listening and posting of audio files. These files are intended to allow foreign language students to create foreign language content, to practice their pronunciation and intonation, and to prepare for standardized tests such as the advanced placement exams. The examples were mostly in German and we considered podcasts, audio journals or radio shows as examples. The rationale why I chose audio files over video is that I find it important to focus with learners of all proficiency levels in a foreign language on how they "sound" and not have them worry so much how they look.

My colleagues who attended the workshop agreed with that idea and we had a good deal of fun experimenting with various software programs. We also discussed practical application and uses, lesson plans and assessment of such activities. Among the links on the right, I put an example of a poetry project that we did in my AP-course. The student you hear is a native speaker who visited our class for a few weeks. He recorded a poem by Rainer-Maria Rilke to which he added music that underlines particularly the rythm of the verses. Enjoy!