Title : PODCASTING : AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR ENHANCING LANGUGAE STUDENTS’ PRONUNCIATION?
http://llt.msu.edu/vol13num3/ducatelomicka.pdf
Journal : The Language Learning and Technology Journal, Volume 13, Number 3, October 2009
Author :
1) Dr. Lara Ducate is an Associate Professor at the German Faculty in the University of South Carolina (USC). Her teaching interests include Second Language Acquisition and Computer Assisted Language Learning. She has published a book titled “Calling on CALL: From Theory and Research to New Directions in Foreign Language Teaching” and written several other articles.
2) Lara Lomicka Anderson is the Associate Professor at the French Faculty in USC. Her teaching interests include French and Technology in Foreign Language Education. She has public\shed a book titled “Teaching with Technology (Volume 1)” and written several articles.
One of the aims of the research is to investigate whether podcasting is effective in enhancing the pronunciation skills of the second language learners. In addition, the research also aims to find out whether the students perception or attitudes towards pronunciation changed over the course of the semester. The subjects of the research consist of 12 learners of German and 10 learners of French. The first language of all the participants is American English. The participants were between 18-22 years old. They were selected based on a convenience sample. Participants were required to record several scripted podcasts in their respective L2 and post it to their blogs. Other students are then free to review their peer’s podcasts and comment on them. The data (podcasts) were then compiled in CD’s and analyzed by language experts. The data is rated in terms of comprehensibility and accent. The findings of the research show no significant differences in pronunciation of the participants. The only significant improvement was noted by the French L2 learners’ comprehensibility and accent. Overall, throughout the semesters, 50% of the students improve their accent, although this could be attributed to factors other than the use of podcasts.
This research interests me because one of the language skills that second language learners or L2 learners struggle with is speaking. Pronunciation is an integral part of the speaking component. In order to enhance the speaking skills of L2 learners, pronunciation must not be disregarded. Using podcasts to help hone the pronunciation of l2 learners is an interesting idea. As mentioned in the article, Swain and Lapkin (1995) suggest that output is important second language learning. Podcasts can be the output source for students as it enables them to listen to themselves and others as well as give and receive feedbacks on their language use. Since podcasts files can also be transferred via cellphones and mp3 players, this makes it appealing to the younger generations. This is why I find a research on utilising podcasts for teaching language very interesting. Regarding the research itself, I think it is not very well conducted. There are several areas in which the research can be improved. For starters, the number of respondents is quite small and focuses on 2 different groups of L2 learners (French and German). This might have an effect on the result of the research. Furthermore, there is no way to control the quality of the podcasts produced by the students. As the researchers themselves noted, there might be other factors that influence the level of comprehensibility and accent used by the students. One of the factors is the students’ attentiveness in producing the podcasts. If they are preoccupied with other works or assignments, they may not be too particular about their pronunciation when recording the podcasts. Although no marked improvement was noted, the research itself opens up new possibilities for using podcasts in language teaching. The implication of the study in terms of its relativity to the teaching and learning of L2 is that in general, technology itself cannot be solely relied upon to boost students’ second language skills. Feedback and guidance from the teacher is still needed in order to fully utilise the technology and make it more effective for the students. In the case of using podcasts, it is proven by this study that simply telling students to record and listen to podcasts is not very helpful in developing their language skills. What teachers can do is to give feedback on the recordings and develop exercises based on the students’ recordings. In the Malaysian context, the implication from this study is for teachers to look beyond traditional audio recordings for teaching purposes. Technology has improved greatly, and using podcasts where students can easily keep with them at all times is an interesting alternative that teachers should look into. In short, teachers need to broaden their minds when it comes to using technology as part of their second language teaching tool.
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