apcampbell

Will’s latest posting got me thinking again.  When Bee introduced me to Skype a few weeks back, I was thoroughly
impressed with the quality of sound and the ease with which calls could
be made.  Immediately I began thinking about ways it could be put
to use with my Japanese EFL students.  Up until now, I’ve been having them use Livejournal
in reading/writing classes to bring greater authenticity and enjoyment to their studies,
but how can we bring to “world out there” into our conversation and
listening classes in a way that is central to each learner’s
interests.  I came up with this possible
scenario for a content-based EFL course on world culture:

As the discussion moves from culture to culture, each learner would be
required to make Skype calls for homework at various intervals
throughout the
semester, with the idea being to interview a peer from one of the
cultures being studied.  Each learner would design a list of
questions to ask and the call would be recorded
so that he or she could study it, transcribe it, and develop a
vocabulary list.  The transcription with accompanying vocab
could be added to a wiki database for other students to access.  A
copy of the recording would also be sent to the teacher, who could
quickly turn it into a podcast so other students in the class could
listen if interested.  Also, the teacher could splice interesting
segments of each interview - using something like Audacity - into a
fascinating composite for further listening practice and intercultural
education.   Finally, a database of interviews could be maintained
for future classes, from which teachers could prescribe interviews for particular
students grappling with specific cultural or linguistic issues, in a similar way a
good doctor doles out the right kind of medicine. 

Of course this would all have to be done with with the consent of the
participants invovled and it would take some time to work out the
technical and possible time zone kinks, but imagine the possibilities!  Instead of having
the same EFL students speak to each another day after day, week after week; they
can have access to conversational partners all over the planet.  Even better, the
ability to record, broadcast, and archive the conversations makes for
even more engaging, authentic, student-centered, constructivist
learning objects; something commercially produced textbook CDs could
never provide.   Ain’t this stuff fun?
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