So far things have been going pretty well. I've collected the following data;
- Words Correct Per Minute score
- An initial score that rates their expression, pacing, volume, and clarity
- Survey results that focused on their feelings and attitudes regarding reading aloud
- my own reflections in this blog
- video footage of my kids recording their podcasts - some pretty good footage, I think!
After having worked with 2 classes of middle schoolers, here's what I'm noticing;
- the gr. 8 students are better at using the technology, but are more adept at reading and don't benefit as much from the practice of oral reading
- When working in groups in school, some kids are reluctant to read with apropriate volume and expression. Others have no problem with it.
- I don't see the required effort on the kids part to really strive to produce a flawless oral reading performance. I think their just happy to get their track recorded, regardless of whether they've made some mistakes.
- I think that I'll get better results when they do their individual projects next week, because they'll be doing the recording at home, away from the pressure of their peers. They'll also have only one thing to focus on and I think they'll hear the areas that need fixing more easily.
- I feel that I'll need to hammer home to kids that the major focus of my assessment is on their oral reading ability.
- I'm wondering if I should allow them to mess with the pitch of their voice, or will that hamper my assessment of their fluency? I think it won't, so I'll let them, besides, why should I be a killjoy?
- My kids were mortified that I posted their podcasts on our class wordpress site. Interestingly, the gr. 6's were less concerned - I guess they are less self conscious because puberty hasn't hit yet.
- I think my early take on whether podcasting improves oral reading fluency is that traditional, non-techy approaches are probably more effective. But maybe that's my old school bias coming out...and maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts!
1 comment:
Chris, I am interested in the curricular issues that surround your TIP. When I took my CELTA, they discouraged us from spending class time having EFL or ESL students read aloud from a text. Colleagues who took the CELTYTL said the same thing with regards to young learners. I guess the logic is that the kids should be using the language in more natural situations to build fluency rather than training to become storytellers. However, our department doesn’t buy into this logic and we read aloud a fair amount but our lessons are as much Language Arts in nature as pure ESL courses; we read aloud to build a better understanding of characterization and plot. Perhaps, your lessons in Korea are similar.
In the computer lab my kids love Audacity. The problem I have is how to cope with the background noise that 7 pairs of kids can make when making a recording. It’s the one thing that keeps me from doing more with the program. I like the idea of giving it as homework, maybe I will try that.
I agree with Amy that having the kids use a script would be helpful. You could perhaps even have the kids write their own radio programs and then record them at a later date. You might also think of evaluating your students’ intonation.
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