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Using digital audio in the languages classroom
If you are unsure about any of the technical references made in the information below, ask your technician (or one of your students!) to help.
What is digital audio?
Digital audio is a term used to denote sound that is produced, played or edited in a digital format. The term “digital” denotes information stored in a binary format: that is, made up of ones and noughts which can be understood by a computer. A key feature of digital audio is that it can be created, played or edited on computers. It can also be transferred to other devices such as mp3 players or imported onto computers from CDs, or minidisks and saved in file formats such as mp3 or wav. Recordings on cassette tapes can be transferred to a computer where they are digitised as mp3 or wav files.
Key features
Digital audio is of great use in the modern languages classroom for a variety of reasons:
- Ease of use: it is easy to make and edit digital audio recordings.
- Storage: recordings can be stored on a network or VLE (Virtual Learning Environment).
- Versatility: audio recordings can be used in a range of contexts such as electronic worksheets, or presentations.
- Portability: digital audio is transferable to devices such as mp3 players.
- Accessibility: podcasts, mp3 recordings placed on the Internet, can be downloaded to computers or mp3 players very quickly. Podcasts can also be made easily by students and teachers.
Principles of teaching
Digital audio is of value in teaching and learning for both teachers and students and can be used.
- In whole class teaching.
- To create resources
- To promote independent learning and support learning.
- To develop language skills.
- To promote creativity.
Whole class teaching
When working on a screen or interactive whiteboard, audio recordings can be accessed via hyperlinks to sound files stored on the school network or VLE. Recordings can be used to reinforce or illustrate a topic or grammar structure being taught. Listening skills can be developed using comprehension worksheets on paper and sound recordings on screen, perhaps accompanied by images or textual clues to support pupils further. Using the drag and drop facility of an interactive whiteboard a teacher can match audio files to text or images to illustrate features of grammar or language used in specific contexts. Students can also be invited to come to the board to do the same.
Teachers can also embed audio recordings into electronic worksheets or presentations and these can be accessed on screen when working with the whole class as a means of preparing pupils for homework or independent work in the ICT room.
Audio may be inserted into interactive exercises created using authoring software. These also can be used on a screen or interactive whiteboard with the whole class.
Creating resources
Native speakers amongst the teaching staff, parents or pupils can be used for recording. The recordings can then be edited, using an audio editor, and saved as separate files to be used with worksheets, presentations, interactive materials or simply to be made available as a resource for pupils to download and use.
It is also possible to record directly from radio broadcasts to a computer. There are many online radio stations which means that authentic materials can be taken from countries all over the world where the target language is spoken. Newscasts and weather forecasts are often fairly short, and teachers can edit them quickly. Some radio stations make their materials available for download in mp3 format, thereby allowing a teacher to use extended materials in a small size format. This could be particularly useful with more advanced AS/A2 students.
Promoting independent learning and supporting learning
Audio-based activities in worksheets, presentations or interactive exercises can be placed on a network or VLE for students to access independently. Audio recordings, taken from radio broadcasts or created using native speakers can also be made available in this way. If recordings are saved as mp3 files, students can download them to their mp3 players or simply to their own computers.
Podcasts can be used to enable students to work independently. A teacher can make recordings to explain or reinforce grammatical points or to consolidate language used in specific contexts. For more on podcasts see the relevant ICT pages on this site.
Developing language skills
The value of audio is that it takes language learning beyond text and image and enables students to improve listening and speaking skills.
Students can make recordings to complete a task set by a teacher. Using a sound editor they can delete, and re-draft until they are happy that their pronunciation is improving.
They can access audio resources placed on the network or VLE and thereby develop their listening skills, especially if the resources are related to specific comprehension or other language activities.
Audio recordings can also be used as a stimulus to develop reading or writing skills, for consolidation of vocabulary or grammar points, and for language manipulation in worksheets as outlined above.
Promoting creativity
Audio is an exciting and stimulating challenge to students. They become aware of issues such as pronunciation, accuracy and range of expression. Given a suitable context, audience and purpose for a language task they will find digital audio a satisfying way to demonstrate their target language competence and their creative ability.
For example, students might be asked to prepare a publicity presentation with audio for an imaginary product they have created. Or, they could be asked to create an imitation radio broadcast of school news, or an article on a local topic such as neighbourhood amenities. Such tasks have a clear goal, and purpose and require research, planning, and collaboration if working in groups, as well as attention to language performance. The end product if showcased on a school’s web pages or shared with counterparts in a partner school abroad can be a great incentive for students to develop original and imaginative approaches to language learning.
Organisational issues
Getting started
Audio resources can be created by recording directly to a computer. A microphone and a sound card are all that is needed. Recording directly to a computer may be enhanced if a USB microphone is used. They plug directly into a USB port and, it is felt, enable clearer recording.
Ideally, recordings should be made in a quiet room, away from traffic noise or busy corridors. If possible, switch air conditioning or fans down.
File formats
- Some of the more common sound file formats are midi, MP3, and wav.
- Midi files are for synthesiser music and .wav files are for sound effects or speech recordings. MP3 files are much smaller than wav.
Recording and editing
Windows Sound Recorder, which is a standard feature of Windows machines, can be used to record and perform simple editing. This is a quick way of recording directly into a worksheet or presentation.
To open Sound Recorder go to Start >All Programs >Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder.
For a quick guide to using Sound Recorder go to the Resources page for digital audio.
For more ambitious recording and editing Audacity, a free downloadable audio editor, can be used to create and save files in either wav or mp3 format. This is a well-established editor which is ideal for language work. It has a Windows interface and is quick and easy to learn. Files can be saved in mp3 format.
Storage
Remember that audio files can occupy a lot of storage space and if many students access them simultaneously it could prove problematic. For this reason, it is often best to work in mp3 format.
Copyright
Copyright law is complex and care must be taken that it is not infringed. Students are often tempted to mix voice recording with commercial recordings in order to enhance their work. Strict rules apply in this regard and students must be made aware of the restrictions that the law imposes.
An alternative approach for creating musical sound tracks is to seek cooperation from a member of the Music department or to use a product like Garageband to create musical tracks. Garageband is a feature of Apple Mac computers.
Resources
Using digital audio is not too difficult and is immensely rewarding for teacher and student. Some resources are listed below.
- Digital Voices across the Curriculum: a CILT project in collaboration with the BBC
- Languages-ICT Action Research CILT-ALL: Summaries are available of the latest action research projects and details of earlier ones can be downloaded as pdf documents from the Archive section:
2006-07: 'Whose voice is it anyway?' Engaging the imagination in developing speaking skills, using audio and video editing software. St Aidan’s RC School, Sunderland.
2006-07: Using digital audio and common software to improve speaking skills
All Saints RC High School, Sheffield.
2006-07: Using ICT, in particular digital audio, to improve pronunciation and develop narrative skills Holmfirth High School, Holmfirth.
2005-06 'Just listen to yourself' Using audio editing software to improve speaking skills: St Aidan’s RC School, Sunderland. - Languages-ICT Technology for Languages CILT-ALL: Digital Audio 'What are mp3 files for MFL?' (downloadable pdf)
- For simple instructions on how to use Windows Sound Recorder, download the Quick guide to Windows Sound Recorder (doc 486 KB)
- AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service) Creating digital audio resources; a guide to good practice.
- Consult ICT4LT, especially the pages on copyright.
- Audacity: free downloadable audio editing software. Remember to also download the lame mp3 encoder which is necessary for saving files in mp3 format.
- Free sound effect: There are a number of sites that offer free sound effects or short pieces of music to download. Try http://www.findsounds.com/
