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.