Using Podcasts as Authentic Texts in Post- Secondary ESL Classrooms CHELSEA WALTER, PH.D. COLORADO COLLEGE
Who am I? Who are you? Ph.D. Foreign and Second Language Education, University at Buffalo Colorado College ◦ 2,000 students ◦ 10% international ◦ 41% of international population is from China ◦ Residential, 4 year, block plan ◦ Early Decision 31.4 % ; Early Action 17.4 % ; Regular Action 6.2 % ◦ No ENG101 or Language Course mandate ◦ High ability level (100+ TOEFL) ◦ Present course design leveraging podcast content for language learners
Outline 1. Course goals 2. Materials 3. Tasks 4. Student perceptions 5. Implications
Goals o How can we expose students to authentic English? Accent variety? o How can we be culturally and linguistically aware and respectful as language educators? o How can we promote descriptive language instead of exclusively prescriptive language? o How can we examine and produce rhetorically diverse texts in a non-remedial way?
Goals GS208- Advanced Language Practice for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students: o teaches not just “standard English” but various Englishes and levels of formality o addresses contrastive rhetoric challenges o provides exposure to varieties of English and their usage in academic contexts, as well as nuances of western academic reading, writing, speaking, and listening. o introduces discursive and pragmatic tenets of western writing (genre-specific writing and lexicon, citation and formatting, etc.) via engaging listening (podcast episodes) and reading pieces (contemporary news articles on Serial, fan-based writing, additional information not included in the podcast, etc.). o explores language to foster culturally informative discussions and assignments (the American judicial system, minority perspectives, social life commonalities, etc.)
Podcast What is a podcast? ◦ a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically. ◦ Not unusual to use in ELA classrooms, but leveraging materials for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students is less typical
Why use podcasts? Hasan & Hoon (2012) o "podcasts can greatly accelerate learners' speaking and listening skills" (p.161) o "provide teachers with the possibilities of facilitating language learning and also challenge the traditional teaching and learning methods" (p.130) o “podcasts can be a motivational tool, and findings suggest that teachers and students find podcasting to be an effective teaching and learning tool” (p.163)
Serial investigates the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee ( 이해민 ), an 18- year-old student in Baltimore, Maryland. Lee's ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested on February 28 and charged with first-degree murder. Syed's first trial ended in a mistrial, but after a six-week second trial, Syed was found guilty of Lee's murder on February 25, 2000 and given a life sentence, despite pleading his innocence.
Course Folder Syllabus Vocabulary lists (one for each episode) Blue Books (journaling) Evidence Maps Timeline Handwritten Letters People Chart Call Log
Vocabulary
Maps, call logs, charts
Transcripts
Tasks Specific tasks using podcast and materials o Reading & writing: reflection/journal writing, academic essay types, research writing o Speaking & listening: Canvas presentations, classroom paper presentations, impromptu speeches
Types of Tasks: Reading & Writing Expository After listening to Episode 2, answer this prompt… Prompt : Describe Serial Episode 2. What were the main ideas discussed? What evidence/support was given? How do the details given connect to the larger issues? What questions can you ask about what may happen in Episode 3? (Peer revision, proofreading, editing)
Types of Tasks: Reading & Writing Critical Prompt : Analyze the evidence Sarah Koenig provides in Episode 6 “The Case Against Adnan Syed.” Use examples from the episode, your Serial packet, and other data to examine the credibility of the evidence provided. Be sure to put your analysis in your own words, but include two quotes from Episode 6. Length: 2-3 pages, format: APA.
Types of Tasks: Reading & Writing Argumentative Prompt : There have been numerous consequences stemming from the Serial Podcast. What are the biggest effects Serial has caused? Choose the biggest influences from Serial and explain why. Justify your argument with outside sources. 3-5 pages, Chicago Style
Synthesizing Sources/Source Analysis
Paraphrasing Practice Read the following excerpt of a Serial transcript from Episode 5, “Route Talk” and then complete the questions below using paraphrasing strategies. I just want to pause here and talk about this phone booth for a minute. Weirdly, we have not been able to confirm its existence. The Best Buy employees I talked to did not remember a payphone back then. We spoke to the landlord at the time and to the property manager, they had no record of a payphone. They dug up a photo of the store, from 2001, no phone booth or payphone, though lots of public phones did come down between ‘99 and 2001. They looked up the bluepri nts for the store when it was built in 1995, nothing. The manager also said there is no record of a service agreement between Best Buy and any payphone company at that store. We checked with the Maryland public service commission. We checked with Verizon. Neither could track down records from that far back. It seems crazy to me that the cops would have either not checked to make sure it existed or failed to mention it if somehow it w asn’t there. They never got the call record from this booth. There’s nothing in their files about it. At trial, Adnan’s lawyer brings up this phone booth when she’s trying to at tack Jay’s credibility. She says to the judge, “we believe that the physical description of the actuality of Best Buy, including the location of the phone booth at Best Buy, the entrance, the existence or non-existence of security cameras,” etc., she goes on. So, I don’t know. We’re stumped on this one. But lets assume it did exist that day. The prosecut or said that they knew Hae was dead by 2:36 because there is a call at 2:36 to Adnan’s cellphone. Which Jay has. And they say that must be the call Jay told the cops about. The one where Adnan calls his own phone and says, “come and get me. I’m at Best Buy.” You can see it on the call log. It just says ‘incoming.’ There’s no phone number attached to in coming calls. This 2:36 call was five seconds long. Paraphrase the first paragraph using APA-style in-text citations. Paraphrase the first using MLA-style in-text citations. Paraphrase the second paragraph using Chicago-style in-text citations.
Quoting Practice Read the following excerpt of a Serial transcript from Episode 5 “Route Talk” and then complete the questions below using quoting strategies. Here’s another problem with the track story. Jay says he get’s Adnan at about six. There’s an outgoing call at 5:38 p.m. to A dna n’s friend Krista. Someone Jay would not be calling. Which would suggest Adnan had his phone at 5:38 p.m. and the call pings a tower that is out near that guy Patrick’s house, sort of where they end up ditching Hae’s car. Not at all close to Woodlawn High School. I could keep going here, to the bitter end of the night, but I’m hoping you’ll take my word for it, that the time line has some problems. I’m going to try very hard not to bore you right now, but I do want to talk about cell records for a sec, because I want to k now whether the State used the call records accurately, and fairly at Adnan’s trial. Do the records really corroborate Jay’s story? You might have seen some recent reports about how ce ll phone evidence isn’t as reliable as it was once cracked up to be. The Washington Post ran a story in June, for instance, with the headline, “Experts Say Law Enforcement’s Us e o f Cell Phone Records Can Be Inaccurate.” Federal courts in Oregon and Illinois have ruled cell phone evidence inadmissible. The problems arise when you’re trying to s ay, “I can prove you were at such and such at such and such a time because of the cell tower your phone pinged.” You can’t do that with certainty, because of the way cell tower s get activated, and how much territory they cover. In fact, these kind of records are mostly useful as a way to say where someone wasn’t rather than where he or she was. Like if a call pings a tower in downtown Baltimore, I’m going to be pretty confident that you’re not making that call from Annapolis, or D.C., or Patapsco State Park. Utilize a quote from the first paragraph using APA style. Utilize a quote from the first paragraph using MLA style. Utilize a quote from the second paragraph using Chicago style.
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