Podcasting in EFL Teaching

     Our life does not stand still. So does technology. It’s developing with every single moment, presenting us with even more powerful and high tech tools which do not only change our life, enrich it, and what’s important make it much easier.

    It’s seems like it was only ‘yesterday” when we learnt how to use and implement blogging ,and today the world offers us a new tool that quickly sneaked upon and now rooted and firmly established in our life as well. You are right. This is podcasting.

     We live in a busy world, world where everyone is running out of time, where dealing with a great flow of information is done via reading, which in its turn is becoming more boring and time-consuming. To solve these problems new technologies developed a portable medium –podcasting, which helps us to be in a loop, not to lose our precious time and of course, keep learning. This medium does not leave any source unturned to acquire knowledge we are craving for.

      So what is podcasting? Podcasting is a portable audio file listened to via Internet.  Owing to podcasting we are able to listen to any content delivered by various industries such as, media, entertainment, journalism and etc. Everyone will agree with me that it’s such a great relief when you can listen to something interesting and useful whenever and wherever you want to. The only thing you have to do is to download the file from the Web, like iTunes, save it to any kind of device you want to, such as MP3 player, cell phone, notebook, or iPod and just start listening. As for me I prefer listening to podcasts either at home while doing different things or outside, for instance in public transport or in the park.

    What makes podcasting unique is first of all, its accessibility to RSS feeds where by clicking “to subscribe” you can become aware of the latest updates of the news without purchasing it; and secondly, its abundance of options which gives you an opportunity to choose any topic of your interest and needs, for instance interviews, audio books, educational materials, like tutorials, lectures, music, news, how-to instructions, recipes and so on.

     One of the effective ways of using podcasting is its implication in EFL classrooms. Nowadays, especially in the classrooms where technology has already found its honorable place, podcasting became an irreplaceable tool for teaching and learning purposes. Providing students with diverse listening materials helps them to develop their aural skills which in their turn improve students’ pronunciation. Without exception, podcasting can also enhance speaking skills, helping students develop fluency and accuracy in their speech.

      Of course, one thing is to download a podcast, the other one is to create and implement it through designing cross-curricular activities. For instance, while teaching students how to write a recipe, we may ask them to describe this process by recording it, and, finally, post their recordings to their blogs, where the whole class can see and make some comments about them. This example shows that students may not only learn about food vocabulary, measuring cups, but they also may integrate this knowledge with podcasting, which in this case makes our students not only “consumers”, but also “creators” of their own unique material, which can be directed toward the real audience through  well-known “blogging”, which will evaluate their own achievements. It’s already been proved that students love learning through digital technology. That’s why this so-called “blending learning”, i.e, e-learning and face-to-face sessions, proves that technology provides us with alternative teaching approaches and methods, making learning even more interesting and motivating, authentic and informative, easy and useful.

    Podcasts became an important supplement not only at school, but also at the universities.  For example, having lectures given at the universities via podcasting can first of all facilitate teacher’s work freeing up the lesson for more detailed work, and secondly, promote students’ personalized learning.

    I think the only challenges students may come across with while working with podcasts are the differences in accents of the speakers, and the audio bad quality, which sometimes are not quite solvable, because of the bad recording in the Internet.

     Blogging, podcasting … What else? What will be the next achievement or breakthrough of the Digital Age? We still do not know. Today’s technology does not stop to impress us. It has already spread its wings to storm a new peak. I am sure whatever it is it will find its worthy place among the already discovered ones.