Foreign+Language

= = =Content Area: Foreign Language =

Curriculum Standard:
**Sixth Grade Language Arts Benchmark E: ** Use culturally appropriate language and gestures in a variety of social settings.  Grade Six ** //Interpersonal //5. Use culturally appropriate gestures in everyday social situations (e.g., greetings, farewells, introductions).   Grade Six ** 10.Create and present student-generated works (e.g., skits, songs, poems, stories, reports).  
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 * Benchmark J: **Present original work and cultural material. <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">
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Technology:
Students will access the Coffee Break Spanish website using computers with internet access and listen to three of the Spanish language podcasts available on this site. Once the students have learned the appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure, they will use Audacity software and microphones to create their own podcasts. These student-created podcasts will then be posted on the teacher’s website.

Description:
In this lesson, students will learn simple Spanish words, phrases and sentences that will enable them to conduct basic conversations. The focus of the lessons will be greetings, introductions, and farewells.

As a first step, the students will listen to three of the podcast lessons available on the Coffee Break Spanish website. <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Lesson One: Greetings @http://radiolingua.com/2008/10/lesson-01-coffee-break-Spanish/

Lesson Two: Greetings at different times of the day @http://radiolingua.com/2008/10/lesson-02-coffee-break-spanish/

Lesson Five: Introductions and members of the family @http://radiolingua.com/2008/11/lesson-05-coffee-break-spanish/

These short lessons introduce students to relevant vocabulary and grammatical structure and provides easy-to-follow pronunciation tips. Students will have an opportunity to listen to these lessons at school and at home and will practice their conversation skills. The teacher will also provide written guides that model the correct spelling and definition of each word and phrase discussed during the podcast lessons.

Next students will work in groups to write a short skit using what they have learned. Each group will write a script of a typical Spanish greeting, introduction, and farewell. Students will use Audacity to create a podcast of their skit and save it to the teacher’s Spanish language website.

The last portion of the lesson involves a peer-review of the podcasts. Students will listen to other groups’ podcasts and critique their pronunciation and structure. <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">

Supporting Research:
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text1;">In the research study titled //Talk-the-Talk: Learner-Generated Podcasts as Catalysts for Knowledge Creation//, the authors discuss the educational benefits of student-created podcasts. Although the use of audio in education is not a new approach, the focus of this study was the effects of a new application of an existing technology – that of student-generated podcasts. According to the authors: <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">“The findings suggest that the collaborative development of audio learning objects enabling student conceptualisations of disciplinary content to be shared with peers is a powerful way of stimulating both individual and collective learning, as well as supporting social processes of perspective-taking and negotiation of meaning that underpin knowledge creation.” (Lee, McLoughlin, and Chan, p. 501) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text1;"> A related article which was published in the International Journal on E-Learning discussed the digital trends in foreign language instruction. While the main focus of this article was Japanese students who were learning English, the same benefits would be realized students of any background studying a second language.

According the author, there are three main benefits to using podcasts in foreign language instruction: <span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">(1) “by using podcasts as assignments, the range of English learning materials became far more extensive, and students' studying environments were significantly expanded” (2) “podcasts were used as a model for speech writing and oral communication” (3) the results of student-created podcasts “revealed that this activity helped enhance the students' media literacy” (Yayoi, p. 456)

Lee, M., McLoughlin, C., & Chan, A. (2008). Talk the Talk: Learner-Generated Podcasts as Catalysts for Knowledge Creation. //British// > //Journal of Educational Technology//, //39//(3), 501-521. Retrieved from @http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ791901&site=ehost-live. Yayoi, A. (2009). Digital Trends Among Japanese University Students: Podcasting and Wikis as Tools for Learning. //International Journal on// > //E-Learning//, //8//(4), 453-467. Retrieved October 31, 2009 from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=43971075&site=ehost-live.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Tried and True or New and Innovative:
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; mso-themecolor: text1;">The use of audio in foreign language instruction is a tried and true technique. However, these audio tapes were often expensive and could only be used in the language lab. The availability of foreign language podcasts, many of which can be found free of charge on the internet, cleared a path for new and innovative uses of audio in foreign language learning. Podcasts allow students to access audio lessons 24/7 from any location with an internet connection. In addition, these podcasts can be downloaded to a mobile device for continued practice anytime and anywhere. Furthermore, by asking students to create their own podcasts teachers are adding a new dimension to foreign language instruction. This new and innovative technique will allow students to apply their new vocabulary and grammar skills to a real world situation and practice their Spanish conversation skills.