Expressions in English

The First Podcast

Students have recorded their very first podcast.  It is a 30 second introduction for their blog.  The students wrote a short script about what they have been doing on their blog and what they think about using this sort of technology in their English lessons.  Then each student recorded their podcast onto my iriver (MP3 recorder).  I will be putting each student’s podcast onto their learnerblogs so that everyone can have a listen.  Next term, we will be developing a range of items for a radio show, so stay tuned for more!

Persuasive Language

Students have recently been exploring the ways that language can be used to persuade others.  They have completed a range of activities in class, which have culminated in the writing of a letter to the editor on a current issue or topic of interest.

Students are more aware of writing for an audience now, and one thing I have found interesting in doing this task has been the increase in students wanting to actually send off their letters to newspapers or magazines.  Now that they have had a taste of a real audience through their blogs, returning to a task based on an artificial audience seems (and should seem) hollow and irrelevant.  They have new expectations that their ideas and their writing will be seen and/or heard by real people.  It’s fantastic!  The challenge, of course, for me as their teacher, is to continue to provide authentic learning experiences for them.