Abstract:

Podcasting can be an inexpensive, beneficial and portable technology that offers language learners and instructors the opportunity to access specially prepared content whenever and wherever it is convenient. With the continued growth of smartphone and tablet ownership, especially amongst university students, podcasts have also created the potential for language instructors and institutions to exploit these high ownership numbers to the benefit of the language learning process. Whilst world-wide figures show that the number of podcasts available through the Internet continues to steadily grow. At the end of 2016 current figures show that there are between 115,000 to 130,000 English language podcasts available to download through the fixed or mobile Internet.

This presentation will highlight the potential positives as well as negatives of language-learning podcasts to both students and instructors. The presenter will also detail ongoing research into the use of language-learning podcasts, specifically at the university level. The goal of this research was to observe the practical benefits and potential drawbacks of using podcasts and mobile technology as an integral part of the language-learning process. Over a five year period of research into podcasts carried out by the presenter, detailed feedback indicates that 82% of students have had a favourable disposition towards the use of podcasts as part of their language-learning process.

Drawing on experience gained during the last five years of publishing free language-learning podcasts, the presenter will highlight what is required and what should be avoided when designing and publishing podcasts. The presenter will also outline how by exploiting free apps and mobile and computer technology, the process of creating a high-quality podcast does not need to be expensive nor complicated. Both the benefits and pitfalls of creating and publishing a podcast will be presented and analysed.

This presentation will also include details of an English language-learning podcast that have been developed by the presenter. The podcast were developed in order to incorporate ‘real-life’ English vocabulary skills through a wide-range of current-affairs topics presented in each podcast episode. The podcast is available weekly, and are free to download to anyone, anywhere.

An easy to follow step-by-step guide will be provided to participants of the presentation that will detail useful apps, mobile-technology and software that can help when creating and publishing language-learning podcasts.

Keywords:

m-learning, Podcasts, Smartphones.