Getting students to make an impromptu speech is something that is quite difficult as some may find it nerve-breaking. Thus, give them the opportunity to record their own voice without having their face recorded may be helpful in encouraging students to talk more confidently. This can be done through a podcast tool called Vocaroo.
What is Vocaroo?
It is a tool that helps you to share voice messages over the interwebs in a quick and easy way.
How to use Vocaroo?
- First, you need a microphone. You may use a microphone built on your laptop for recordings if you have it.
- Then, go to Vocaroo's webpage, click record and start talking.
- After finish recording, you can either choose to publish it or try it again until you satisfied.
- You can then click "save" and share your recording with your friends, embed onto your blog or even download it.
How can teachers use Vocaroo?
Vocaroo is suitable for all levels of students from beginner to advanced. Teachers can use Vocaroo to record students speaking while they work to correct speech errors. Other than that, teachers can use this tool to record a student reading and play back to listen for fluency.
Vocaroo can be used in class for speaking activities. What can teachers do is letting students work with a learning partner and ask them to record an interview between them,for instance, one person can be a reporter and another person becomes a minister, talking about the issue of flash flood. The BreakingNewsEnglish's website may give the idea on the issues that are interesting for this activity.
Furthermore, teachers can ask students to record a procedure of doing something. An example would be a cooking procedure such as "how to make coleslaw, sandwiches, and scrambled eggs". In this case, selecting a suitable topic is really important as it may encourage students to speak confidently if they are engaging to the topic chosen.Below is the example how i use vocaroo for a classroom activity.
Furthermore, teachers can ask students to record a procedure of doing something. An example would be a cooking procedure such as "how to make coleslaw, sandwiches, and scrambled eggs". In this case, selecting a suitable topic is really important as it may encourage students to speak confidently if they are engaging to the topic chosen.Below is the example how i use vocaroo for a classroom activity.
Vocaroo can also be used for a peer-assessment activity. Teacher can ask students to work in pairs, record their own voice about any interesting topic for example, my favourite idol. Then, let the students exchange their recording with their partner and give a comment and a feedback on their oral discourse.
Advantages
- Free- Vocaroo is a free service that allows you to create audio recordings without the need to install any software. You don't even have to create an account to use it.
- Easy- It is a fantastic tool for technophobes as it is very easy to use.
- Downloadable- Recordings are available for download which allows teachers to store content.
Disadvantages
- A Microphone is needed- the recording is not successful without a microphone.
- Time- It only allows for five-minutes recording.
- Under-development- Vocaroo is still being developed, tested, and tweaked. Therefore, messages may get lost or corrupted. So, avoid using it for anything that is too important.
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