2 Podcasting

Speaking and listening has often (most teachers would say always) been a poor relation in the English classroom. In recent years there have been a number of efforts to give due attention to speaking and listening (or oracy, as it’s sometimes called). These include making assessment compulsory at GCSE and, most recently, requiring GCSE students to study spoken language as part of their courses.

This unit explores some approaches to producing sound recordings. In the process, students will be using a range of strategies, including formal writing for planning, scripts and note-taking, as well as plenty of unscripted discussion. The final podcast may be scripted, improvised or a mix of both. (Strictly, there is more to podcasting than just making an audio recording – we suggest later that students might like to investigate this for themselves.)

Modern computers are likely to have basic sound recording abilities. For easier recording and higher quality you can use a range of additional equipment, from cheap microphones and speakers (or headsets) to portable sound recorders – you can clip a small microphone to an iPod, for example. You do not need access to expensive equipment, though of course if your school or college has facilities such as a studio, you can achieve better results. This unit assumes only basic facilities and shows you where you can find free editing software that is perfectly adequate for classroom use.