Podcasting in the ESL Classroom

Podcasting is something very new to me. I imagine it is a tool new to other people as well (I hope!). But after reading a bit about what podcasts are and how to create them, I'm more open to the possibility of using them in my ESL classroom. I started at the Englishcaster website, where teachers can find English lesson podcasts of all types. From there I found another site, http://www.manythings.org/jokes/ , with ESL podcasts of jokes and songs. Since I'm always thinking of ways to incorporate fun into the classroom, to better motivate my students, I was exploring the various podcasts on this site and thinking of ways to incorporate podcasts of jokes and songs into a lesson.

I would love to try creating podcasts with my students and using the podcasts to monitor the progress of their oral proficiency. First, I would create an activity in which all of my students would be able to listen to podcasts of jokes and songs. Then, I would create an assignment where, with my help, the students would record their own podcasts. They could write a joke in English, or if they are very brave, could choose to sing a song. I could incorporate podcasting activities in the classroom every few weeks to track students' progess. I remember when I was a student in the second language classroom and we had to speak into a tape recorder for the teacher to later listen to and rate our speaking proficiency. Podcasting would have been a lot more fun!