back to Digital Audio Journals
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Assignment Description
Throughout our eight-week course, you will participate in an oral dialogue with me and your classmates via audio recording. Each week, you will respond to a prompt or exercise by recording a brief message or commentary in a digital file. Your audio journal assignments will be due each Friday at the beginning of class, without exception. In response to your journal entries, we will be doing a number of exercises. Some weeks I will listen and respond to your journals, and, at other times, you or your peers will critique your commentary. Your responsibilities for this assignment include not only recording your own journal entries, but also listening to and responding to the feedback that you are given.
The duration of typical audio journal entries will be between 5 and 10 minutes. The journal is meant as an informal means of communicating with me about questions, comments, and ideas that have arisen during our class meetings. You are welcome to comment on class material or discuss ideas you might have about a particular issue related to your field, when appropriate to the journal guidelines for the week. You will record your voice onto a digital computer file using an informal, conversational style. TRY NOT TO READ FROM A PREPARED SCRIPT! Don’t try to talk about all of the information you have learned, but be discriminatory about choosing a particular aspect or topic that is most important to you. Present a general overview of what you will discuss and then focus on the aspect or topic you have chosen. Some ideas for responding to prompts might include
- Discuss your opinions about a class meeting, article, or topic
- Relate the topic to a personal experience or additional knowledge you have
- Compare what you have learned to a similar event/issue/situation in your own country
- Talk about how this information can help you in your future
- Mention other related areas that interest you
Objectives
Creating and responding to audio journals provides a variety of opportunities to improve your oral communication skills. Using audio journals as an integral part of our coursework will help us achieve a number of listening and speaking objectives. As a result of taking part in the audio journal activities and assignments, you will
- Dedicate time each week outside of class for academic speaking practice, and, thereby help better your fluency in English
- Listen critically to yourself and your peers and provide feedback on selected aspects of speaking accuracy, including elements such as content, style, pronunciation, and grammar
- Receive and respond to individualized feedback on your own speaking skills from both the instructor and your peers
- Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker/listener and be able to identify resources to help you to continue to improve
- Feel confident about assessing your speaking ability
- Feel comfortable speaking about a variety of academic topics and communicating with an academic audience
Required Materials
You will need a way to record your entries. You can either use your own recording equipment at home or use one of the computers set up for our class in the Mac Lab in the Kade center. More information about how to download and use the software for the audio journals will be given in a separate handout.
Timeline
Your audio journals are due via email at or before the beginning of class each Friday, but the assignments will be different each week. Below is a grid of topics and due dates. Please refer to individual assignment sheets for detailed descriptions of the requirement for that week’s entry.
| Week | Date | Audio Journal Assignment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 24 | Entry #1: Language Learning History |
| 2 | July 29 | Entry #2: Response to Peer Language Learning History |
| 3 | July 8 | Entry #3: News Broadcast Entry |
| 4 | July 15 | Entry #4: Critical Reflection |
| 5 | July 22 | Entry #5: Analysis of Entry #4 |
| 6 | July 29 | Entry #6: Discussion of “Hot Topic” in Pairs |
| 7 | August 5 | Entry #7: Analysis and Transcription of Entry #6 |
| 8 | August 10 | Entry #8: Self Critique & Future Plans and Goals |
Assessment Criteria
The Audio Journal will be worth 20% of your final course grade. If you fulfill the journal assignment guidelines, thoughtfully respond to your peers’ journals, and turn in all of your cassettes on-time, you will successfully complete this assignment and receive full credit (an “A”) for this portion of your course grade. Incomplete or late audio journals will be marked down a half letter grade for each unfulfilled assignment or late submission. Active participation and responsible collaboration are essential elements of this course assignment. If you know you will be unable to fulfill any portion of this assignment, please let me know in advance.
