Job Discussion Forums

[kimchikowboy]

Hi,

I don�t know if anyone else is having their students make their own podcasts, but I would like to invite you to post your student podcasts on a site created by a colleague and myself. The website is: http://www.tourcastnetwork.com/

I have had my university advanced Tourism English students in Korea make podcasts for two years now. The idea behind the project was to get the students to use the English we were practicing outside of class, as well as do something to promote tourism in Korea. The first year we did audio podcasts, and the second were video podcasts. Students were asked to target the podcasts toward people who didn�t know anything about Korea or speak Korean. They were also encouraged to choose subjects and places that many foreigners wouldn�t normally know about. While most visitors sample bulgogi, they wouldn�t necessarily know about some of the more unusual foods or places that Koreans like.

What I would like to do is open it up so that English teachers around the world can post student-made podcasts. This would be a way both for students to practice their English skills as well as local businesses and localities to advertise themselves in English for free. My hope is that it would be both a learning tool as well as a way for rural/underserved tourism promotion.

If you are using, or would like to use, podcasting in your classes, this is a place to post them on the internet. I only ask that they be somehow related to tourism (places to visit, local customs or crafts, cultural aspects, etc.) They can be made with cell phones and mixed with free software. For the video podcasts, most of my students used Windows Movie Maker.

My students really enjoyed it (though some of them are better than others; for a sample, I suggest the video podcast for �dongdongju�).

Please let me know if you have questions about doing a student podcast project, and I would appreciate any comments you have.

Cheers

[John Hall]

Thanks for providing a way for ESL students in other countries to learn about Korea!