-- they ought to listen to them by themselves...
Okay, so your ELT coursebooks (and various other resources) usually come with audio CDs. To be bluntly honest, I have very rarely used the audio CDs at my disposal while teaching classes at all levels and ages over the past 10 years, including (shock horror!) the CDs that accompany my own coursebooks!
Note that I said rarely. There are times when they can be relevant and useful in a classroom context, but not often. To me, audio CDs (and for that matter, mp3 files and -- if anyone here remembers them -- cassettes) are still useful, but only if they are used privately by students at home.
So, how about I approach this in list-like fashion?
Top reasons for NOT using those audio CDs in the classroom:
- Most of them feature audio dialogues that are artificial to the point of being useless
- Their use hints at a sort of situation whereby learners stand around speakers at a casting, with their eyes firmly shut or else gazing rigidly at anything but the actual speakers
- Their use discourages the very best source of real-world listening in a classroom setting: the learners themselves -- other people in the room that they can see
- They often involve a fair amount of faffing about, both in the staffroom before class and en route and in the classroom as teachers make desperate lunges for the best or limited CD players available
- They stifle the natural flow of a class, as tracks are referenced and sought before playing
- They are ridiculously unnatural in terms of facilitating discourse that sounds (and "looks") exactly the same every time it is performed, which can happen in the real world, but only in very specific circumstances (see below)
- The increasing amount of video means that we can present listening in its natural state, with visual and environmental factors inclusive (but even then, I still think video can place a poor second compared to having the learners themselves perform)
Good reasons FOR using audio CDs in the classroom:
- When they feature spoken language that matches their format and delivery: telephone calls, telephone messages, automated menus, announcements over PA systems, etc.
- When they feature songs (and yes, this is as natural a format as we can imagine for songs!)
- When we want to highlight different accents for the learners
- When we want to showcase dialogue in places where there is background noise/action (but this still assumes people listen with their eyes shut, and can't really compare to the language exposure available through video)
So how do I use all those dialogues and listening tracks in coursebooks, if I insist on not using the CD itself?
- I use them as scripts, which the learners take turns peforming for the class (and by perform, I mean I often require them to stand, move about, using gestures and facial expressions)
- I perform them myself, sometimes accompanied by a learner, and manipulate them to showcase pronunciation, rhythm, emphasis, sarcasm, surprise, and other emotions (without succumbing to the temptation to overdo things...)
And those CDs, which publishers have gone to great lengths to produce and include with student books?
Excellent self-study and review.
At home.
=D
