Schedule: 2009-09-09 (18:00 - 18:30)
Educational Showcase (Sala de Conferencias 1)

Title: Developing Oral Skills with Film Karaoke
Authors: David Brett
Abstract: This presentation will illustrate a very simple, yet motivating and fun exercise for the practice of second language oral skills. The exercise is presented by way of a desktop application (which can also be deployed on-line) composed of a media player and a sound recorder. From a selection of short clips from famous films, learners choose one they are interested in and then watch the clip with optional visualisation of subtitles. Each clip typically consists of a dialogue between a male and a female speaker. Subsequently the learner chooses to play the role of one of the actors and watches the clip again. This time, if the learner has chosen to be Tom Cruise, for example, each time it is Cruise's turn to speak, the audio of the original soundtrack is set to zero, and the learner must speak his lines, which are recorded by the programme. On completion, the learner can watch the clip again, this time hearing his/her voice instead of that of one of the original actors, and also save the recording for subsequent viewing and/or evaluation.
The number of clips that the learners can choose from is not unchangeable: the process of adding new material is quite straightforward, and will be illustrated during the talk.
Results obtained from a study of the use of this method amongst third-level students in Italy will be outlined. Production from learners using the application is compared with that from a control group who simply recite the lines in pairs after watching the clip. Elements of variation to be analysed include speed and variation of speed of production (syllables per second), intonation, stress and voice quality.
Keywords: ORAL PRODUCTION, INTONATION, STRESS, FILMS

Main topic: Innovative e-learning solutions for languages

Biodata: David Brett worked in Italy as an ESL teacher for 10 years before becoming a researcher in Linguistics at the University of Sassari. He has published and presented widely on New Technologies and Second Language Learning. He has held workshops for language teachers on various aspects of technology-enhanced teaching.
Type of presentation Courseware Exhibition

Paper category (Other)

Target educational sector Higher education

Language of delivery English

EU-funded project No

Schedule:	2009-09-09 (18:00 - 18:30) Educational Showcase (Sala de Conferencias 1)
Title:	Developing Oral Skills with Film Karaoke
Authors:	David Brett
Abstract:	This presentation will illustrate a very simple, yet motivating and fun exercise for the practice of second language oral skills. The exercise is presented by way of a desktop application (which can also be deployed on-line) composed of a media player and a sound recorder. From a selection of short clips from famous films, learners choose one they are interested in and then watch the clip with optional visualisation of subtitles. Each clip typically consists of a dialogue between a male and a female speaker. Subsequently the learner chooses to play the role of one of the actors and watches the clip again. This time, if the learner has chosen to be Tom Cruise, for example, each time it is Cruise's turn to speak, the audio of the original soundtrack is set to zero, and the learner must speak his lines, which are recorded by the programme. On completion, the learner can watch the clip again, this time hearing his/her voice instead of that of one of the original actors, and also save the recording for subsequent viewing and/or evaluation. The number of clips that the learners can choose from is not unchangeable: the process of adding new material is quite straightforward, and will be illustrated during the talk. Results obtained from a study of the use of this method amongst third-level students in Italy will be outlined. Production from learners using the application is compared with that from a control group who simply recite the lines in pairs after watching the clip. Elements of variation to be analysed include speed and variation of speed of production (syllables per second), intonation, stress and voice quality.
Keywords:	ORAL PRODUCTION, INTONATION, STRESS, FILMS
Main topic:	Innovative e-learning solutions for languages
Biodata:	David Brett worked in Italy as an ESL teacher for 10 years before becoming a researcher in Linguistics at the University of Sassari. He has published and presented widely on New Technologies and Second Language Learning. He has held workshops for language teachers on various aspects of technology-enhanced teaching.
Type of presentation	Courseware Exhibition
Paper category	(Other)
Target educational sector	Higher education
Language of delivery	English
EU-funded project	No