Using Chinswing to Create Authentic Listening Materials

[Mary Hillis]

I would like to share my handout from my presentation at the TESOL EV Fair in New York. The presentation was about a project in one of my classes last year. Using Chinswing, we collected voice messages and used them for authentic listening practice; also, students and guests interacted through text on our class blog.

Please let me know your impressions. How else might Chinswing be used with English language learners? How could the conversation be extended further through the blog or other online tools?

INTRODUCTION TO CHINSWING
What is Chinswing?
• “Chinswing is a global message board where anyone can add voice messages to ongoing topical discussions”
• Chinswing could be useful for ESL/EFL teachers because it allows users to create voice discussions for authentic listening practice.

What features are most relevant for the language learner?
• Convenience: Students can listen to the messages directly on the computer, or download them to their mp3 players. Also, users can subscribe to discussions and be notified of new messages via e-mail notifications, or by subscribing via RSS feed or iTunes.
• Organization: Students can listen to authentic discussions created by the teacher or easily locate additional interesting threads by choosing a channel that interests them.
• Other: The most active channels are “Education” and “ Language”. Also, the newest discussions are posted on the main page for users to see, and there are many users from various countries.



PROJECT BACKGROUND
How was the topic chosen?
• Students enrolled in a second-year intensive English course at a Japanese university are preparing to study abroad and need authentic listening practice.
• The students were interested in exploring the relationship between culture and food after studying about various types of food served at wedding receptions.
• Around the same time, I had just been featured on our university’s web site and had written a piece titled, “My sweet life: An intercultural experience through chocolate” The entry can be viewed by accessing Kansai Gaidai’s Global Cast page, and selecting the entry for IES June 2007


CREATING AUTHENTIC LISTENING MATERIALS
How were the authentic listening materials created with Chinswing?
• I began a Chinswing voice thread inquiring: "What is your favorite sweet? What do you think it represents about...
• Our class used Chinswing for creating authentic listening materials, so I asked for responses from people outside of our class. Not only did Chinswing users respond to our class’ question, but also I asked members of an online community of practice to participate as well.
• In the end, we received voice messages from 7 respondents in 3 countries for a total of 17 minutes of authentic listening material.

How were the authentic listening materials utilized?
• Students listened to the messages, and also read some blog comments from guests who were unable to make recordings.
• After listening to the messages, students wrote about their favorite sweets on our class blog. These entries can be seen on our class blog, Get Hip to Learning English, http://gethiptolearningenglishi.motime.com ; please refer to the entries for June 15 “What is your favorite sweet?” and June 17 “More about our favorite sweets”.

What were the advantages?
• The recorded messages were interesting because the speakers creatively combined the themes of food, culture, and memories.
• The messages also modeled a good organizational structure; in addition, the speakers referred to each other’s answers and built up a conversation on the topic.
• Students had the opportunity to listen to a variety of Englishes. As previously mentioned, we received messages from three countries (U.S., Brazil, U.K.); furthermore, the messages told us about the culture in the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Poland, and Japan!
• Although it was difficult for students to understand the messages, they were authentic and contained the kind of English students would most likely encounter in the real world and/or during a study abroad experience.


POSSIBLE DRAWBACKS
Can you embed a Chinswing discussion thread elsewhere?
• At present, it isn’t possible to embed a Chinswing thread elsewhere. When asked about future plans for an html code generator, Dean Worth, the developer of Chinswing stated, “We do also plan to have widget/embedding functionality at some stage, as well as developing a social network version (i.e for Facebook)” (personal communication, December 29, 2007).
• One alternative is to make a visually appealing link by taking a screenshot of the discussion thread and used the image to link to the Chinswing conversations.

Can you select the privacy level for a thread?
• At present, it isn’t possible to choose the privacy level for a thread. In response, Worth said, “Chinswing will soon undergo a big "upgrade", with a new focus and new features. The most significant feature is the ability for anyone to start their own member-based "talkgroup". Talkgroups can be public, restricted or entirely private, in terms of user access (great for class situations)” (personal communication, December 29, 2007).
• Worth also mentioned that a language-learning version of Chinswing is under consideration (personal communication, December 29, 2007).
• If you need more features you may want to try creating authentic listening materials with a different online tool called Voicethread

CONCLUSION
Chinswing can be used to create authentic listening materials, and can open the classroom to the world. By tapping in to a community of practice, a spirit of inquiry, and our creativity, students had a unique authentic listening experience.

[Carla Arena]

Audio journals is a great idea and very easily implemented now with these voicethread tools, Marysita.

The link to Ronaldo's thread on stereotypes is http://chinswing.com/pages/discussion.aspx?id=98c2b379-bd39-422a-9d65-408aa4f3c243

[Mary Hillis]

Dear Carla,
Thank you for recording a message last year for my class! As you mentioned, this can be an ongoing process, and last year's discussion can continue with this year's students.

That's great that some of your students recorded themselves on Chinswing, and although I haven't done it yet, online tools seem to offer a great opportunity to facilitate speaking practice. At the EV Fair, I attended a great presentation on using Audacity for audio journals. Wouldn't it be great if students could create audio journals, get replies and feedback, and then they could review their progress over the course of the semester?

By the way, I would love to check out Ronaldo's thread on stereotypes but the link doesn't seem to be working.

[Carla Arena]

Dear Mary,

I was one who recorded a message to your class, and I think it really created the opportunity for students to understand the "Englishes" being spoken all over the globe and get their ears accustomed to different accents. Also, the cultural element of the activity and the fact that students realize we are "real people"adds a motivational aspect to the listening practice.

I've been using Ronaldo's Stereotype chingswing thread to teach an online listening practice. Two of my students were even brave enough to record themselves! Another interesting aspect is that it's an ongoing project. It can keep going with new additions.