The IATEFL annual conference took place in Exeter from 7-11 April.
As part of this, the LTSig organised a pre-conference event on Monday 7th April and a SIG day programme on Thursday 10th April.

LTSig Pre-conference Event

7 April 2007

Venue: Harrison room 208, University of Exeter

Report and photos by Rodney Mantle

Digital Audio for Language Learning

Most EFL teachers have heard of podcasting, and many have an MP3 (or even MP4) player – or at least know someone who has one. Some know what a pod-catcher is. But how many have wanted to learn how to make digital audio but were scared of the complexities? How many have wondered how best to make use of such materials in language learning?

Introduction: Digital audio for language learning
This workshop started with Graham Stanley (British Council: Spain, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) looking the use of digital audio applications for language learning. lTunes (by Apple but can be made PC-compatible) is, he felt, the best way to subscribe. Chinswing (http://www.chinswing.com) and Voicethread (http://www.voicethread.com) are two of the latest applications.

Views from the cutting edge: British Council
Chris Cavey of the British Council (http://www.britishcouncil.org./learnenglish-podcasts) noted that a Google search for “podcast” in 1999 scored 28 hits; a recent search unearthed 121 million. Podcasts can be useful for the Common European Framework of Reference (A2, p. 24); they are not just for testing but can also be good materials for learners. Some podcasts can be slow and/or with too much grammar; one of the best formats is a radio magazine, and others include small talk, situations, interviews and correspondents’ reports.

A podcasting tour
Graham Stanley added comments about the usefulness of podcasts, referring to:
http://pod-efl.wikispaces.com/podcasttour, then invited participants to look at specific webpages together and discuss.

The kit you need
Matt Cleghorn, a Studio Manager at the BBC, then explored the nuts and bolts of creating digital audio: recording and editing. He demonstrated such equipment as low-cost minidiscs and high-end flashcard recorders. Among his many useful, practical tips were: don’t make the original recording on an MP3; small microphones are rarely good – better to use a bigger one, such as the Bayer Dynamic; ambient noise can be reduced by holding the mike about 7-8 inches from the mouth; recording using Skype can be difficult.

In the afternoon, groups of participants prepared their own podcasts, with subjects such as “Guess the City” and “Meanings of Idioms.”

Recording and editing with Audacity
After a demonstration by Gary Motteram (University of Manchester, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and Graham Stanley of editing with Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net), a further podcasting website was introduced: http://www.podomatic.com.

Afterwards, participants edited their recordings.

This was a very practically-oriented day; participants went away with core skills that they could make use of back in their teaching contexts.

SIG Day Programme

10 April 2007: 10.25 - 18.05

Venue: University of Exeter - Queens LT4

Report by Pete Sharma

IWBs - a dust collector, coat hanger or powerful educational tool?
Barbara Gardner (Embassy CES, United Kingdom)
The Learning Technology SIG day began with Barbara Gardner of Embassy doing a session on interactive whiteboards - without an interactive whiteboard. This was entirely appropriate, since this session was not an introduction to the bells and whistles which can be so impressive, but was looking at the factors that contribute to the successful integration of IWBs into a teaching institution. These include ideas swap shops so that good practice can be spread from peer to peer.

Learning Technologies Special Interest Group Open Forum

Tales of mystery and imagination: teenage learners and second life
Graham Stanley (British Council, Spain)
This session reviewed the progress made so far on the Learn English Second Life for Teens project which the British Council has created in the Teen Grid of the 3D virtual world of Second Life (http://teen.secondlife.com). Beginning with the reasons why Second Life was chosen (innovation, flexibility, social networking, easy content creation, similarity to popular online games), Graham went on to talk about how the virtual island has been organised (time zones reflecting the past, present and future of the UK) and the specific language learning elements (it's a space for learners to meet and practise English together, there are language learning quests, games and puzzles). Finally, Graham mentioned the alternate reality game that will be run once there is a reasonably sized community of learners and answered questions about the piloting of the island and other practicalities. Teachers with teenage learners interested in getting access for their learners or in knowing more were encouraged to get in touch by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This presentation was recorded and can be viewed on the Exeter On-line website:
http://exeteronline.britishcouncil.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=147

Using Audio and video software in giving feedback and training
Sevhan Acar & Sharon Turner (Sabanci University, Turkey)
Camtasia and CamStudio™ are two screen-capture programs which allow teachers to provide feedback to learners. The presenters gave a deft and engaging presentation which successfully demonstrated how to do this.
Participants were directed towards the websites CamStudio™ http://camstudio.org which is free, and Camtasia http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp and were invited to contact the presenters with further questions at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

English for tourism services by cell phone
Frank Farmer (Universidad de Quintana Roo, Mexico)
The presenter described a project to use mobile phones for the ESP area of English for tourism. Constraints such as the small screen size were described. It is clear that in some specialist fields where mobility is a factor, such technologies have potential.

IATEFL LT SIG TRAVEL GRANT WINNER
E-learning: what's in it for the EFL teacher
Abderrahim Agnaou (Al-Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco)
This crisp and fast-paced session was run by the IATEFL LT SIG Travel Grant winner. In it, he described three possible e-learning modes that EFL teachers can undertake: the full mode, the adjunct mode, and the mixed mode. In the full mode, learning and teaching are totally mediated by technologies, as for example, in a virtual university. Mixed-mode learning is often divided into online and face-to-face components aka Blended learning. In the adjunct mode, students often have the choice to go online for the optional/supplementary materials.

Practical e-learning for busy teachers
Will Nash (The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
A good way to round off the day, this was a highly practical session. The sub-text of the session was: ‘this is easy – you can do it!’ and in his inimitable and de-mystifying way, Will did create – among several things - a podcast activity using a microphone and a couple of the participants, and a web-site to support this session. Active and enjoyable.