The Benefits of Voice Familiarity in Listening Activities

Subject Area

Foreign Language Pedagogy

Abstract

During my M.A. studies, I previously took a class based on learning about teaching listening in the foreign language classroom. As part of this class, my final project consisted of a study in which I provided my two Spanish 1001 classes with audio clips with my own voice, and, at a later date, audio clips of another, unknown person. Students were given three opportunities to listen to the audio, and were asked each time to write the ideas that they gleaned from listening to the clip, in English. After the third time the clip was played, students were given comprehension questions, and a short survey regarding their feelings on the speaker's accent, rate of speech, and if they recognized the speaker's voice. I found that students in each of the two classes were able to identify more idea units in the audio clip with my own voice than they were with the other audio clip. Now, I am redoing this study with a clearer focus and a broader group of students, to serve my non-thesis paper to end my M.A. studies. I hope to see a positive correlation in the amount that students comprehend between a voice they recognize and a similar yet different voice that they do not recognize.

Brief Bio Note

AJ Whiten is currently a student at Georgia State University, seeking his M.A. in Spanish as well as a graduate certificate in translation. He is greatly interested in SLA theory and pedagogy, and plans to continue his studies in a doctoral program upon his graduation from GSU, which is expected to be in May 2015.

Keywords

Language, Spanish, Voice, Familiarity, Comprehension, Listening, Audio, Strangers

Location

Room 217

Presentation Year

2015

Start Date

3-27-2015 10:30 AM

End Date

3-27-2015 11:45 AM

Embargo

5-23-2017

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Mar 27th, 10:30 AM Mar 27th, 11:45 AM

The Benefits of Voice Familiarity in Listening Activities

Room 217

During my M.A. studies, I previously took a class based on learning about teaching listening in the foreign language classroom. As part of this class, my final project consisted of a study in which I provided my two Spanish 1001 classes with audio clips with my own voice, and, at a later date, audio clips of another, unknown person. Students were given three opportunities to listen to the audio, and were asked each time to write the ideas that they gleaned from listening to the clip, in English. After the third time the clip was played, students were given comprehension questions, and a short survey regarding their feelings on the speaker's accent, rate of speech, and if they recognized the speaker's voice. I found that students in each of the two classes were able to identify more idea units in the audio clip with my own voice than they were with the other audio clip. Now, I am redoing this study with a clearer focus and a broader group of students, to serve my non-thesis paper to end my M.A. studies. I hope to see a positive correlation in the amount that students comprehend between a voice they recognize and a similar yet different voice that they do not recognize.