The Impact of Academic Podcasting: Emerging Technologies in the Foreign Language Classroom

FAIN: HD-50088-07

Old Dominion University Research Foundation (Norfolk, VA 23508-0369)
Betty Rose Facer (Project Director: November 2006 to December 2008)

A study of the impact of podcasting technology in the teaching of foreign language courses.

The goal of this project is to build upon previous work by the principal investigator to determine if the use of podcasting technology in foreign language courses results in increased pedagogical effectiveness and greater student learning outcomes. The proposed study will examine the academic use of podcasting in beginning to advanced language, literature, and culture courses for the 2007-2008 academic year, including Arabic, German, Italian, Spanish, and Foreign Literatures in English Translation. The evaluation will provide evidence of the benefits of podcasting for foreign language instruction for publication in professional journals to promote the widespread adoption of strategies and materials developed by the project. It will provide evidence that podcasting has measurable instructional benefits. This will be used in subsequent studies that will scale up the use of new instructional practices to other courses that proved to be most successful for academic podcasting.

Associated Products

Facer, B., & Abdous, M. (2011). Academic podcasting and mobile assisted language learning applications and outcomes (Safari books online). Hershey, Pa.: Information Science Reference. (Book)
Title: Facer, B., & Abdous, M. (2011). Academic podcasting and mobile assisted language learning applications and outcomes (Safari books online). Hershey, Pa.: Information Science Reference.
Author: Betty Rose Facer
Author: M'hammed Abdous
Abstract: Academic Podcasting and Mobile Assisted Language Learning: Applications and Outcomes shares innovative and pedagogically effective ways to improve foreign language education by identifying the instructional uses and benefits of academic podcasting technology and MALL in foreign language acquisition. These include instructional uses, students' perceived learning gains, how instructors can use/have used the technology (successes and challenges), study abroad experiences with the technology, pedagogical impact, and economic perspectives on its use.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://odu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=01ODU_ALMA21203336690003186&context=L&vid=01ODU_NUI&search_scope=Everything&tab=everything&lang=en_US
Primary URL Description: Monarch OneSearch catalogue entry from Old Dominion University Libraries
Secondary URL: https://www.amazon.com/Academic-Podcasting-Assisted-Language-Learning/dp/1609601416/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549571354&sr=8-1&keywords=Academic+podcasting+and+mobile+assisted
Secondary URL Description: Direct purchase from Amazon
Access Model: Purchase or Library
Publisher: Information Science Reference
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9781609601416
Copy sent to NEH?: No

MALL Technology: Use of Academic Podcasting in the Foreign Language Classroom (Article)
Title: MALL Technology: Use of Academic Podcasting in the Foreign Language Classroom
Author: Abdous, M'Hammed
Author: Camarena, Margaret M
Author: Facer, Betty Rose
Abstract: Integrating Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) technology (personal multimedia players, cell phones, and handheld devices) into the foreign language curriculum is becoming commonplace in many secondary and higher education institutions. Current research has identified both pedagogically sound applications and important benefits to students. In this paper, we present the results of an initial study which compares the academic benefits of integrating podcasts into the curriculum against using them as a supplemental/review tool. The study’s findings indicate that when instructors use podcasts for multiple instructional purposes (e.g., to critique student projects and exams, for student video presentations, for student paired interviews, to complete specific assignments, dictations, in roundtable discussions, or for guest lectures), students are more likely to use this technology and to report academic benefits. While the study is limited by small sample sizes and by some within-group variation in instructional techniques, the study provides initial evidence that podcast technology has the potential to provide greater benefits if it is used more than simply as a tool for reviewing. The study’s positive findings indicate that additional research to examine the effects of specific instructional uses of podcast technology is merited.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: https://odu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_ericEJ827519&context=PC&vid=01ODU_NUI&search_scope=PCI&tab=pci&lang=en_US
Primary URL Description: Monarch OneSearch Catalogue entry from Old Dominion University Libraries
Access Model: Library subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: ReCALL
Publisher: ReCALL

Academic effectiveness of podcasting: A comparative study of integrated versus supplemental use of podcasting in second language classes (Article)
Title: Academic effectiveness of podcasting: A comparative study of integrated versus supplemental use of podcasting in second language classes
Author: Abdous, M'Hammed
Author: Facer, Betty Rose
Author: Yen, Cherng-Jyh
Abstract: With podcasting gaining more mainstream adoption in higher education, it’s critical to examine its effectiveness in improving the student learning experience. To this end, this paper examines the effectiveness of podcasts integrated into the curriculum (PIC) versus podcasts as supplemental material (PSM). Considering recent empirical work on the effectiveness of podcasting, this study collected data from students enrolled in lower level and upper level language courses. Results revealed an inconclusive relationship among PIC students’ learning outcomes (as measured by their final grades). In contrast, however, our findings indicate a strong relationship between the use of PSM and students’ final grades, particularly in upper level courses.
Year: 2012
Primary URL: https://odu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_proquest963902839&context=PC&vid=01ODU_NUI&search_scope=PCI&tab=pci&lang=en_US
Primary URL Description: Monarch OneSearch Catalogue entry from Old Dominion University Libraries
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Computers & Education
Publisher: Computers & Education

Trends in podcast download frequency over time, podcast use, and digital literacy in foreign language courses (Article)
Title: Trends in podcast download frequency over time, podcast use, and digital literacy in foreign language courses
Author: Abdous, M'Hammed
Author: Facer, Betty Rose
Author: Yen, Cherng-Jyh
Abstract: Podcasts used as supplemental material (PSM) and podcasts integrated into the curriculum (PIC) are complementing, extending, and transforming the traditional face-to-face classroom as well as blended and online courses. This paper examines podcast download frequency among students in foreign language and literature courses over a four-year period by using both students' digital literacy skills and the instructional use of the podcasts (whether PSM or PIC) as predictors. As it analyses four years of trend data between the Fall semester of 2007 and the Fall semester of 2011, the authors; study reveals that the download frequency among the PIC group was relatively higher than that of the PSM group. What's more, it shows that students' digital literacy moderated their frequency of download. This is consistent with previous findings that suggest that instructors can offer students an advantage by using thoughtfully planned and well-designed podcasting activities, which help their students hone the skills necessary for success in the second language (L2) teaching and learning environment.
Year: 2015
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET)

The Impact of academic podcasting on students' learning outcomes (Book Section)
Title: The Impact of academic podcasting on students' learning outcomes
Author: Betty Rose Facer
Author: M'hammed Abdous
Author: Camarena, Margaret M.
Editor: Rita de Cássia Veiga Marriott
Editor: Patricia Lupion Torres
Abstract: As part of an initiative to enhance the humanities’ use of emerging technologies, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Old Dominion University is currently developing strategies for incorporating the use of podcasting—disseminating audio programming over the Internet—in its foreign language curricula and is studying podcasting’s effects on foreign language teaching and learning. The academic use of podcasting allows for 24/7 accessibility and portability of the teaching and learning experience, while enabling on-demand learner control and personalization (Lee & Chan, 2007). It permits the restructuring of valuable classroom time and can convert the popular iPod and other MP3 players into multipurpose teaching and learning tools that can be used to reinforce class content, to improve pronunciation and vocabulary, and to improve oral and aural skills. The early results of this pilot project suggest that podcasting has positive effects on students’ learning outcomes and study habits.
Year: 2009
Book Title: Handbook of research on e-learning methodologies for language acquisition
ISBN: 9781599049946

The Impact of Academic Podcasting on Student Learning Outcomes (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Impact of Academic Podcasting on Student Learning Outcomes
Author: Camarena, Margaret M.
Author: Facer, Betty Rose
Author: Abdous, M'hammed
Abstract: Research findings
Date: 03/22/2008
Conference Name: CALICO with IALLT 2008 Annual Conference

The Impact of Academic Podcasting on Student Learning Outcomes: Emerging Technologies in the Foreign Language Classroom (NEH-DHI) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Impact of Academic Podcasting on Student Learning Outcomes: Emerging Technologies in the Foreign Language Classroom (NEH-DHI)
Author: Facer, Betty Rose
Author: Camarena, Margaret M.
Author: Abdous, M'hammed
Abstract: Project research findings
Date: 02/01/2008
Conference Name: SEALLT-MAALLT Joint Conference 2008

ODU Ditance Learning Web Conference and Video Launch Pages (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: ODU Ditance Learning Web Conference and Video Launch Pages
Author: Schulman, Peter
Author: Marken, Minori
Author: Steitz, Kirstin
Author: Sewick, Andrew
Abstract: Recorded Course Content (RCC). This project is a continuation of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant-funded research study on Academic Podcasting by Betty Rose Facer, Dr. M'hammed Abdous, and Dr. Cherng-Jyh at Old Dominion University that provides students with the opportunity to (re)listen to course content as a review tool in order to hone their language skills development. It serves as a model replicated by faculty members in the Department of World Languages and Cultures that is contributing to a rich repository of resource materials for our students in French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, and Spanish.
Year: 2016
Secondary URL: https://online.odu.edu/video/class-archives
Audience: Undergraduate

How To: Learn a second language depending on your age [Television broadcast]. (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: How To: Learn a second language depending on your age [Television broadcast].
Writer: Lucy Bustamante, WVEC TV News
Director: WVEC TV News
Producer: WVEC TV News
Abstract: Interview with Lucy Bustamante, WVEC TV News 11 Atlanta.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: https://www.13newsnow.com/video/features/how-to-learn-a-second-language-adults-edition/291-2580147
Access Model: Open access
Format: Web

iPod Instruction (Article)
Title: iPod Instruction
Author: Facer, Betty Rose
Abstract: Interview with Janette Rodrigues from The Virginian-Pilot,Norfolk, Virginia. Professors find that using the device helps increase proficiency with foreign languages.
Year: 2007
Format: Newspaper
Publisher: The Virginian-Pilot, pp. B1, B9.

LLChat Podcast (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: LLChat Podcast
Writer: Betty Rose Facer
Director: Betty Rose Facer
Producer: Betty Rose Facer and Dr. Peter Schulman
Abstract: LLChat is the Language Learning Center’s Podcast on issues related to world languages and cultures from the perspective of students, faculty, and community members. The LLChat podcast is student-centered. The hosts are employees of the Language Learning Center in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Old Dominion University. They assist with the entire podcast production from question format, correspondences, hosting, interviewing, and editing. It was essential to have students be a major contributor to this podcast. It highlights another way to advocate for world languages. Podcast series include: Remote Learning (Faculty and student experiences), TalkAbroad & e-Portfolios, Québécois Poets & Writers, Poets & Writers, Planet Word Museum, Virtual Reality & ImmerseMe for World Languages and Cultures, Where are They Now? ODU World Languages and Cultures Alumni, French Musicians, Composers, and Discoveries.
Date: 05/28/2020
Primary URL: http://https://www.buzzsprout.com/1122749
Primary URL Description: LLChat is the Language Learning Center’s Podcast on issues related to world languages and cultures from the perspective of students, faculty, and community members. We come to you from the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Music: "Marigolds" by Kishi Bashi. Permissions granted courtesy of Kaoru Ishibashi.
Secondary URL Description: None
Access Model: Open access
Format: Other

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