Record MP3 Online: Listening and Pronunciation Practice

Details

Activity Description

Use this free online audio recorder to create MP3 files for students to listen to and practice speaking/pronunciation. Students can use the site to create audio files by recording their own speaking for pronunciation practice or assessment. The provided activity is a Vowels Pronunciation Quiz.

Preparation

1. Be sure that the site is not blocked at your school before having students use it.
2. Make sure that speaker volume is set at an appropriate level and that the microphone(s) are plugged in and working properly.
3. We have provided a Vowels Pronunciation Activity, but feel free to plan your own listening, speaking, or pronunciation lesson that fits with course content and objectives.
4. To use our activity, download, print, and make copies of the Example Document (above). Or if you are creating your own activity, then create print materials as needed, and print and photocopy for students.
5. If you plan to have students use the site to create audio files, practice using the site yourself to become familiar with it.
6. Decide how audio files you or students create will be shared (e-mailed, uploaded to a Dropbox or Google Drive account, or saved on the desktop computer and then burned on CD. Students could also save audio files on a USB device. You may need to be prepared to explain how to accomplish these tasks to some of your students.
7. Create an audio file of yourself reading the sentences for students to listen to and practice by repeating (see directions under How To, below, starting at #4).

How-To

1. Teach the pronunciation or oral / speaking skills you would like students to practice. For example, to teach vowels pronunciation, download and view the Vowels Pronunciation Quiz handout to view a sample of what you may choose to have students to produce for assessment of their speaking/pronunciation skills.
2. Then, optionally, teach students the International Phonetic Alphabet symbols for the vowels sounds in English, followed by student practice activities you create or assign students to do online with Web sites such as the following:
   • Howcast: How to pronounce Difficult Vowels in English
   • Fonetiks: American English, Single Vowel Sounds
   • E-Learn English Language: Vowels
   • Learn American English Online: Pronunciation - Vowel Sounds .
3. Have students listen to the audio recording you made of the sentences for assessment. Then have them take the speaking/pronunciation assessment by recording their own audio files with the site and sharing those files with you for scoring.
4. To record an audio file using the site RecordMp3Online site, open a Web browser and go to the site.
5. You will see an Adobe Flash Player Settings dialog box requesting access to your computer's camera and microphone. This is normal. Select the Allow button to give the site access to the computer's microphone.
6. Select Record and speak. You may pause any time by pressing the pause button.
7. Select Stop to finish the recording. An audio player will appear (on touch devices there will be an HTML5 button).
8. Press the Play button to listen.
9. If you like, you can change the file name by selecting Change filename and typing in a new name in the textbox within pop-up box and selecting OK. Note: If you are having students make audio files, you may want to have them save the MP3 file with their names or a combination of their names and assignment (e.g., reyesproquiz1).
10. You can download the file (select Download, and Save As to select a folder for saving or save to the Desktop) or upload it to your Dropbox account.
11. Share the file by e-mail, upload to a file share service (such as Dropbox or Google drive) and share using a direct link or by e-mail, or burn to a CD or USB drive.
12. To open the MP3 file, select it and it will open in the default media player.

Teacher Tips

• Recordings should be limited to only a few minutes.
• The site can also be used on smartphones or tablets with Internet access. (Editors note: I tried this site on both my iPad and my iPhone and had no success, but perhaps I did something wrong.
• The site deletes the file shortly after download.

More Ways

• Teachers can use the site to create audio files that support reading/texts or for any listening tasks and assessments.
• Students can use the site to record dialogs, oral read-aloud of texts they have written, and other class assignments that require speaking or assess oral skills.

Program Areas

• ESL: English as a Second Language

Levels

• Beginning Literacy
• Beginning Low
• Beginning High
• Intermediate Low
• Intermediate High
• Advanced
• All Levels

Documents

• Vowels Pronunciation Quiz1.pdf - Vowel Pronunciation Quiz

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