Autocues for language learning

Autocues/ teleprompters are a linguistic support for video presentations that allow students to focus on their oral delivery and pronunciation whilst reading from their own corrected texts.

Evolution of the studio Creating a green screen graphic makes for a more professional look in the studio and increases the confidence of students as well as the transferability of the end-product.

The texts are corrected using Google documents. o The student establishes his/ her preferred subject and write a presentation of approx. 700 words (1 page single spaced). This step gives the student a chance to find a subject he/ she is interested in, and develop autonomy around and within it. o The tutor then corrects the text in the Google document, allowing for a fast turnaround. The tutor then corrects the text in the Google document, allowing for a fast turnaround. bit.ly/WoKpVi

The finished product The videos are transferable and can be an asset for the students’ online CVs

Linguisitic and cultural immersion Student feedback: “Good practice speaking under pressure/ out of comfort zone. Builds confidence.” “A new chance to be a French newsreader for the morning!” “It was a completely new experience.” “This gives much more confidence than reading out loud” “The preparation classes, as well as my own research were very helpful in learning new vocab and improving oral skills” “It was a middle ground between reading from a sheet and improvising.” How has viewing and participating in others’ presentations increased your knowledge and awareness of certain subjects? “Greatly, it was interesting to see what everyone had chosen.”

Employability Embed or link video from Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn. Shows student speaking in mostly correct French Provides an entry in CV for studio work “it is incredibly useful when compiling a CV”

Transferable Did you feel a sense of ownership for the work you produced? How useful do you think it is to have a multi-media en-product to your work? “It is good to have a final product we can watch wherever we like.” “It is more likely that I will look back at the video rather than a text.” “Yes, it’s rare to be able to hear oneself speak French, so it gives us an opportunity to improve.” “Yes, I was happy with the work produced and it is easier to look back and see the areas of improvement” “Yes, very effective”

Student feedback This year a student feedback was handed-out and completed. 20 students out of a possible 52 completed the feedback: “The chance to watch our presentations back and learn from them improved my language skills” “Having our work corrected was very useful for syntax and grammar” “I have never done anything like this before, and I found it very rewarding.” “Vocab on my chosen subject was much improved” “Enjoyed improvising and building presentation” “I enjoyed the research because it was something that interested me”

Marked feedback Link to tabled Word document of results.

Acknowledgments Thank you to Dayve Fresco, Studio Engineer at Swansea University Media resources, Swansea University. Professor Derek Connon, module coordinator MLF330 (Third year French Language).