Technology in the ESL (English as a second language) classroom – Changing the way students learn to listen.

For too long, listening activities in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms have revolved around short excerpts played from cassettes on small, inadequate sound systems. In the 1980s this was hi-tech, but in the age of the iPod and MP3, it is astonishing that the majority of language schools still cling onto this outdated technology.

There are several problems associated with the use of cassettes in the classroom. Firstly, the cassettes themselves are of limited sound quality. Some of the intricacies of the English language are lost and the overall sound can be muffled and often disturbed by hi-frequency noise. All too often, schools protect their original tapes by making duplicate copies to use in the classroom. This obviously represents a further drop in the quality of the recording and therefore in the quality of the listening exercise used in a language lesson. Secondly, the small, low-quality cassette players often used in the ESL classroom are simply inadequate, lacking range, bass, volume and clarity. Even in very small classrooms, the result is a sound quite dissimilar to the real sounds a student will hear around them. Many students complain that listening is the most difficult English language skill to develop, and many theorise that poor quality recordings and machines may be partially to blame.

Examination time is when quality recordings and machines are most vital. Students' sitting in seats arranged in rows for exams will very often have completely different experiences in a listening test, with those at the back of the room at a distinct disadvantage. Although the effect of high-quality recordings and sound systems may be relatively small, we now live in a world where digital recordings and hi-tech sound systems are affordable by most, if not all language schools. There are now excuses for schools not to upgrade.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, schools are starting to make the switch and leading the way, as always, is ‘Aim for English’ http://www.aimjakarta.com/ This pioneering new school has started by throwing out all cassettes and moving over to digital recordings. Recordings are stored centrally on a wireless computer network and are available for all teachers and some students to access from anywhere in the building. After the problem of poor quality recordings was solved, the issue of playback quality was tackled. All classrooms are fitted with 5.1 digital surround sound speakers. These sound systems linked to laptops, classroom computers, MP3 players, mobile phones or any other media players, feature 5 small speakers positioned around the room, and one subwoofer (bass) speaker hidden away at the front. Now, you can sit anywhere in the classroom and experience exactly the same sound quality and volume. In several rooms, the sound clips can be played and controlled by the interactive white boards also installed at this school. This allows a teacher total control over the recording, using their finger on the white board to cue, pause, play and stop the recording using a slide-bar.

The results have been noticeable and the feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive. Students, quite simply, find it easier to understand, easier to sit listening exams, and believe very strongly that listening activities are much more effective in classrooms fitted with this relatively inexpensive audio equipment. Now, it’s just a matter of waiting for other schools to wake up to benefits of digital classroom listening activities