I’m a big fan of Audacity — both as an ESL teacher and as a language learner. Podcasting in English has a great write-up: Using Audacity to create podcasts. I’m still experimenting with the program, but have introduced it in my pronunciation classes. I think it’s important for students to hear themselves rather than just have me spot correct their pronunciation. I know when I’m speaking Korean with my wife or Korean people, I hate being spot-corrected all of the time. Listening to myself on a recording though is a lot more effective, and I can adjust my pronunciation accordingly.
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Neil,
Couldn’t agree with you more. I use recordings of students as part of my teaching and it’s a great tool for exactly the reasons you mentioned.
But I don’t like Audacity. I’ve tried it on many occasions because I think it’s gotta be the user that’s the problem. I’ve always gone back to GarageBand on my Mac.
Thanks.
Carl
I’m still loyal to PCs, so I haven’t tried Macs. How is the service reliability for Macs in Korea?
I switched to a Mac 3 1/2 yrs ago & never want to go back. I’m now one of these raving Mac-addicts that’ll spout all the things I love about Macs every chance I get
So before I get too carried away… Service has never been a problem for my Mac in Korea. Apple only allows authorized service providers to handle service issues and they’ve been great. Actually, I think there’s only 1 place that services Macs.
One of the reasons I switched to a Mac, aside from not having to worry about PC viruses, is that my Mac came with pretty much all the apps I needed and they all work well together. I only had to pay 129,000 Won total for the word processor, presentations, & spreadsheet apps.
You gonna switch?
Probably not going to switch. I’m looking at netbooks and am doing more and more of my computing with Google and Web 2.0 apps. I just need something cheap and light to carry. Although the MacBook Air looks amazing, just wish it was cheaper.
@Neil
I think getting students to use Audacity to self correct their pronunciation is a great idea, and thanks for your comments.
@Carl
Interesting that you’re not into Audacity. I actually use Adobe Audition myself now which in many ways I find easier to use but I think Audacity is great. I’m also a Mac user but find their applications way too tricky to master – I tried GarageBand and just couldn’t work out how to set levels etc and gave up!
Jackie
Thanks for the comments Jackie. I haven’t tried Adobe Audition, but I’ll give it a try. I’m trying to find software with an easier interface than Audacity.