VoiceThread

VoiceThread is a tool that has a wonderful function in English classes. This tool helps to reinforce students' speaking skill, so it is highly recommended for teachers, especially for conversational classes. The following activities are ideas that can help teachers implement this tool in the class.

3 Activities that Teachers can Implement in their English Classes Using VoiceThread.

1. An Interactive Forum:

     In this activity, the teacher creates a forum by posting a video about the topic that is being studied at the moment, for instance, "Transportation, quality, and use." Hence, the teacher posts a video and asks students to participate in the forum, saying what they understood from the video or what they think about the topic. Students are only allowed to participate using their voices, not writing comments. In this way, the teacher can assess their performance. Also, students can refer to what other classmates have said.

2. Creating an Interview: 

     In pairs, students will be assigned to create an interview on VoiceThread. The teacher can implement this activity as a homework assignment. Suitable topics for this activity are "Life and achievements of famous athletes and musicians," "Achievements of our national athletes," and "Job demand in Costa Rica." The interview has to be recorded as a video, so students can choose if they want to record themselves first, or if they want to record directly from VoiceThread. Students can customize the interview as they want. Once it is finished, they have to obtain the interview's shareable link and share it with the teacher through e-mail. 

3. Recorded Procedure:

     For this activity, students have to work individually. The teacher asks them to record themselves doing something. For instance, if the topic at the moment is "Costa Rican typical food," students have to choose a recipe and record the procedure while they are doing it. The purpose of the activity is that students describe a procedure. They can only record the procedure, but they have to talk. It does not matter if they do not appear on the video. The students can upload the video as a presentation, and they can decide if they divide the video by steps or not. For this activity, it would be interesting if the teacher asks students to show the video to the rest of the classmates in the next class. 

Tips for Teachers

If you are a teacher and want to use VoiceThread in your English classes, take into account these recommendations.

1. Show your students a tutorial video on how to use VoiceThread or explain to them concisely in order to avoid confusion.
2. If you want to use the tool in class, make sure that the high school counts on the necessary equipment to develop the activity. For instance, if you ask your students to record their voices, you have to know if there are microphones available. Otherwise, you will have to ask your students to bring earphones with microphone.
3. Ask your students if they have access to a computer or Internet outside the classroom, or else a homework assignment will be difficult to do. 

Protocol 4: Recording your Work in Class

VoiceThread is an amazing tool that teachers can use in their English classes. This is an innovative way to work on speaking since students will be using technology in class and at home. It also lets students practice the language in real life situations. This tool allows students to develop their critical thinking and oral proficiency.