In episode 114 of Growing with Proficiency The Podcast, we delve into the importance of listening comprehension and skills in world language education with special guest, Marta Yedinek. Marta’s sharing innovative strategies and the story behind the renowned podcast ‘Cuéntame’, designed to aid Spanish learners. Marta and I discuss methods to prepare students before, during, and after listening activities, offering practical advice for language teachers to implement in their classrooms. Here are some highlights of our discussion, but listen above or here for our whole conversation.
Creation and Purpose of Podcast ‘Cuéntame’
First, I asked Marta to tell us why she started her podcast and a little bit about it. Marta explains the inspiration behind the podcast which stemmed from her own struggles with acquiring French. The challenge she faced was with existing podcasts, which were too long and advanced for her.
Then, she realized that most podcasts were too advanced for her students as well. Her students’ difficulties with listening comprehension also inspired her to create her podcast. While searching for podcasts she could understand, she stumbled upon a podcast by a French man living in Paris. The wonderful thing about the podcast was that the episodes were only about four minutes long. He talks about a very simple thing, such as everyday things that are compelling to any learner. Marta then knew there was a need for a podcast like this in Spanish.
Development and Adaptation for Listening Comprehension
The initial episodes of the podcast were six to seven minutes long and included English translations for new vocabulary. However, Marta received feedback from her students that the episodes were too long, leading her to create shorter, four-minute episodes.
Marta also realized that it was important to scaffold and provide simple, comprehensible content for students at different levels. After about 50 episodes, Marta understood that she needed a second version of the podcast. So, she created two versions of the podcast: one with scaffolding and translations for beginners, and another with no support for advanced learners.
Integration of the Podcast in the Classroom
Next, Martha explains how she uses the podcast as a complement to existing units in her curriculum, such as pollution and ecological topics. Many of the episodes are about things such as the doctor, school, and family, so it’s easy to use an episode along with a unit.
Marta and I also talked about pre-listening activities to introduce relevant vocabulary and context. Listen here. She also explained how she uses the podcast for sub plans, providing students with comprehensible input even when she is absent.
Marta explained that the first version of the podcast is no more than three new words and with translation, and then the second version is a totally authentic resource. In that case, Marta is speaking at her normal speed and gets rid of the translations.
Sometimes, for advanced kids, she just flips it. She will have them listen to the one with no support, no translation, no scaffolding, first, then they take notes. Students will have some new words that they haven’t heard, but they guess it through the context. This is basically what they’re going to have to do in the AP test.
Strategies for Listening Comprehension
I also asked Marta to share some of her strategies and activities that she uses with her podcast. One is shadowing. Shadowing is basically repeating after the speaker. Marta says it seems to work for only about ten percent of students, but it might work for one of your classes. Listen to the episode above to hear more about this.
Marta also likes using reflection sheets for self-assessment. In this activity, students have to rate their own comprehension of an episode from zero to 10. Then, after listening to both versions again, they look at the transcript and read it while listening. Students then highlight the words that they still don’t understand. After that, you pair them up or put them in a small group so they share what is highlighted, and then they just brainstorm ideas of what they think the words are or help each other convey meaning of those words. It’s important to provide students with multiple opportunities to listen and engage with the content.
Marta also shares her experience with FlipGrid, where students discuss and share their thoughts on the podcast episodes. She usually does this for levels three and up, but she emphasizes that you know your students best. So, you might try this with lower levels.
Advice for Teachers Using Podcasts in Their Classrooms
Marta explains that you don’t have to spend the whole class time on the podcast episode and activities. Sometimes, she uses the short episode for a warm-up activity or just practice for her students.
Here is more advice from Marta:
- Start with short, four-minute episodes and gradually increase the length as students become more comfortable.
- Provide transcripts and other resources to support students’ listening comprehension.
- Experiment with different activities and strategies to find what works best for your students.
- Be open to feedback and make adjustments based on student performance and feedback.
Additionally, use the podcast as a tool for differentiation, providing scaffolding for beginners and authentic resources for advanced learners. Marta also emphasizes the value of flexibility in teaching listening skills, adapting activities to the time available and the needs of the students.
Don’t miss out on this engaging conversation that promises to inspire and support language educators in cultivating proficient and culturally competent learners. Listen above or here. Don’t forget to check out the resources below.
Guest Bio
Marta Ruiz Yedinak is a National Board Certified Spanish teacher, Kohl Fellow, and a WAFLT New Teacher Award recipient. She is a passionate provider of comprehensible input and a firm believer of teaching students, not curriculum. She loves sharing with other teachers by presenting at various language conferences such as ACTFL, WAFLT, CSCTFL, FLAND, MittenCI, iFLT, and CIMW, a conference that she co-directs. Marta works for the Ripon Area School District. She is the author of “La princesa y el guerrero”, published by Wayside, and the producer of ¡Cuéntame!, a podcast for Spanish acquisition.
