(398) LANGUAGE LEARNING IN A MOBILE WORLD: THE POWER, POTENTIAL AND PITFALLS OF PODCASTING

摘要

Podcasting can be an inexpensive, beneficial and portable technology that offers language-learners and instructors the opportunity to access specially prepared content whenever and wherever it is convenient. With the continued growth of smartphone and tablet ownership, especially amongst university students, podcasts have also created the potential for language instructors and institutions to exploit these high ownership numbers to the benefit of the language-learning process. Whilst worldwide figures show that the number of podcasts available through the Internet continues to steadily grow. At the end of 2016 current figures show that there are between 115,000 to 180,000 English language podcasts available to download through the fixed or mobile Internet. This paper will highlight the positives and negatives of language learning podcasts to both students and instructors to show how podcasts could be an incredible advantageous tool within the language learning process. The rapid developments in podcasting and mobile technology in the last decade will also be introduced with a particular focus on the 'game-changing' moments that have offered the potential for podcasting to become a widespread, cheap and convenient tool for language-learners and instructors. Also included in this paper will be an analysis of a detailed and on-going research on the effectiveness of podcasts within a language-learning environment, specifically at a university level. This research is tasked with analysing the practical benefits as well as detailing the potential drawbacks of using podcasts and mobile technology as an integral part of the language-learning process. By drawing on experience gained during the last six years of publishing a free language-learning podcast, the benefits and pitfalls of creating, publishing and using a podcast will be presented and analysed.