Tell @ ELI

Technology Enhanced Language Learning at the English Language Institute

Making CALL Interactive

Issue 8, Spring 2005
TELL ELI Archives

Using NPR in the Community Interactions Class
By Ariadne D. Miranda

This semester I teach the Community Interactions class for students in levels III and IV. This is class is similar to the Academic Interactions class that is taught at the ELI, but it has a service learning component.

One of the objectives of the class is to give students opportunities to improve their note-taking ability. To this end, I have found that using news passages from NPR is very useful. Since the Community Interactions class deals with community service, I often find pieces that are related to this topic. Recently, I chose a news segment dealing with homelessness in the United States.

The listening activity can be done in several ways. If the group is fairly advanced, they can be directed to go to the NPR web site and listen to the segment as many times as they need and take notes. After taking notes, students can write a summary and later on take a short quiz using their notes. If the group consists of students who would need more cues, it might be necessary to give them a series of questions for them to answer about the listening before they are asked to take notes. Both methods have worked very well for me.

Listening activities using NPR are interesting for the students and keep them engaged during their time in the computer lab. The topics are relevant, and students enjoy that they are listening to real-life passages.