Saturday 13 December 2008

IOW Show and Tell Update for October 2007 and 2008: In The Audio Mirror




I am delighted to announce that Joe Dale has now published ALL the audio for the Show and Tell from this year and last year’s Isle of Wight Conference.
As I could not attend last year, no doubt this will make me realize how much I have missed out!

It felt odd listening to my own session “Preaching To The Converted”, about how to spread the word about ICT in languages. I wrote a blog post about it and even included my presentation but listening to the audio felt so different from what I remembered.


My first reaction was “Do I really sound like THAT?” but Joe assured me he had not been using any of the trendy Audacity sound effects that he demonstrated at the conference!

Funnily enough, this really made me think about how I use my voice and I am very tempted to sneakily record one of my own lessons to hear what it sounds like to be in my own classroom…
I love singing and acting and I have always been very aware of my voice and how I use it in a physical sense. The recording made me listen to my intonations –sometimes very French, sometimes very Northern English.

I love accents because they say so much about what makes us who we are. It always makes me smile when I have the following conversation with a cheeky student (remember I work in a school with about 50% students from ethnic minorities):
“You are French? Why do you speak like THAT, then?
-Like what?
-You have an accent.
-So have you.
-Oh yes…
-You should be proud of it-that’s who you are.”
(end of conversation-Student usually smiles back and grows that little bit taller!)


2 comments:

rlodan01 said...

Isabelle, You have a great voice! I enjoyed the podcast, and I too like the online environment. I am looking at several goals I set for myself last year and one was twitter. I failed to 'connect' with it, but have made a goal of getting back on and giving it another chance. I recognize the need because other people are on it and connecting is how we grow. If for no other reason, it gives me insights into how students think with their constant connectedness, and I'm always trying to be able to relate to students as effectively as possible. Thanks for sharing and I really appreciated your comments about blogging. Yes, my wife considers me a geek (as do I) and I always get the same questions you do, so I want to pass along that your blog resonated and helped reinforce my thinking, thanks.

Roland

sqpeg said...

I've also had a funny experience when it comes to having my voice recorded in English. This friend of mine asked if i could help her with a presentation in English for which she needed a voice-over. so, to make a long story short, i did. and she sent me the recording. i was shocked! i've recorded my voice before and i know it sounds so alien, so small and prissy, but this time, horror of horrors, it sounded small, prissy and with a bonus Russian accent!
i'm romanian and i always prided myself on how "well" i speak English. there goes that strong conviction!:)