Amplifying Students' Voices

The main objective of this travail de candidature was to foster students’ speaking skills. Speaking in a foreign language can represent a daunting challenge for many students, so it is the teacher’s job to help them overcome the anxiety often associated with speaking tasks. Thus, one main goal was to establish in how far working with alternative tools can decrease this and the inhibition often experienced when learners are asked to say something in the target language. The research project wanted to explore how new digital tools can be integrated into the Luxembourgish teaching context and whether they can help students improve their language skills and turn them into better communicators. The project also aimed to evaluate the use of different types of recordings in the foreign language classroom and thus determine whether moving away from more traditional in-class presentation could be better aligned with the preferences and needs of today’s students. Furthermore, it sought to find out how using different apps can help students develop various 21st century skills required in today’s society. This research project followed the socio-constructivist teaching model as it put students into the driver’s seat while the teacher acted as their ‘guide on the side’. Following the model of project-based learning, the learners had to become active and they were asked to create different types of digital artefacts in three phases over the course of an entire school year: a podcast, an explainer video and a video selfie. The material and the tasks chosen were meant to be authentic and closely linked to real life. The students were also provided with the necessary scaffolding to be able to complete the tasks at their own level and according to their own abilities, thus allowing for differentiation. Individual feedback on the various products aimed to help each student progress and make them more aware of their language skills. The students’ productions and their personal responses gathered from two surveys have given a lot of insight into using new tools in the FL classroom. Even though these methods might not always work for every single student, the results of this project show that recordings are definitely a useful addition to the 21st century teacher’s toolbox. They can generate interest in the English lessons as well as increase the students’ motivation and autonomy. Using these new methods can also equip learners with new skills such as collaboration, information literacy, creativity, etc. that they are then likely able to use outside the language classroom. In addition, having students produce their own recordings allows them to practice their language in a safer environment which can lower their anxiety and inhibition when it comes to speaking in a foreign language. Overall, this project shows that 21st century tools can be used to get students talking and that using recordings gives them the opportunity to have their say and amplifies their voices.