In Ms. Adams’ and Ms. Kreifels’ English Language Development (ELD) class at Klahowya Secondary School, they noticed a problem. The speaking portion of the WIDA test, a yearly assessment of multilingual students, tended to be a common pain point.
The solution? “What about a podcast,” Kreifels said.
“I keep telling the kids that the test is awkward and it’s not fun, but if you get the awkward out of the way now, then when you get to the test you’ll say, ‘it’s whatever because I do this everyday,’ ” Kreifels said.
Students have been recording podcasts themselves on their Chromebook. Adams and Kreifels then provide feedback and the process starts all over again.
“Their main question is always, ‘how many of these do we have to do,’ ” Adams said, “And I always say, ‘as many as it takes.’ ”
The WIDA test assesses students' English language abilities in speaking, listening, writing, and reading. The speaking portion in particular asks the test participant to speak like a native speaker in an academic setting.
Currently, students are scripting out all of their questions and answers for their assignment. But as the year goes on, their podcasts will evolve in length and scope to closely resemble what they'll encounter on the test.
The students said they’ve enjoyed the project thus far, and it’s helped them feel more confident speaking in a microphone and in front of an audience. It’s also allowed them to get to know their fellow classmates in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise.
“We learn from each other,” said Junior, an eleventh grader at Klahowya. “For example, I didn’t know (my partner Matthew) was from the Philippines, but now I know because I asked him.”