Google Voice is an online voicemail service that can be easily adapted to assess oral presentations without putting students on the spot. It’s easy to set up, and it even gives you a “Google number” that you can give to your students so they can leave you voice messages using their cellphones.
Last year, I tried this out for the first time during a unit on food and healthy eating habits. My students (novice-level) filled out a brief script in which they indicated what they eat and drink for breakfast and lunch. Then, they were asked to call the Google number to record their messages.
Many of them were really afraid to call! The thought of getting only one chance to record a message with good Spanish pronunciation really intimidated them, but they seemed excited to receive feedback via text and also to see their recordings posted on the website. Next time, I would love to incorporate spontaneity using Google voice, but perhaps this would be more suited for intermediate and advanced levels. How have you used Google Voice in your classroom?
Here are some the submitted messages categorized by class period.
Primera hora 10/22 total students = 45%
Travis Acord: Download: cD82yigt
Raquel Bañuelos: Download: sQfrBfu0
T. C. Bliss: Download: h2Um9bKD
Rebecca Boggs: Download: OukU8it2
