Project Term 2: A Podcast

ORAL PART OF YOUR EXAM: SECOND TERM

PRODUCING A PODCAST

The best podcasts will participate in a contest organised in the school!!!

 THE AUTOBIOGRAHY OF A RELEVANT PERSON IN HISTORY

The final product will be a (5 minutes approx.) podcast in which a relevant person in history talks about his/her life, or about some important aspects of it and his/her achievements. It should be a monologue emphasizing the human aspect of this person and trying to avoid a mere list of events/facts just copied from the Internet.

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1- Listen to the model example of podcast about “Santa Teresa” – which you can find in the blog-. This way you will have a clearer idea of what you are expected to do.

2- Choose a person you find interesting: a writer, a politician, an activist (Nobel Peace Prize, for example), ...etc. He/She should preferably come from an English speaking country in order to make your monologue in English more believable.

You might like to choose some relevant people like:

British historical figures: Guy Fawkes, Queen Victoria, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II.

Worldwide Icons: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Florence Nightingale, Anna Frank.

Here are some writers you might find interesting: Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Mary Shelley, Emily Dickinson, J.K .Rowling, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, Aldous Huxley.

3- Do some serious research about the person you choose. Try to get and contrast information from different sources. Focus on the person’s human side: his/her personality, his/her family, important events, hardships, obstacles overcome...

4- Write your own script. Type your final version and send it to your teacher BEFORE 17TH FEBRUARY. Mention the sources you have taken the information from.

5- Select some background music which you can add to your recording. Make sure the music volume doesn’t interfere with your voice.

6- Read your text aloud. Pay careful attention to your pronunciation and intonation. Check the pronunciation of difficult words on the internet.

7- Rehearse reading your text as many times as you need to make it sound fluent and natural: You might find these tips useful:

-underline the key words and phrases

-decide where to breathe / plan where you will pause

- enunciate clearly

- change the pitch and tone of your voice as appropriate

-focus on dramatic pauses and emphasis

-practise your reading in from of a friend

- record your reading on your mobile phone and listen to it.

8- Use “Audacity” (audio editor) to record and edit your podcast.

9- Send the podcast and your final script to your teacher.

DEADLINE TO MEET: 3^rd of March

ASSESSING YOUR WORK:

The following aspects will be taken into account to assess your work:

-Content (Grammar accuracy / extensive vocabulary / organization of ideas)

-Pronunciation / intonation   (Very important!!!!!)

-Technical aspects (quality of sound..etc)

-Originality / work

* IMPORTANT: No more than three students should record their podcasts about the same “person”. You will find a paper sheet on your class notice board: please write down your name and the figure you have decided to create your podcast about. 

Do not leave your work for the very last minute!!!

Good luck!!