2008 Entries and Abstracts
Orlando Kelm
Spanish & Portguese
Ta Falado: Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation
Spanish and Portuguese share many similarities, especially in vocabulary and grammar. The majority of our students who want to learn Portuguese have already studied Spanish previously. The challenges they face, when learning Portuguese, are generally related to pronunciation. Ta Falado is a series of over 40 podcast lessons that are designed to teach students the similarities and differences between Spanish and Portuguese. Additionally, all of the podcast lessons are reinforced with downloadable PDF files that contain extra notes and observations about the topics. Each lesson also contains a discussion blog where users can ask for clarifications and questions.
The podcast format is ideal for these objectives because it not only allows students to hear spoken Portuguese, but it provides teachers with a way of making students aware of the language they are hear. Foreign language educators often use a buzzword, “intake” meaning that learners may hear tons of foreign language input, but until they are made aware of it, things fly by without being noticed. The podcast lessons, PDF files, and discussion blog all come together to help learners focus on aspects of Portuguese and Spanish that otherwise would go unnoticed. Ta Falado has been able to incorporate each of these technologies to specifically address this foreign language pedagogical issue.