Tape Recorders in the Classroom

There are many beneficial reasons to use tape recorders in the classroom.

Tape recorders provide cheap and interactive educational activities for students that teachers cannot provide. Tapes are important for use in foreign language and history classes. Tapes allow teachers to show students a window into the world that might not have been otherwise possible. For example, teachers can record native speakers for their foreign language class as well as an oral history of a World War II veteran. The most helpful element of using tapes is that the teacher will have access to these tapes at any point in the year.

Benefits

Studies have shown that some students do not have a long attention span in the classroom. Tapes in the classroom enable teachers to constantly shift the attention of the students and hopefully work with the students' short attention spans. Tapes also allow teachers to take a backseat and not be the focus of the lesson. Whether using prerecorded activities or recordings in the classroom, tapes provide teachers a long and varied list of activities for their classroom. The tapes can even be used in a school or classroom time capsule. Recorded stories are especially beneficial in younger classrooms to help students read.

Oral History Activities

As early as 1976, some teachers saw how the tape recorder could be used to revive the art of listening. In "The English Journal," a teacher describes how practicing interviews using tape recorders could help students learn to listen better. Teachers can assign students to interview subjects for local oral histories, such as a store owner that has been in town for decades or an elderly person who has seen how the town changed over the years. Students will listen and record using a tape recorder, then with the help of the teacher, edit the tape to make a mock news article of their interview.

Foreign Language Activities

Language in the classroom is based on context and although teachers can set up role playing activities, teachers tend to face the reality of their environment. However, tapes provide opportunities for teachers to instantly provide a variety of different contexts, such as two people talking at a bus stop or at a party. Teachers can either buy language learning tapes, borrow from the library or even prerecord conversations themselves at no cost. Teachers can also assign students to record conversations in groups and play them for the class in order for students to hear their own accent and work on any necessary changes.

Types of Recorders

Generally, digital recorders have surpassed tape recorders in popularity. However, in the classroom, teachers should use tape recorders because they are much less expensive than digital recorders. This way, teachers can feel comfortable allowing students to borrow recorders when necessary. There are two types of recorders to consider: one that the students can borrow and one that stays in the classroom. A classroom tape recorder should have a loudspeaker. Tape recorders for student use should resemble a cassette tape Walkman, light and cheap.

References

• JStor: Tape Recorder in the Classroom
• Teta: Using the Tape Recorder in Class

Resources

• Oxford Journal: The Tape Recorder in the Classroom