The most useful audio files for teachers are usually in the mp3 format. Because they are relatively small (one fifth of the size of WAV files), they are easily to SAVE, use, and can easily move around the internet. For this reason, many of the digital audio tools you will encounter demand mp3 files rather than other formats.
Before we get to the extremely easy-to-use mp3 generators, please be aware that the best free audio editor is Audacity. If you are going to make and edit a lot audio clips, then you should learn about Audacity here. After downloading it into your computer and getting over a small learning curve, you will find Audacity an important tool (e.g., if you are preparing practice audio clips for the COBE or preparing audio versions of texts for students with dyslexia or other visual problems).
Online Voice Recorder is part of the free online suite of tools called "123Apps." Watch this clip, which is part of a longer Russell Stannard tutorial about using audio in Google Forms quizzes. The important things here are how to use Online Voice Recorder and how to save the resulting mp3 into your Google Drive.
Please watch the following Russell Stannard tutorial from 2021 about using Vocaroo. From 00:39 to 1:00, there is a quick explanation of how to create an mp3 file using Vocaroo. The rest of the video gives multiple ways of using the resulting audio clip in various online programs (Blogger, Google Forms, Google Sites, etc).
The video also deals with downloading the mp3 file into your computer (and then SAVE it in your Google Drive and allow your students to access it there). This is probably the safest thing to do because you never know when online tools will disappear (with all the work you have saved in them).
Watch Russell Stannard's recommendations for using Wakelet and Vocaroo to improve your students' speaking skills.
There are quite a few EFL/ESL teachers who use the audio-record option of WhatsApp for helping their students improve their aural and oral English. If your students have smartphones, you might want to think about how to use this very popular messaging app. Here are just some possibilities:
Have students follow recorded instructions.
Have students record instructions for other students.
Have a treasure hunt based, totally or in part, on recorded clues. You could have teams, each listening for different instructions.
Have the students plan and record treasure hunts for other students.
Have students read and record bits of text. They can delete and redo until they are satisfied.
Have students participate in recorded asynchronous audio conversations.
Have a recorded asynchronous debate about something meaningful to the students.
Let your mind run free for a moment. What could you do with your students, at their linguistic level?
T-T-S (Text to Speech) programs turn digital text into human voices. Any teacher will immediately see the advantage for dyslexics and other students with vision problems. All students will have the benefit of being able to listen to a text over and over until they understand it. But ESL/EFL teachers will see even greater benefits for students who come from a L1 that uses non-Latin fonts or who cannot decode in English.
Please watch this Russell Stannard tutorial from February 2025 about Luvvoice.com, which is a free TTS tool (for up to 20,000 characters a month), with a choice of 200 voices for 70 languages. It will accept typed-in text, copy-and-paste, and entire files (up to 50 MB of various common formats, such as .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt., and even .xls and .xlsx !) The rate, pitch, and volume can be controlled. And best of all, it will download mp3 files of the audio for free.
Besides Luvvoice, there are many companies that make T-T-S programs. For a long time, one of the best was Natural Readers. You can COPY-and-PASTE digital texts into the Natural Readers Website for free, choose the desired voice, the desired accent, and the desired speed of reading. You can also present the digital text with dyslexic-oriented fonts. Unfortunately, the free version of Natural Readers does not allow the creation of mp3 files (which you need for homework and probably for future work with your students).
Natural Readers, along with many other T-T-S programs, offer the option of buying voices to be downloaded in your computer. This makes using T-T-S much easier because you don't have to COPY-and-PASTE each text into the web page. In addition, you can SAVE the T-T-S recording as an mp3 file. Once again, the free version of Natural Readers does not allow you to create mp3 files (i.e., what you need for the homework).
Some of the new AI tools are incorporating T-T-S. Fliki is one of them, that allows you to turn text to speech, add images and video, and get subtitles. The free account allows the creation of five minutes of videos each month. Beyond that, it's commercial.
Note: At the time of this writing, Fliki does not create mp3 files (i.e., as needed for your homework). It's great video, but doesn't work for audio-only.
If you are frustrated that your T-T-S voice does not pause long enough at crucial points in the text, try adding periods and/or commas at the point you want a longer pause. That often helps. Your students will not see the incorrect punctuation, but they will hear a better pronunciation.
Please note: Late homework will be penalized 20% of the initial grade.
1. Create TWO very short mp3 files (15 to 30 seconds each).
You will make the FIRST with your own voice and SAVE it in your Google Drive.
You will make the SECOND with a T-T-S tool (Luvvoice.com is recommended) and SAVE it to your Google Drive.
Make sure to SHARE both of these files in your Google Drive with "anyone with the link." Be ready to COPY the link and post both of them to the MOODLE discussion forum for Lesson 16.
2. In the Lesson 16 discussion forum in MOODLE, present the links to each of your TWO mp3 files (one with your own voice and the other with T-T-S) in your Google Drive. Briefly write about your experience with the audio tools you used. How hard/easy were they to use?
2. Listen to at least TWO sets of mp3s files (i.e., a set has both the real voice and a T-T-S voice) and read all the posts in the Lesson 16 MOODLE discussion forum. REPLY to at least one of the sets you listened to and the accompanying comments. Make polite and constructive suggestions about the mp3 files, where needed (e.g., volume level, speed, pitch, clarity, background noise, etc.). Please note: "I agree." or "Great!" is not meaningful without a thoughtful presentation of why.
EMBED your mp3 files in the "Other Items" Page in your Google Sites webpage. Make sure that EACH of the mp3 files has a heading.
Keep on working on your seminar paper!