Produce Oral Texts: Podcasts

Section One: What is an oral text? What is a podcast?

An oral text is one where you speak.

The type of oral text that we are going to focus on is podcasts. The text is primarily spoken and can include other appropriate presentation techniques, such as background music.

Oral language features that you might use include rhetorical devices (eg use of pronouns, triple construction), body language (eg movement, gesture, facial expression), and voice (eg tone, volume, pace, stress)

Section Three: How would we make an oral text?

The oral text type that we are going to be focusing on is podcasts. These are pre recorded, radio style shows in which your two greatest tools are your voice and your rhetorical devices (the way in which you say stuff). Check out these examples of podcasts to get an idea for what you will be doing.

Section Four: Some examples of podcasts

You can find other podcasts through platforms such as Spotify.

Section Five: NCEA Information

Level Three (3 credits)

Check out the links below to ensure that you do everything that you can to ensure you are on the right path!

Standard

Task (Key summary: create a SIX minute podcast covering the main points of your research)

Exemplars (Note that these are not podcasts so pay attention to how the information is structured and how the students' voices are used to convey their message)

Section Six: Planning and producing your podcast

Episode Format

Having an overall plan for what you're going to talk about is important so that you make sure you cover everything that you need to without waffling on or leaving important bits out. This structure also helps you to keep your listener's attention.

So what does a specific episode sound like? Check out this post about podcast intros, but it has a bunch of examples of different episode formats for popular podcasts. Here is a checklist to also make sure you get everything right.

Here’s one example:

• Teaser

• Intro Music

• Welcome

• Information and content on your research

• Call To Action (“what's your take on the theme of the text you've studied - what should we all be doing after reading it? What epiphanies have you had about the world that we live as a result of reading this text?”)

• Outro Music

Get creative with this part.

Writing / preparing your script - content creation

This part ensures success! This is where you can plan your ideas so that you develop your ideas and make links between them throughout your podcast in a "striking" fashion (which means that you grab your listener's attention and hold it as well as convincing them you are right and making them think how they can apply what they've listened to in their own lives).

This may include use of: narrative, anecdote, quotation, allusion, imagery, explanations, analysis, explorations, critique, details, examples, a range of dimensions or viewpoints.

Additionally , you want to select and use language structures and oral language features appropriate to the particular oral text to create consistency in meaning and effect, and to sustain interest.

Check out this website or this one to help you plan out your content- the loose bullet point approach will probably work best as then you won't come off like you're reading it! Watch the videos below as well for some ideas on how to best structure your content.

Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are language techniques that help you to get your point across. They're all those things that your English teacher has been banging on about since the dawn of time such as simile and alliteration, rhetorical questions and triple constructions. We use them in our writing all the time and they work exactly the same way in oral language too. Here is a list of some to remind you as you go back and ensure that you have woven rhetorical devices into your scripted content to help you stand out.

Practising - your voice is your number one tool

Your voice is everything in your podcast. Check out these videos below on how to improve your voice so people want to keep listening. Once you've got your format, your script and some ideas on how to use your voice, PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE!

Recording & Editing

In a very basic way, you can simply use the Voice Memos function on your phone to record and then email through your podcast.

But, if you want to go a little more fancy on it by editing, adding in background sounds and things that will help you to push your grade higher, then download the free app, Anchor, which is powered by Spotify.

Which ever you do, be sure to listen back to what you have recorded and check for things like sounding like a robot, rustling pages, long gaps - if you hear any of these things, re-record!