Speaking and writing are completely different from each other, especially considering the characteristics of the English Language. As we know, we cannot pronounce some English words by simply looking at them (ADONIOU, 2014) and this is the result of an “alphabetic ortography, but not a phonetically regular language” (ADONIOU, 2014). Phonics and graphemes are not always aligned.

In ELT (English Language Teaching), I have been trying to mix some practices in order to provide some autonomy and interactions to my students in the online environment. There is a website called Listen a Minute (https://listenaminute.com/) and one of the activities my students need to perform is choosing a topic from the website, listening to the audio and in class they share the main idea of what it was said. Halliday says that “speaker and listeners are of course aware that the speaker is speaking; but they are typically not aware of what he is saying, and if asked to recall it, not only the listeners but also the speaker will ordinarily offer a paraphrase, something that is true to the meaning but not by any means true to the wording” (HALLIDAY, 2005).

After that, they produce an audio file like a podcast and post it on the plataform we have been using. Following, they need to listen to their friends’ podcasts and leave some comments telling their opinions, what they have understood, etc. This is a way to bring audio, oral and writing meanings to an ELT class. Moreover, it also encourages them to produce knowledge instead of only consuming it. As Cope&Kalantzis say: ‘‘Students are configured as knowledge consumers more than they are knowledge producers. The moral of their learning is that they should comply with epistemic authority’’ (COPE & KALANTZIS, 2017, p.23).

Therefore, it is essential to teach our students to make meaning in different ways, especially in a foreign language teaching-learning context. Besides, the development of students’ autonomy may lead them to better outcomes. Here you are some websites suggestions:

https://listenaminute.com/;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/;

https://www.ted.com/podcasts.

REFERENCES

Adoniou, M. (2014). What should teachers know about spelling? Literacy, 48(3), 144-154.

COPE, B., and KALANTZIS, M. (2017). Conceptualizing e-learning. In: B. Cope and M. Kalantzis (Eds), e-Learning Ecologies. New York: Routledge.

HALLIDAY, M.A.K. 2005. On Grammar. London: Continuum Press. pp.325-327.