Integration of the podcasting system and multimedia tools in second language teaching: Practice, evaluation, and future implications in the theory of second language acquisition

The project which will be presented in this paper tries to introduce a new type of English presentation course in Japan. The main concept of this course design is the application of the podcasting system and ICT skills with the main emphasis on students´ involvement in the creation of podcast movie. Starting with the overview the situation in Japan in terms of foreign language acquisition, this paper claims that there is a great necessity of providing students with greater motivation to use a foreign language. Under these backgrounds, this paper suggests that the supplementary tools like podcasting system introduced in this paper help a lot to enhance students´ motivation. On the basis of the questionnaire, this paper concludes that the system serves more than the normal level of satisfaction compared with more high-level PC based learning management systems with much more functions and “costs.” The paper further illustrates how the class went on. This project crucially depends on “Creation” of a product with the use of English and ICT. It is clear that students must do much more things compared with trying traditional presentation. This, however, doesn´t worsen their motivation to try to use English for a specific purpose. Lastly and conclusively, some future implications will be given. On the basis of our feedback research, we would like to emphasize the point that the ICT will, if properly adopted, surely enhance students´ motivation, which is a crucial point assumed in our project. Further improvements in ICT will lead to further variation of teaching method in the field of foreign language acquisition. Our paper introduces one such case study which is conducted in our institution, aiming to create a local promotion video in a targeted foreign language.