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Ulyanova Natalia Victorovna Khodakova Anastasia Gennadievna

TUELTA, Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University
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Exploring podcasts in preparing students for State Exam speaking
Today, the question whether the speaking part of the State Exam in foreign languages will exist is less of a pressing issue. It is evident that sooner or later speaking will be introduced. Today other questions are of greater importance. What will be the format of the speaking part? What tasks and assessment criteria will be used? And what counts most is how to prepare students for speaking a foreign language? New model of conducting the speaking exam in foreign languages ​​provides for recording equipment, by means of which students’ monologue statements are recorded. The presence of the interlocutor is not provided. Record of the examinees oral responses to the electronic media is done by the exam organizer who uses special software. It seems that the absence of the interlocutor at the exam makes it easier for the teacher to prepare students for the exam as such strategies as to respond to a partners reactions fall out of the list of skills being assessed. However, at the speaking lessons teachers rarely use recording devices; they rather create real-like conditions for communication through pair or group work arrangements. Thus two sets of conditions (those of teaching and of assessing) contradict one another. Podcasts being the tools to create the real-like conditions for communication in the classroom and at the same time preparing students for the use of technical teaching aids could solve this contradiction. Podcast is a kind of social service, allowing you to listen to, watch, create and share audio and video shows on the Web. Unlike broadcast television or radio podcasts let you listen to audio/video programs at any time convenient for the user. Students can either listen to or watch podcasts, or create their own podcasts on any topic. In this Wiki we'll explore the following podcast services:
 * Voicethread
 * Voxopop
 * Audioboo
 * PodOmatic
 * Vocaroo
 * MailVU
 * BrainShark