Oral Production Activity

Oral Production Activity
For this module you will have to record yourself speaking Spanish, and submit the resulting sound
recording to your instructor between February 14 and March 7, 2021. Please follow these directions
closely:
1. Choose the topic in the yellow box at the bottom.
2. Prepare your speech carefully, making sure that you cover all the items and that you’re using the correct
and appropriate vocabulary. As a general guideline, your recording should contain at least 20 complete
sentences in order to receive a grade.
3. Use the vocabulary and the grammar structures contained in the lessons covered to date (Capítulo
preliminar, plus chapters 1, 2 and 3). Avoid trying to say things that are beyond the scope of this course —
you will make fewer mistakes that way, and so will lose fewer points. For this, you will have to simplify your
speech somehow; it would be virtually impossible to say in Spanish the same things that you could say in
English at this level. If you look up words in the dictionary, make sure that you get the context right. Many
words have more than one meaning (i.e. left, the opposite of right and past tense of the verb to leave; cap,
what you wear on your head and a bottle stopper), so make sure that you select the correct context. Thee of an online translation program to translate your speech from English is quite obvious and it violates
the Academic Honesty policy for this course. If such use is detected, you will not receive any credit for your
assignment.
4. Record yourself in Spanish, speaking naturally and clearly. Speed is not important. Avoid, however,
mumblings, hesitations and excessive silent spots between words and phrases. Avoid reading
monotonously from your prepared speech. You’ll be judged according to different criteria: purpose (how you
convey the main ideas), fluency ((coherent speech pattern, not speed; some errors in pronunciation and an
“accent” are OK, the main objective is to be understood), vocabulary (word usage to produce clear
meaning), structure (correct grammar and vocabulary), and effort (the quality of your submission). See the
enclosed rubric for details. Be sure to read the document titled “Quick Guide to Spanish Pronunciation” and
to actively use it when making your recording. You will find it in Learning Module 00, under “Course
Information”.
5. Making an audio file in your computer is not difficult — you need to have a microphone, which is standard
equipment in computers today. The easiest way to make the recording is by going to either
Recordmp3online.com (registration required) or Vocaroo.com, two websites that provide a free and easy
way to make a recording and download it, or send the link to me. Additionally, if you have an iPhone, you
can use the “Voice Memo” function. The recording format is compatible with my Mac home computer as
long as it’s an M4A file, so that would be acceptable as well. Please note: smart phones that use the
Android system, such as Samsung, HTC, LG and others, have a function that allows you to make a voice
recording. However, the file will be in a format that I am unable to read, and I will not be able to grade your
assignment. You will have to change it to the MP3 format before submitting it (there are several programs
on the market, such as Switch, that convert sound files from virtually any format to MP3).
6. Another option is to make a video (with or without the image — what counts is the sound) and upload it to
YouTube or similar website. Then send the web link to me.
7. When you’re ready to submit your recording, go to the bottom of this page and look under Assignment
Submission. Click the “Browse My Computer” button and select the file that you wish to upload. Select your
sound file, which, as has already been mentioned, should be in the format MP3, M4A or WMA). Please
name the file with your own first and last names, so I know to whom it belongs. Then click Submit (blue
button at the very top or bottom of the screen). Don’t miss any of these steps.
Note: Files in the “wave” format, recognizable by the .wav suffix, are extremely large and may be difficult to
upload. It’s better to use the MP3 format. The .wma format (Windows Media Player) is also acceptable, but
other formats (Audacity, Sony, Treo, Samsung, etc.) are not. Please convert your file to the appropriate
format before submitting it (the free program “Switch” can accomplish this quite easily). Otherwise, I’ll have
to reject it and you’ll have to resubmit.
Do not submit your recording by email. If you do, I won’t be able to grade it and you will have to resubmit
using the method described in #7.
8. The grading of this assignment will be done based on a rubric that clearly describes how your recording
will be evaluated. I suggest that you read it so you can prepare before you do your recording (the button
View Rubric will open it up for you).
Oral Production #1
Introduce yourself in Spanish and make sure you include the following: your name, your age, where are
you from (town and state) how are you doing?, what classes are you taking this semester, what do you
wish to study in the future and tell me the name of your parents.
you can put blank or the word age name or just a underling for me to fill in the blank