Juan Carlos Domínguez López  was born on March 4th, 1965, in Havana, Cuba. In 1998 he started at Varona Pedagogical Sciences University in Havana where he got his bachelor´s degree. He has worked at all levels of the Cuban system of education including the design of TV lessons for primary schools. In 2004 he started working at Havana Medical University obtaining associate professor teaching rank. Email: Juank650304@gmail.com

Alina González Hourruitiner was was born on January 25th, 1978, in Havana, Cuba. In 1995 she started at Varona Pedagogical Sciences University in Havana where she got her bachelor´s degree. In the year 2000 she started working at Havana Medical University where she is working at present with the Assistant Professor Teaching Rank. Email: geralidani2010@gmail.com

Arelis Tamayo Verdecia was born on August 20th, 1973 in Havana, Cuba. She started at Varona Pedagogical Sciences University in 1991 where she got her bachelor´s degree. She has worked in Secondary School and since 2005 she started to work at Havana Medical Sciences University where she has obtained the Assistant professor teaching rank. Email: arelistverdecia73@gmail.com

 

Sponsor institutions

Havana Medical Sciences University

Cuban Institute of radio and television

 

Abstract

Due to the increasing motivation by part of the Cuban population towards the learning of the English language and taking into account the popularity of the English TV courses, we thought about  the possibility of using radio as part of the idiomatic strategy that is taking part in our country and as support to the TV lessons.

We presented a project to a radio station, with the support of the British Council and the University For All English lessons TV project. It was approved and very welcomed by the staff of the station. The proposal is on air at present, showing excellent results and promoting new ideas that will be implemented in the future.

 

Introduction

Radio has remained a powerful medium of communication, and this is due to the fact that its message contents can be received at distant places as a result of its wide coverage and its ubiquitous nature. It has the ability to reach large audiences because it is relatively cheap and can function without electricity. Among the advantages of the radio, we can count:

Portability

It is a great advantage of radio which allows you to listen to it while driving, doing household chores, shopping, walking and many more.

Mass Coverage

Radio promises to inform, propagate, educate, and entertain a large population at a time.

Entertainment

Radio turns out to be an easy way of entertainment, diverting people from worries, stress, and troubles.

Radio is free

There are thousands of free radio stations available to listen to almost anything you want.

But we also have to take into account some disadvantages at the time of designing a good proposal for using radio as a teaching tool:

Lack of Visualization

Radio is a blind medium that offers only audio communication. Unlike television, lack of visualization is unable to connect the people to a product. Visual effects appear to be more convincing than audio.

Lack of attention

Because it is an easy-going medium of communication, people don’t usually get or remain connected to it for a long time. While driving or cooking, if you are listening to the radio, you don’t pay complete attention.

Signal issues

Because radio works based on receiving signals, sometimes you may find it difficult to tune to a specific station. There will also be signal issues, resulting in noisy audio.

With all these in mind, we can even say that radio maintains its popularity and continues to amuse us in a way, unlike video content. The advantages and disadvantages of radio together make it a unique medium of communication.

 

Pedagogy

Being more specific into the pedagogical use of radio ,we have to know there are two types of educational radio: classic and interactive. With classic radio education, instruction occurs with nearly zero pedagogy, and it relies on our brain’s ability to focus on what we are hearing. By contrast, interactive radio education is produced to keep the audience well and truly busy. It is designed to engage learners as much as possible in responding to the content by assigning them tasks and by constantly asking them to verbally respond to the radio (during carefully timed pauses in transmission). During an interactive broadcast, learners listen, and engage in as many ways as possible to practice their new learning. It employs pedagogical research to wring maximum learning, through immediate practice and application, from the medium.

Taking into account the advantages, disadvantages and types of educational radio ,we presented a project with the proposal of using radio with the goal of improving not only English language abilities but, also as a way of giving the listeners the possibility of enhancing their knowledge about the culture of English speaking countries as well.

The Project was presented to a radio station, receiving previous support by the BC and the group of specialists of the TV English language course with whom the teacher head of the project had talks and all agreed in starting and receiving continuous feedback and support. The Project has been approved, and it is being broadcast at this moment, showing excellent outcomes which have made us go on thinking on new ways and patterns to be implemented in the future.

 

Development

Taking into consideration that the music that is played in this radio show is from an Anglo-Saxon pattern, where soundtracks of TV series and films are also played and considering the actual attention that the study of languages is receiving in Cuba, we proposed this segment into that radio program that in a didactic, brief and dynamic way contributes to the development of habits and abilities into the use of the English language among the listeners,  that due to the kind of music it broadcasts, most of them have at least a minimum knowledge of the language which has also increased the popularity of the show itself. The segment is on air once a week with duration of 10 minutes. It is aimed at young and contemporary adults.

The goal of the segment is to contribute in an easy-to-follow way to the development of English language abilities. We started with the use of idioms, their contexts and use in songs and films captivating the listener’s attention and increasing their comprehensive culture knowledge, as we also include aspects of the culture of the countries where the English language is spoken. It is very important that the teacher interacts with the host of the show in English, so the listeners are more involved and motivated during those 10 minutes of program where they don’t see it as a radio lesson but as a way of learning in a different and entertaining manner.

The name of the segment is Scala English, inserted into the show, which is named Scala Master on 98.3 FM Radio Metropolitana, a radio station that broadcasts from Havana through AM, FM and Internet.

The segment is based as we previously said on the wide world of idioms, their tricky meanings that constitute an issue for those non-native speakers who are trying to find a literal meaning or a translation from the constituents of the idiom itself. So, in a colloquial way, the teacher and the presenter of the show talk in English, introduce the station, the show and the segment. They update the weather forecast, offer ways to get in touch with the program and step by step they make an introduction to the topic to be focused on the section through a mini dialogue where the idiom is going to be highlighted.

Following this, the listeners begin to interact with the radio staff, an original recorded mini dialogue is heard (from students, teachers or original sources) where they can listen to the idiom in context, and they are invited to predict its meaning. A brief explanation about the meaning of the idiom is also heard from original sources as well, where the listeners have access not only to dialogues but also to expert’s explanations. The phrase is also posted on the FB and Telegram sites of the program which permits them to visualize it. Later, and as a main course, an original song is played where the idiom is clearly heard and put into context so the listeners will have a wider opportunity of putting it in our Spanish context. Following this, the teacher tells the “meaning” or equivalent of the idiom and the possible use of it in our context. At the same time, the listeners have already said what they think about its “meaning” as well. As we don’t ask for literal translation, every proposal is accepted once it fulfills the context in which the expression is used.

Here is an example of one of the segments with the idiom: third time’s the charm.

We began by having a talk about a broadcaster´s course the host of the show is taking…we talk about the English workshop they received where they learnt about the use of words and terms related to the media, then I ask her: ”Have you heard about the certification English test our universities are doing?”

That’s the way we introduce the idiom: third time’s the charm

And it goes like this…

Host: Oh yes…I’m having the certification test…..once more

Teacher: Once more? How many times have you taken it?

Host: Twice. But you know as the saying goes. Third times´ the charm

Teacher: Well, good luck to you this time

Host: Thank you. I have a hunch this time…. once more

Then a mini dialogue with Native American speakers is heard with a similar situation.

To continue helping the listeners to get to a final understanding of the meaning of the idiom we play a short explanation using an audio file from a British speaker taken from the BC learning English web page.

Finally, the song Third times´ the charm by Starz is played.

This sequence of the learning English segment is developed in a dynamic way, connecting one step to the other in a way listeners keep engaged without gaps and always making links among one each other components of the segment.

Other aspects we have included into the segment:

• Jamaica’s emancipation day

• Edinburgh Fringe

• Easter in different parts of the world

• Halloween celebrations

• St. George’s day in England

• St. Valentine 

• ESP related to health and illnesses

 

Conclusion

The history of educational radio starts in the 1930s with experimental works developed in the USA and Europe even though there are reports of some universities having previous experiences in the 20s. It was on December 13th , 1932,that CMBZ, a Cuban radio station broadcast for the first time an educational program called “Universidad del aire”( University on air) broadcasting historical, cultural, literary and sociological topics.

So, we can conclude that since its beginning and evolution, radio has played a crucial role in the field of education. Radio itself has advanced over the centuries. But the basic principle has remained the same: reaching to the masses at a lower cost. The immediacy, the accessibility, the simplicity of the medium has the wherewithal to sustain its importance in the educational system.

We can affirm that in more than a year working with this segment into the radio show, we have noticed an increase in the number of listeners asking for more, interacting and proposing topics for the section. Even the professional staff of the station has been involved in recording dialogues that have been on air, giving prove that the segment is working and motivating not only the listeners but the workers of the radio station as well. At the same time, the popularity of the show itself has increased so the program is third in the ranking of the station, only overpassed by a social radio magazine and a Latin Music show. It is being a great opportunity for people to have a tool for increasing their linguistic abilities and as a support for whatever English language courses they are taking.

We are already working on new ways and possibilities of using radio as a way to reach a wider range of people which still use this means of communication as their number one option for news, entertainment and enhancing knowledge.

 

References

www.voalearningenglish.com (2024) English in a minute. Voice of America. Washington DC, USA

www.britishcouncil/english.co.uk (2021) British code English school .London, UK

Garfinkel, Alan (1972) Teaching via Radio: A review of resources. Oklahoma State University, USA

Okeke, Ao. Chibuike, J. Nneka, G (2013) The use of radio as a tool of learning in crisis period. Journal of Communication and media. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria

www.bbclearningenglish.com (2024) six minutes English.BBC.London, UK

Richmond, Simon (2023) The Case for Learning by Radio. Education Development Center,USA

Divya, John (2017) Designing a Listening Activity: From the Known to the Unknown. The International Conference on Empowering the English Language Learner – Materials, Methods and Testing. Anna University,India

www.radiocubana.cu (2009). La programación educativa en la Radio Cubana.Havana, Cuba

 

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