The OU offers language downloads in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, English and Welsh.
Language learning resources make up only about 10% of the total content that the OU supplies, but they account for almost a third of all downloads generated from the OU.
And OU language resources often take up the entire Top 10 languages downloads chart on iTunes U. To date there have been more than 15 million downloads of OU languages material.
OU Spanish lecturer Fernando Rosell-Aguilar has carried out the first large-scale study of language learners on iTunes U. He finds that an impressive 97.2 percent of those surveyed say the OU materials are helping them learn their target language.
Using audio or video to learn languages is nothing new, but podcasts represent a step-change, he says.
The obvious benefit is that you can download and listen or watch wherever and whenever you want.
“A lot of people are using podcasts for ‘washover’ listening – not concentrating on a specific language task, just getting used to the sounds and intonation of the language, without the pressure of feeling they’re going to be assessed on what they’re listening to.”
iTunes U has also opened up a massive choice of material which allows learners to ‘personalise’ their learning, he says.
“You can find a podcast about a subject that interests you and suits your personal learning style. This improves motivation and means you can learn language appropriate to your chosen field of work or interest.
“There are documentaries, interviews and lots of material recorded on location. Everything comes with transcripts so you can read as well as listen.”
The vast majority of the publicly available OU languages podcasts are excerpts from OU modules. Now some OU languages modules are making all their audio and video materials available to OU students on iTunes U, using ‘private’ areas which only enrolled students can access.
The majority of the OU languages downloads from iTunes U are not made by OU students. So why is the OU giving away resources for free? Fernando Rosell-Aguilar says:
“It’s great for the Open University brand. The OU is hardly known in the US, but millions of people out there are now downloading our languages materials.”
And OU students in turn benefit from the many podcasts offered by other organisations, he says. His tip? “The top two podcasts recommended by OU Spanish students are currently News in Slow Spanish and Coffee Break Spanish.”
Happy listening!
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Find OU Languages resources on iTunes U.
Posted 19 July 2013
