Effective social learning pedagogy in Spanish language teaching: Integrating podcasting and blogging to teach current affairs

Abstract

Podcasting and blogging are used in the Spanish program at the Australian National University (ANU) to give students an immersive language experience. This paper reports on the implementation of a social learning pedagogy developed from a practical learning experience that allowed students to explore current issues in the Spanish-speaking world while improving their aural and writing skills in the Spanish language. We describe the educational design by which blogging and podcasting were integrated into an undergraduate course, analyse the outcomes and show how such Web 2.0 tools can promote a heightened level of engagement in cross-cultural understanding and cultural sensitivity.