This post is the first in a projected three-part series exploring innovative use of podcasting in the classroom by UChicago faculty and instructors. Parts two and three are forthcoming.
Keeping students focused in classes and engaged with the material can be a real challenge. Professor Ana Flavia Boeing Marcelino, Research Associate, rose to this challenge by integrating podcasting into her course to help keep her students engaged and explore the material in new ways. She realized that podcasting can be a tool for students learning Portuguese that allows them to practice in an immersive environment and evaluate their own progress. In this interview, Professor Boeing Marcelino shares her experience, strategies, and advice gleaned from integrating podcasting into her Portuguese courses.
What course did you use podcasting in?
Ana Flavia Boeing Marcelino: In the 24-25 academic year, in the Portuguese language program, we used podcasts for various courses, 7 in total. During fall of 2024, for PORT201 – Intermediate Portuguese. In Winter 2025 we used podcasting for PORT205 – Cultures of the Lusophone World and PORT206 – Advanced Composition and Conversation. And finally, our biggest project took place during Spring 2025, where students from all four courses , were involved in a Podcast Project:
- PORT103 – Beginning Elementary Portuguese III
- PORT122 – Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
- PORT145 – Portuguese for the Professions: Intensive Business Portuguese
- PORT216 – Curso de Aperfeiçoamento (Advanced Portuguese)
How did you come up with the idea for podcasting as a creative assignment?
AFBM: Personally, I really enjoy listening to podcasts, because I think they are a great way to get acquainted with different worldviews, be inspired or just relax while doing other daily tasks, such as going for a walk or doing household chores. In the context I work in, language teaching and learning, podcasts are a rich source of input for learning new languages, cultures and ways of living. In my practice, I value learning experiences that are meaningful to students and we put effort in providing learning experiences where students can either apply knowledge they already have or learn new transferable skills. I have always wanted to combine language classroom instruction with community outreach, and a podcast led by students to feature Portuguese speakers that live in Chicago would be the perfect opportunity to bridge the gap between the university classroom and, let’s say “real-life”. We organized a podcast series, where students in different levels of Portuguese could create their own conversations with native or near-native speakers of the language they were learning.
Before putting the big Spring podcasting project in place, we tested the podcast series with classes in previous quarters, one during fall and two in winter. In these pilot projects, as I liked to call them, the podcast had different goals, because of the different nature of those classes. But once we saw it was possible and resulted in a rich content and final class project we decided to implement it for all classes in the Spring quarter of 2025.
What problem did this solve/ need did this fill?
AFBM: The use of the podcast studio solved pedagogical problems and technical issues. Classes during fall and winter have always had podcasts as a final assignment, but students would do them individually and at home, like a traditional assignment. But many podcasts nowadays are closer to a natural conversation and less like a rehearsed speech or a text read out loud. But, don’t get me wrong, those formats develop important skills for practicing pronunciation, cadence, fluency, learning to project your voice and experiment with intonation, but when our focus is communicative language teaching, cognitive language processing and problem-solving, we really want to focus on unrehearsed, spontaneous conversation, and having our students prepare, and go to the studio to record their conversations is a great way to do that. Another aspect is that, having the podcast studio at Reg, we didn’t have to be concerned with the technological/technical aspects of the recording. The quality of the audio is secured by the cutting-edge structure the university already has, and the students, who are already overwhelmed by academic tasks, didn’t need to spend hours learning about software or hardware or dive into the details of podcast production, they used their time to focus on the content and the structure of their conversations.
How do you design this? What are the most important elements?
AFBM: The design of the big Spring podcasting project came to be after testing it three times! So I would say the most important elements are: prepare, test, revise, and test again. Yes, it takes time, but once it’s running the way you envisioned it, it is completely worth the effort.
The first attempt was super raw, the students and I didn’t really know what we were getting into when we first tested it, we used the rubrics and instructions for the “at-home podcast assignment” that was already in place for that class, so there were some mismatches, but it turned out to be a very fun experience.
Based on that, I created a short rubrics and set of instructions of elements students should prepare before showing up to the recording day, and that taught me that maybe we needed a more structured approach to the preparation phase itself.
So for the Spring project, before recording, I met with all students twice, extra-class, to work on the content, structure, and all other elements they wanted to incorporate into their episodes.
We chose to have these moments extra-class, but the preparation could certainly be inserted in class-time, given the appropriate rearrangement of the course content.
What skills or concepts does this develop for students?
AFBM: For our language learning podcasts, our students learn to put the language they practiced in class – a very controlled environment – into practice and into a high-stakes situation. Before recording, we practice ways in which we can get ourselves out of a complicated situation, such as not knowing what to say, not recognizing a word or not remembering a word you wanted to say.
They learn how to make interesting, intriguing conversations in their foreign language which can be transferred to other languages they know, or other contexts in which they are responsible for making conversation happen, such as an internship happy-hour, or a networking call, or meeting new people when they move out of college.
They have to negotiate roles and turn-taking with their colleagues, they have to compromise with their groups and their guests, but most of all, because they are running their episodes, they learn to own their learning experiences and be responsible for making their podcasts their own.
How did you grade the students?
AFBM: For the tests, or “pilot” podcasts, we graded their final project based on the assignments rubrics that were already in place. Focusing on the content and whether they had included on their episodes the content discussed during the courses they were taking.
For the big spring podcast project, we graded students based on completion of the task. Whether they attended the two preparation sessions and their contribution to those and, of course, their participation in the recording of the podcast.
Because this was the first time we were conducting such a big project that involved about 38 students from all courses, and 12 community members, we – as the Portuguese language department – decided to focus on the completion and not on the performance because we were unsure whether this was going to happen successfully. Fortunately, it did. But a lot of things could have gone wrong.
There are a lot of sources and detailed rubrics that can be implemented, and definitely should. We explored them and considered using them. Ideally, we wished to have implemented them right away but for this first time, we decided that completing the project was more important than excelling in performance.
Though the grades are a fundamental part of it, the experience students engaged in was far more relevant and impacting. Beyond the grade they received, they will definitely remember the experience of recording a podcast at a real professional studio, which a lot of them were surprised and excited to see, but also felt pressured or felt like they were engaging in a “real-life” experience, not only another classroom assignment.
Further Information
Podcasting is one of a number of tools you as a faculty member or instructor can give your students to promote their creative engagement with your material. It can be adapted to almost any subject matter to help foster discussion and reflection. To learn more about podcasting and how this strategy might serve your course, check out our Enrich your Classroom Teaching with Podcasts blog post. To take a tour of our podcast studio or schedule a consultation, fill out the Podcast Request Form.
Subscribe to ATS’ blog and newsletter for updates on new resources to support you in using these tools. For individual assistance, you can visit our office hours, book a consultation with an instructional designer, or email academictech@uchicago.edu. For a list of our upcoming ATS workshops, please visit our workshop schedule for events that fit your schedule.
