Before we start the podcasting project, let's put some ideas together. To do so, please answer to the following questions to this post
by 11:00 AM on Monday, Oct. 30. Click on the "Comments" link at the end of this post and post your answers.
Questions
- What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
- What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
There will be no in-class quiz on Monday, Oct. 30. Instead, your answers to the two questions above will be counted as quiz (10 pts).
20 comments:
1. What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
A good podcast should be clear and easily understood. The contents should be well organized, concise yet thorough, interesting, and helpful to the audience. The goal of a good podcast should be to reach out and advise or entertain its listeners.
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
Some interesting topics to dicuss are New York City life and culture, as well and college functions. It would be great to know which classes or professors are noteworthy at a specific college or how to program plan to ensure a smooth schedule of classes. It would also be helpful to know how a student can take advantage of such an interesting city as New York in an effective yet economical manner. One should recommend cheap eats or museums/theaters with low fares.
1. What constitutes a "good" or "bad" podcast?
First of all a podcast should be well produced, organized, consistent in its theme or the topic of the day, as well as must flow very well. The message it is trying to get across must be interesting enough that it grabs the audience's attention and informative enough that the audience comes back for more.
Many times a bad podcast is one that is monotonous and not quirky enough. In order for it to be entertaining, the content must be formulated so that it reaches a specific type of audience; it must relate to that audience. Finally, you can't have a good podcast without real opinionated people in charge, who are clear in speech and friendly.
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast?
Being from another country makes someone curious about the daily happenings and events of of that country. I would want to know what students do in school, what they study, and what they are involved in after school, their hobbies. To make Columbia University more familiar I would first mention general facts about the university and then pick a specific topic to talk about each day when doing the podcast. Consequently, I would inform the audience of random hapening around the city of New York. New York plays a big role in shaping the students of Columbia. Talking about study abroad, a party that is being put together, a lecture which might be very interesting would also spark my interest. These ideas definitely constitute a good radio program.
1.A good podcast should begin with a brief introduction. The speaker should speak a little bit slower than usual and clearly enunciate every word (please none of that rapid-fire japanese that we encounter at language lab). If we are doing interviews, the person we are interviewing should be introduced briefly (where they are from, why they are studying/teaching japanese, what they do at columbia/their major, etc). A good format might be the "fresh air" program with terry gross on npr (shorter than that of course).
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
- why student(s) chose to learn japanese/english
- first impressions of the langauge/country
- most difficult and easiest aspects of learning the language
- whether you get a chance to use that language outside of the classroom
- comparisons to learning other languages (difficulties, similarities, etc)
- strangest/funniest/most interesting expression or word learned in that language
- interviews with japanese/english instructors about their background and general advice
What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
- clear, steady pronunciation
- no personal topics (gossip) or chatting
- topics that could interest the majority of the listeners (one topic should last no longer than 3~5 mins, its just frustrating to hear someone talk, or make a big deal out of something forever.)
- maybe some music in between? it would be really dry if people kept talking on and on
What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
- how school life is, generally
- language related episodes
- school history, or interesting facts, current events in school (i.e, how Columbia raised 4 billion dollars in a month to expand the campus up to 137, this years nobel prize winners, etc)
- life in NYC
- college myths
- pros and cons about specific classes, how to survive and get that golden A/A+
- know-hows of how to get into an ivy league school, or another American university
- things admissions never told you about college (i.e, You will begin to nap again; Your bookstore bill will almost equal tuition; Squirt guns = Stress relief; Instant messenger becomes an addiction; Classes... the later the better; ATM's are the devils advocate. ATM = Another Twenty Missing; You will begin to negotiate with God even if you have doubted his existence in the past..! ."Please God, if you let me pass this final, I'll never drink again!"; Stealing from the dining hall will become second nature; If it's snowing out, the only reason you will leave your room is for food, etc.)
what constitutues a good/bad podcast?
i subscribed to a few japanese podcasts, in order to pick up a few japanese phrases and such, before i started this class---a few reasons why i thought they were great was because they were:
1) informative
2) short and to the point, concise,
3) interesting enough to encourage me to keep downloading the following week's podcast
4) it didn't require very much effort on my part, to understand what was going on because they repeated what they said, and spoke clearly and slowly
most importantly tho, i liked the short podcasts because i could watch them in a few minutes, and gain info...and they didn't take a long time to download!
what would you like to know about life at an american university if you were a japanese student who would listen to your podcast
1) how many hours of homework/study are required (to get by)?
2) how is the work-life balance?
3) do you feel you have found the right college for you, and the right group of friends?
4) what is the most popular major at your college?
5) what is your college known for?
6) what are your favorite things to do/places to go outside of school and why?
1.What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
I think that a good podcast should be, above all, entertaining. Obviously our podcast will need to be informative, given that this is its purpose, to inform Japanese students about life in New York, specifically as a student of Columbia University. However, this should be approached in a humorous, interesting way. Despite our obvious restraints due to our relatively tiny vocabulary size, we should do our best to entertain. After all, when I subscribe to a podcast, I go for humor: Have you ever heard of "Ask a Ninja"? Perhaps a lot of humor would be lost in the translation, but the idea of first year Japanese students trying to communicate effectively after only a couple of months of study is humorous in itself. Thus, our podcast should be a success.
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
I would like to know about what they do for fun, what classes they are taking, how difficult they are, as in just how much time they have to spend working. I've heard (and maybe it's just a stereotype) that school is more difficult in Japan. I'd like to know what they eat, if they exercise, go to parks, what they read, what movies they like. I would view this podcast as an opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture in general and about their lives. I'm sure that students in Japan feel the same way. If they are listening to the podcast, they are obviously intrigued. (Just an idea: So many people have video ipods now... I wonder if it would be a good idea to include pictures as well? I know that I would like to see pictures of how they dress, etc. But perhaps it would be good to describe that.)
1. I agree with the comments made by other students about the concise and informative aspects of a good podcast. I also think that it will be very important to focus on topics that aren't necessarily formal in nature. I think that podcasts are a good opportunity to step outside of classroom instruction in order to gain a better understanding of colloquial language and culture.
2. I'm particularly interested in the lifestyle of Japanese college students. What they do for fun, etc. I also find it extremely interesting to find out what impressions Japanese students have on American culture and American students. Sometimes it is extremely interesting to learn what stereotypes (if any) develop in foreign cultures. I would like to see this podcast attempt to provide a more colorful picture of cultural differences and similarities than the minute long videos that we watch in language lab.
I think the podcasts should be interesting and short. Personally, I get bored listening to the podcast if it lasts more than 10-15 mins, unless it's something very humorous. I believe that it must be short and sweet to attract a listener's attention and keep them interested and coming back.
It should also be funny - humor tends to bring in more audiences, and spreads very quickly online. Japanese people like funny/silly things, evident in all those funny variety shows and reality shows.
A good podcast should also be well-targeted (not all over the place, for instance if targeted to college students, then discuss things that would be of interest to them, use that kind of language/level of intelligence, taps into what they like, music, popular culture, politics, etc.)
Some things to consider to put on the podcasts:
- College life, classes, dorm life, extra-curricular activities, life in new york city
- People at Columbia Unviersity, what they like to do, what they study, their different backgrounds
- American college culture
- Maybe a mini-series where 4-5 people are tracked for 2-3 months, and what they do in life, weird and fun "unique" American experiences they have
- "Funny stories of the week"
1. What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
- A good radio program should attract the audiences, which can be achieved by the quality of contents. It should be interesting and informative, for this project. Also, the program should use a good method to spread the words to wider range of the audiences, like youtube.
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
- Thinking reversely, I should figure out what I want to know about the Japanese college students, to get the most effective contents to be included in the podcast. I want to know about the educational system of Japan: what kinds o f tests are there to apply for college, is there a hierarchy among the colleges ( I heard Tokyo Univ. is the best among all and there are two rival schools, Waseda and one which I don't remember the name), how Japanese students think or feel about the function of colleges, how is the life of ordinary college student?
Such questions can be converted and answered by me about the American education system.
Also, Columbia is in New York, so we should include the any intereting facts about NYC and how students take advantage of the city. (So for Japanese, they can talk about the major cities.)
Finally, if there is any kind of exchange program or educational opportunities between Columbia and Japanese schools, it should be included to inform the students who are actually interested in Columbia Univ.
Hope this can contribute to our project:)
1. A good podcast is one that is entertaining and fun to listen to. Therefore, the topics of discussion must be appealing to the masses. The conversations have to be clear, fluent, and easy to understand; it should not sound mechanical or overly rehearsed. Humor always helps. Music is also a good idea.
2. If I were a Japanese student, I would like to hear about the daily, normal routine things that American students do; I think these are real and interesting. For example, what they had for lunch and how much it cost, how do they dress, fashions, popular music. Favorite hang-out spots in NYC or on campus. It would be quite interesting to share anything special/funny/unexpected/embarassing that happened in school.
1. A "good" podcast would be one that not only has useful information and is structured but also has a warm, friendly host/speaker who can get the audience interested. I feel that by having a host who is engaging, it'll get more people interested in the podcast.
2. Some of the things I'd like to learn from a Japanese student include how research is conducted in a Japanese graduate program, what kinds of accommodations do Japanese universities make for graduate students, and if a lot of women attend graduate school. Do they have to pay tuition or is this something that is covered by the state? Is housing offered or do they have to commute from their own homes? It sounds trite but this is of great interest to me because people I've met from outside the U.S. who have gone to graduate school have some very different experiences from American graduate students.
1) What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
I think that a good podcast should be engaging, clear and understandable. The pace of speaking should also be relatively slow so that non native Japanese students like us can keep up and understand what's going on. Perhaps some jokes or small anecdotes should be injected into the podcast to make it more interesting and the tone of the speaker vary to make the podcast more animated so that the listener will continue to listen attentively. A bad podcast is probably a monotonous one in which the speaker rambles on and on about nothing in particular.
2)What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
If I were a Japanese student, I would like to know more about the activities, classes, housing, and most importantly, FOOD, that the students at a university have. I would pay great attention if little anecdotes about the interesting people, events (for example the pumpkin carving competition), cultural differences were cited. And since we're located in the world's busiest city, more information about the prominent landmarks in nyc would be good too.
1. What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
Top 5 ways to turn people away from podcast:
1) start speaking very fast in japanese so the poor listener will feel silly
2) make it more than 15 minutes long
3) make it so fanciful that it takes 15mins to download
4) talk non-stop
5) start speaking very fast in japanese so the poor listener will feel silly again
I guess if we avoid all of the above the podcast should do fine. To make it good, the podcast will have to be entertaining. Maybe we could include international famous japanese production like slamdunk or something along that line. This way, learning will be made a lot more interesting.
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast?
1) what the neighbourhood around the college is like
2) the perspective of another japanese student in the university
3) the perspective of a local student
4) comparisons with other similar universities
5) college trivia
6) academic standing of the college
7) eateries that students frequent
8) extra-curricular activities that the college offers
9) who the famous professors at the university are
10) whether it offers good solid
1. What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
I think a good podcast should be first and foremost interesting to the audience. It should also be built around one main idea since our vocabulary is limited at this moment. Examples would be our experience learning Japanese or what our extra-curricular activities are like. It should not try to be too wide in scope and talk about things like what life in New York is like, for example. A bad podcast would thus be one that tries to accomplish too much and simply ends up boring its listeners.
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
If i were a Japanese student I would love to learn more about what American culture is really like i guess. Being an international student myself most of us have a certain image of Americans that we derive from the mass media and it would be interesting to see how far reality deviates from fiction. Given the strong emphasis on education in Japan, I would also like to learn more about what the education system here is like and what it emphasizes. I believe that the mindsets of Japanese and American students would be quite different and itwould be interesting to find out what Americans consider important in college. Also, it might be fun to compare daily schedules and simple things like that. Finally, maybe it would be interesting to hear about what Japanese teachers in America are like and how they compare to Japanese teachers in Japan.
1.What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
A good radio program should appeal to the mass. To achieve that, one should make sure the programs are diverse and entertaining. Also, the speaker should speak clearly and slowly, with tone variation, instead of a dead, monotonous voice. There should also be something unique or ‘catchy’ about the program, which would set it apart from the others.
2.What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
-facts about college, and the college neighborhood in general
-student life and diversity
-what kind of events, college students consider as ‘fun.’
-how difficult it is to adapt to a different language, and what kind of support one would get from the students here
-How expensive it would be to live in the city, basically money management
-fun facts in general
-how to do laundry
1. What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
I've heard of a podcast, but have never made one, or listened to one for that matter, so I'm pretty new to the subject. Anyways, I think that the speakers in the podcast should be engaging and full of energy. There is nothing worse than listing to a monotonous voice ramble on for minutes on end. We could possibly add some jokes or sound effects to lighten the mood, and make it more entertaining. Obviously, it should also be informative, and helpful to our target audience.
2. What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast?
I would like to know what students do for fun outside of the classroom. I realize that every situation is different, but do students usually spend most of their time studying, or do they go out and socialize. Are their social activities similar to those found in my home country? Is the atmosphere at Columbia similar to other American universities? What kind of sports to college kids play/watch in America? Is the atmosphere within American classrooms similar to that of Japanese college classrooms?
1. Basic rules of public speaking. I have never seen a podcast but I guess it's basically like a radio show. Know your audience and cater to them. Try to walk the middle path as much as possible: try to be funny but not a clown; informative but not boring.
2. How are the American girls/guys? What do you do on the weekends? Do you agree that karaoke is the greatest thing since sliced bread? What kind of foods should I try in America? Where can I find good japanese food if I don't like American food? How are the girls/guys?
はじめまして
わたしはパクです
1.What constitutes a "good" (or "bad") podcast (radio program)?
A good podcast should be HONEST. Since this podcast is for people who are interested in NewYork life(or Columbia university, American college life..) we should tell them the truth because they might be seriously considering coming to the United States(It is a big decision as all of you may know,,,so they don't want wrong information).
Also, it should be interersting so that many people would actually click on our podcast and listen to the program(SHOULD NOT EVER BE BORING!!!).
2.What would you like to know about life at an American university if you were a Japanese student who would listen to your podcast? (or what would you like to know about life at a Japanese university if some Japanese college students were making similar podcasts?)
First of all, I would like to know about the workload...How busy the campus life is and how stressful the classes and the hws are.After that, the people....How are the people? Are NEWYORKERS friendly?Dormitory life?do students get along well with each other?What about the livng cost? How much is the average living cost in a month? How's the food?
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