Voicethread and Task Difficulty

VoiceThread is a convenient and interactive online tool of asynchronous communication that allows students to create and share their projects not only with their classmates but also with people around the world. Voicethread in an ESL classroom can be used in multipurpose ways to practice pronunciation, speaking, storytelling or expository skills. The specific tool integrates the notion of oral practice through interaction with the computer followed by possible peer feedback in the form of a class discussion or by creating a block where students and teachers can submit their comments. Teachers can also use voicethread as an effective assessment tool to see if students understand key concepts and which students put in the most effort during assignments.

From reading the article by Peter Robinson "Task compexity, theory of mind, and intentional reasonging" I realized that certain important aspects such as the complexity of tasks and its relation to a task based design has to be considered when using voicethread. The article suggests that tasks should be designed and sequenced on a basis of a gradual increase in complexity which will promote interaction and eliminate output anxiety. I think an interesting point to consider apart from the negative correlation between task complexity and anxiety output is the notion that task difficulty differs among students depending on their individual linguistic weakenesses or strengths. It seems that even though a gradual complexity in task design is nessecary, at the same time teachers have to consider that students must have the appropriate reference tools and support that will facilitate their individual needs and eliminate their output anxiety.