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Lesson

Objectives

1. Use metalanguage to describe how meaning is created through the audio semiotic system 

2. Select an audio clip that would complement the mood of the visual

Resources

1. Geronimo Stilton Video
2. Five images
3. iPads

Prior

Knowledge

  • Students are aware and able to use metalanguage to describe how visuals and linguistic features function as meaning-making resources 

Anchor 1

Lesson Development

​The teacher introduces what the term "audio semiotic" comprises of and explains terminologies that might be confusing: 

 

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  • The teacher doesn't show the video but only plays the audio of (0:00-0:08) and (0:30-0:45). The teacher gets students to contrast the mood of the two audio clips

    • The teacher gets students to focus on mainly music, environmental and sound effects​

    • Through a guided whole-class discussion, the teacher introduces the grammar for discussion of audio semiotics.

(Lim, & Tan,2018)

Guiding Questions

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Emotions: 

How did each audio effect made you feel?

 

Mood: 

What kind of mood/ atmosphere did it create? 

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Predict: 

What do you think was happening in the video? 

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Do the audio resources help you predict how the story would unfold?

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Volume

Was the audio loud or soft? Was there any variation in the volume of audio? 

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Rhythm

What is the rhythm of the audio? (e.g. fast, slow, staccato)

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Intent: Why were certain choices made? How did each choice contribute to conveying the intended mood of the scene? How did each choice evoke a certain emotion?

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E.g. The audio has a soft hissing sound that resembles the sound of a snake, accompanied by the sound of slow stealthy footsteps to show an ominous mood and evoke feelings of fear

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Did the choice(s) of background music or sound effects fit the visuals? Do they convey an additional meaning as compared to the visuals?

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SELECTING audio CLIPS

  • The teacher provides five images and gets students to select one 

  • Using that image, students are able to interpret the context of the scenes and choose two audio effects that complement the mood of that image

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The following activity can be done in pair or group.

  • Instruction: Think of two audio clips (i.e. music, environmental or sound effects) that might accompany the visual. Using the guiding questions below, explain why you have chosen these audio clips and post them on Padlet (or any other common platform that students are familar with such as Edmodo, Facebook Group, etc.)

  • Students could either browse a list of audio tracks (i.e. environmental and sound effects) from iMovie or Youtube to find the audio effect that they have in mind. 

    • If they are unable to find the "ideal" audio clip to match what they have in mind, students are also given the option to describe the audio effect using language, if they are able to​​​

  • To make the discussion more interesting, the teacher can play the audio clips that the group has selected, then get the rest of the class to guess which image the group has selected and provide reasons for their guess 

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The following five images are provided: 

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Guiding Questions

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(1) How does the rhythm of the audio clip convey the mood of the image? 

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(2) Would the volume of the audio be loud or soft? Would there be a variation in the volume?

 

(3) How would the selected audio clip make the audience feel? 

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