English Language Teaching in its Social Context

RECORDING AND TRANSCRIBING TALK 327Intrusiveness can be lessened by keeping the technology simple and unobtrusive,for example by using a small, battery-operated cassette recorder with a built-inmicrophone. This also avoids the danger of trailing wires, and the problem offinding appropriate sockets.It is also better to use a fairly simple cassette recorder if pupils are recordingthemselves. In this case, go for a machine with a small number of controls, andcheck that young pupils can operate the buttons easily.There is a trade-off between lack of intrusiveness/ease of use and quality ofrecording: more sophisticated machines, used with separate microphones,will produce a better quality recording. This is a consideration if you intend touse the recordings with others, for example in a professional developmentsession.A single cassette recorder is not suitable for recording whole-class discussion,unless you focus on the teacher’s talk. The recorder will pick up loud voices, orvoices that are near to it, and probably lose the rest behind background noise(scraping chairs and so on). Even when recording a small group, backgroundnoise is a problem. It is worth checking this by piloting your recordingarrangements: speakers may need to be located in a quieter area outside theclassroom.With audio-recordings you lose important nonverbal and contextual information.Unless you are familiar with the speakers you may also find it difficult todistinguish between different voices. Wherever possible, supplement audiorecordingswith field-notes or a diary providing contextual information.Video-recordingsVideo cameras are more intrusive than audio-cassette recorders. In contexts suchas classrooms, intrusiveness can be lessened by leaving the recorder around fora while (switched off).A video camera is highly selective ~ it cannot pick up everything that is going onin a large room such as a classroom. If you move it around the classroom you willget an impression of what is going on, but will not pick up much data you canactually use for analysis. A video camera may be used to focus on the teacher’sbehaviour. When used to record pupils, it is best to select a small group, carryingout an activity in which they don’t need to move around too much.As with audio-recordings, it is best to have the group in a quiet area where theirwork will not be disrupted by onlookers.The recording will be more useable if you check that the camera has all that youwant in view and then leave it running. If you move the camera around you maylose important information, and you may introduce bias (by focusing selectivelyon certain pupils or actions).Video cameras with built-in microphones don’t always produce good soundrecordings.You will need to check this. A common problem is that you may needto locate a camera a long way from the group you are observing both to obtaina suitable angle of view, and to keep the apparatus unobtrusive. If it is importantthat you hear precisely what each person says, you may need to make a separateaudio-recording or use an external microphone plugged into the video camera.