Are you
looking for a new way to improve your understanding of spoken English?
Podcasts are a great and fun way to do so.
What’s a podcast?
Many of you
will already be familiar with them. For those of you who haven’t heard about
podcasts before let me explain briefly.
Podcasts
are digital audio or video files or recordings, usually part of a themed series,
that can be downloaded from a website to a media player or computer. They are
available online and once you download them you can listen to them wherever and
whenever you want.
You can download them to your computer, your mp-3 player or your phone. After you
download them you can listen to a podcast in the gym, when you go for a run,
while you’re doing housework, on the bus, train or in your car... so they are
very convenient.
With a
little dedication, English language podcasts will help you quickly improve your
listening skills and proficiency. One perk (benefit) is that podcasts often
have transcripts (a written version of the audio). This means that you can
listen and read at the same time, or look at a transcript if one part of a
podcast confuses you.
Some of
them are specially made for students of English as a foreign language so you
can find one appropriate to your level and listen to skilled speakers who will
teach you useful vocabulary in a fun way. Others are produced for a native
audience, so you will be able to listen to authentic English.
If you
would like to try listening to one, here’s a link to an example about the topic
we’ve been dealing with in the class: The weather. The podcast is called 6 MinuteVocabulary and you will find it on the BBC Radio website. You will find some
other podcasts there designed for students of English too. I'll also keep on posting other suggestions during the year.
There are podcasts about any subject under the
sun. So find the one you are interested in and enjoy your learning!
