I just came back from my exploring expedition into the world of podcasts. At the beginning of my wandering through this jungle I went to look for podcasts for ESL students. The result was that I found myself listening to conversations that were so slow and unnatural that I almost fell asleep. I soon realized that I have to omit the word ESL in my future searches. Well, maybe this is not the case with all ESL podcasts, so let me know if you found anything more interesting to listen to. So, I concentrated myself on podcasts that are interesting, that help me discover and learn new things, that deal with topics that are familiar to me, that are about current issues, and that are food for my soul as well.
The first podcast I chose is Discovery news.
I don't know for you, but for me keeping concentrated when listening to world news or other types of news is quite impossible. I usually loose myself in thoughts somewhere between a report and an other. So, I opted for news that usually appeal to me because they are different and interesting. The duration of podcasts vary from 5 to 30 minutes. Participants are scientists or just common people who love science. The conversations are spontaneous and I think this is very important because in this way we can learn how people really interact in English. And above all, this kind of programe helps us build up our vocabulary.
Then I would recommend Morning Stories. These are very interesting podcasts in which different people tell us their life stories, curious events... in short, they share with us their experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant. There are even music inserts that help the listener feel with the narrator.
The last one is Vanessa Feltz Radio Show. I found this podcast on the BBC web page. It is a talk show where people call in and discuss about different things. This time however the people involved are Londoners, so they discuss local issues as well as more global ones. Again I find it useful from the discourse point of view as well as from the "culture learning" point of view.
I think listening is quite a demanding activity when it's not accompanied by images, so I chose podcasts that are enjoyable but which at the same time don't fail to be informative. If you want to check other podcasts I found go to del.icio.us. My username is evapremrl.
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5 commenti:
Wow! Hey, Eva! How are you?
This is the best post I found about podcasts! I really loved it!
We share the same opinion about the sites we visited...as you did, I noticed that many podcasts are so slow and unnatural, but I thought I had to find some ESL sites. Maybe I could have changed my searching method. Anyway, if you take a look at my post you can find at least on site with interesting ESL podcasts where dialogues sound spontaneous and people interact a lot.
I really enjoyed the three sites you suggested us and had fun while listening to those audio files.
I particulalry loved the "discovery news" site and could appreciate real interviews or people talkin about interesting topics but naturally, like a face-to-face spontaneous kind of talk.
Thank you so much for suggesting it! Bye, see you soon.
Federico.
Hi Eva!
How are you doing?
You wrote that sometimes ESL podcasts are unnatural. You're right! Anyway, I found a couple of interesting and useful websites created by ESL/EFL teachers. Take a look at my del.icio.us.
As regards the websites you mentioned, I really like 'Discovery Channel Radio'. I must admit that the podcasts of this site are very fluent and natural. You said that when you listen to world news your attention is easily distracted so you prefer to listen to news you find interesting. Good choice! This website offers a lot of different podcasts and you can choose whatever you want. Here are the podcast sections I like: ‘Animal Planet Presents’ and ‘Science Channel Features’. I listened to two podcasts: one about grizzly bears, and another one about coral reefs. As I love watching documentaries, I like these podcasts too.
Thank you for advising me this website!
See you!
Giovanna
Hi Eva! I really like your post:you are sincere in what you say!I agree with you: I don't like listening to topics I'm not interested about or that seem so unnatural. It is a bit difficult to find podcasts about what you like but the web is big...it has so many things!However, I think we can find also useful podcasts prepared for learning English..try to have a look to other students' sites! I like the site "Morning Stories": it is insteresting and speeches are spontaneous.I had fun with those files!! They are relaxing! Thak you very much!
Elisa
Hei girl!
How r u doing?!
I've enjoyed reading ur post 'cause it's really interesting and easy-going!I had a look at the podcasts u found and I must say that they are all useful, but If I had to choose I'd definitely go for the third one, above all because I'm interested in English culture and moreover the topics they discuss are really varied!
Well, about ESL...I did the same, when searching for podcasts I never used the word ESL...but at the end I found that many of the ESL podcast,which may seem boring, are really good for learning!
see u!!!
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