With podcasts, students can learn English anywhere and at any time. Whether they are commuting to work, doing housework or working out, students can always plug their headphones and immerse themselves in an English environment.
There are hundreds of Podcasts designed for ESL/ELL students, and all students need to do first is to find the Podcast that fits their current English level and matches their interests. Below are five podcasts we would like to recommend to ESL/ELL Students:
English as a Second Language (ESL) Podcast – Learn English Online (by Center for Educational Development)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/english-as-second-language/id75908431?mt=2
English as a Second Language Podcast is for anyone who wants to improve their English speaking and listening skills. This comprehensive podcast teaches pronunciation, idioms, slangs and all aspects of American life.
Level: Beginning to Intermediate ESL/ELL students
American English Pronunciation Podcast (by Seattle Learning Academy)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/american-english-pronunciation/id276921054?mt=2
The American English Pronunciation Podcast offers weekly lessons covering the most common and difficult English pronunciation issues. Learn the General American Accent English speaking techniques and become better understood.
Level: Intermediate to Advanced ESL/ELL students
Slow English (by Rob McCormack)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slow-english/id636405679?mt=2
A podcast about Australia for learners of English, spoken slowly by a native speaker. Visit http://www.slowenglish.info to read transcripts for the podcasts.
Level: Beginning to Intermediate ESL/ELL students
Slow American English Podcast (By Karren Doll Tolliver)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slow-american-english-podcast/id958999703?mt=2
ESL teacher, writer and photographer Karren Doll Tolliver writers and reads short essays about the USA slowly so that learners of English can understand and practice listening skills. Free transcript is available at http://www.SlowAmericanEnglish.net.
Level: Beginning to Intermediate ESL/ELL students
BBC World Service – Global News Podcast
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2
The best stories, interviews and on the spot reporting from around the world including highlights from Newshour, Newsday and World Briefing. The day’s top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.
Level: Advanced ESL/ELL students
For ESL/ELL students, however, listening to podcasts is only the first step. To truly improve English language proficiency, down-to-earth practice is absolutely inevitable. One of the greatest ways to enhance English skills is to write transcripts of these podcasts. This practice has proved to be effective in the following ways:
– It enhances listening skills – podcasts are available for playback whenever they are uncertain about a word.
– It teaches idiomatic expressions – such expressions are hard to find in written articles, but rather common in daily conversations. Therefore, writing transcripts down can to some extent force students to pay attention to unnoticeable but frequently used expressions.
– It enlarges knowledge base – sometimes when students have problem catching a word, the problem does not lie with their listening skills, but a lack of relevant knowledge. Thus, to figure the missing word out, they may need to find clues from articles discussing the same topic.
About the Author:
Xiaoke Kang is an Ed.M. candidate in the Human Development and Psychology program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is interested in exploring ways technology, especially Podcasts, mobile apps and online games, can be used to enhance ESL students’ learning experience. Her passion is helping EdTech companies headquartered in the US expand in the Chinese market through the design of customized products and the implementation of flexible localization strategies.
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