With the proliferation of smart phones, MP3 players, and PMPs, many students are learning to use podcasts for extra English practice. One of my students asked me recently about some good ones, and these are my favorites for news. There are many others that are strictly for English education. Do you have any to recommend? Search for them in your favorite podcatcher--I use iTunes.
NEWS
1. 6 Minute English
INTERMEDIATE: News for English learners, focusing on one topic per lesson. Their website offers downloadable PDFs with the script and vocabulary to study. Six minutes long, as advertised! I used this in my classroom frequently.
2. New York Times Front Page
ADVANCED: News for native speakers, covering quick summaries of the top stories around the world. Produced for a US audience, some of the stories focus on US news. Usually 6 to 7 minutes long.
3. KBS World Radio News
ADVANCED: News at a native level, covering the top stories in Korea and Asia. Usually around 7 minutes long.
4. BBC NewsPod
ADVANCED: For practice understanding a British English accent, consider the top stories in world news. Most podcasts are around 30 minutes in length for an extended listening practice. They offer a quick summary of the upcoming stories at the beginning of the podcast before going into the details of each story.
-Lisa
EFL Paradise is a blog for students studying English as a foreign or second language, focusing especially on improvement of Koreans' English. Topics will include grammar, pronunciation, listening, speaking, writing, and vocabulary with practice exercises, feedback, and videos.
