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Meet You In Podcast Heaven!
by Nathalie Fairbanks
The magic of podcasts is that you can listen to them whenever you want, however often you want--a great plus when compared to a radio show that is broadcast at a specific time, and then only once.
Just as a radio program, you get the advantage of authentic spoken language, including all the hmm's, uuuh's, hesitations, half-finished sentences, etc. that you don't usually find in textbooks.
If it's a radio show podcast, you might get the benefit of one speaker who has a clear enunciation (the host... hopefully!), and possibly guests who speak with all kinds of variations on pronunciation and vocabulary - just like in real life!
Be sure to find a show that you're interested in. I can't stress this enough. I believe that one of the reasons so many students quit language learning before really getting anywhere is that the materials they work on bore them to tears.
Making a hotel room reservation might be a very practical thing to learn how to do, but it's part of the tedious side of traveling. It's so much more fun to communicate about a topic that you're interested in, to find out what your counterpart has to say about it, how he views issues and what leads him to his conclusions.
Find an area you're passionate about that you want to share with people around you and subscribe to a podcast that revolves around it. It's a great tool to get you to the point where you can talk about something in depth. Over time, you'll be exposed to the relevant vocabulary, and it'll be repeated often enough that you won't have to worry about memorizing much of it. Prepare yourself by looking up a few keywords ahead of time so you're not completely lost during your first show.
If you poke around the web for resources, you'll find podcasts that come with a transcript. That's the best of both worlds! Not only do you get to listen to the same show several times, but you don't need to bend your ear into advanced contortions to identify words or expressions that you've never heard before. Just go to the transcript and find out what they are!
Here are some resources that you can dive into until you find your very own "podcast heaven."
ALL LANGUAGES
The most comprehensive resource is probably on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast. If you search for "podcast," you'll get to a whole long explanation of what a podcast is. Then click on any of the languages a little further down on the left, and you'll likely find a podcast directory for your new language.
I did make a list of more specific ones that I think are worthwhile for a few common languages:
SPANISH
1. Podcast about Colombia that's easy to understand and covers a variety of topics:
http://www.earthmusicnetwork.com/colombiainforma
2. Spanish podcast directory--pick your own topic:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/links.php?id=90
3. If you do a search for "espanol" on http://www.Odeo.com, you'll come up with a few Spanish podcasts as well.
GERMAN
1. Deutsche Welle has a number of podcasts. Here's one that comes with a transcript!
http://rss.dw-world.de/xml/podcast_alltagsdeutsch
2. A more general German podcast directory:
http://www.podcast.de
FRENCH
1. News in French, simple vocabulary, comes with script:
http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/statiques/accueil_apprendre.asp
2. Radio France Internationale has many more podcasts, see what's interesting to you:
http://www.rfi.fr
ITALIAN
Here's an Italian podcast directory for you:
http://www.audiocast.it/podlist
MULTIPLE LANGUAGES
Podcasts in French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Ukrainian from Radio Canada International:
http://www.rcinet.ca
Find one that you like, and happy listening!
© 2008 Nathalie V. Fairbanks
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