Podcasts - Language Learning Media?
In today's world many people are looking to learn a language, but like many things in their lives they don't want (or don't have the time ) to sit in a classroom and learn.
This is the way the world is today: People lead busy lives and want their information on demand--instant gratification being the key.
Computers, the internet, electronic gadgets--all the hallmarks of the world we live in, all created to make life easier, and quicker.
Language learning is no different.
Gone are the days of reading books and listening to cassettes, gone mostly are the days of walking to the shops to buy the product in the first place.
Most language courses these days are available for download, or at the very least for order online.
Sometimes, though, people want extra information, they want constant updates that will keep them learning--keep them on their toes.
They want to keep things interesting, and they want it all sent directly to them.
This is where podcasts come in.
What is a Podcast? Podcasts are a media sensation in today's web oriented community; podcasts are simply audio or video files that can be downloaded or sent directly to a person's computer.
This can be through email, a simple download link or a regular feed that will keep people informed of the most up-to-date information and send them podcasts as they are released.
Podcasts can then be either played on the PC, burnt to CD or uploaded to an mp3 player and listened to while on the move.
If you find the right podcast subscription you may well get files sent to you on a regular basis.
Are There Language Podcasts? Many podcasts these days are concentrating on language learning material and there is a huge range of styles and concepts.
They range in frequency from daily podcasts to one-off downloads with every possible combination in-between and the material is as equally varied: You can get vocab of the day podcasts which concentrate solely on teaching vocabulary; there are full audio courses which will break down conversations with their meaning to help you learn vocabulary and gauge sentence structure at the same time.
There are also podcasts of spoken language which are useful for more advanced learners who want to listen to whole tracts of their target speech.
Suffice to say the number of language podcasts out there today is growing and extremely varied.
It is becoming remarkably popular as more and more people want to learn a language but want to do it on the go.
Are They Useful? Podcasts are excellent tools to help you learn a foreign language and are widely available.
Although it is doubtful that you could learn a language from scratch solely from podcasts, they are excellent additions to your language learning arsenal.
They allow you to hear your target language much more regularly than usual which can 'train' your ears to the sound of the speech and ready it for real language confrontation.
They are also excellent at providing vocabulary introduction and practice, running you through words and sentences at your own pace.
Finally they are also good at keeping you involved in the learning process: As podcasts come through regularly they will keep you interested in learning, and with enough good content will prevent you from 'forgetting' your studies.
Where Do I Find Them? There are many sites available to download language podcasts from, many of them are sites which cater to a single language and have vast amounts of information although only some of it may be available for free--examples of these are the japanesepod.
com, Spanishpod101.
com etc and have some excellent resources.
Other sites contain masses of podcasts of all genres, all styles, and all of varying quality.
These are what we would call the Podcast Portals.
They specialize in offering podcasts about every subject you can think of, and of course this includes languages.
They will often have a variety of languages, and all it takes is some searching.
Possibly the best podcast directory for languages is the Apple Itunes page which has an enormous amount of podcasts available free of charge.
Another is PodcastAlley.
com.
Both of these require registration but this is a simple and free of charge process.
There are many more podcast directories which can be found from a simple search or a glance at our language learning website and they hold a wealth of information to help you learn a language that is both free and available at your fingertips.
If you are serious about learning a language then you should definitely make podcasts part of your learning routine.
It's like having a foreign friend in your pocket.
This is the way the world is today: People lead busy lives and want their information on demand--instant gratification being the key.
Computers, the internet, electronic gadgets--all the hallmarks of the world we live in, all created to make life easier, and quicker.
Language learning is no different.
Gone are the days of reading books and listening to cassettes, gone mostly are the days of walking to the shops to buy the product in the first place.
Most language courses these days are available for download, or at the very least for order online.
Sometimes, though, people want extra information, they want constant updates that will keep them learning--keep them on their toes.
They want to keep things interesting, and they want it all sent directly to them.
This is where podcasts come in.
What is a Podcast? Podcasts are a media sensation in today's web oriented community; podcasts are simply audio or video files that can be downloaded or sent directly to a person's computer.
This can be through email, a simple download link or a regular feed that will keep people informed of the most up-to-date information and send them podcasts as they are released.
Podcasts can then be either played on the PC, burnt to CD or uploaded to an mp3 player and listened to while on the move.
If you find the right podcast subscription you may well get files sent to you on a regular basis.
Are There Language Podcasts? Many podcasts these days are concentrating on language learning material and there is a huge range of styles and concepts.
They range in frequency from daily podcasts to one-off downloads with every possible combination in-between and the material is as equally varied: You can get vocab of the day podcasts which concentrate solely on teaching vocabulary; there are full audio courses which will break down conversations with their meaning to help you learn vocabulary and gauge sentence structure at the same time.
There are also podcasts of spoken language which are useful for more advanced learners who want to listen to whole tracts of their target speech.
Suffice to say the number of language podcasts out there today is growing and extremely varied.
It is becoming remarkably popular as more and more people want to learn a language but want to do it on the go.
Are They Useful? Podcasts are excellent tools to help you learn a foreign language and are widely available.
Although it is doubtful that you could learn a language from scratch solely from podcasts, they are excellent additions to your language learning arsenal.
They allow you to hear your target language much more regularly than usual which can 'train' your ears to the sound of the speech and ready it for real language confrontation.
They are also excellent at providing vocabulary introduction and practice, running you through words and sentences at your own pace.
Finally they are also good at keeping you involved in the learning process: As podcasts come through regularly they will keep you interested in learning, and with enough good content will prevent you from 'forgetting' your studies.
Where Do I Find Them? There are many sites available to download language podcasts from, many of them are sites which cater to a single language and have vast amounts of information although only some of it may be available for free--examples of these are the japanesepod.
com, Spanishpod101.
com etc and have some excellent resources.
Other sites contain masses of podcasts of all genres, all styles, and all of varying quality.
These are what we would call the Podcast Portals.
They specialize in offering podcasts about every subject you can think of, and of course this includes languages.
They will often have a variety of languages, and all it takes is some searching.
Possibly the best podcast directory for languages is the Apple Itunes page which has an enormous amount of podcasts available free of charge.
Another is PodcastAlley.
com.
Both of these require registration but this is a simple and free of charge process.
There are many more podcast directories which can be found from a simple search or a glance at our language learning website and they hold a wealth of information to help you learn a language that is both free and available at your fingertips.
If you are serious about learning a language then you should definitely make podcasts part of your learning routine.
It's like having a foreign friend in your pocket.
