The 5 best Podcasts for you to improve your
EnglishPodcasts are becoming
more and more popular. Especially since the American podcast series
Serial broke
records on iTunes as the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads.
But how can podcasts help you improve your English?
It may surprise you to know that there
are many English language podcasts that are made specifically to help
you improve your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and English language
skills. The problem is, like most things on the internet, there are good
ones and, well, not so good ones!
Last week I gave a presentation on podcasting at the British Council in
Valencia, and I asked 24 teachers to vote on their favourite educational
English teaching podcasts from a list of 15 podcasts that I’d chosen.
The 15 podcasts that I’d selected were all podcasts that I’d discovered
during the last 6 years of being involved in podcasting for English
teaching.
So, now I have the results, and I’m
going to share the 5 podcasts that received the most votes from the
teachers.
I asked the teachers to think about the
following áreas when they voted:
· The content of the podcast:
What are the students learning?
· Entertainment value: Is the podcast fun and entertaining to
listen to?
· Production quality: Is the audio clear? Does it sound
professional?
· Presentation: Is it well-planned and presented?
· Usability: Would the teaches use it with their students, or
encourage their students to listen to it in their free time?
In reverse order of 5 to 1, here are
the results and the British Council Teachers’ choice. These podcasts are
also available on iTunes:
5.
Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips
This American English podcast from
Mignon Fogarty is for high level students (C1, C2), native speakers and
English teachers. I think it was so popular in our survey because it
taught our teachers a few grammar points that they didn’t know! If you
like the English language, you’ll love this podcast.
4.
Luke’s English
Podcast
Luke is a teacher and stand-up comedian
whose podcast is suitable for intermediate level students (B1 and
above). Luke talks about a variety of things on his podcast, from
phrasal verbs to British culture, grammar and funny situations he finds
himself in. His podcasts are interesting, fresh, educational and have
won the Macmillan Dictionary award for several years running.
3.
Real Deal English
This is an American English podcast
that introduces language with a dialogue which is then analysed for
grammar, vocabulary and common expressions. The podcasts are free, but
there is a paid option if you want more detailed lessons.
2.
British Council Elementary Podcasts
The British Council has a variety of
English podcasts at several levels and for different interests. The
Elementary podcasts (A2, B1) are presented in a series format and teach
grammar and vocabulary in a British cultural context using dialogue.
These podcast are an excellent self-study resource for lower level
students. You can find all of the British Council podasts
here.
1.
Aprender Ingles
con Reza y Craig
Now, I know what you’re thinking! Could
it be that the teachers were biased towards our mansioningles podcast
Aprender Ingles con Reza y Craig? Possibly, but you will have to listen
to all five podcasts on this list before you decide if you agree with
them. You are the final judge!
In this podcast, for B1 level students and above, we help you with
grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and everyday expressions and
situations in English.
Please let me know your opinion on all of these podcasts, and if you
find any others that you think might be useful to students in our
community, please send us an email to: mansionteachers@yahoo.es or leave
a voice message with your comments at inglespodcast.com
*Consulta
un PDF con la información y resumen de 100 libros en inglés
que puedes descargar en 1 único archivo.