...Well, after having spent several hours surfing the Net, I think now I know a bit more about podcasts... One the one hand, I do believe pods can be useful tools to improve my English: as I don't have the chance to look at the speakers' body language, I'm somehow "forced" to listen to the audio file very carefully in order to understand its content. Moreover, some pods I've come across actually explain you how to do something, f.i. how to solve some everyday problems in an English-speaking context, or how to improve your grammar: thus, listening to them is actually like taking part to an English lesson...On the other hand, however, there's some disadvantge, since looking for interesting and usuful pods is very time-demanding... how can you enjoy listening to pods if you've spent hours and hours searching the Web?! I think you can get so nervous that, at the end of your search, you'll be too exhausted to listen to your audio file carefully and take advantage from it! Now that I've saved some pods among my bookmarks, I hope things will be easier! :-)
About the pods I've come across... I must admit I'm not very familiar with business English, but I do believe that, one day or another, I'll need it for my job.. That's why I was quite happy to find a website which helps you improve your business English thorugh pods. In this website you can find podcasts on different topics (advertising, recruitment, sales, telephoning..) which are created to help people at any level of English learn new vocabulary, expressions, idioms and structures from the world of business.. Each pod focuses on a specific difficulty non-native speakers can encounter and tries to provide the tools to ride over it. It's worth listening to it!
Everybody knows English is a tricky language, because its grammar, despite seeming quite simple, can easily become troublesome and make you feel insicure! For example, do you remember the difference between the verb "to lie" and "to lay"?! I always get confused.. So, if you need some tips on grammar rules, have a look at this website: Grammar girl's pods explain grammar rules in a nice and clear way.
English as a second language podcast seems to be a very popular website among English students, that's why I've chosen to add it to my bookmarks.. ESL is actually a quite interesting website which gives you the chance to listen to conversations and discussions in English. In my opinion, the pods in this website are quite different from the ones I've found on the Net: while pods generally deal with specific language problems (grammar, specific English structures or registers..), these pods deal with more "wide" topics, from books to music, from shopping to daily life, which are presented in the form of discussions and conversations. This gives these pods a very natural and colloquial air, which goes beyond the usual English lesson and lets you explore the real world of American culture and customs.
4 commenti:
Hi Marta!
You know, you are right when you say that podcasts "force" users to trust their ears and nothing else: you can only listen to the voice of the persons involved in the communication and cannot rely on others elements that usually make the conversation with native speakers a bit easier and less worrying, such as facial expressions, gestures, the position of the body. Do you remember when we took the English exam a couple of years ago? It included a listening test and it was so distressing to me! We could play the speech back only three times and there was always a part I couldn't manage to understand clearly! What a nice memory!!:-) I think that podcasts can greatly help us to overcome our anxiety: time after time, you learn to focus your attention on what is being said, without being overwhelmed by panic. I also think it can be a very useful exercise for the future: as I said to Sara, we could be asked to answer a telephone call in a foreign language and it is important to keep calm to get at least the gist of it.
As for the websites you suggested, I visited the third one and I really liked it: it has a clear, “user friendly” layout and podcasts are divided into different categories according to the topic they deal with. I appreciated the fact that many podcasts give you examples of how using language in everyday situations: we learnt to write essays, translations and personal profiles, but too often we forget very simple things, such as the items we put on the table when we get ready to dine! Unforgivable!
Cheers,
Elena
Hi, Marta!
I agree with you when you say that searching for podcasts is very time-demanding. And I share your question too:"How can you enjoy listening to pods if you've spent hours and hours searching the Web?!". After more than two hours spent searching for podcasts, I was completely exhausted! :-( But I'm sure that when you find the podcasts you're interested in, things are easier!
When I read your post, Grammar Girls catched my attention. After 13 years of English, I still make grammar mistakes! I had a look at this site and I liked it. It's easy to use: you can both listen to the grammar lesson and read it. There're so many grammar doubts I come across when I write! I hope this site will help us!
Bye!
Hi Marta! I agree with you when you say that searching for podcasts is really time demanding! Last saturday I spent three hours on the web looking for interesting and useful podcasts. I think that this tool will help us improving our listening skills because, as you said, we can only concentrate on what is being said, without the help of body gesture.
Among the podcasts you suggested "Grammar Girl" rally caught my attention. There are many useful tips regarding grammar and curious podcasts about different things. I liked "People vs Entities" and "Misusing so and very".
Hi marta!
I can't but agree with you and the other girls of our group in everything you said! Yes, looking for useful, but not boring, podcasts in the immensity of the Web can ask much time and be frustrating ,and, at the end, one doesn't have the force to listen to them any more. Nevertheless, I think that, like Martina said, when you found what you wanted, most of the effort is done!
Among the websites you choose, I was attracted by "Grammar girl": I liked its layout and the informal and a bit humoristic tone; then and I found very interesting the "battles" between different words.
See you tomorrow!
Sara
Posta un commento