...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.
