Here’s Daniela Meyer’s article on using podcasts for teaching English published on the Cambridge ELT blog.
You may have thought about using podcasts as a listening exercise for learners, or maybe even a practical ‘speaking’ project, but how about for your own professional development? Daniela Meyer shares her thoughts about the potential of podcasts and some of her favourites to listen to.
Are podcasts still relevant in ELT? I asked myself this question recently, when I was prompted by my PLN (private learning network) to list the podcasts I listened to regularly for my own professional development. The issue then stuck with me because I had not thought of podcasts for ELT in a long time, not even for student learning. How relevant are podcasts nowadays? Are they only relevant for learners’ benefit or also for teachers’?
We all know, by now, what podcasts are; a digital program you can download as an MP3 or listen to online. We all also know that podcasts can be explained as today’s radio programs. Teachers have always exploited radio programs to expand students’ exposure to authentic English. But podcasts are also very different from the radio programs of yesterday and today. They are digital audio files, more like a series of radio programs, and one can become a subscriber of one’s favorite podcasts, receiving these audio programs regularly on a mobile device. Students and teachers therefore have easy access to podcasts, and can listen to them wherever they are, whenever they want to.