The Power of Podcasts
Heather Johnston, TEFL
Helping Mental Health Professionals Build Confidence in English | Connect with more clients, excel in a new role & share your expertise with a wider audience?| Neurolanguage Coach? | Business English #MyEnglishTherapy
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of podcasts.?
When we’re doing a mundane task, like housework or a daily commute to work, it's nice to have some audio accompaniment.?If this background sound can help you improve your language skills, even better!
The best thing about podcasts is you can listen to them virtually anytime, anywhere.
For those that might not be familiar with the concept, a podcast is a series of spoken audio episodes, all focused on a particular topic or theme, like psychology or travel. You can subscribe to a show with an app on your phone and listen to episodes whenever you like – on your headphones, in the car, laptop, etc.
If you're a more auditory learner, they can be especially useful to expand your knowledge.
BENEFITS OF NATIVE-SPEAKER PODCASTS
There are plenty of podcasts out there focused on English language learners, but for those who have at least a B2 English level, I recommend choosing podcasts for native speakers.
These podcasts are created for an English-speaking audience and use authentic native English speech. They are not focused on language learning, but on a wide variety of topics.
?Native English podcasts are challenging, but are great for listening skills because of:
Want to improve your comprehension?
Listening to native speakers using colloquial language can be a daunting task, but also incredibly beneficial to understanding others in real-life situations, such as in therapy sessions and at international conferences.?
I recommend choosing podcasts with different accents (British, American, Australian, Irish, etc) to train your ear to the various types of pronunciation and vocabulary used. You never know where your next English-speaking client may be from, so you should be prepared.
Want to improve your pronunciation??
Hearing examples of authentic speech is an excellent way to improve your own pronunciation. Try to notice the intonation the speakers use.? You can add to this by 'shadowing'. Shadowing means listening to a short sentence or phrase, and then repeating it afterwards, trying to imitate the sounds, intonation and word stress and noticing how your mouth and tongue move when you speak.?
When using a podcast, you always have the option to pause and listen to a phrase various times until you are able to say it confidently yourself.
?How can you make the most of a podcast? Listen to a favorite episode 3 times:
领英推荐
You’ll be amazed how doing this regularly, choosing speakers with various accents, will improve both your comprehension skills and broaden your vocabulary in the language!?
If you’re looking for ideas to help you mentally store and recall all of these useful new words and expressions, refer to my previous issue (Newsletter #3 - Memory Tricks).
Here are just a few personal recommendations for those who would like to improve their professional English skills for therapy, or are just interested in the fascinating world of the human mind and interpersonal relationships:
Esther Perel: Where Should We Begin? / How’s Work??
APA: Speaking of Psychology
NPR’s Hidden Brain
Under the Cortex
All in the Mind
Feel free to send me a DM if you’d like some podcast recommendations specifically for language learners, or chat about how I might be able to help you build the confidence to offer more effective therapy sessions in English.
Until next time, happy podcasting!
Warm regards,
Heather
English Coach for Lawyers ?? | Helping Motivated Lawyers Advance their Careers | 1-1 & Group Coaching ?? | Negotiations ?? | Client Communication ?? | Interviews & CVs ??
2 年One of my clients just shared a good news podcast with me - I think we could all do with a dose of that these days!
Passionate English Teacher | Creative Materials Writer | Founder of EFLcreativeideas.com
2 年I like ELT CPD podcast, because we teachers are also life-long learners and listening to other ELT professionals widens our scope and makes us reflect on our own practice. And of course, as a student of English, I practice my listening skills and learn more vocabulary. ??