Hey everyone, welcome back to the Easy English Podcast.
I'm Oliver, and today we are going to talk all about podcasts just like this one, and how they are useful for learning English.
For those of you who are new on this channel and in this series, we talk in easy, simple English for learners, so you can practice your listening skills and learn new words.
But let's get started.
Did you know that podcasts are one of the best ways to improve your English?
In this episode I'm going to look about why podcasts are so useful, what to look for in a good podcast for English learning and how to use them effectively.
So, whether you're travelling to work relaxing, getting ready to go to bed exercising, you can practice English absolutely anywhere with this podcast.
Let's dive in and get started.
So why should you use podcasts to learn English?
The number one reason is that you can hear real life English.
Podcasts help you hear how people really speak.
They use everyday language, natural tones or ways of speaking and different accents as well.
And this is great for learning and improving your listening skills.
Take for example, this podcast, I am a native English speaker.
And when I speak, you can practice listening to maybe a different accent, but also real English speech.
And just a little warning you need to be very careful with the english podcast that you listen to, especially in 2024, because there are so many ai podcasts, so podcasts made with artificial intelligence.
I see them every day now in this category, in this space, and so many of them use artificial voices, not real native speaker voices, and this is a terrible way to learn.
Not only are you going to pick up incorrect ways of pronunciation and but also you're not practicing listening to real speech.
So do be careful, keep an eye out for these ai voices and these ai podcasts and don't waste your time listening to them.
There are so many channels out there with real English speech.
Because, even from the way or style of speaking, if you listen to me, sometimes I pause, I go, I stop.
This is natural.
It is a natural rhythm of speech.
Robots don't do that.
They speak in a way that is unnatural.
They don't go uh, um, er.
There's no filler words.
They speak in a strange way.
So just my warning before we continue.
The second point of why podcasts are very useful for learning English is convenience.
You can listen to them anytime, anywhere.
On the bus, maybe while you're driving, while you're cleaning.
That's one of my favourite things to do.
I listen to podcasts while I am doing a chore.
A chore is maybe a household activity like cleaning the dishes, cleaning the house, that type of thing.
You can also listen to podcasts when you're going for a walk, really any time.
And that's what makes it such a useful way to practice English.
The third point is there are podcasts on everything.
When I make this podcast, for example, I like to choose lots of different topics to interest everyone.
So about the environment, about maybe history, about even traveling, so many different topics.
Okay, so the fourth main point is listening and understanding.
So regular listening of podcasts will improve your ability to understand spoken English, including new vocabulary, slang and even sometimes, idioms.
Okay, so next I want to tell you a little bit about how to use this podcast effectively.
So what are some ways that you can listen to this episode and use it to improve your English?
Just as an example
So the first point is active listening.
Don't just listen passively.
Pay attention to how words are pronounced and how sentences are formed.
Of course, if you want to just listen passively, so in the background, that is fine too, and it also helps your brain to pick up new phrases, improve your understanding etc, etc.
But active listening is a great way to start.
So just pay attention to what is being said, maybe some of the grammar and things like that.
The second point is you can repeat and shadow me.
So listen to a short section, pause the video or the audio and then you can try to repeat what i said, and that's called shadowing, and this will help to improve both your pronunciation and also your fluency.
Okay, so the third point is to listen multiple times, and this is probably one of the most important.
I always recommend listening to the same episode twice, and that's because the first time you are focusing a lot more, maybe to understand phrases words, the topic, and the second, listen through you will understand things so much better.
Also, the first time you should use subtitles.
Read the transcript while you're listening.
The words on the screen.
And then the second time, just listen and don't read.
And that will help to train your listening skills without any subtitles.
And really one of the most important points is to make it a routine.
So try to listen to this podcast regularly.
I make an episode every few days, sometimes every day on YouTube.
And just try to do that little bit.
The reason why I make these podcast episodes only 10 minutes is is because I understand that it's more important for you to learn a little bit every day than a lot once per week.
So listening to this 10-minute episode per day is going to be so helpful for you.
And of course, there are lots of episodes uploaded.
And if you want to listen to more on one day, you can.
So really, I think podcasts are an amazing tool to help you learn English.
I honestly think they're probably the best way to practice online, without a teacher, for example, possibly the best content that you can be consuming for English language learning, particularly if you're beginner to intermediate levels.
It's a great way.
And that's why I do this.
I think that people have very busy lives and podcasts are a great way of doing things alongside other areas of your life.
So remember, make listening to podcasts a habit.
And with time you will see real improvements to your speaking, your listening and your understanding skills.
And of course, that is probably one of the most important bits of language learning, understanding.
So thank you so much for listening to the Easy English Podcast.
If you're new, please subscribe.
If you're not, like the video if you enjoyed it.
And I will see you in the next episode.
Have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.
