Strange but true! Last week we talked about podcasts and this topic was a little familiar to me. I came across podcasts thanks to my friends. Some of them regularly download audio files onto their mp3 players. They suggested me that this tool could be useful for my listening improvements in English but I didn’t have much trust in them. I was a bit doubtful about its usefulness. Usually I try to improve my listening skills through web sites that provide video and audio files. Certainly this strategy depends on the use of a computer and I need free time to spend in front of it. This week surfing the Net and looking for podcasts I understood how to optimize the use of my time and at the same time how to improve my English.
Firstly I came across podcasts on the BBC web site. I chose immediately this url: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/globalnews/. I like keeping abreast of current news from all over the world. Regularly I read or listen BBC news but sometimes I don’t have much time. Thanks to podcasts I can download the BBC World Service news programme. It lasts up to 30 minutes and it’s updated twice a day. In this web site there are BBC radio stations as well. I can quickly download their podcasts on my mp3 player and listen to radio programmes at the bus stop, while I’m going to University...
My second choice is The VOA web site. There I can find radio transcripts and audio files. At this stage I think it’s very important for my improvements to find the right tools. Sometimes it isn’t so easy because I tend to choose the easier things and to indulge on my level of advanced learner. Now it’s time to expand our knowledge of English and American culture. For this reason I chose this web site: http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/the-making-of-a-nation.cfm. I can receive every week an audio file about American national history. If I want to know more about a culture it’s fundamental to know his past and history.
The third web site I chose is very funny. The url is http://storynory.com/. It is thought for children because you can download stories for kids. It can be useful for three reasons:
1. Stories for kids use a particular language and vocabulary which is very interesting and funny for me to learn.
2. You can expand your knowledge of the traditional stories for American or English kids. In Italy the most famous story for children is Pinocchio. Which are American traditional stories?
3. Kids’ stories are part of a culture as well. You can learn new aspects of a culture because these stories usually have their origins in ancient times.
Firstly I came across podcasts on the BBC web site. I chose immediately this url: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/globalnews/. I like keeping abreast of current news from all over the world. Regularly I read or listen BBC news but sometimes I don’t have much time. Thanks to podcasts I can download the BBC World Service news programme. It lasts up to 30 minutes and it’s updated twice a day. In this web site there are BBC radio stations as well. I can quickly download their podcasts on my mp3 player and listen to radio programmes at the bus stop, while I’m going to University...
My second choice is The VOA web site. There I can find radio transcripts and audio files. At this stage I think it’s very important for my improvements to find the right tools. Sometimes it isn’t so easy because I tend to choose the easier things and to indulge on my level of advanced learner. Now it’s time to expand our knowledge of English and American culture. For this reason I chose this web site: http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/the-making-of-a-nation.cfm. I can receive every week an audio file about American national history. If I want to know more about a culture it’s fundamental to know his past and history.
The third web site I chose is very funny. The url is http://storynory.com/. It is thought for children because you can download stories for kids. It can be useful for three reasons:
1. Stories for kids use a particular language and vocabulary which is very interesting and funny for me to learn.
2. You can expand your knowledge of the traditional stories for American or English kids. In Italy the most famous story for children is Pinocchio. Which are American traditional stories?
3. Kids’ stories are part of a culture as well. You can learn new aspects of a culture because these stories usually have their origins in ancient times.
