Learning English through your iPod!

photo by Tyson Smith

I have to admit this was the very first time I had some problems in order to understand what “podcasting” means. Therefore I apologize with all my peers to have been so late! I had to search the definition of this word in the dictionaries and last in Wikipedia, and it’s here where I found the most detailed description. In the end I discovered that is more or less the activity I do every time I download a file for my iPod. You can now understand how stupid I am in using computer!

To sum up, podcasts are above all music and video files you can download automatically in your computer and then transfer in your mp3 reader, if you want. Nowadays, for example, lots of radio stations create their podcasts in order to enable users to listen to them wherever they want. You don’t always have the time to listen your favorite radio program, so that you can do it when it is more congenial to your obligations.

By subscribing in bloglines. com the most interesting podcasts websites I found I noticed how useful it can be to get informed whenever they are updated with new files, new interviews, new programs and new discussions. After 6 weeks of class I can say the computer tools we are getting to know week by week will be helpful for the improvement of our oral skills, as well.

After a little research, thanks to del.icio.us that undoubtedly makes me waste less time, I discovered some affective websites:

- English as a Second Language Podcasts it's a kind of English course in the net. Instead of buying one of those expensive series of dvds with dialogues and exercises to learn English, here you are a perfect one. You can find dialogues, with the text transcription too, on the most various topics: from the discussion with your boss to tips on how to write a love song for your lover. If you register to the websites, you have the possibility to learn new vocabulary and grammar rules. Each episode represents a short piece of everyday life and this will help you in your English practice.

- Open Culture: Audiobook Podcast Collection it's a audio library, where you can find chapters of some of the most famous novels and poetry of English literature read by some English mothertongues. I straigh away searched for my favorite authors, that are the Bronte sisters, but unfortunately I couldn't find the audiobook of "Wuthering Heights", so that I cheered me up by listening to a chapter of "Jane Eyre". How a useful tool is this website in order to practice my English pronounciation!

- BBC Radio Homepage in order to get updated everytime with news from all over the world. How could it be missed? Besides listening to the news all the times you want to understand them better and to practice pronounciation and learning new words, I found interesting the link that allow you to listen to the news in different languages and the free music you can listen to through the BBC Radio.

I'm sure that a tool like the one we have learnt to use this time will turn my approach to computer science and technology more positive and optimistic. I enjoyed surfing the net to find something which could help me improving my English oral skills. Hoping to learn much more about this, see you at the next discovery!