Welcome to March! One of my favorite months for a variety of reasons, but mostly it is because this month typically starts bringing some warm weather to our area! THAT is one thing I ALWAYS look forward to! :)

This week's blog is going to be a review of two podcasts I found that I think are useful for an ESL teacher to gain ideas and hints/tips on how to teach each skill or concept. These would also be beneficial for an older ESL student learning independently!

The first podcast that I would recommend is Learn English with Rachel. This audio podcast is produced by Rachel, and features her husband, David. They are upbeat and have fun music that starts off each podcast. Rachel and David are very natural and free speaking so they make it interesting to listen to them. The majority of the segments are about 30 minutes long, and are on practical topics. Some topics include American slang, American culture, different grammar lessons, and at least one tells the listener about their perspective as a non-native speaker when they were in Italy. 

Here is an example of one of their segments: Diphthongs  One of my favorite points Rachel always makes is how the mouth should look and move when forming many of the different sounds!

A bonus is every segment is available in transcript form for free!! 

The second podcast that I found that was interesting is English 2.0 Podcast. This podcast is hosted by Al Slagle, an English teacher teaching English in Japan. Some of his explanations are based off of the Japanese language, but for the most part, anyone learning English will benefit from each of his segments. Mr. Slagle is engaging in his video and audio podcasts, and most of them are less than 15 minutes long. He goes in-depth into teaching pronunciation. Here is an example: 
fast vs. first

Mr. Slagle has podcasts on interview skills, grammar lessons, and other cultural lessons, such as, making eye contact, and how to make a BAD impression. He conducts interviews with ESL professors and other professionals who work with English language learners. These segments are helpful to an ELL as they give them ideas on such things as college academics, college life, and writing.

Mr. Slagle makes it very clear that podcasts cost money to produce and frequently asks for the listeners/viewers to donate "even $1 a month". 

Unfortunately, the last episode that Rachel had done was at the end of December 2017, and Mr. Slagle's last segment was in August of 2017. I'm hoping that each of them produce new podcasts, but it has been interesting and a learning experience as I have perused through the ones that are available! 

Sit back with your coffee one morning, and click on these podcasts and see what YOU can learn and use in your teaching!!!