Supplements to a learning habit

The best way to foster a student's learning is first to discover his/her learning style and then supplement it with lots of materials. One great way to do that is by teaching your students to develop listening skills and habits through podcasts. The trend nowadays is to turn newscasts and blogs into audio format accessible to everyone on the Internet for free. The convenience of this type of media is that you can download anything you want to listen to and actually hear it later or at the convenience of your home, car, office, MP3 player on the bus, etc.

Luckily, such method is used for ESL learning as well. Podcasted lessons are the best way for your students to learn even when they are not in class with you. As a resource, podcasts are invaluable as they can be used for homework assignments, listening comprehension exercises and even creating some positive learning habits for your students. For example, listening to podcasts on a regular basis helps create a natural reaction in students to listen and understand conversations or stories they hear around them every day. Well prepared podcasts provide paced lessons for a typical level but also sometimes they might be universal for any level. In their podcasts on different topics, the authors from ESLPod.com include a slow recording, explanation of vocabulary, and a fast recording of the same story within one podcast. It's really helpful for students of all ESL levels as they hear the same story in a different pace and get to understand it better.

Another advantage of podcasts is that your students can listen to them repeatedly and remember vocabulary and pronunciation. You can use the podcast as an exercise and ask them questions about it. Ask them what the story was about and if they could tell you more details about it. They can even write a summary about it and turn it into a writing assignment.

Usually you can download the podcasts for free. Sometimes you may have to register with the podcaster's website and pay a membership fee in order to get full access to learning and teaching materials. When you provide these materials to your students, make sure you include the name and website address of the creator. It is important that you acknowledge the source of your information. This will also teach your students to do the same when they copy or use resources in their own learning.