Regular language practice with native speakers will always be the best strategy when it comes to learning a new language. This will never change. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t find other crucial allies in your battle for perfect language skills. Two more weapons for your learning arsenal should the classic blog and the humble podcast!
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Yes, both blogs and podcasts are still a thing! What’s more, they have a lot to offer while you’re looking for things to do in your downtime between classes with your native-speaker teacher. If you want to know exactly how blogs and podcasts will help you, then read on.
📖 First, there’s (almost) a blog or podcast for every need
The word “eclectic” doesn’t even begin to cover the sheer mix of blogs and podcasts that exist out there in cyberspace. What’s more, the content is usually much more creative and fun than any book would be. Take the “Itchy Feet” cartoon blog, for instance. It gives you a delightful comic strip in many different languages, designed to tickle your funny bone, pique your curiosity and give you that extra language boost.
Whatever you’re looking for --- serious and formal, jovial, easygoing and minimalist, or packed with detail --- there’s a blog or podcast out there for everyone.
🔊 Next, you can listen/read on the go
Thanks to that smart electronic oblong you carry around in your pocket or bag, you can now access blog content and podcast episodes anywhere and everywhere.
The convenience of wireless internet and 4G/5G means you never have an empty moment that you can’t fill. Make your public transport commute productive with an episode of “The Fleunt Show” and gain valuable listening practice when you otherwise would just be standing and waiting for your subway/bus to get wherever it’s going.
🗺️ Third, the authors/hosts are often native speakers
Podcasts are popular around the world, and many creators are interested in providing instruction in their native language. Nothing can quite beat the authentic experience of hearing and interacting with native speakers, and with podcasts you can always find plenty.
🆓 Fourth, they’re free!
Perhaps we should have topped our list with this perk, because let’s face it, it’s the sweetest of them all. Besides not having to pay for them, you can also take advantage of an enormous back catalogue of content. If you come to a podcast quite late, there’s nothing stopping you from accessing the archive and catching up.
The abundance of choice makes it virtually impossible that you won’t find what you are looking for in a language-learning podcast.
👩‍🏫 Broaden your linguistic horizons
The Internet is the gift that keeps on giving. If you can cast your mind back even as recently as the 1980s and 90s, language learning was confined to classrooms, textbooks and those god-awful listening tapes that told you “Good job!” even when you butchered the pronunciation.
But now? The picture looks very different. Online you have access to a world of interactive and engaging material, and better yet it’s all free!
🎉 Get started!
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