Thursday, June 08, 2006
Podcasts Revolutionizing Language Study
by from BeijingWhen I began studying Chinese a couple of years ago, there were only a few good learning methods. You could either read a book and study diligently, or buy cassettes/CDs and listen for hours while trying to stay focused. Either way, it was difficult to remain disciplined.
Personally, I found the best answer was to move to China! However, if this is an extreme option for you, you’ll be interested to know that over the past two years, methods for learning foreign languages have been improved, thanks to the Internet and podcasts. The creation of websites like chinesepod.com, japanesepod101.com, among others, are revolutionizing the language industry. These websites combine the books, the CDs, and the classroom all into one.
The development of these new language websites could be tough competition for the audio book and language school marketers (listen to an interview with Ken Carroll, founder of Chinesepod).
The most favorable factor separating the new language websites from older methods is interactivity. You also have the ability to access numerous topics that may be of interest to you. For example, if I’m curious about a certain subject or even how to say a particular phrase, I can email Chinesepod and, chances are, there will be a podcast or a reply to my email answering the question within a few days.
The topics change daily on these websites, so you are always up to date with what is happening in the world, or within the country, in which the language you are studying is used. A few weeks ago, we celebrated the Chinese Labor Day holiday and, just prior to that, there were lessons and podcasts specifically about the event. One lesson was very helpful in teaching certain phrases and words that allowed me to carry on conversations that I might never have had without this new podcast knowledge. Although a membership is required to get full access to the websites, the podcasts are free.
With the easy accessibility of mp3 players these days, it seems that if one wants to learn a new language, not having the time or the money won’t be a valid excuse anymore.
