Podcasts in the ESL Classroom
I am assuming you are reading this because you have ESL students. Ever think of a way to better meet the need of a struggling ESL student? Well podcasts are an answer! “The word podcast has become popular in digital media over the last decade. Meng (2005, p. 1) described podcasting as “the process of capturing an audio event, song, speech, or mix of sounds and then posting that digital sound object to a Web site or ‘blog’ in a data structure called an RSS 2.0 envelope” (Yugsán-Gómez et al., 2019). “ In a way, the podcast is the modern version of radio programing. In essence, a podcast is an audio program produced either professionally or by an amateur about a certain topic. Some podcasts are about news and current events. Others are instructional, how to programs if you will” (Verner, 2015). So why should you, an ESL teacher, care? Podcasts are an excellent resource for your school. Podcasts may help your students learn English in a wide range of ways. And there is a good reason why