With the incredible expansion of audio and video available on the internet in the last couple of years, it is easier than ever to find good quality audio of native speakers in natural contexts.

There are literally dozens of places where you can access audio, but I'd like to quickly discuss the use of Apple's iTunes Podcasting section as a source of quality audio.

If you aren't familiar with podcasts or iTunes, you'll have to do a bit of reading or wait until Iget time to write more fully about them.  However in simple terms a podcast is simply an audio file syndicated on the web (with differing levels of copyright restrictions depending on the producer), and iTunes is a free audio management software provided by Apple that has a very simple to use Podcast directory.

There are literally thousands of possible audio files that you can choose from ranging from very professionaly produced content from major providers (think CBC, NBC, BBC, ESPN, NPR etc.) to stuff produced by your average Joe in his basement.

The nice thing about these podcasts is that they are intended to be syndicated and rebroadcast, so you are in most cases free to use them in your classes (in most cases). This means that you can have an essentially never ending supply of real, topic based audio on just about any topic you'd like.

One that I enjoy using is a program produced by CBC radio called "This I believe".  It is a series of short (under 4 minutes) essays by prominant Canadians explaining the beliefs that drive their lives.  They are all very good and in most cases very good for intermediate and higher English learners.

So, now that you know that there is an easy to access source of quality audio on just about any topic you'd like, what will you do with it?  Drop a comment and let everyone know.

Cheers,

Eric

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