Learning British English by listening to podcasts is not at all easy. In fact it is more difficult for most students than reading, or writing. The problem comes mostly from different sounding voices and different accents. There is a huge range of English accents and a world of difference between the soft, carefully spoken English of southern England and the fast, slurred, harsher spoken English of a northerner, or Glaswegian accent (native of Glasgow, Scotland.)

A teacher in a classroom may speak slightly slower than usual and the student may interrupt and ask for clarification or repetition, but with a podcast, that's not possible.

A natural sounding podcast may have several different voices speaking and interacting. Their voices, accents and dialects may be new to the student and the words may be spoken very fast. It takes a lot of practise to listen carefully and understand and it may sometimes sound like a completely different language. There is pressure on the student to understand quickly and this can be even worse if the listening test is part of an examination like IELTS, PET, or any CAE testing. There may be questions afterwards that the student needs to be able to answer and understand. This adds up to a lot of pressure.

There are many ways of making this easier but practise is the only real solution. Listening to English announcements at railway stations, bus stations and airports, listening to radio and watching television will help the student to get used to different English voices and accents.

Other excellent ways to learn are via telephone if a tutor can be found who will allow short conversation lessons over the telephone a few times a week to keep up essential English practise. Speaking on the telephone is very stressful for most students because the sound may be a little distorted and they don't have a written text to refer to. It can also be difficult to learn special telephone language like:

'please hold the line', 'who's calling please?' etc.

It is also sometimes difficult to get used to the idea of taking turns to speak and a beginner may find it hard to get the pattern of talking correct. Using a telephone menu can also be difficult:

press button 1, if you want accounts, press 2, for all other enquiries press 4, etc.

All these things are said in different voices and at different speeds according to the natural way the speaker talks.

These activities require good listening skills and the only way to learn them is to listen to all kinds of conversation, practise making phone calls, and go through podcasts and recordings with a tutor who can direct you as you go.

Once students can listen and understand different voices and variations in accent, there is a new kind of confidence in their use of English language. As with everything else, practise makes perfect.

Copyright: Louie Jerome 2008

Louie Jerome is a UK writer, editor and publisher.

She is also a qualified teacher of English as a foreign language.

Writer Soup is a monthly internet magazine for writers and readers.

http://www.learn-english-now.co.uk