If students ask me how to improve their English Listening skills, I'll often advise them to find a podcast that matches their interest and level, and fit it into their daily routine. But I want to write today about 4 podcasts that teachers might enjoy and find useful - I have learnt a lot from all of them.
1. The Allusionist
This is a professionally produced magazine-style podcast from Radiotopia, hosted by Helen Zaltzman. Topics covered range from the lighthearted (living with an unusual first name, the language of crossword clues) to the serious (endangered languages, the damage done by insults and dehumanising language). Helen is always witty, and has a range of guests who are always worth listening to.
2. Lexicon Valley
Another professional magazine-style show, this time produced by American magazine Slate. Early episodes are presented by Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo, whose double-act revolves around Mike enthusiastically presenting material about language while Bob plays the part of 'old man yelling at clouds' and complains about 'they' pronouns and vocal fry. That schtick gets a bit old after a while, so I'd recommend starting after new presenter John H. McWhorter takes over (May 2016). He's a Linguistics professor who absolutely knows his stuff, and has a very open-minded approach to language change, so prepare to have your preconceptions challenged.
3. Fiat Lex
This is a newer podcast made by a couple of lexicographers, Kory Stamper and Steve Kleinedler. Try it out if you've ever wanted to know more about how dictionaries are made, from two people who love language and really get their teeth into the details of lexicography.
4. The History of English
This one's for you if you really like to go deep: presenter Kevin Stroud has brought out 115 episodes so far over the past 6 years, tracing the development of English from Proto-Indo-European up to the 14th century AD. I'm not up to date yet with this one - I listen to an episode from time to time when I have the mental space to really focus, but it's worth the effort. So far I've got as far as Beowulf, learning on the way about Grimm's Law about sound shifts in Indo-European languages, the development of the alphabet, and much, much more.
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