Hi girls!
I found three interesting websites that I want to suggest you:
I found three interesting websites that I want to suggest you:
http://www.englishpod.com/ This website is on business English. There are podcasts referred to different areas of speaking: diplomatic, inviting, presentation, relationship and modifier. All this podcasts are essentially based on the idea that the tone you use and the way you express yourself have an effect on your relation with your colleagues, your boss, and in general in the working world. In the diplomatic section for example, there are two speakers that show how downtoning is important: it allows to tell someone things in a way that he/she doesn’t offend. One basic difference between English and Italian is that there is a different intonation, so I think that this website could help us to reflect on the right use of the intonation according to the different situations.
http://www.eslpod.com/website/index.php This website contains podcasts referred to different situation: for example, daily life, entertainment, business… I think this division is useful because it allows you to focus on things of your interest and to learn different kind of words, related to the different speaking areas. Then another helpful thing in this site, is that for some podcasts is written the text so you can look for new words to see how they’re written.
http://www.npr.org/ This isn’t a website for learners but the one of a radio. There are several links containing podcasts and a dedicated section about news, interviews… I found this website interesting because in websites planned for learners I noticed that speakers tend to speak more slowly and clearly, instead in this website is different: the speaking is more rapid and not always so clear, there is the tendency to cut words. I think it’s important because we have to understand people in the way they talk and not in a way thought for learners. Moreover, the podcasts presented are connected with reality and everyday news so I think this can help us to use language in its real context.
In general, I found the use of podcasts helpful and interesting for our English learning. In this way we can become more aware of the use of the language we’re learning and of its different uses, according to the situation involved and to whom we’re speaking to. Listening to native speakers can also help us in practising intonation and fluency and to learn new words, using them in their precise context. Sometimes, I visit English websites or I use the decoder to watch English television, for example BBC daily news. It’s really useful watching foreign TV, because, apart from a learning point of view, it’s interesting listening to their news in order to know how news are presented and felt in different countries.
Bye!
4 comments:
Hi Valeria!
I really like the web site of NPR !! You know what? I do really agree with you when u say that in the podcasts for ESL learners they usually speak slowly! The didactic exercises are easier whereas real english is different! I think that we need to stay in contact with genuine english!! This is what we are going to find outside University: different accents, strange pronunciations, very fast ways of speaking!!! So, I’m sure that understanding NPR is going to be quite hard, but well begun is well done!!
C u!
Hi Vale!
I chose the first website you suggested us ( http://www.englishpod.com/ ) and I found it very interesting! I did the listening activity concearning the downtoning language; two speakers, a woman and a man, teach how to change the structure of the sentence -not the meaning- so that it would sound better in a work environment. They spoke about diplomatic language,which I think it is very useful in class too. I learned new terms such as, "expendeture" (how much you spend) ,"sale prediction" (what you think you'll be able to sale in the next year), “your numbers” (your performance). Moreover, I learned that with diplomatic language, at the beginning of the sentence you should say “maybe” or “perhaps”; these two terms sound better if you have to do a request to a colleague for example. As far as modals are concearned, you use “could” when you want to make a request or comment to do something, while you use “should” for obligation or when you have the responsability to do something. Finally, if you want to say “You did it wrong!”, you use the verbs “review” or “rethink” instead of “redo”; the former sound better and they are more polite!
Well, that’s all!
See you!!
Elena
Hi Vale,
I found the site on business English very useful. I would like to learn more in this field of the second language as we practiced a little about it at the University. Luckily I noticed that there are a lot of websites on the matter so that it may not be so difficult to improve spread my knowledge of it. I appreciate this website because they introduce clearly the subject and what they want to focuse on. The subject is a diplomatic way of speaking which we need especially when we start working. Such a way of approaching other collegues is surely the most convenient in order to avoid impoliteness.
I did the listening activity and found useful the dicotomy "what we think/what we say". The interlocutors explain why it would sound better to use that particular expression rather than a different one.
hi vale,
I found your podcast websites really absorbing and why not? gratifying …yes because for instance the first one you suggested is about business and it is really well-organized. First of all any recording distinguished for the different levels (elementary, lower intermediate, upper-intermediate, advanced). At the beginning of the recording the main speaker introduces us the business topics and the functions which characterised the dialogue; moreover, he or she points up what at the end of the listening the learner should be able to do…that’s good from a psychological point of view…I mean…if we know from the start that the podcast is definitely useful for our English language skills, we will surely feel more motivated to do it. I tried doing some of them and I noticed that the recording is not only based on a boring dialogue: as a matter of fact the dialogues are not so long, they started with a presentation as I said before; then it will be listened minimum three times and in the first pause, the main speaker will do some questions to the other speaker about the conversation they had; while in the second pause they will make some reflections on the vocabulary, the typical words and very common expressions linked to business world.
bye
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