TEFL Logue Review: Podcasts in English (pie)

I came across the relatively new Podcasts in English site when I learned that Grammarman creator Brian Boyd had been interviewed there. The creators of pie are two DELTA-qualified teachers with more than twenty years of EFL experience between them, and the podcasts are designed primarily for learners.

I think pie is a good resource for a couple of reasons:

It’s well organized by level.
As the creators point out, podcasts that aren’t scripted are useful for learners because the language is more natural. People being interviewed sound like regular people, not Headway actors.
The topics are intrinsically motivating: Listen to Joe describe his multiple tattoos, including a multi-colored sun which took 36 hours (don’t worry, this was spread out once a week…for six weeks) in Level 3, and tear up at David Beckam’s stepping down speech in Level 2.

There are worksheets and vocabulary tasks that go with each podcast; three are available here and others are available for members.

Finally, there are podcast quizzes about the information in all of podcasts of a level, so students can work at home at their own pace, practicing listening as well as note-taking.

Check out pie for podcasts to use in class. For podcasts directed at teachers themselves, check out the TEFL Logue Review of ESL Teacher Talk.