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.