Podcasting in the ESL Classroom

Today I checked out a podcasting site called CUlips that creates podcast lessons for ESL learners. The site is based out of Canada but is still relevant to students learning American vernacular English because there are a wide variety of podcasts on many subjects that can be used by teachers. I listened to a specific episode titled "Home is Where the Heart is." The format of this podcast included two speakers, Andrew and Maura, who have a discussion about idioms that involve the word and concept of home. Some of the idioms they include are home sweet home, there's no place like home, hometown, house and home, etc.

I think that this podcast could be used in a higher level ESL class where students have a good base of vocabulary and grammar. The podcast itself is rather long, around 20 minutes, so it might be two extensive for students with limited listening abilities. I think that this could be a good at home listening homework assignment where students have a worksheet that requires them to answer questions about the main idea, dialogue details and getting meaning of new words from context. Also, the podcast could be paired with a unit on idioms in general or a unit on the meaning of home and culture. I think that this episode touches on a topic that students in an ESL class in the US could relate to because it talks about the experience of culture shock as well as common idioms. It is always a good idea to incorporate topics that students can relate to and share their experiences with in order to engage student interest and increase motivation.