What are podcasts and why are they fantastic ?

Podcasts are audio programs that anyone can create and anyone can put on the internet. This is especially exciting for people studying foreign languages, because podcasts bring us closer to the language and the people who speak it. Need more? Read this: “What the heck is a podcast?“

You can hear spoken German from your computer or carry it around with you on your mp3 player. Many of you have never heard German spoken by native speakers. Listening to podcasts, you can hear news, cultural discussions, forums for debate, weather broadcasts, and personal podcasts created by creative individuals. This is much more exciting that the CDs that come with your textbook.

Now, you might ask, “Why does a beginning student in the language need to listen to stuff that’s too advanced to understand?” That’s an important question. Here are my two best answers.

1. Training your ear – Listening to the language in its natural rhythm and speed will help you get accustomed to its own sound. This familiarity with the sound of the language is necessary for natural pronunciation, expression, and general comfortability. Simply put, the more familiar the sounds of German become to you, the less foreign they will seem, and your path to progress will be made smoother.

2. Stretching that stereotype till it bursts – Germans are avid podcasters, and whether you listen to a private podcast created by an individual or a public podcast created by a news organization, your own conception of “German” will grow and shift and change. There are whole worlds to German culture, history, and daily life that exists beyond the confines of your first-year textbook and the concept of “German” you brought with you to this class. Even if we can’t go overseas, podasting enables us to experience the sounds of the the people of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

But I can’t understand what they’re saying!

Maybe not at first. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn through listening attentively. It is necessary to bumble through the initial murky strangeness of the sounds. It is only a first stage. But while you’re learning the vocabulary during class, you’re picking up the stress and intonation of German speech through listening to podcasts. That fine-tunes your ear to the subtelties of German pronunciation.

You’ll understand more German by listening to podcasts.

How do I find podcasts ?

You’ll need to download a podcasting client (also called a podcatcher, a feed aggregator, podcast receiver) in order to subscribe to podcasts. iTunes is available for Windows and Mac, and Juice is available only for Mac. There are others as well, but these two are great. PodcatcherMatrix compares the different podcatchers, so you can choose which one is best for you.

Once you have a podcatcher, browse for podcasts using a podcast directory.

• Podcast.net (English website)
• Podfeed.net (English website)
• Podcast.de (German website)
• Podster.de (German website)

Once you find the RSS feed, copy it and paste it into a podcast client, like Juice or iTunes. Now your client will automatically download any new episodes which are published, and you can download your podcasts into your mp3 player. If you have any questions about this, please leave a comment below or talk with me about it after class.

Here are some of the podcasts out there which I think would be suitable for beginning students. Remember, this is not about comprehension, but familiarization with the sounds of the language. Don’t stress when you don’t understand what you hear, but rather try to accustom yourself to the new sounds.

• Betthupferl - A Bavarian night-night story radio show for children. These stories are clearly spoken, and usually have to do with fairy-tale or nonsense themes. This program comes from Bayerische Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting). Average time: 5 minutes. Subscribe to this podcast

• Kinderpod- This private podcast is put together by young boy in Germany named Nicklas. He speaks on various topics in a surprisingly mature style and speaks quite clearly. It is a rare experience to hear a child’s voice easily speaking the language which you are working so hard to master. Average time: 5 minutes. Subscribe to this podcast.
  

• Echo der Zeit- This Swiss news program covers world news as well as the major news stories in Switzerland. Average length: 45 minutes. Subscribe to this podcast.

• Alltagsdeutsch - “Everyday German”- this program consists of discussions of common words and expressions, idioms and wordplay in German. It is slowly and clearly spoken. It comes from “Deutsche Welle“, a website which exists to help non-Germans learn more about the language, culture, history and current events in Germany. Most of the website is available in English, but some pages are still only in German. Average time: 20 minute. Subscribe to this podcast.

• Nachtzug nach Hamburg – a private podcast from Reiko Schmidt, who lives in Hamburg. He speaks on various topics, and sometimes includes conversations with his friends. Again, the style is informal and relaxed, conversational. Average time: 5-10 minutes

• Radio PSR Sachsenwetter- A short weather forecast for the Sachsen area in Eastern Germany. Average Time: 30 seconds. Subscribe to this podcast.

• Daily Minute – Get 60 seconds of German headlines. News and weather. Average time: 60 seconds

There are also some language-learning podcasts in English, designed to help you learn German. Here are a couple I’ve come across

• German Podcast -This Podcast will teach you German. It is free and you can listen to the Podcast at anytime you want. PDF transcripts containing the new words are provided. Subscribe to this podcast.

• Daily German Phrase – My Daily Phrase German is a daily podcast which will introduce listeners to the German language day by day, step by step, phrase by phrase. If you’ve not yet finalised your New Year Resolutions then why not decide to learn a language? Subscribe to this podcast.