Podcast for EFL Learners

                   Among the podcasts listed on the syllabus, I found ESL Pod will be the most useful and level appropriate for the students in Taiwan, especially middle school or intermediate learners. I personally think that the others such as  BBC World News for Children, Education Podcast Network and NPR podcast directory are more for advanced learners in Taiwan, since English is a foreign language there. ESL Pod offers podcasts for ESL learners, the listening is slower which is good for practicing listening,  there is also explanation for each podcast which I think is a great learning material, and the equally important thing is that there are scripts.
             The one Ordering Soups and Salads is practical for the students to learn how to order something in a restaurant. Not until I came to the states that I knew the rule of ordering something in a restaurant. It is sad that I never learned that in schools even it is really a daily life and a must when we are in an English spoken country.
            I teach in elementary school, accordingly, this learning material is more suitable for sixth grade students. For this episode, I would like to spend ten minutes in the beginning for each class as class routines, and complete in around four times of classes.  First of all, I would like my students talk about what kind of soups or salads they like to eat and then have them listen to the podcast without looking at the script; after listening, I would like my students share what they have listened, in the mean time, I would show the script and have them listen once again. The second time, I would like my students listen for certain kinds of soup or salads without script, for example, chicken noodle, mushroom, chef salad, or Ceasar salad, and then listen with script. As for the explanation, I will assign it as homework and also play it in the class and ask questions from it. The fourth time of the class, I would ask my students to role play in class. This learning activity will not be included in the formal exam but will be a part of bonus exam. Cultivating listening habit, get used to paying attention to listen to English and learn how to interact with waiter and waitress are the objectives of the activity.