Monday, May 5, 2014

Learning through Listening: Podcasts

Podcasts are an interesting and useful tool to use in a classroom. There are a variety of topics that can be discussed via podcast, but one that I listened to was specifically for German learners/teachers. The
German Grammar Pod: The Gender Podcast was one that caught my eye immediately. My students always ask if there is a way to try and remember the articles for nouns since there are 3 singular articles and a plural article (and the cases that go along with it). I would have my students listen to this podcast because it discuses one of the areas that a lot of people get caught up on.


She explains how complicated the genders are in German, but gives a shortened list of how to determine the gender of the noun and charts to go with the transcript. This would be especially useful at the beginner level, but also serve as a reminder of the rules in later levels. 

There are a variety of podcasts out there on the internet, but here is the link for the Top 50 Podcasts for Learning a Foreign Language.