The Potential Benefits of Podcasts for Language Learning

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THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF PODCASTS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING
Assist. Prof. Dr. İsmail Yaman
Ondokuz Mayıs University
Samsun-TURKEY
ismail.yaman@omu.edu.tr
Abstract
In this descriptive study we aim to discuss the potential benefits of using podcasts for language learning
purposes in Turkish EFL (English as a foreign language) context. One of their key features is that they remove
time and place restrictions in front of language learning enabling learners 24/7 access to audio and video files.
Learners also hold the luxury to pause and resume in order to be able to listen to or watch the content for
better comprehension. Websites offering professional podcasts update their databases at regular intervals and
learners can get access to these new items easily with(out) (un)paid subscription. Furthermore, learners have
the opportunity to broadcast and share their self-created podcasts via internet. Briefly podcasting can be
employed as an effective tool to raise learner autonomy in language learning. On the other hand, there are
some concerns as to the use of podcasts as a tool in English language teaching. The proper selection of the
podcasts to download, for instance, is an important stage and cannot be done by every language learner.
Besides, the broadcasting of self-created podcasts raises a privacy concern. All of these points that may tend to
pose problems for language learners should be handled carefully in order to be able to go through a smooth
learning process.
Keywords: Podcast, language learning and teaching, internet, technology.
INTRODUCTION
Today we are living in an era of information and technology. Technology brings us new utilities each passing
second. These rapid developments also have their reflections in the educational realm. The advent of useful
tools such as smartboards, laptops, smartphones, tablets, iPods, and wireless technologies has contributed
much to the teaching and learning processes in almost all fields. The field of English language teaching and
learning is one of these. Especially following the introduction of Web 2.0 tools and applications both teaching
and learning English have become far more colourful and easier. The potential contributions offered by the use
of podcasts constitute a quite significant dimension within this context. As a portmanteau word yielded by the
combination of ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcast’, a podcast refers to audio or video files that can be accessed via internet.
As its name implies podcasts originally referred to files downloaded to iPods, however it has gained a broader
scope over time encompassing other digital access tools than iPods. In its current sense, podcasts generally
cover audio or video files created or adapted to specifically serve a didactic purpose. Considering those serving
to contribute to the development of English language skills of learners, they can be accessed or downloaded via
some official websites like that of BBC or other less official websites such as www.eslpod.com.
As a result of the fast developments in technology and education, the expectations of learners are constantly
changing. Therefore both teachers and learners are to keep pace with such rapid developments and assume
new responsibilities. In the context of this new technology-education paradigm of the 21st century, Bonk (2009:
51) suggests ten openers (WE-ALL-LEARN) likely to foster learning.
• Web Searching in the World of e-Books
• E-Learning and Blended Learning
• Availability of Open Source and Free Software
• Leveraged Resources and OpenCourseWare

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• Learning Object Repositories and Portals
• Learner Participation in Open Information Communities
• Electronic Collaboration
• Alternate Reality Learning
• Real-Time Mobility and Portability
• Networks of Personalized Learning
It is clear from the above list that technology and its fruits are becoming an indispensable part of learning
processes in the new century. However, it is not so easy to put these into practice. The new and the old
generation today are digitally divided. The terms digital native and digital immigrant were introduced by
Prensky (2001) to designate this divide. Below is a list of the differences between digital immigrants and digital
natives adapted from the list by Zur and Walker (2011) based on Rosen's (2010) and Prensky's (2001) studies.
Table 1: Differences between digital immigrants and digital natives
Digital Immigrants
Prefer to talk on phone or in person
Do not use text or use it sparingly and
reluctantly
Prefer synchronistic communication, in real
time, such as in f2f or phone conversations
Accustomed to and prefer instructional
manuals with clear sequential steps. As "reflective
learners" they like a logical and linear process of
discovery
Prefer receiving information slowly: linearly,
logically, and sequentially
Prefer singular processing and single or
limited tasking
Prefer reading text (i.e., books) on
processing pictures, sounds and video
Inclined to read a book from cover to cover
See high value in deferred gratification and
rewards
Hierarchical approach to workplace rather
than a democratic or egalitarian one
Rely on a traditional 5-day work week,
followed by an off-work weekend
Hang out in person, clubs, dinners, etc.
Value 'proper' English
Tell friends about a trip on the phone, or
with an in-person conversation or at-home slideshow
Use the Internet to gather information
Digital Natives
Prefer to connect via text, chat, Facebook,
online games, etc.
Text more than call: Almost half of all
teens can text with their eyes closed
Prefer a-synchronistic or sequential
communication, such as in email, Facebook, or chat
Cannot relate to manuals - Solve problems
"intuitively." As "intuitive learners" they are
engaged in rapid 'trial and error' actions and prefer
discovering via actions, experimentation and
interaction rather than by reflection
Prefer receiving information quickly and
simultaneously from multiple multimedia and other
sources
Prefer parallel processing, multitasking or
task switching
Prefer processing and interacting with
pictures, graphics, sounds and video before text
Inclined to read texts in short bursts, one
paragraph at a time, hopping to other activities,
such as texting or Facebooking, in between
paragraphs
Prefer instant gratification and rewards, do
not see value in waiting
View the workplace more in egalitarian
terms and less in hierarchical (top-down) terms
Work intermittently 7 days a week;
alternate among play, work, socializing, etc. 24/7.
No "end" to the week - continuous flow, natural
rhythm
Hang out both online (Facebook, texting)
and also offline (concerts, parties)
Use texting and instant message
shorthand: cu tomorrow; luv ya, r u going to the
game?
Tell friends about a trip by posting pictures
on Facebook (visual versus verbal or text stories)
Use the Internet to socialize, play, have

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Think of the Internet in passive terms of
what they can read, review or learn
Think young people waste their lives online
Think of the Internet and virtual world as not
part of "real life"
One task or pleasure at a time
Value privacy and limit self-disclosure to
small circle of friends, if even that
Prefer more knowledge and "just-in-case"
approach
Learning is a necessity and is often
unavoidable drudgery
Get their news via traditional news sites
(New York Times, local papers) or hard copy
newspapers
Prefer to have 'quality' interaction with one
or few people rather than many
fun, watch videos, shows, create, etc.
View the Internet in terms of interaction
and participation rather than as passive or one-
directional
Many aspects of life are happening only
online
Internet is as real, and often more
pleasurable and tangible, than offline life
Like multitasking and task switching.
Prefer several tasks or recreation activities at a
time: Watch a show, socialize, text, study, play, etc.
Put highly personal information on social
networking sites, where they may have hundreds
or even thousands of friends who can view. Also
put personal videos on YouTube - not afraid to be
known, not especially concerned with privacy
Prefer to learn "just-in-time" and what is
minimally necessary
Learning should be fun and knowledge is
often acquired via fun activities, such as gaming,
surfing the web or social networking.
Get their news from friends via Facebook
(political discussions on walls), Twitter, political
blogs. Traditional news sites are a part of, but not
the central piece, of news for this group
Interact/network simultaneously with
many, even hundreds of others, as well as with best
few friends
Table 1 makes it clear that digital natives and digital immigrants differ from one another to a remarkable
extent. Today we can regard the students born as of 1990s into technology as digital natives and the earlier
generations as digital immigrants. As the learner group mostly consists of digital natives their digital
expectations should somehow be addressed. The advent of podcasting, within this context, is the subject
matter of this paper and is covered in relation to its possible contributions to language learning and teaching
processes.
WHAT IS PODCASTING?
The term podcasting was first introduced by Ben Hammersley in a newspaper article on 12 February 2004 titled
‘Audible revolution’ as follows:
With the benefit of hindsight, it all seems quite obvious. MP3 players, like Apple's iPod, in many pockets, audio
production software cheap or free, and weblogging an established part of the internet; all the ingredients are
there for a new boom in amateur radio. But what to call it? Audioblogging? Podcasting? GuerillaMedia?”
(http://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/feb/12/broadcasting.digitalmedia).
As a fairly recent word, podcasting has achieved to be one of the posh terms in the digital world. At the very
beginning, podcasts covered only audio files, but later the term began to encompass video files as well. Even
though the video files are sometimes called vodcasts in order to make a distinction, the term podcast has
gained a broad coverage. This coverage has reached such borders that every audio or video file on internet
including the ones on popular websites like Youtube has begun to be considered as a podcast. This is a real
misconception as to podcasts.

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Then what makes podcasts different from ordinary audio or video files? Rosell-Aguilar (2007: 472) clarifies this
point as follows: “The fact that podcasting uses RSS is what differentiates it from simple downloading or
streaming. The use of RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, means that the user can subscribe to a podcast that
will be downloaded automatically every time there is an update or new content is uploaded.” In order to be
regarded as a podcast, an audio or video file needs to be a part of an automatically-updated system. Another
dimension is the subscription system. Users can get access to podcasts through free or paid subscription
(depends on the website) and get automatic updates via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) extension. These
podcasts can be downloaded and played through software like iTunes and QuickTime. Once downloaded, the
podcasts can be played offline, which renders the system independent and easily-accessible on the part of the
users.
WHAT DOES PODCASTING PROMISE FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING?
Podcasting holds uses for both learners and teachers and both parties have two alternatives to utilize this tool:
using existing podcasts or creating one’s own original podcasts. This two-alternative model is illustrated by
Rosell-Aguilar (2007: 476) as follows:
Figure 1: Taxonomy of uses of podcasting for language learning (Rosell-Aguilar, 2007: 476).
The easier alternative here for both students and teachers is making use of existing podcasts. There are a
number of podcast sites specially designed for language learning. The following is a concise list of the popular
ones:
- www.podcastsinenglish.com
- https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
- www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/genre/learning
- www.eslpod.com
- learningenglish.voanews.com/Podcast
- www.listen-to-english.com
- www.betteratenglish.com

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- esl.culips.com
- legacy.australianetwork.com/learningenglish
- allearsenglish.com
- teacherluke.co.uk
- zappenglish.com/podcasts
The existing podcast sites are not limited to the above list. Both students and teachers can easily find and
utilize an unlimited number of resources on such sites that are designed to help them in their language-related
studies. For students, for example, such digital tools and learning aids can be really motivating as audio-video
resources appeal to digital natives far more than written resources. Working both online and offline (once
downloaded) on almost any portable digital device, podcasts remove time and place restrictions. Thus students
hold the option to extend their studies out of the classroom and improve their language skills on their own,
which makes them autonomous learners. As podcasts consist of audio and video files, they constitute an
invaluable tool that contributes to the development of listening and pronunciation skills. Especially in foreign
language learning contexts it is hard to access authentic materials. Podcasts remove this barrier through
original speech, dialogues, radio and TV programmes, etc. They also foster other language skills, reading and
vocabulary skills in particular. Podcast sites generally offer the transcripts of the audio-video files with
accompanying exercises. Accordingly, language learners can reap an integrated benefit from podcasts on their
journey to develop language skills. On the other hand, such websites offer benefits for also language teachers.
They can bring to-the-point audio-video files to the classroom or ask students to consolidate a specific aspect
through a suggested podcast at home.
The difficult alternative ‘creating one’s own original podcasts’ is a bit more demanding but much more
enjoyable. This time the learner takes the lead and produces something. Thus they become much more active
through learning by doing. Meng (2005: 2) lists five steps for podcasting/vodcasting:
• Create or capture and edit the content.
• Publish content to a web site or blog.
• Subscribe to the content using an “RSS News Reader”.
• Download the content into content management software (CMS).
• Play content on download device or synchronize CMS with portable media player and play
The above list may seem a bit technical to especially digital immigrants, but once achieved it gives a real sense
of achievement to those who are involved in the process. Meng (2005: 5) lists the following possible uses of
creating podcasts:
• Record and distribute news broadcasts.
• Recorded teacher’s notes.
• Recorded lectures distributed directly to student’s MP3 players.
• Recorded meeting and conference notes.
• Student projects and project support interviews.
• Oral history archiving and on-demand distribution.
Podcasting is harder than making use of the existing podcasts for both learners and teachers, but getting
involved in such a process will enhance the sense of learning by doing, raise student-student and student-
teacher communication, and broaden the students’ out-of-class experiences. Teachers, through podcasting,
can turn their classes into flipped classrooms and focus more on the practical dimension within class hours. At
this point, digital immigrant teachers may be disadvantageous as creating podcasts requires a certain level of
technical knowledge, however by facing their technology-related weaknesses and getting external help they
can handle this disadvantage. The teachers’ role is quite important in the use of podcasts in that they are
expected to guide the students about when and how to utilize certain podcasting websites. Podcasts will of
limited use for language learners if not supported with rich linguistic content. Digital divide is another problem
here. It may not be possible for all students to have access to internet 24/7 and some websites require paid
subscription. Such issues may cause a real disadvantage for some students. In such cases, teachers should do
their best to assist these disadvantaged students. Podcasts may sometimes be distractive for students as the

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cyber world is exempt from restrictions. Lures from other tools like social media accounts may probably
distract self-studying learners from the actual task they focus on. Also for some learners, the use of podcasts
may cause overdependence on technology over time. Therefore a sheer balance should be established
between paper-pencil studies and computer-screen studies. To this end, students should be made aware of the
potential benefits of using podcasts for language learning and their studies on the existing podcasts or their
own podcast-producing experiences should be carefully guided by the language teacher.
CONCLUSION
Podcasting is a relatively new concept in the educational realm. However, “newer is not always better” as
Yaden (2007: 1) puts it. What makes a novelty useful and practical is the proper running of the application
process. To support this point Yaden states (2007: 2) “as with all technology, the most difficult part is finding
the most sound pedagogical use for the resource…” That is, the integration process is of vital importance on
the way to reap positive outcomes. Therefore, the use of podcasts for language learning and teaching purposes
has definitely several merits; nevertheless, the weak points likely to be involved in the application process
should be carefully identified and eliminated as much as possible. In the light of the coverage of this paper, a
brief list of pros and cons of podcasting for language learning and teaching is provided below:
Pros
• Motivating
• Appeals to digital natives
• Omnipresent-no time and place restriction
• Enhances learner autonomy
• Both online and offline
• Contributes to the development of listening and pronunciation skills
• Also supports other language skills
• Limitless resources
• Authentic (native use of language)
• Involves both teacher and student
Cons
• Digital divide
• Digital immigrant teachers
• Will be of limited use if not supported with rich linguistic content
• May sometimes be distractive
• Creating podcasts requires technical knowledge
• Some websites require paid subscription
• May cause overdependence on technology over time
The above-listed pros and cons clearly demonstrate that the positive aspects of using podcasts for language
learning and teaching far outweigh its disadvantages. What counts here is the presence of an effective planning
process. By its very nature podcasting address more to students. For this reason, language teachers should
undertake a guiding role throughout the process of access to right podcast sites and encourage students to
create their own podcasts on a regular basis. Thus the receptive benefits of podcasting could be extended to
productive outcomes. Last but not least, there is a broad need for experimental studies on this new horizon in
the field of language learning and teaching. Studies to be carried out in different contexts such as teachers
creating podcasts, students creating podcasts, and students and teachers utilizing podcasts produced and
uploaded by others. Each prospective study is expected to shed light upon the applied dimension of podcasts in
the realm of education and language learning-teaching.
WJEIS’s Note: This study is presented as an oral presentation at 3rd International Instructional Technologies
and Teacher Education Symposium, Trabzon, 9-11 September.

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