Can you Learn a Language Using Only Podcasts?
An introduction to the world of language learning podcasts
“Cassette 1. Side A.
Jean is at the market: J’ai une pomme”.
English language learning is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and podcasts are now a well-established part of it. Look at the Apple Podcasts charts of any non-English speaking country and you’ll find a dozen or more English language learning podcasts there — both independently produced and from major networks like the BBC World Service. You are spoiled for choice if you are a learner of English, but what about if you’re a native English speaker looking to learn another language?
I wanted to find out, so I set a challenge for myself: Choose a language and see how much I could pick up in one month by listening to podcasts everyday. And only podcasts. No books, no online resources, no note-taking, no help of any kind. Just podcasts.
Step 1: Choose a Language
The idea was to pick a language in which I was a complete novice. I’m a native English speaker (and an English language teacher), but I also speak Italian and a little Spanish, so decided to pick another Romance language. I chose Portuguese. There’s no reason I couldn’t have tried, say, Japanese or Arabic, but I felt my initial progress would be much slower and, for the purposes of this experiment, I wanted to hit the ground running. Having said that, I have never learned any Portuguese and understand essentially nothing when my Brazilian friends chat to each other, so it seemed like a good choice.
This was not the way I would normally go about learning languages. No detailed grammar points? No copious note-taking? No textbooks? Madness! But, as I’ll explain below, there’s quite a lot to be said for immersing yourself in a new language from the comfort of your headphones.
Step 2: Find Useful Podcasts
My next task was to round up the available podcasts and see what was out there. I decided to go with Brazilian rather than European Portuguese as there seemed to be more podcasts available.
Step one was pretty basic: I just typed “Portuguese” into Podcast Addict and had a browse. I stuck to podcasts that were publishing regular episodes and found my first success in Portuguese Pod 101. It’s part of the larger Language Pod 101 group (which features over thirty languages) and it does what it says on the tin: slow, easy-to-follow dialogues in English and Portuguese introducing you to the absolute basics. Brazilpod: Lingua da gente (a podcast from the University of Texas) was another useful discovery, with episodes pitched at every level and plenty of elementary material.
Between these two I started getting into the basics, with the aim of listening to at least 15 minutes of conversation a day. I tried out quite a few other similar shows, but as they seemed to be doing mostly the same thing, I stuck with Portuguese Pod and Brazilpod.
Later in the month I discovered SBS Portuguese. The show is part of a larger Australian media company, but what attracted me was the length of the episodes: often just 2 or 3 minutes. The level of the show was far higher than my beginner Portuguese, and most of the time I wasn’t even close to understanding what was going on; however, I knew the content was primarily about world news, and I could begin picking out words from the conversation. I could also listen to the same episode several times in under ten minutes, and it was a real confidence booster when I realized, even with little understanding of Portuguese, that I had a vague idea what the story might have been about. I added this one to my daily schedule.
Step 3: Total Immersion
Next up I wanted to see what Brazilians themselves were listening to. So, I switched my Apple Podcasts location to Brazil (which simply involves clicking the little flag in the bottom right of the app). I scrolled through the charts and tried out a few but, at my level, things got complicated very quickly. Having said that, this is a very effective strategy for anyone with an intermediate level or above in any language.
I was curious to see what other formats language podcasts were taking, not just in Portuguese but in other popular languages too. How was the medium be used in more original ways, beyond the more standard interview or dialogue-explanation-dialogue structures? What about a show aimed at learners that doesn’t sacrifice the elements of a traditional, immersive podcast? In that regard, the Duolingo Podcast was a standout. There’s only a Spanish language version so far, although that will no doubt change very soon. It’s a bilingual narrative storytelling podcast in very easy-to-follow Spanish with English narration filling in the gaps. It’s completely unlike the more standard dialogues you find in most podcasts: engaging, compelling stories told in a way even the most elementary Spanish learner will be able to follow.
News in Slow (with versions in Spanish, French, Italian, and German) is another show with a somewhat different set up. Rather than the mundane or repetitive dialogues found in some language podcasts, News in Slow presents current affairs in a way that’s clear, engaging and, well, slow. Think of it as a slower version of The Daily or The Post Reports and you get the idea.
Radio D is a German language learning podcast with a different approach again. The hosts act as Radio D reporters who have mysterious cases to solve. Scenes are acted out in German in the manner of an audio drama, with the full use of sound effects. Between scenes an English-speaking narrator asks listeners to listen out for key words, sounds, or other aspects. It’s far more interactive than most podcasts of this type and shows what can be done with the help of strong sound design.
Finally, Radio Atlas is a podcast that language learners can draw on in a very different way. Aimed at anyone with an interest in audio, the podcast takes documentaries, dramas, and works of sound art from all over the world and subtitles them in English. From a language learning perspective, the show provides a great way to access some of the best audio in your target language.
The Result: I Learned A Lot, But Not An Entire Language
So, to answer the original question: can you pick up the basics of a language in a month using only podcasts? I did not quite get there, but even at less than half an hour a day of listening over a month, I learned a lot.
Almost all language podcasts aim to send listeners to the associated website where there are transcripts, extra exercises, and other (usually paid) content. A well-made podcast, along with good online content, could definitely make for a strong introduction to a language. On the other hand, if you already have a basic grasp of a language, introduce a few local podcasts into your weekly listening schedule; it’s an extremely effective way of keeping your skills up to date without much effort at all.
Podcasts like the Duolingo, Radio Atlas, or Radio D are, we can safely assume, just the start of where language learning podcasts can go. I look forward to seeing how other shows use the medium to make immersive, challenging, and engaging language learning audio.
The Bello Collective is a publication + newsletter about podcasts and the audio industry. Our goal is to bring together writers, journalists, and other voices who share a passion for the world of audio storytelling.
Subscribe to the Bello Collective fortnightly newsletter for more stories, podcast recommendations, audio industry news, and more. Support our work and join our community by becoming a member.
