Summary

Pukka German a free audio podcast for intermediate to advanced German learners. The Pukka German podcast focuses on real-life German, including colloquial German, slang, German idioms and funny German sayings. A few example podcast topics are Oktoberfest, Gobsmacked, Money, Party and Like Clockwork.

The lesson audio, podcast transcripts and vocabulary lists are totally free and there is an option to become a pro member to gain access to online quizzes for a reasonable price. Pukka German is vibrant and filled with useful content for people that want to learn the kind of German language that is used in everyday life. The podcast production quality is that of proper studio recordings and the website is quite colorful as well.

Overall, this is an excellent, vibrant, relatively new podcast for students of German. Bravo Lisa and Tyler!

From Website

Who is Pukka German for?

Our German podcast is aimed at independent learners of German of all ages from intermediate to advanced levels. Whether you are a student, business professional or a language afficionado you will find plenty of useful material on the site to help you speak more fluent and interesting German.

We do not teach beginner German so you will need to have the German basics under your belt already to get the most from our German podcast and online quizzes.

Pukka German Inspiration

On arrival in Freiburg, I realised that in order to properly integrate and enjoy living out here, I was going to have to learn German.

Immediately I devoted considerable energy to learning the German basics as quickly as possible. I used language learning software, CDs, a multitude of books, online resources and also took German language classes. In fact Lisa was quite taken aback by my motivation and she worried that I had some kind of compulsive disorder that she'd failed to pick up on during our time in Scotland!

On arrival in Freiburg, I realised that in order to properly integrate and enjoy living out here, I was going to have to learn German.

Immediately I devoted considerable energy to learning the German basics as quickly as possible. I used language learning software, CDs, a multitude of books, online resources and also took German language classes. In fact Lisa was quite taken aback by my motivation and she worried that I had some kind of compulsive disorder that she'd failed to pick up on during our time in Scotland!

Unfortunately, I soon noticed that the language I learnt from text books was very different to the colourful language that I heard being used socially. It frustrated me that despite all the time and energy I'd invested to improve my German, I battled to understand what seemed to be the most entertaining conversations. I also felt cramped in my ability to express my personality and bring humour into conversation. It didn't take much to realise that it was the idiomatic language, the colloquial expressions and equally important, the German slang that I was missing.

Fortunately for me, I had Lisa who not only did me the favour of speaking with me in German from my first week here, but she also explained many of the useful German expressions, that my private studies hadn't exposed me to.

This obvious difference between textbook German and the language used by a large percentage of the Germans I was meeting is what inspired the creation of the Pukka German podcast. My vision with Pukka German is to help learners of German to bridge this divide, which normally is only achieved with a patient native speaker at your side.

A German podcast seemed the perfect solution because it allows subscribers to hear new vocabulary in context and spoken by a native speaker. Podcasts are also great for regular delivery of content, which is super for language learning.

Visit Pukka German.

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Subscribe to Pukka German via iTunes.

Summary

Spanish News Bites offers quite interesting and varied audio news articles regarding Spain and Latin America. These are free, naturally.

It's a Spanish-speaking-world news source, a podcast and a written lesson all in one.

From Website

Spanish NewsBites is a free language-learning website designed to help you learn Spanish at the same time as you learn about what's happening TODAY throughout Spain and Latin America, whether you're a student or a teacher, or whether you're learning Spanish for fun.

So what's the Spanish NewsBites recipe? If you want to know more, click "Continue Reading" below. If you're returning to Spanish NewsBites and you're already in the know, just scroll down this page a few centimeters to read our latest entry. (You'll find one every couple of days.)

So just what is the Spanish NewsBites recipe?

• Three to four times a week, we choose a news story from Spain or Latin America and adapt it for language learners. Often, it's the kind of story you won't easily find anywhere in English.
• Then we add mouse rollover translation into English of key vocabulary. To see how this works, just roll your mouse over these words in bold.
• Then we prepare an audio transcript of the text for you to follow. This can be done straight from your browser, or it can be downloaded as an MP3 file.
• Then we add a PDF file of the text and glossary, so you can print it out and take it away with you.
• Then we add links which we think will give a little further context and generally enhance your reading.
• Then we add an online self-correction exercise.
• The news stories are classified into categories by theme or by Spanish level - beginner, intermediate or advanced. So you can choose what you read according to your interests or your level.

Visit Spanish News Bites.

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Subscribe to Spanish NewsBites.

Summary

ArabicPod.net is a quality podcast for learning the Arabic language. The audio podcast lessons are free! and two levels of membership are also available for a nominal price. These include transcriptions of the lessons and additional study materials.

Lessons are well-structured and tackle many difficult aspects of learning the Arabic language, such as difficult letters to pronounce and cultural idiomatic expressions. Meet the teachers here.

ArabicPod.net also has a number of videos available. Most of these are for paid subscribers but there are also some for free. You will also find a forum on the website. If you are a premium member, you have access to a place to share documents, images, links and more with other users.

The dialect taught on this podcast is "common colloquial" Arabic, common across all Arabic dialects, as well as Standard Arabic. Read more about this.

From Website

What is ArabicPod?

ArabicPod is a website dedicated to providing the most innovative and effective methods for learning Arabic. We use the latest technologies in web 2.0 to provide a rich learning experience delivering podcasts, videos, games and much more.

Where is it based?

ArabicPod is based in London. If you’re around town, then why don’t you contact us and arrange to meet the ArabicPod team or even join us as a guest in some of our lessons.

Is it free?

All of our audio podcasts can be freely listened to and downloaded. For most of the other content, there is a subscription fee which is setup to cover the costs of running the website.

Visit ArabicPod.net Podcast.

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Subscribe to ArabicPod.net Podcast via iTunes.
View ArabicPod.net's Feed on Free Language.

Summary

A Flavor of German is a series of free brief podcasts by Radio Lingua Network that teach useful German idiomatic expressions. Lessons already exist with idioms for such concepts as weather, time, colors and being tired, with more episodes coming fortnightly.

The free audio lessons are good, and if you would like transcripts of the lessons plus additional materials, you can purchase the whole series from Radio Lingua for about $15 USD.

From Website

We're delighted to introduce the latest series in the range of language learning materials from the Radio Lingua Network. A Flavour of German will help you to 'spice up your German' by teaching you idiomatic German phrases and helping to increase your range of expression. In the show the tables are turned on Coffee Break Spanish teacher Mark, who is aiming to improve his German, ably assisted by teacher Julia from One Minute German. Join Julia and Mark in fortnightly episodes and spice up your German with Radio Lingua.

Visit A Flavour of German Podcast

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Subscribe to A Flavour of German Podcast.
Subscribe to A Flavour of German Podcast via iTunes.
View A Flavour of German Podcast Feed on Free Language.

Summary

The China232.com Podcast is produced by two Canadian brothers, Andrew and Addison, living in Shanghai. The quality of the podcast audio and the lessons is great, and they provide transcripts with explanations of idiomatic expressions! Podcast topics range from fun stuff like dating and sports to business English. The brothers speak slowly and clearly so that students can understand even difficult material more easily.

I received this link from a teacher in China who says he uses these podcasts for his classes and the students love them! Once you've listened to a podcast, you can participate in discussion on the site through the forum. Keep up with the latest from China232.com by tuning into the blog.

Keep up the goods, brothers!

From Website

This is a website for learning English in a fun and relaxed way. We are two Canadian brothers that are currently living in Shanghai. We hope you enjoy the show.

Have a look at our ESL podcasts. These are downloadable mp3 files that you can listen to on your mp3 player or computer to practice your English. This Podcast is for learning about slang and everyday conversation English for intermediate to advanced level English learners.

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Subscribe to China232.com Podcast
Subscribe to China232.com Podcast via iTunes.
View China232.com Podcast Feed on Free Language.

Summary

ChinesePod has created a sweet resource for anyone learning Chinese and interested in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

On the site you'll find an interactive map of Beijing with all the venues, loads of free lessons regarding sports and the Olympics, a world map with participating countries that has audio of how to say those countries in Chinese, etc.

If you are interested in learning Mandarin Chinese, ChinesePod will get you up and running quickly. It's loads of fun, too, if you're into learning on the fly and connecting with other learners.

From Website

The 2008 Summer Games are almost upon us, and to commemorate this monumental sporting event we've launched ChinesePod Olympics, a mini-site filled with information you'll need to follow the Games and navigate Beijing. Whether you're going to see the Olympics yourself, or just really want to bone up on your field hockey vocabulary, this is the site for you.

On our fully interactive map, you can locate each of the Olympic venues and their respective events. English, Chinese, pinyin, and audio recordings are all there to assist in you getting around the Olympic Village.

Visit ChinesePod.com