People often refrain from learning English because of the fear of having to read dozens of textbooks. Let’s accept the fact that textbooks are actually quite boring. Also, the textbooks only teach the words and not the different types of the pronunciation of the same word.
This is the reason why people have to face a lot of difficulties in communicating in English and they shy away from speaking in English. But if you are told that you can learn English while doing any of your work, then maybe you will get some relief.
Yes, you can learn English anytime, anywhere without a book. There are many podcasts that teach English learning and you can listen to them anytime. To make your problems easier, we have prepared a list of some of the best podcasts that you must see once.
Looking at learning French? Check out our list of podcasts for learning French.
Table of Contents
Top 10 Best Podcasts for English Learners
1. The English We Speak:
Put your books aside for some time and pay attention to this podcast. This podcast is run by the BBC and its hosts are very knowledgeable. It airs 1 episode daily and every episode talks about phrases and slangs.
They often talk about words that are commonly used in colloquial language. This podcast is weekly and every episode is only 3 to 4 minutes so you can listen to it easily anytime.
There is also a special thing that the English in it is spoken a little slower so that the listener can understand. There are 2 people in each episode who interact with each other. Due to the sound effect, it seems that they are at different locations.
Best Episode: The episode “Hater” seems to be the best episode so far.If you want to learn a saying that allows you to define a negative attitude, then you must listen to this episode. Through the episode, you will get many phrases to express a negative attitude.
2. Learn English Podcast:
Who said that language learning is a boring thing? If you have not yet heard the podcast in English, then of course you can speak the above lines but after listening to that, your perception will change. The podcast has three categories.
The first is for beginners, the second is for intermediate and the third is for upper intermediate. If a person wants to learn Business English, then episodes are also made separately for him. Since this podcast is for English learners, the entire episode takes place in English and shows the conversation between two people.
It talks about almost every aspect. Every podcast is short but very informative. Worksheets and vocabulary tasks are also included in every podcast.
Best Episode: The latest episode “Techno Car” is considered the best episode so far. The hosts Richard and Jackie get involved in an interesting conversation regarding modern cars.
It is an interesting episode and you must listen to it once. They use various new words that you may learn while listening to the show.
3. Elementary Podcasts by the British Council:
This podcast, as the name suggests, is run by the British Council. This is a very good initiative from the British Council of the UK. This council has released this podcast primarily for beginners and intermediate level learners.
The duration of a podcast is around 25 minutes but you can pause it anytime and resume whenever you want. The hosts of each episode are different and they work to teach English in their own ways. Each host brings a situation that challenges you and forces your mind to work.
The Council provides the study material that you can do before you listen to the episode so that you understand things better when you listen to the episode. Even though the episodes are long, they are never boring. If you start listening once, the interest will remain till the last.
Best Episode: Episode One of Series One is the best episode yet. The show’s presenters are Tess and Ravi. While the show starts, both of them first introduce themselves and then talk about the guests of the show.
They talk about Angelina, New York City, and celebrities who engage in charity work. Listen to this podcast and then do the exercises related to it. This will give you a better understanding of the language.
4. Speaking Broadly:
If you find reading textbooks boring but still want to learn English, then you must listen to this podcast. Its name is its specialty. This podcast is really very splendid. This podcast is made for advanced learners.
Each episode is explained through discussion and interviews. Each episode has non-native English speakers and every recording also has expert feedback. In this way, the listener understands things very well and it seems to be a fun activity as well.
You will enjoy seeing how other people also struggle while learning English. You will also see their mistakes and you can improve your English by learning from those mistakes.
Best Episode: Each episode has a test which is the most attractive feature of this podcast. The host of this test is Andrei who comes with a free practice test. In this test, English speaking practice is done and there are some exercises which you have to solve. This test is very beneficial and gives a very good grip on the language.
5. Better at English:
Yes, be better at English. Each episode is explained through a two-person conversation. This is basically for intermediate level learners. The topic of every episode is interesting and completely different from the last one.
For example, sometimes the topic can be serious, sometimes it can be silly or sometimes it can be light-hearted. Conversations seem very natural, so there is no boredom in hearing them and because of being knowledgeable, interest also remains intact.
This makes the learners aware of the speed and pace of the language. Some idioms and common expressions are used during the conversation. Since it is used in the conversation, you can easily remember it while listening.
Best Episode: There was an episode in which the host talked about keywords in the English language. For example, he explained what is a noun, what is a pronoun and how to use it. It was a very basic episode but for those who do not understand English at all, this episode will be quite beneficial.
6. This American Life:
If you are looking for a podcast that can improve your English, then this podcast will probably be right for you. There may not be a better podcast in terms of improving pronunciation.
First of all, this podcast is the most popular in America. It also gives listeners a chance to become familiar with some American accents.
Best Episode: An episode of this was No Coincidence No Story. This is considered to be the best episode ever. For this episode, the host asked the audience to share some of their memorable coincidences.
Around 1300 people sent their stories, out of which five stories were selected. The host then talked about these five stories. Through these five stories, the host introduced us to many new words.
7. Learn English Through Listening:
This podcast has four categories. The first category is for the Absolute Beginner, the second category is for the Beginners, the third is for the Intermediate and the fourth is for the Advanced Learners. You can choose any category according to your convenience.
The hosts of this podcast are very entertaining and interactive. First of all, there is a conversation between two people. After this, little cultural information is also given. Then a little talk is made about Vocab and Phrase.
Finally, Grammar is talked about. The speed of this podcast is neither too fast nor too slow. It remains at a moderate level.
Best Episode: The episode “Basics of English” is the best episode yet. In this episode, the host talked about the basic terminology of the English language. It was a very informative episode and if you do not know English at all, then you should definitely watch this episode.
8. The Art of Business English:
If you want to learn English for business purposes then this podcast is best for you. Often people go abroad to do business and there they face difficulties in speaking English. So some such podcasts have also been made that give you only the knowledge of Business English.
This podcast is one of them. This podcast teaches some terms and languages related to business. What terms and English usage are used in different business situations are discussed in this podcast. The structure of these episodes is very simple.
For example, each episode has a host who speaks on a topic for a while and then explains the meaning of the words used in that topic and recites the semantics through a quiz. The host assumes that the listener has a little understanding of English.
Best Episode: Confidence is an episode that is still the most liked by the audience. While the host has talked about confidence on the one hand, on the other hand, he has also used many new words and phrases through this episode.
9. Culips ESL Podcast:
This podcast is very unique in itself. If you only know how to say hello, you can listen to this podcast or if you know English very well, you can still listen to this podcast. There are many series in this podcast that are suitable for learners of every level.
If ever you feel that you want to learn idioms, then there is a podcast named CatchWord. If you want to listen to a conversation between two people and learn English from them, Chatterbox Podcast is for that. If you want to listen to two people at a very slow pace then there is a SimpleSpeech podcast for that.
Best Episode: An episode of this is “Get accustomed to modern English”. This is quite an interesting episode and you must listen once. In this, the host has highlighted some aspects of Modern English and has discussed them in detail.
10. Luke’s ENGLISH Podcast:
Luke is an english teacher who teaches english through this podcast in a fun and entertaining manner. His motto is to “make you learn something in a fun manner”. In most of the episodes, Luke is the sole narrator, and in the others, he is accompanied by guests who share their insights on the topic.
Best Episode: “Doctor Who Episode – Language Analysis” is one of the best episodes of this podcast so far. As can be perceived from the title, the episode talks about the in depth analysis of the language used in the series “Doctor Who”.
