Today, I’m excited to introduce my colleague, Annemarie Fowler from Speak Confident English. You may already know her from the fluency lessons she shares online.

I spoke with Annemarie about how to use podcasts as a way to start discussions with a speaking or listening partner.

That’s right, you don’t need to sit in a corner on your own listening to a podcast, headphones in your ears, transcribing passages. In fact, it’s better to find a buddy who likes listening to the same podcasts as you and meet up to chat about them.

In this 25 minute video (make a cup of tea before you sit down to watch us, or grab a snack!) we discuss:

• Why you should find a listening/speaking partner [5’20]
• Where you can find one, online or offline (yes, the real world still exists!) [8’43]
• Which podcasts are best for starting discussions [14’04]
• What solo activities you can do to improve your speaking with podcasts [20’07]

By the way, if you want to understand every word of the world’s most famous podcast, then make sure you take a look at the post I wrote for Annemarie’s blog.

Links We Mention In The Video

Meet Up: a way to find language partners locally 

On Va Sortir: similar to meetup.com, but for Frenchies

English Across the Pond: a podcast by a British and an American teacher

StoryCorps: stories from ordinary people that’ll make you cry

Serial: season 1 became the world’s most downloaded podcast a couple of years ago

NPR: National Public Radio – a goldmine of high-quality programmes to listen to

Annemarie’s blog post on the 11 best podcasts to Improve your listening skills

More About Today’s Guest

Over To You

Has today’s interview with Annemarie inspired you to go out and find a podcast partner? Where are you going to look for one? Have you already tried improving your speaking or listening with a partner? Let us know in the comments.