Podcasts are a great way for English language learners to improve listening comprehension. Voice of America provide 'special English' audio broadcasts for ESL students and teachers. BBC English also has a comprehensive selection of graded listening materials.
Another excellent resource is Breaking News which provides podcasts of up-to-date news items. ESL Podcast is also a good source of varied listening materials as is ESL Podcards.
ESL Pod has an extensive selection of materials with accompanying notes but does charge a subscription.
For unsimplified and free podcasts of some of the best modern short stories in English try The New Yorker Fiction Podcast. Here well known writers give their favourite stories published in The New Yorker Magazine.
Each story is proceeded by a short introduction and ends with a discussion. I particularly recommend the following:
- Paul Theroux reads Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “The Gospel According to Mark.”
- Richard Ford reads John Cheever’s short story “Reunion.”
- T. Coraghessan Boyle reads Tobias Wolff’s short story “Bullet in the Brain.”
- Jonathan Lethem reads James Thurber’s short story “The Wood Duck.”
