I recently presented a mini webinar on Podcasts for Teachers and English Language Learners for MIDTESOL, my regional affiliate of the TESOL International Association. I had to keep it short and sweet for the 30-minute format, with just three podcast recommendations for teachers and three for students.

But that made me want to share my unabridged list of podcasts for adult English learners with you this month—so here it is! (If you want my full list of recommendations for teachers, you can find it here.)

Since I teach adults living here in the U.S. it makes the most sense to select podcasts that use the variety of English that my students will encounter most often at work and in their daily lives. There are lots of excellent podcasts out there that feature British English and other accents and varieties of English but I haven’t included these in my list. Especially for lower intermediate levels, podcasts are challenging enough to understand without piling on additional barriers to comprehension.

As you are browsing for podcasts you will notice that a LOT of people decided to start a podcast during Covid, but many (if not most) of them did not continue. If the podcast isn’t currently in production, it didn’t make my list. Of course, there are still lots of great archived episodes you can find that have valuable content but you will eventually reach the end and have to go searching for a new podcast.

I wanted to choose podcasts that I enjoy listening to because the fact of the matter is, as the teacher, you’re going to have to listen to an episode first in order to decide whether it’s a good fit for your students. For me, that involves great sound quality, natural-sounding speech, excellent comprehensibility, reasonable length, and interesting and relevant topics. If you’re bored listening to a podcast, your learners will be too!

You will see that my list of recommendations is categorized for Intermediate and Advanced levels. Unless you teach a group of students with the same L1, you probably aren’t going to find any podcasts appropriate for beginning levels. (If you do, please share your intel because I would love to find one!) There is simply too much high level vocabulary and advanced grammatical structures in a podcast done completely in English for beginners to be able to comfortably follow.

One option for beginner classes would be to select a short clip from one of the intermediate level recommendations for an in-class listening activity where you provide pre- and post- activities to support students’ comprehension. This could be a great way to expose learners to a different voice and style of speaking from your own.

Once you have selected a podcast that is appropriate for your group of learners, how can you make the best use of it?

My preferred method for using podcasts is to assign a specific episode for students to listen to outside of class. Keep in mind that some (if not most) of your students will have never listened to a podcast before and some may have never even heard the word podcast, so be sure you take time for an in-depth explanation the first time you give a podcast assignment.

Help students find the podcast player on their phone or install the appropriate player if there isn’t one already installed. You could divide the class into groups based on what type of phone they have and let them help each other with this. Although you can listen to podcasts online from the podcast website, it will be easiest if students get familiar with a built-in player on their own phone if you plan to use podcasts in your classes on an ongoing basis.

Once you have assigned students the episode to listen to, decide on the best in-class activities to focus on the skills you want to strengthen. Here are a few possibilities:

Podcasts can be a great way to get students’s creative juices flowing and prompt ideas that can serve as a springboard into a skill-building activity. Ready to get on with the list of podcasts? Let’s go!

Created by Shana Thompson, episodes focus on common American expressions and U.S. culture and history, and some episodes include a grammar focus. You can search by topic (culture & history, language topics, places) on the podcast website.

I mean, how can I not recommend the episode where I’m the guest of honor? Shana interviews me about my home state and we talk about tornadoes and summer storms, typical food, and different colors of tractors.

Expansive collection of conversations and lessons on a variety of topics. Hosted by Andrew Bates, Kassy White, Anna Connelly, and Suzanne Centineo.

A conversation about the hosts’ first jobs as teenagers.

Experienced English teacher Catherine Angus covers advanced topics and shares conversations with other teachers. Early episodes are geared towards intermediate learners while more recent episodes are best suited to advanced students.

Catherine talks about how to make friends as an adult (the second of a two-part series about friendship).

Host Bree Aesie begins each episode with an explanation of key vocabulary that will be used in the firsthand true story. Storytellers represent a variety of English accents, including British, American, Canadian, and nonnative speakers.

Gabriel Kazz’s musical journey takes him to the TV show The Voice, where he realizes the power of showing up and trying.

Creator Connor Pe has a wonderfully slow and clear way of speaking that lower intermediate and even some high beginning students will find easy to understand. He covers a variety of topics and there are over 200 episodes to choose from.

A discussion of different common types of cold and hot drinks in the U.S., including an explanation of tap water. Only non alcoholic drinks are mentioned.

Although this podcast is created for English language learners, the pace of speech and language complexity makes it better suited for advanced levels. Hosts Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan have informal conversations on a variety of lighthearted topics. Learners will find this a fun and challenging listen.

A conversation about the expressions, "Don't quit your day job" and "Don't call us, we'll call you."

Criminal is an award-winning true crime podcast. Although it isn’t created for English learners, host Phoebe Judge has a slow, clear style of speaking that makes it accessible to nonnative listeners. I enjoy listening to this podcast myself because most episodes do not contain gruesome detail and stories often focus on interesting rather than scary crimes. Be sure to preview episodes, however, as some do contain sensitive topics.

The story of Toby Dorr, who started a prison dog training program in 2004. The story takes an unexpected twist after she meets inmate John Manard.

Every December, Criminal releases a special "Animal Criminals" episode with several short, humorous stories of animals who broke the rules.

Definitely the most challenging of my recommendations, this will reward advanced learners who enjoy a story that keeps them on the edge of their seat. My 12-year-old son listened to the entire archive of episodes, if that tells you something! This show may not be suitable for more sensitive listeners however—one of my students found it quite stressful to listen to stories of life-threatening situations.

A couple’s serene vacation is thrown into chaos by a terrifying wildfire.

Do one of these podcasts stand out as a good fit for your group of students? Give it a try and let me know how it goes! What pre- and post-listening activities do you find helpful with your learners?

I would also love to hear your recommendations for other podcasts you have used with your classes. I plan to continue adding to my list of recommendations as I discover new gems.

Keep doing the amazing job you’re doing, teacher!

-Bethany