Radio English language lesson
The radio is by no means a new form of technology. It has been used in
education for many years, but have you ever thought of using a live
radio broadcast in an English language lesson?
There are a wide range of English language programmes broadcast around the world through organisations such as BBC
World Service and Voice of America. These can provide useful language learning resources for the teacher whether the
programmes are designed for learners of English or not. Most course books supply listening materials, but these can easily
become dated. Radio programmes supply authentic and up to date materials. Using them can help to bring variety to the
lesson and can be motivating for the students. Radio English is seen as ‘real’ English, not the artificial English of the
classroom. It is also a way to expose students to other cultures and ways of life.
The teacher who wants to use radio material has to be carefully prepared. Here are some points to remember when thinking
about using a radio programme in the classroom:
• Try to select programmes that will be of interest to your students, not just yourself!
• Reception of radio programmes can often be difficult, be sure to check that you have clear reception at the same time
of day in the room you’ll be using. If reception is a problem in your room, then it may be necessary to arrange to
record the programme and use it on cassette later.
• If possible, try to become familiar with programmes before using them in class. It is usually possible to get programme
guides for the different stations. Increasingly, information is available on the internet. For example, on the BBC World
Service site you can find broadcast timetables, frequency charts as well as programme resources such as scripts and
task sheets. You can find more information at: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/
The same considerations go into using a radio broadcast as with any listening task:
• The listening should not be too long. Course book recordings are limited to useful lengths of time. Radio programmes
can last much longer, so the teacher needs to be aware of the duration of programmes and be prepared to ‘switch off’
before the end if necessary.
• Students should always be given suitable and appropriate tasks to do while listening. This way, if a teacher carefully
grades the exercise then even lower level classes can benefit from authentic listening.
• Students need to be prepared for the listening. They may need to be taught some vocabulary or discuss in advance
issues that come up in the programme, for example.
For details on the procedures of staging a listening activity, see Exploiting listening and reading texts on page 19.
It may often be more convenient for the teacher to record a programme beforehand. This gives the teacher time to listen to
the material and work out what exercises will be suitable. It also means the students are able to listen more than once.
However, some teachers may enjoy the challenge of the live broadcast, as teacher Karen Adams explains:
I like taking risks in class with my students and I think one of the great risks that I enjoy taking is bringing in live radio,
particularly the news. I cannot predict really what’s going to be on the news. I might have an idea of some of the real
headlines. I think the students get a sense of the excitement as well, they know that I don’t know what’s going to be
said, and I know that they don’t.
Karen Adams, director of teacher training at International House London - Teaching With Technology, Programme 2
Many international broadcasters put out the news every hour. Although it’s difficult to prepare completely for live news
broadcasts, there are certain things that the teacher can do. One of these is to get the students to predict what stories they
think are going to be on. Then, when they listen, their task is to listen to see if they had predicted correctly. This can also
be a useful prompt for further discussion on the stories of the day and other topical issues.
News bulletins and other types of radio listening activities can also be set for homework.
Another thing I’ ve used the radio for is setting listening homework. Students often get very bored if all they have to do
is write an essay for homework. So what we’ve done in class is make sure that everyone has access to the radio and
decide together on a programme to listen to. This means that students can actually do some extensive listening. They
can listen to things that are longer than they would be able to listen to in class and they can also do something that’s a
little bit different at home. So let’s say that everyone in the class has decided they’re particularly interested in a science
programme. Then for homework, their task is to go home and listen to the science programme and then the next day to
come in and again to discuss together the kind of things they’d heard. Now if there is a problem and there are things
that they haven’t understood, the teacher can also record the programme and bring it into the classroom. So you can
replay the bits that were difficult, but I think setting listening tasks outside the classroom is helping the students to
apply what they’re learning in school outside in a real-life situation.
Karen Adams - Teaching With Technology, Programme 2
Radio programmes, whether live or recorded can be a valuable source of useful authentic listening materials. As with any
other activity, the teacher needs to plan carefully. Radio exposes students to ‘real’ English and it can also encourage them to
become better learner s.
The radio is by no means a new form of technology. It has been used in
education for many years, but have you ever thought of using a live
radio broadcast in an English language lesson?
There are a wide range of English language programmes broadcast around the world through organisations such as BBC
World Service and Voice of America. These can provide useful language learning resources for the teacher whether the
programmes are designed for learners of English or not. Most course books supply listening materials, but these can easily
become dated. Radio programmes supply authentic and up to date materials. Using them can help to bring variety to the
lesson and can be motivating for the students. Radio English is seen as ‘real’ English, not the artificial English of the
classroom. It is also a way to expose students to other cultures and ways of life.
The teacher who wants to use radio material has to be carefully prepared. Here are some points to remember when thinking
about using a radio programme in the classroom:
• Try to select programmes that will be of interest to your students, not just yourself!
• Reception of radio programmes can often be difficult, be sure to check that you have clear reception at the same time
of day in the room you’ll be using. If reception is a problem in your room, then it may be necessary to arrange to
record the programme and use it on cassette later.
• If possible, try to become familiar with programmes before using them in class. It is usually possible to get programme
guides for the different stations. Increasingly, information is available on the internet. For example, on the BBC World
Service site you can find broadcast timetables, frequency charts as well as programme resources such as scripts and
task sheets. You can find more information at: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/
The same considerations go into using a radio broadcast as with any listening task:
• The listening should not be too long. Course book recordings are limited to useful lengths of time. Radio programmes
can last much longer, so the teacher needs to be aware of the duration of programmes and be prepared to ‘switch off’
before the end if necessary.
• Students should always be given suitable and appropriate tasks to do while listening. This way, if a teacher carefully
grades the exercise then even lower level classes can benefit from authentic listening.
• Students need to be prepared for the listening. They may need to be taught some vocabulary or discuss in advance
issues that come up in the programme, for example.
For details on the procedures of staging a listening activity, see Exploiting listening and reading texts on page 19.
It may often be more convenient for the teacher to record a programme beforehand. This gives the teacher time to listen to
the material and work out what exercises will be suitable. It also means the students are able to listen more than once.
However, some teachers may enjoy the challenge of the live broadcast, as teacher Karen Adams explains:
I like taking risks in class with my students and I think one of the great risks that I enjoy taking is bringing in live radio,
particularly the news. I cannot predict really what’s going to be on the news. I might have an idea of some of the real
headlines. I think the students get a sense of the excitement as well, they know that I don’t know what’s going to be
said, and I know that they don’t.
Karen Adams, director of teacher training at International House London - Teaching With Technology, Programme 2
Many international broadcasters put out the news every hour. Although it’s difficult to prepare completely for live news
broadcasts, there are certain things that the teacher can do. One of these is to get the students to predict what stories they
think are going to be on. Then, when they listen, their task is to listen to see if they had predicted correctly. This can also
be a useful prompt for further discussion on the stories of the day and other topical issues.
News bulletins and other types of radio listening activities can also be set for homework.
Another thing I’ ve used the radio for is setting listening homework. Students often get very bored if all they have to do
is write an essay for homework. So what we’ve done in class is make sure that everyone has access to the radio and
decide together on a programme to listen to. This means that students can actually do some extensive listening. They
can listen to things that are longer than they would be able to listen to in class and they can also do something that’s a
little bit different at home. So let’s say that everyone in the class has decided they’re particularly interested in a science
programme. Then for homework, their task is to go home and listen to the science programme and then the next day to
come in and again to discuss together the kind of things they’d heard. Now if there is a problem and there are things
that they haven’t understood, the teacher can also record the programme and bring it into the classroom. So you can
replay the bits that were difficult, but I think setting listening tasks outside the classroom is helping the students to
apply what they’re learning in school outside in a real-life situation.
Karen Adams - Teaching With Technology, Programme 2
Radio programmes, whether live or recorded can be a valuable source of useful authentic listening materials. As with any
other activity, the teacher needs to plan carefully. Radio exposes students to ‘real’ English and it can also encourage them to
become better learner s.
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