Top 15 Podcasts to improve your English Language Skills
Do you find it difficult to make time to sit down and improve your English speaking skills, enhance your vocabulary, or sharpen your listening skills? Well, my friend, listening to podcasts is a solution! Not only do we have a multitude of podcasts to choose from, but they also allow us to focus on certain skill/s while gathering information or learning about different areas. Ah! You must be thinking, why podcasts? Well, you can listen to podcasts at any time of day or night at your convenience, even while multitasking. So, next time you go for a morning run, cook dinner, or riding a bus, don’t forget to plug your earphones in, and in no time you will see yourself enhancing your language skills in English. To make things easier for you, I have prepared a list of 15 ideal podcasts that will help you achieve your English language goals in less than a year–be it fluency in spoken English, or vocabulary development or grammatical accuracy. Believe me!
1. The History of English Podcast
Kevin Stroud, who is a writer and a producer is the host of this podcast and has been running it for the past decade. If you are as curious as him and his audience, in the history and development of English as a language, this is the podcast for you. Quick tip: If you are new to learning English as a language ‘The History of English Podcast’ is the perfect one to start with.
Suitable for levels: Beginner to Advanced level.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/
● Apple Podcasts
● Spotify
Luke, who is a teacher and a stand-up comedian, has been producing the podcast at home in his flat since 2009 and has a teaching experience of 20 years. The podcast has over 700 audio episodes including transcripts and videos and has received a British Council ELTon nomination. A podcast perfect for those who wish to learn British English, join him and his audience as he explores grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and other learning strategies in a light-hearted way.
Suitable for levels: Intermediate and Advanced level learners.
Listen to his podcast:
● https://teacherluke.co.uk/
● Or download the LEP app on your iPhone/iPad or Android device.
The Level Up English podcast is another podcast that helps you achieve your goals in British English and is hosted by Michael Lavers.The topics include something as basic as the Seasons and ‘How to avoid being rude?’ or ‘How to make friends?’; a podcast perfect for beginners as well as intermediate level. He also hosts monthly episodes, where he invites guests to talk more about Language learning.
Suitable for levels: Beginner and Intermediate level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.levelupenglish.school/podcast/
● Apple podcasts
● Google podcasts
● Spotify
4. Culips
If you want to learn English for everyday use, you have come to the right place! Culips is a team of professional teachers, learners and podcast lovers that focuses on current English. It is one of those podcasts that feels like a string of friends chatting together. Join them to better understand common English expressions for everyday use, vocabulary building and much more; they also have a study guide that goes along with each episode in their podcast and includes detailed explanations, transcripts and examples to test your comprehension.
Suitable for levels: Beginner and Intermediate level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://esl.culips.com/
● Apple Podcasts
● Google podcasts
● Spotify
Joe Rogan who is a stand-up comedian is the host of The Joe Rogan Experience which is one of the biggest podcasts globally as of 2020, and also signed an exclusive deal with Spotify. Join him and his guests as they explore a wide range of topics like science, comedy, politics, American culture and more. The show has interesting English conversations including cultural references and idioms, perfect for learning American English for intermediate and advanced levels.
Suitable for levels: Upper- intermediate and Advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● Apple Podcasts
● Google podcasts
● Youtube
● Spotify
6. English Learning for curious minds by Leonardo English
Alastair Budge started the Leonardo English podcast with a simple idea: ‘What if there were a way for people to improve their English while learning interesting things about the world.’ The podcast began at the end of 2019 and releases a new episode twice every week. If you are as curious as Alastair and his learners join them to explore a wide range of topics from Philosophy to technology and politics; a podcast perfect for intermediate and advanced learners.
Suitable for levels: Upper-intermediate and Advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts
● Apple Podcasts
● Google podcasts
● Spotify
7. Overheard by National Geographic
National Geographic, which is a much loved American TV show (and magazine) is well known for its photography and stories related to the environment and science. Overheard is a podcast that covers the conversations between the employees and other wild stories from the photographers, journalists, scientists and explorers. If you are interested in improving your listening skills and learning about new things at the same time, this podcast is for you!
Suitable for levels: Beginners to Advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.nationalgeographic.com/podcasts/overheard/
● Apple Podcasts
● Google podcasts
● Spotify
● Youtube
Hosted by ESL teachers Lindsay from Boston and Michelle from NYC is an American English podcast that also includes two IELTS specialists Jessica and Aubrey. The podcast is for intermediate level English learners and explores American culture and explains English expressions in a rather fun learning way. The podcast has a multitude of episodes on English Fluency, IELTS and Business English covering all the aspects of language learning, to choose from.
Suitable for levels: Intermediate and Advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.allearsenglish.com/
● Apple Podcasts
● Google podcasts
If you are looking to refine your aspects of grammar and vocabulary, this is the podcast for you from among the top podcasts to improve your English. It focuses on complicated English collocations and phrasal verbs; and helps boost individuals’ linguistic abilities.
Suitable for levels: Beginner and Intermediate level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.espressoenglish.net/
10. Quick and Dirty Tips by Grammar Girl
The Grammar Girl is a podcast by Mignon Fogarty, the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips network, which has been named one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 best websites for writers, quite a few times. It is a weekly 5-minute podcast that focuses on grammar while focusing on individual words or idioms; a podcast perfect for intermediate and advanced level learners.
Suitable for levels: Intermediate and advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
● Google podcasts
● Spotify
11. Learn English Podcast from the British Council
The Learn English Podcast by the British Council is best suited for Beginner level learners and aims at both A1 and B1 levels, including discussions over everyday common situations.
Suitable for levels: Beginner and Intermediate level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english/audio-series/podcasts
● Apple Podcasts
● Google podcasts
Alie Ward, who is a Daytime Emmy Award- winning science correspondent for CBS’s “The Henry’s Ford Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca”, and also the host of “Did I mention invention?”, is the host of this podcast. The episodes include a wide range of ologies to learn from and is perfect to improve your listening and verbal ability.
Suitable for levels: Intermediate and Advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.alieward.com/ologies
13. 6-minute Grammar
The 6-minute podcast by BBC is perfect among the top podcasts to improve your English for those who are busy on the run. Aiming at intermediate level learners the episodes include a wide range of vocabulary, transcripts and thought-provoking questions.
Suitable for levels: Beginner and Advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english
● Apple Podcasts
● Google podcasts
Does your firm require you to speak English all the time? Well this podcast is the perfect fit for you; it covers all the happenings and topics that are likely to take place at an organisation, in real life.
Suitable for levels: Advanced level learners and Business personnel.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://www.businessenglishpod.com/
A true crime-comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. For the past few years, every show on My Favorite Podcasts live tour has been sold out. The episodes include a two-way conversation between the hosts, where one tells the story and the other reacts to it. Perfect to improve your listening skills on intermediate and advanced level learning.
Suitable for levels: Intermediate and Advanced level learners.
Listen to the podcast:
● https://myfavoritemurder.com/episodes
● Apple Podcasts
Well my friend, now that you have a list of amazing Top Podcasts to improve your English Language skills while being able to learn about different cultures and topics altogether, then what are you waiting for? The above-mentioned podcasts provide a wide range of topics for all the ESL students to learn from and improve their English language skills, at their own pace and convenience. Hope you find the listicle helpful. Happy learning!
By Muskaan Choudhary,
School of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Auro University
