American English as a Second Language (AESL) Podcast

Speaking is the language skill that most learners most urgently want to develop and that most powerfully determines how others perceive them. The ability to express oneself clearly, appropriately, and confidently in spoken American English opens doors in virtually every domain of life — from the workplace to the classroom, from healthcare interactions to social friendships. Yet speaking is also th...

Of the four language skills — listening, speaking, reading, and writing — listening is the one American English learners use most frequently and receive the least explicit instruction in. In natural communication, people spend roughly 45 percent of their language time listening, yet traditional ESL curricula have often treated listening as a passive activity that develops automatically through exp...

Deep vocabulary knowledge goes beyond simply knowing a word's definition. Full lexical knowledge of a word includes its pronunciation, its spelling, its common grammatical patterns, its collocations (the other words it habitually appears with), its register (formal or informal), its connotations, and its derivatives. Building this multidimensional knowledge requires encountering words many times,...

The role of grammar instruction in second language teaching has been one of the most contentious debates in applied linguistics for the past half century. Pendulum swings between grammar-heavy structural approaches and meaning-focused communicative methods have left many practitioners confused about what the research actually recommends. The contemporary consensus, supported by decades of classroo...

Episode 6: Pronunciation and the American English Sound System This podcast was created for every adult who has ever stood at the threshold of a new language and felt the mixture of hope, excitement, and intimidation that marks the beginning of a meaningful journey. It was written for the Somali mother who attends ESL class three evenings a week after working an eight-hour shift, for the Mexican e...

Episode 5: The Affective Filter and Creating Safe Learning Spaces This podcast was created for every adult who has ever stood at the threshold of a new language and felt the mixture of hope, excitement, and intimidation that marks the beginning of a meaningful journey. It was written for the Somali mother who attends ESL class three evenings a week after working an eight-hour shift, for the Mexica...

Episode 4: Scaffolding: Building Bridges to Fluency This podcast was created for every adult who has ever stood at the threshold of a new language and felt the mixture of hope, excitement, and intimidation that marks the beginning of a meaningful journey. It was written for the Somali mother who attends ESL class three evenings a week after working an eight-hour shift, for the Mexican engineer who...

Episode 3: The Natural Approach to Language Acquisition This podcast was created for every adult who has ever stood at the threshold of a new language and felt the mixture of hope, excitement, and intimidation that marks the beginning of a meaningful journey. It was written for the Somali mother who attends ESL class three evenings a week after working an eight-hour shift, for the Mexican engineer...

Episode 2: Understanding the American English Learner This podcast was created for every adult who has ever stood at the threshold of a new language and felt the mixture of hope, excitement, and intimidation that marks the beginning of a meaningful journey. It was written for the Somali mother who attends ESL class three evenings a week after working an eight-hour shift, for the Mexican engineer w...

Episode 1: The Value of American English in Today's World This podcast was created for every adult who has ever stood at the threshold of a new language and felt the mixture of hope, excitement, and intimidation that marks the beginning of a meaningful journey. It was written for the Somali mother who attends ESL class three evenings a week after working an eight-hour shift, for the Mexican engine...