Easier listening with podcasts

Do you find it difficult to listen to texts in English or to speak to someone on the telephone? Then podcasts will be ideal for you. Podcasts are audio files which you can download onto your computer, mp3-player or mobile phone and then listen to them wherever you like. When commuting to work, you can listen to podcasts in your car or on the bus or train. Because of this flexibility, podcasts are a wonderful way for improving your listening skills, and if you listen regularly, you will notice the difference. Some podcasts which are made for language learners even come with a tapescript so that you can read along or check out new vocabulary. You will find podcasts on the language learning websites I introduced before and on many other website. Some examples are:
Professional English Podcasts, Business English Pod, BBC Podcasts. Give it a try and prick your ears!

German news in English

Several German news portals are available in English versions on the internet. Reading and listening to news familiar from German TV or radio may be easier than listening to news from the UK or the US.
I can highly recommend the English website of the Deutsche Welle as it offers the latest news as written articles, audio files and videos. Written articles only are available from Spiegel online and from The Local, a website which presents German news in English.