#6 ESL Podcast 644 – Giving a Successful Presentation

I think that this is another useful source for English as second language learners to improve their listening skill and vocabulary learning.

At the first time I heard this online listening program, I was surprised that the speaker's speeding is so slow.  It is a good online source for second language learners to practice their listening skill in a more friendly and less stress environment.  As some methods have mentioned, CALL can not only provied a less stressful environment for learners to learn (because learners are facing to a machine not a person), but also allow learners to practice again and again and will never feel tired or impatient.

In addition, this system provides many podcast in different kinds, and what I choose to listen is "Podcast 644 – Giving a Successful Presentation ".  I have learned lots of interesting idioms from the conversation.  Those idioms make me think of a cartoon I have seen on my oral-drill textbook; a man was knocked down by a piles of various idioms and phrases.  Idioms and phrases can smooth your speech or essay and catch your audience or readers' eyes, so when I was listening, I write down some of the idioms and phrase that I think are useful below:

1. packed house: means having a large of audience, the house doesn't mean a place you live, but a place that an event happens.  A packed house can also refer to a "standing room", which means that every seat in the place are taken, so most of people should stand to listen or watch.

2. clamor for sth: means asking for something more or in a loud way

3. on the edge of the seat: means that sth  is so interesting or someone is so eager to see or hear that it is hard for him/her to sit still.

4. be hooked on: means that someone is attracted by sth, can be refered to drug (be addicted to)