The iPod. I didn't always have an ipod. I have mostly been a non-techy type of person, not buying my first computer or cell phone until moving to Turkey in 2008. I did buy a Sony digital recorder for language learning which was a great investment. I recorded lessons, expressions I needed to use every day, pronunciation drills and countless other Turkish audio for my language learning. My only regret is that I did not use it more. Then for Christmas that year I received an ipod. I did not know what to make of it at first. It held music, right? Little did I know how much it could do, how easy making files and albums of files was and how much more Turkish listening I could fit on it. With itunes, countless other listening opportunities opened up and I was soon an ipod geek so to speak. I have one playlist called Turkish Listening, another called Turkish Music and another called Turkish Worship Songs. As I add to my corpus of Turkish listening audio, I may break down my playlists even more. One for handcrafted audio, one for narrow listening, one for podcasts, one for audio readings of literature. The options are endless and with literally thousands of hours of space, the only thing that can limit your Turkish listening is yourself.
With the new ipod touch (16G and 32G) you can also record directly onto your ipod, using it for capturing audio in your lessons or out on the street. You may still get better sound quality with your laptop and a free recording program like audacity, but it is another great option that the ipod offers.
The ipod seems to do it all better than any other device of its kind, but really, any MP3 player, including the one found on most cell phones can be a great tool for your language learning. With it, you can take your lessons everywhere - on the bus, in the kitchen doing dishes, out for a walk. There really is no excuse for not listening more. Listen More!
With the new ipod touch (16G and 32G) you can also record directly onto your ipod, using it for capturing audio in your lessons or out on the street. You may still get better sound quality with your laptop and a free recording program like audacity, but it is another great option that the ipod offers.
The ipod seems to do it all better than any other device of its kind, but really, any MP3 player, including the one found on most cell phones can be a great tool for your language learning. With it, you can take your lessons everywhere - on the bus, in the kitchen doing dishes, out for a walk. There really is no excuse for not listening more. Listen More!
