Best Podcasts to Help You Learn a Foreign Language

While the standard classroom method of teaching foreign languages is still effective, our technological world has found new ways to make language learning fun, different, and convenient. Podcasts are one such method, and the best podcasts to help you learn a foreign language often take a highly cultural approach. You'll find that current events and cultural customs are just as much a part of language learning as figuring out how to say "hello."

Part of learning a new language is understanding the strategy behind various learning techniques. This podcast offers tips on how best to start learning and immerse yourself in a foreign language. TheCreative Language Learning Podcast is useful for both beginners and intermediate level students.

This podcast also takes a very modern approach to language learning. Hosts Kirsten Cable and Lindsay Williams often make episodes that discuss new and creative learning tools, such as "How To Learn a Language Using Snapchat."

The Innovative Language Podcast learning series offers over 50 languages, from the usual French, Spanish, Chinese and Italian to more obscure languages such as Urdu, Croatian, and Mongolian. This podcast is so comprehensive and efficient that it has been covered by BBC, Newsweek, The Guardian, and many more publications and blogs the world over.

What makes Innovative one of the best podcasts to help you learn a foreign languageis the fact that it is designed to take you from beginner level to native speaker. This is a language learning podcast that is meant to mimic how one would typically learn a language in school, except it's completely portable and more focused on conversation and listening comprehension.

The Actual Fluency Podcast with Kris Broholm is an interview-based podcast. Each episode is a Q&A with language experts and authors. Like The Creative Language Learning Podcast, Actual Fluency focuses a great deal on the process of learning and on learning tools, as opposed to just straightforward translation. Grammar and culture come together to make the backbone for this intriguing and contemporary take on language learning.

The Tofugu Podcast: Japan and Japanese Language is one of the best podcasts to help you learn a foreign language because it fully immerses you in Japanese language, culture, travel tips, and more. If learning Japanese has been on your bucket list for a while, this podcast will be one of your best resources.

Tofugu teaches the Japanese language through discussions about anime, manga, Japanese food and other aspects of the Japanese lifestyle. Not only will you begin to learn the language, but you will become more familiar with the nation and the people.

The biggest deterrents to picking up a foreign language are time and difficulty. Olly Richards's I Will Teach You A Language podcast is a great motivational resource when you're attempting to learn a new language, because he understands that it's a time-consuming task requiring no small amount of effort.

Richards insists that no matter how busy you are, there are still convenient ways to make language learning part of your everyday life. With every episode, he aims to provide his listeners with inspirational tips and techniques to keep them on a steady rhythm.

Azren "the Language Nerd," as he so dubs himself, is a wonderful host. His tone is conversational, kind, and empathetic. At no point does it sound like he's teaching you; rather, he's sharing with you in an adventure.

Listening to The Language Learning Show is like having your own private tutor. Azren shares his personal experiences with travel and language with you while he helps you practice listening comprehension and and other various exercises. This is one of the best podcasts to help you learn a foreign language because it feels like you're learning alongside a friend.

The News in Slow... podcast updates you on current events from all over the world in your language of choice. Whether you want to learn French, Spanish, or Italian, this podcast is a wonderful immersion tool.

In school, the farther along you get in your fluency, the more the teacher makes you speak and read entirely in that language. By being forced to communicate only in French, for example, there is no choice but to improve your skills and your vocabulary.

The same technique is used by News in Slow...as their episodes contain absolutely no English. If you're at an intermediate level with your language learning, then this podcast will quickly help you become advanced.

Coffee Break by Radio Lingua Network is one of the best podcasts to help you learn a foreign language because it fuses English with the language of your choice. Because it has a mixed language format, Coffee Break is able to teach you phrases conversationally and in a way that intuitively makes sense.

Coffee Break is offered in Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian, and German. Each episode increases your foreign language skills significantly, making it a useful tool for both beginners and intermediate level students.

LingQ offers everything you could want from a modern language learning platform. They have podcasts in languages ranging from Korean to Portuguese, but they also have other tools that their competitors don't.

LingQ has an app, an online community of learners like you as well as professional tutors, and gives you the ability to import your own language learning content. This customizable yet structured program approaches language learning from all angles. This dynamic strategy is what makes LingQ one of the best podcasts to help you learn a foreign language.

If you're specifically looking to learn or hone your skills with Italian, then Cher Hale's 30 Minute Italian is a reliable source to use. Each episode has its own subject, of course, but the overall idea behind this podcast is to help you establish and reach your language goals.

Topics range from the fundamentals of Italian to more creative ideas, such as the episode "20 Phrases for Telling a Captivating Story in Italian." This podcast is as much about practicality as it is about fun and flare.