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every day when you are "on the go." This is the time when you commute or do light house chores like cooking or ironing, or while you do certain types of exercise like running or walking, outside or on a treadmill. Time when you are "on the go", yet your brain is available.

Two years ago I started following a French language podcast. A podcast is a series of audio episodes for playback on a portable mp3 player such as an iPod. It really doesn't have to be an iPod, but Apple deserves the credit of bringing podcasting into the mainstream. A new lesson is available every week or so and I listen to it while driving to work and while exercising on my treadmill at home. I devote about an hour a day. The lessons consist of an interesting dialog in French that is explained in English. The narrator points out useful expressions and grammar rules. The lesson lasts between 10 and 20 minutes and I typically listen to each lesson multiple times.

I call it a breakthrough because I enjoy the lessons, I can find time to listen, and I can even repeat along out loud (when I drive alone, people think that I'm speaking on the phone.) And most satisfying is the fact that I feel that I'm making daily progress.

I've turned into a language hobbyist. After two years, my French is greatly improved. I read several books and I can almost take my eyes off the subtitles in French movies. Most people never learn another language in their adulthood, so I'm doing pretty well.

I love it so much that I decided to teach Hebrew by podcast. My wife enthusiastically joined me and we started to produce Hebrew lessons for English speakers. We launched our podcast in February on our website and on iTunes. The podcast itself is free, and we also offer lesson guides as part of a paid membership. The reaction to our new podcast was very positive and we have members from various countries around the world.

Most of our Hebrew podcast listeners are language hobbyists like me. Their motivations vary. Some want to understand their Jewish or Christian heritage or understand religious writing. Some even plan to visit Israel. I get comments from users who tell me that they wanted to learn Hebrew for a long time and they are finally making progress. They find it very rewarding.

The podcast format is a real breakthrough in language teaching. It allows you to listen to far more hours of interesting conversation and have fun. If there's a language you've always wanted to learn, perhaps today is the day to become a language hobbyist.

Learn more about this author, G N Yedwab.
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