As some of you probably know already, iTunes has a special section for university lectures and classes. Different universities, including some of the best in the United States, provide free lectures and demonstrations on a variety of topics from some of their best professors. You can find the free courses by clicking on iTunes U in the menu of the iTunes Store.
These videos audio lectures are especially good for those of you studying for the TOEFL or IELTS exams, since you will get a lot of native speaker speech on topics similar to those found on the tests. Of course, you want to start with a subject you know something about, and (with luck) a professor who speaks clearly.
For some useful advice on how to use iTunes U, take a look at Warren Ediger’s Successful English website where he has a special section on the TOEFL.
~Jeff
Nice Jeff,
I remember that ESLPod also was in iTune Am I right ?
Jeff
Thanks so much for such hints about learning English.
That’s the point, it is so difficult to find a proffesor who speaks english as clear as Lucy and Jeff did, that even knowing about this Tunes U before I have given up with it. If I have any time I am always listening to ESL once and again for ever.
But, thank you Jeff, I think you are right and we need to listen something more just to encrease the hability of understanding other accents despite being worst that yours.
I hate the way iTune integrates with Windows and you can’t disable it. It is really annoying when it keeps opening after you connect your mp3 player. But I’m afraid I’m gonna install it again to check this news out.
Grzegorz,
look for “Open iTunes when this iPod is connected” option.
Cheers Aleksandr. I’ll check it for sure.
Hi Jeff, this topic actually brings to my mind one important thing about the benefits of learning English that I’ve experienced myself. I started listening to ESLPOD a couple of years ago when my English proviciency was fairly good at reading and speaking, but my listening skills were very bad. Now I understand that I’ve benefited from listening to the episodes because I can understand spoken language both in technical topics (I’m in computer science) and news (BBC, CNN, …). The most exciting part of this is that now I can have access to plenty of information sources which were precluded to me, including the university lectures on itunesU and this is very important for my job and the feeling of beeing part of the World. I still have some problems with English spoken on the TV movies or shows where several people are talking at the same time or the tone of the voice goes up or down according to the speaker’s mood. I hope I will get the hang of it.
Hello,
I hate too iTune ! It’s not a good way for an information free. Mp3 should be better.
t h a n k y o u v e r y m u c h
Sorry, but I don’t agree about itunes because I think it is the best software to listen music and podcast that ever has exist, and it is so easy to manage that even me could manage it quite well. At the begining I did not know how to use it propperly but after trying once and another it was easy and usefull.
Thanks.
The Yale University, one of the best university in the United States, has recorded classes for free listening and download. I have listened about Psychology that is my profession in Brazil and it is just amazing. There are also classes available for Astronomy, English (Modern poetry), Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, and Religious Studies. Here is the link to acess the page: http://oyc.yale.edu/courselist