There are big difference between oral communication and written communication.

As Daniel Pink says "Stories are important cognitive events, for they encapsulate, into one compact package, information, knowledge, context and emotion.

What I think is missing in language learning is is more of an emphasis on developing expression. After all that is the fun of learning a language,

One of the real success from podcasting is Chinese pod with Irishman Ken Carroll

Chinesepod.com is consistantly in the top five podcast sites worldwide. Chinese pod is one of the best examples of how Web 2.0 technologies can be applied in education.

“This social aspect that made podcasting so appealing” when Carrol was introduced to it in early 2005.”Podcasting is personable, and can create atmosphere,"

Carrol was attracted by different elements

• The price, it is cheap to product the podcasts
• The turnaround time = podcasting is quick, particularly in comparison with making a textbooks
• Scalability you need one good teacher that can reach potentially millions

The podcasts are free but the extra teaching materials are not. These are available from a subscribers-only learning centre. Transcripts of the lessons require a basic subscription while Flash-based interactive teaching materials require the premium level subscription.

The podcasts can be listened to back at the users pace, creating a more immersive environment. Podcasting creates a connection to the global world. With the addition of a blog the children can have an unlimited amount of responses, feed back potential and most importantly encouragement from outside the classroom.