In my teenage High School years, English classes included audio tests/exams: The teacher played a 15 minute tape featuring people talking or rather discussing in English about specific topics. Most of the tapes were probably taken (or recorded) from original BBC broadcasts and many of them featured clear English spoken conversations. At the end of the tape, the students were handed out sheets with questions about that particular tape.
The first few years of English, I was terribly bad at these tests, and so were other class mates. Clearly, these tests weren’t popular and I remember at one stage, after the whole class appeared to have performed badly, that students suggested to drop these kind of tests. That was before, I (and Alfons) suddenly started to excel in these tests: years of listening (American) music slowly started to pay back. I’m sure the teachers would have disapproved of the music we listened to those days.
Which brings me to today’s radio: I’ve become used to listening to CBC’s Radio One broadcasts and have particulary become a fan of the half-hour segment that’s called ‘The Current’ (MP3/300K+). Fan is probably too much of a word, however, it’s definitely thanks to both the catchy intro tune and the clear spoken language of the show’s host, Anna Maria Tremonti. I can’t stand, for example, the voices of other hosts at other local radiostations, just because they don’t speak clear enough. Or maybe, it’s because some voices are made for radio, and some of them are not.
Update: You can listen to past shows of the Current over at the Current’s Archive (Real Player required).