Just a New Year chat cast - a podcast by Alan Palmer

Hello,
Text is below this time (for those who can't view my blog)

 Well hello everyone and welcome to my podcasts and also to 2008! This time, uhm, for this time I thought I would just chat. Usually I try to prepare a script of sorts, a text… and then I use the text to make the podcast. But this time round I thought it might be more interesting for you to just hear me speaking. I will make a text, but I will obviously listen to what I have said and then write it down afterwards. So, at the moment, I’m just speaking , uhm, as I think about things and hopefully you will find this podcast just as interesting as the others. Uhm, I’m using a new microphone. Hopefully it will have a good sound. It’s just something I got before Christmas but I didn’t have chance to try. So, I’m trying it today and hopefully it will be clear and you will be able to listen to what I am saying without any problem.

So, 2008 is here. It’s a quiet day in England and I’m just relaxing before I go back to work. So, what will 2008 bring I think for us this year? Let’s hope it brings some good things. You know, for my part I’d like to learn more French, German and as you know, I’m learning Mandarin and I’ve just started Spanish again so, language is my hobby, my main hobby. I do play guitar as you know, you’ve heard my guitar tunes and I’ll play a few more guitar tunes I think on my podcasts. I’ve also planned to make a musical podcast in other words make some songs and record them and do a bit of singing maybe and put them on another podcast website and then you can listen to them if you want to. So, it’s a bit different for me just chatting to you, because I’ve got to think as I speak, well will you find this interesting? I think for those of you who are learning English, it will be interesting for you to listen to just a very normal “everyday” conversation, or whatever I can make that seem to be – as I’m speaking really to myself but obviously I know people will listen to it.

So I just wanted to speak a little and hopefully you’d hear when I do the pauses and when I make some corrections and when I hesitate a bit. That’s. uhm, all the things that happen when people are speaking in their native language. No one is perfect of course in their native language, I make mistakes just like other people do. So, I thought maybe a “conversational type” podcast just speaking about not so much (laughs) would be just as interesting for you as one that I prepared about a certain subject – and I don’t have any subjects today because I’ve been relaxing over Christmas. I didn’t.. prepare anything. But I thought, well I’ll still make a podcast on January 1st – New Year’s Day and say hello to everyone. I’ve had (some) quite a lot of downloads. I think I’ve had something like 1700 last week which…well not downloads…”views”… I think downloads were about 600 but even so, 600 downloads is a lot
So, somewhere out I think there people are listening, hopefully getting something from my podcasts, uhm, and I do listen to other peoples’ podcasts. I find some of those interesting and some I find quite boring but it depends what subject your interested in doesn’t it?

So, anyway, Happy New Year to everyone. To all the people who have listened and who are listening and who will listen to my podcasts and for the moment and for the future and so – have a nice time. If you are still on holiday, if you are back to work or you’re busy doing other things….well you know, don’t work too hard and enjoy yourself in 2008.

And I’ll speak to you all very soon so bye for now

Further episodes of Alan Palmer's Language Chat podcasts

Further podcasts by Alan Palmer

Website of Alan Palmer