Reading from a script

[kharizma4038]

Do you guys record the podcast in the same room? I'm sure you guys record the podcasts with a script in hand, but the conversation sounds like it is very forced.

Also, is there a reason why you speak English so slowly? As a native English speaker, I find it very distracting when you talk. very. slow. like. this. I can understand if the intended audience is supposed to be international, but maybe it's my (incorrect) assumption that mainly Americans and other native English speakers would be listening to and using this podcast.

Anyway, I'm glad this podcast is out there. The content is good; just work on the flow and interaction of the hosts a bit and it will be great.

[ryanjzander]

Thank you for the constructive criticism. I actually had the exact same thoughts as you when I first heard this set of recordings. I also work as an English teacher, so maybe the speaking slow is a bad habit from that. But we have a lot of lessons in the pipeline that we already recorded, and I'm pretty sure that we had a much more natural flow going on during most of them. So I hope you'll stick around and find a lot more good content coming your way.

[kharizma4038]

Thanks, that's good to know. I'm glad this resource is out there for people who want to learn. Textbook learning is very limited (Benjawan Poomsan Becker practically owns the whole market). Keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to the intermediate and advanced lessons.

[andersonat]

For every person who may be a little bit disturbed by the speaking-tempo of the programme hosts, there's always going to be someone else ( = me !) who is *very* pleased with the speaking-tempo.

And I'm also really pleased that (so far) there is less giggling and general-chit-chat going on between the hosts in the ThaiPod lessons than there is in the JapanesePod lessons. The continuing absence of these features in ThaiPod would be *most* welcome.

Best wishes.

[kharizma4038]

I think the tempo has much improved since the first couple podcasts, so kudos for that.

I personally enjoy having a little chit-chat in the lessons. As much fun as it is to learn a language, it's also important that the instructors are engaging enough to maintain an audience. Additionally, you can usually gain some cultural insights within that small talk. It's one thing to just learn a language, it's something else entirely to truly know it and its subtle nuances.

If I wanted to learn from a dry, personality-less source, I'd go download Rosetta Stone or some other garbage they have out there. It's my opinion, of course, but I like learning a little about our hosts - they seem like interesting people with interesting experiences!