Ch 27 · Lesson 14Esperanto · Chapter 27 · Lesson 14 · Grammar primer
The listening ladder: broadcasts, podcasts and the dead shelf
After Retradio: scripted broadcasts, then people talking at full speed, then ninety minutes of Varsovia . Plus the stations you will be sent to that stopped years ago.
The short version
Scripted speech before conversation
.
Why?Hide
After Retradio, the next rung is scripted broadcast such as Vatican News or Retradio, not conversation. A script has no false starts, no overlapping voices and no in-jokes, so full speed is easier than it sounds. Podcasts of people talking freely come after that, and you judge them by how long your attention lasts.
Rung two: scripted broadcast
The next step is not conversation. It is scripted speech at full speed, which is easier than it sounds: a script has no false starts, no overlapping voices and no in-jokes.
| Source | What it is | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Vatican News | religious news and features | three times a week |
| Retradio | a half-hour magazine from Poland | every few days |
| 3ZZZ, Melbourne | news, interviews and songs | weekly |
Two of these carry history. The Vatican has broadcast in since 1977, now as a podcast inside Vatican News. Retradio is a successor, not a survivor: Polish Radio's Esperanto service ran for over fifty years until 31 January 2011, and former staff carried it on online as an independent podcast.
One name you will be given that is not on this ladder: uea. is a reading site, simplified text with the odd video. It is excellent, and it is not audio.
Rung three: people talking
Now the real thing: unscripted Esperanto between people who know each other, at the speed they actually use.
| Podcast | What it is |
|---|---|
| . | popular science, running since 2014 |
| Usone | an American round-table: books, the movement and life |
Episodes are long. Do not try to follow them the way you followed Retradio. Listen the way you hear a radio in another room: catch what you catch, notice the words you now know that you did not last month, and let the rest go.
The measure at this rung is not comprehension but fatigue: how long before your attention gives out. The slang you will hear (, cool) is in spoken Esperanto.
Rung four: the long-form top
Varsovia has been running from Warsaw since 2006, at about ninety minutes an episode. It is fast, it assumes you are already in the room, and it is a large ask below solid intermediate.
That is why it belongs here. Keep one thing running that is too hard, so that the rungs below it stop feeling hard.
The dead shelf, named
Esperanto link lists rot fast, and a dead recommendation does more harm to a learner's confidence than none. What you will be sent to that no longer produces:
| Name | Status |
|---|---|
| Muzaiko | main broadcast ended 2022; an archive music stream remains |
| Radio | no new programmes since 2013 |
| Radio | radio broadcasts ended in 2021; a website remains |
Going further: Why listening lags, and why it is not your fault and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end. There are 21 in all: practise more afterwards if you want them.
Esperanto · Free printables
Worksheets for this lesson
Worksheets with answer keys built in. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekLesson 14 of 24 in this chapter