Hooking students on classical mythology via The Odyssey

With Christopher Nolan's epic film adaptation of The Odyssey capturing audiences, ancient Greek mythology is having a major cultural moment in classrooms. While a cinematic spectacle is a great way to spark curiosity, students still need accessible text resources to help them process Homer’s complex narrative structure, non-linear timeline, and vast cast of characters.

The BBC Bitesize guide to Geraldine McCaughrean’s adaptation of The Odyssey offers an ideal bridge between Hollywood hype and classroom literacy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/ztsj2v4#zp4pf82

BBC World Service YouTube channel

The BBC World Service YouTube channel provides a wide range of educational resources, including podcasts, documentaries, interviews, and explainers on global issues. 

The content covers diverse areas such as culture, entertainment, science, history, investigative journalism, and current affairs, offering valuable material for classroom use and discussions. All videos are subtitled, with the option to translate them into multiple languages, which makes the channel especially useful for teachers working in multilingual or international contexts.

https://www.youtube.com/@bbcworldservice

Talking about food

The BBC Learning English "Food" topic page is a fantastic resource for improving English skills while exploring food-related vocabulary and themes. It features engaging lessons, videos, quizzes, and articles that teach language essentials like phrases, idioms, and pronunciation, all centered around food and cooking. 

Whether you're learning to talk about your favorite meals, understand menus, or master food idioms like "spill the beans," this page offers a fun and interactive way to enhance your English. 

Perfect for learners of all levels!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/topics/food

BBC Learning English Conversations

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio is a resource provided by BBC Learning English that focuses on helping English learners improve their conversational skills. Through structured dialogues, role plays, and situational conversations, learners can practice listening comprehension, pronunciation, and everyday English language use.

The program covers a wide range of topics, from common social interactions to professional communication, aimed at building confidence in spoken English. It's designed for learners at different proficiency levels, offering accessible and engaging content that often includes transcripts, exercises, and downloadable resources. It’s popular among English learners globally for its practical approach to language acquisition.

Find it on:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9zn/episodes/downloads

BBC Script Library

Thanks to the always intriguing profile on X (formerly Twitter) of Nao Casanova (@NaoCasanova), I have discovered this library of BBC scripts that is made available to the public. It can be used in English classes for practicing script writing or for educational purposes such as dramatizations, adaptations, etc.

The library allows searching for scripts from various series and programs by genre. You can access them through the following link:

https://bbc.co.uk/writers/scripts/

Bitesize: English as an additional language. Level 1

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) primarily pertains to adult individuals in the United Kingdom who are learning English and attending English language classes. 

On the other hand, English as an Additional Language (EAL) is typically used to describe children residing and studying in the UK, whose first language is not English.

This resource is one of a series of online resources from the BBC's Bitesize collection.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zpcpsk7

RP phonemes: pronunciation tips (BBC learning English)

This is a compilation of BBC learning English's well-known pronunciation clips. It includes all the sounds found in 'British English' with a basic explanation.

CBeebies

CBeebies is a pre-school brand by the BBC for children aged six years and under that provides a range of pre-school programming designed to encourage learning through play in a consistently safe environment 

This is a very useful resource for early childhood teachers as it offers different kind of activities (storytelling, pedagogical games, songs and crafts). It also includes different academic topics (Maths, Science, animals, History…)

Find it on:

https://global.cbeebies.com/

BBC Sound Effects

The BBC Sound Effects Archive is available for personal, educational or research purposes. 

There are over 33,000 clips from across the world from the past 100 years. These include clips made by the BBC Radiophonic workshop, recordings from the Blitz in London, special effects made for BBC TV and Radio productions, as well as 15,000 recordings from the Natural History Unit archive.

As well as browsing and searching through this treasure trove of sounds, you can also make and share your own mixes and soundscapes using the ‘mixer mode’ function.  (Source BBC Sound Effects)  

Find them on:

https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/

The English We Speak

As part of the BBC World Service, BBC Learning English has been teaching English to global audiences since 1943, offering free audio, video and text materials to learners around the world. 

The English We Speak is your chance to catch up on the very latest English words and phrases. In under 3 minutes, we help you stay ahead of the pack by giving you 'must have' phrases that you can use in your everyday conversation. 

(Source BBC Learning English).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/the-english-we-speak

6 Minute English

BBC Learning English, as part of the BBC World Service, has been teaching English since 1943, offering free audio, video and text materials to learners around the world.

One of the resources provided by BBC Learning English is 6 Minute English, a free tool for learners interested in improving their English listening skills. Audios and texts can be downloaded.

This weekly podcast is published every Thursday. Useful If you don’t feel ready to listen to a full radio program for native English speakers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/

On iTunes: 

https://itunes.apple.com/es/podcast/6-minute-english/id262026947?mt=2

On Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.educationapp.bbcenglish

BBC School Radio

BBC School Radio is the audio division of BBC Schools, the educational division of the BBC. 

It offers audio and video teaching resources for KS1 and KS2 primary school curriculum subjects including teacher's notes for lesson plans available online via the website for most series and simple to print or download as PDF files. Its content is divided into 8 subjects: Early Learning, History, PSHE- Citizenship, Mathematics, Collective Worship, Music, Dance and English.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/schoolradio

6 Minute English

Learn and practise useful English language for everyday situations with this fantastic collection of podcasts provided by the BBC. Each programme is six minutes long and contains examples and explanations to help you improve your knowledge of the English language across a wide range of topics. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/index.shtml

Also subtitled on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL21325A265E482979

Skillswise

BBC Skillswise is a free-to-access website for adult numeracy and literacy tutors and students, with printable worksheets and factsheets and online games, videos and quizzes that can be used in class or by students at home.

Skillswise is produced by a team based in the BBC Learning department in Salford. It works with adult skills tutors and students and specialist consultants to develop and commission new Skillswise resources such as webpages, articles, printable worksheets, games, activities, quizzes and videos. These resources are either developed in-house or commissioned via the BBC’s tendering process from experienced independent companies who meet the BBC’s high production values.

(Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/about/what-is-skillswise)

Witness

The BBC's Witness podcast series offers short audio recordings of newscasts and interviews with people who experienced historical events first-hand. It brings you a personal perspective on world events. Downloadable podcasts, programme information and related links (Witness homepage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004t1hd).

Podcasts: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/witness

BBC Radio. Podcast directory.

Very interesting podcast directory.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/directory/

Podcasting in plain English

Recursos para el aprendizaje de inglés. BBC

La BBC ofrece un servicio de noticias en diversas lenguas, tanto en versión escrita como en forma de audio. Podéis consultarlo en: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/ A partir de esta página es posible acceder a otra con numerosos recursos para aprender inglés, relacionados con la comunicación: vocabulario, ejercicios, repertorios de vídeo y audio, blogs, recursos para el profesorado y utilidades diversas para su descarga o uso on-line:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/