How to get audio files from Youtube and how to use them to improve language fluency

I figured out how to rip audio from youtube videos for storage on one’s computer in .mp3 format and subsequent transfer to an iPod. The most important utility of this process, IMO, is obtaining source audio to use in practicing a language (though in my case I use it to hone my interpreting skills.) Lest I anger the Power(iaa)s That Be, I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE you from using the following information, which is provided for educational use only, to get the latest Lady Gaga hits gratis.

1. Use savevid.com to download a youtube video to your hard drive. WARNING: This site occasionally hosts ads that are not safe for work.

2. Download Audacity, a free program that can be used to split the audio from a video file. You can then save the audio in any format you wish.

Audacity is an incredible tool for language learning. Once you have your audio file, you can do a number of things with it. Audacity allows simultaneous recording and playback, which means that you can listen to an audio track (a song, poem, or speech, for example), and record yourself reciting it while you listen to it. Then you can listen to your recording and compare it to the original. If you use headphones, you can even direct the original to play in one ear while your own recording plays in your other ear, which would seem to allow for a more accurate comparison than allowed by sequential review.

Such exercises can help both pronunciation, by allowing you to work on recreating the exact sounds of the speaker in the audio file, and comprehension. In the latter case, reciting verbatim what someone else has just said forces the student to do serious linguistic multitasking: the student must (1) hear everything correctly, (2) comprehend everything that has been heard, and (3) reproduce the source at the same level of speed. This is a surprisingly demanding exercise, and can even benefit one’s native language; in this way, for example, one could emulate the diction of the best public speakers and voice actors, or eliminate a regional accent.

It is also helpful for picking up an accent, if that’s your thing. It’s an sobering experience playing the role of someone with limited proficiency in English, if you can pull it off.