ChinesePod

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In 2005, Ken Carroll, Hank Horkoff and Steve Williams created ChinesePod.com with the purpose of facilitating the learning of Standard Mandarin Chinese. Being one of the first websites outside the US to pioneer language learning through podcasting, it has become a model for countless other language learning websites.

This innovative website provides free daily podcasts, with an accompanying text expansion exercises and other extensive tutoring aides available to paid subscribers. It is based in Shanghai, China and hosted by local Shanghainese Jenny Zhu, Irishman Ken Carroll and Americans Aric Queen and John Pasden. The free daily podcasts range in difficulty from "Newbie" to the "Advanced" level and average in length from ten to twenty minutes. Users are also encouraged to interact with the ChinesePod hosts and other fellow CPodders around the world on their website and in the forums. Topics can vary from asking specific lesson questions to requesting content for future podcasts.

A March 8, 2006 NPR article cited ChinesePod as the 3rd most popular podcast show in China with over 10,000 visitors a day [1]. As of August 21, 2006, Yahoo! Podcasts lists ChinesePod 4th in their most popular podcasts section [2].