Listening to podcasts is a great way to improve your listening. But which ones should you listen to? Here are a few that you might want to try:

• 6 MINUTE ENGLISH: 6-minute chats between two people on a wide range of topics, from the BBC World Service. Level: Advanced
• The English We Speak: 3-minute lessons on idioms, from the BBC World Service. Level: Intermediate
• ECC 英会話 Idioms & Expressions: 15-minute programs with lots of explanation in Japanese. Focused on idioms. Level: Intermediate
• GABA G Style English: a video podcast, usually about 10 minutes. Focused on idioms. Sketches are repeated with English and Japanese subtitles. Level: Intermediate