ESL/EFL
Listening Materials
• California
Distance Learning Project
• English
Listening
• Literacy
Net
• Randall's
ESL
• ELLLO
Authentic & Semi-authentic Listening
Materials
• About.com
Videos :
"How-to"
instruction, Society and Culture
• Arctic
Science Journeys:
Science & Environment
• BBC
Learning Zone & Poetry Outloud:
Society
and Culture, Literature & Poetry
(UK & US spkrs)
• BBC
Four: DVD Collection
:
Film/Sociocultural (UK & US speakers)
• DEAD
Cultural Debates : indigenous cultures,
assimilation,
Indonesia
• DataSpeak
: Health*
• Edutopia:
Education,*
Classroom Instruction
•
Ethics Videos on the Web : stem cells,
genomes, terrorism, Kant*
• Favorite
Poem Project:
Poetry/Sociocultural
(American)
•
Gate to Gate : air traffic control, travel*
• Functional
Programming...:
slides/text
in Computer Science*
• Hearing
Voices Special:
Woman's History Month
•
Issues in Media, Lit. & Art :
lectures on mass media & effects on society
* Contains field-specific vocabulary
|
• NASA's
Space Story:
Science & the Universe
• (New
York Times) Photographer's Journals:
Sociocultural, Civics
•
Radio Diaries:
US culture:
teenagers, history, prison, work
• DEAD School
of Law, Bloomington:
Constitutional Rights
•
Sound Portraits.org : US Society
& Culture, History
• Story Corps :
American Voices and Culture
•
Teaching American History:
US History, academic lectures
• Transom.org:
Sociology,
human nature, American Culture
•
Welcome to the Planets : astronomy,
satellites, the Hubble telescope*
•
Will Rogers Institute : Public Service
Announcements
•
Wisconsin Stories : US History
•
Women's Personal Stories : health,
breast cancer, medicine*
• WPA
Film Archive: 20th c. history (news)
|
Audio
reviews by ESL students:
•The
Environment:
birth defects, global warming, acid rain...
•
MORE Student Reviews :
fuel cells, multimedia, psychology, health...
Advantages:
uses Real Media Player
and Windows Media Player audio
 |
*****BEST
of THE WEB for non-authentic audio! Easy
navigation. |
|
Listening passages are divided by level of difficulty, topic, and
style (conversational, academic, short and long passages ). |
|
Newer
audios offer slide shows for visual clues. |
|
Pre-
and post-listening interactive quizzes/exercises/cloze activities;
correct answers are provided. |
|
Discussion
group available. |
|
Reading
transcript while listening is an option, but transcript is not provided
unless requested. |
|
Difficult
vocabulary items are underlined in passage; definition with sample
sentence is supplied. |
|
Question/Answer
option: it's possible to e-mail questions to Randall; he will supply
an audio response, linked to the site. |
|
|
Links
to other listening sites and sites for downloading listening software.
|
|
What's
New section categorizes passages by date, allowing heavy users
to quickly locate the newest materials. |
back
to list
Advantages: uses
embedded audio
|
Searchable
web site; search window located in left frame. |
|
Guest
listening passages divided by subject and skill level; 10 passages available
per level. |
|
Transcript
can be viewed (if desired) before, during or after listening. |
|
Discussion
area includes topics such as learning English, the site, and problems
using RealAudio. |
|
Disadvantages:
Post-listening
tasks limited to basic comprehension questions; no vocab support. |
|
Disadvantages:
More listening passages are available to members, at $3.00/month. |
back
to list
Advantages: uses
RealPlayer audio and video
|
Useful
for beginning to low-intermediate -- good for listening skills, reading
comprehension and language acquisition. |
|
Most
stories offer 2 viewing options (full text or story outline) and 6 interactive
follow-up activities to reinforce vocabulary and test comprehension,
plus external web sites with additional information. |
|
Speakers
(American) read
from newspaper articles to create short (1 -2
mins.) audio (and some video*) materials.
*Video news stories supplied by News10 KXTV in
Sacramento, California. |
|
Stories
are divided by topic: "Working," "Law and Government,"
"Family," "School," "Health and Safety,"
"Housing," "Money," "Science and Technology,"
"Services," "Going Places" and "Nature".
Materials support GED preparation. |
|
The
site has been designed for native and non-native adult English learners
and can be used for self-study. |
|
Disadvantages:
Audio created from reading of
text has a stilted, unnatural rhythm -- site should not be used for
prosaic improvement. |
back to list
Advantages: uses
RealPlayer audio and video
|
Thousands
of video interviews and support materials for EFL/ESL students. |
|
International
students voice opinions in English on many topics including: Crime,
Photography, Travel, University Life, Language, and Japan. Originally
created by Brian Teaman. |
|
Audio
and video are semi-professional grade quality and simple but elegant
page layout allows for easy navigation. |
|
Supplemental
materials (when available) include a transcript and a post-listening
quiz. Additional materials include interactive exercises for new vocabulary
and comprehension. |
|
Authentic non-native speakers speak English in a variety of accents, allowing students to study "international English". |
|
Advantages:
Each video has a flag image noting the native country of the speaker.
|
back to list
Advantages: uses
RealPlayer audio and video
|
Authentic
news stories from TV news channel CBS 5 (San Francisco, California)
and CNN, archived by topic and headline. |
|
The
site has been designed for ESL students and is easy to use for self-study. |
|
"Side
Bar" navigation buttons make it easy to move around site. |
|
Each archived
story offers 3 viewing options: complete story (audio alone OR with
video), abridged version, and written outline of story. |
|
There
are links to related sites at the end of each story. Post-task
activities are interactive and students can take
a listening accuracy test. |
|
Post-listening
tasks: Another "side bar" menu highlights vocabulary and offers multiple
choice questions about story, sequencing,and conclusions. |
|
Check
out NEW BETA version of site, which corrects many issues and offers
more interaction with current materials!
|
|
Disadvantages:
News
is out-dated. It isn't possible to listen to the story without viewing
the transcript; it would be better if transcripts were posted separately
and offered as an option. |
back to list
Return to Top
|
