•Listening materials designed for ESL/EFL students

•Authentic and semi-authentic listening materials of
  interest to ESL/EFL students.

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ESL/EFL Listening Materials • California Distance Learning Project • English Listening Lounge • Literacy Net • Randall's ESL • Brian Teaman's Virtual University   Authentic & Semi-authentic Listening Materials • About.com Videos :      "How-to" instruction, Society and Culture • Arctic Science Journeys:      Science & Environment • BBC Four: Books & Film A-Z & Poetry Outloud:      Society and Culture, Literature & Poetry (UK & US spkrs) • BBC Four: Video A-Z & DVD Collection :      Film/Sociocultural (UK & US speakers) • Blunt Radio.org : US Teen Perspective • Brain Tracks Audio :      Radio Ads/Sociocultural • 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) • 1st Person.org: US Society & Culture • Gate to Gate : air traffic control, travel* • Functional Programming...:      lectures in Computer Science* * Contains field-specific vocabulary • Hearing Voices Special:      Woman's History Month • Issues in Media, Lit. & Art :      lectures on mass media & effects on society • NASA's Space Story:      Science & the Universe • (New York Times) Photographer's Journals:      Sociocultural, Civics • Radio Diaries: US culture:      teenagers, history, prison, work • Principles of Macroeconomics :      academic lectures* • School of Law, Bloomington:        Constitutional Rights • Sound Portraits.org : US Society      & Culture, History • Teaching American History:      US History, academic lectures • Transom.org: Sociology,      human nature, American Culture • Welcome to the Planets : astronomy,      satellites, the Hubble telescope* • 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...         • • Source: http://www.esl-lab.com Advantages:  uses RealPlayer audio Comprehensive (*****) Listening passages are divided by level of difficulty, topic, and style (conversational, academic, short and long passages ). Easy navigation Pre- and post-listening quizzes/exercises; 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         •• Source: http://www.EnglishListening.com/ Advantages:  uses RealPlayer 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 $20/month. back to list       • • Source:  http://www.cdlponline.org 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           • • Source:  http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~teaman/vu/ Advantages:   uses RealPlayer audio and video Brian Teaman's collection of video interviews and support materials for EFL students; Teaman teaches English at Hiroshima University, Japan. American, British, Australian, Norwegian and German college students studying in Japan voice opinions on a myriad of topics including: Crime, Photography, Travel, University Life, Language, and Japan. Audio and video are professional-grade quality and simple but elegant page layout allows for easy navigation. Supplemental materials (when available) include a text introduction (in large readable type), key words/phrases, and a transcript. Additional materials include interactive exercises for new vocabulary and comprehension. Coming Soon : As the site is still under construction, not all of the interviews are accompanied by support materials. Advantages: A few of the videos have been "coded" to numbered keys appearing below the video image. Each number corresponds to a question and its response, allowing students to easily locate specific areas for replay. back to list         • • Source:  http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/ Advantages:   uses RealPlayer audio and video Authentic CNN news stories, 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-listening tasks: Another "side bar" menu highlights vocabulary and offers multiple choice q's about story, sequencing,and conclusions. Post-task activities are interactive and students can take a listening accuracy test. Disadvantages: It isn't possible to listen to the story without viewing the transcript; both are posted on the same page.  It would be better if transcripts were posted separately and offered as an option. back to list Return to Top Site Visitors: