Online Resources for Listening

 
highlights from Christine's Links to Useful TESL/CALL Web Sites--ESL Teaching / Learning Resources for Listening
(http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/Links/esl_listening.htm)  

Listening Development

1. Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab <www.esl-lab.com/> -- an amazing collection of audio/video lectures for all levels of listening comprehension, together with self-tests and answers
•  Easy: Apartments for Rent (with Pre-Listening Exercises, Listening Exercises, Vocabulary, Post-Listening Exercises and Online Investigations) 
• Post-Listening Exercises with voice-recordings and typed comments from native speakers and international students
• More activities (listening, vocabulary, discussion, Internet searching) on the same topics at Daily ESL: Conversation Starters for English Students (=> Apartment: Renting a Place of your Own)
• Vocabulary Lesson on Renting Apartments
• Pronunciation: Apartment Rentals--Reduced forms and Conversational English
• English Voices–for voicethreads; see tutorial for recording yourself: http://www.englishvoices.org/help.htm 
• Language Learning and Life Tips with audio and discussion questions: iPod and MP3 Players
• TOEFL/TOEIC Preparation with lectures, interviews, and conversations: The Four Seasons (medium) / I Love Trees (difficult, audio, 1:55 min)
• Long conversations with RealVideo and script: Our Family Roots: Genealogy (easy, video, 1:58 min)
  
  
2. Real English <http://real-english.com/reo/index.html> -- on-line video, audio, and voice lessons with fill-in, multiple-choice, matching questions based on spontaneous street interviews;useful for Oral Interaction from Beginner to Intermediate level
• Pre-intermediate: Lesson 7 - What's your astrological sign? This lesson concentrates on a great deal of useful vocabulary while introducing like as an adverb.  See it with and without subtitles in one clip. 
• Lesson 7 Vocabulary: Vocabulary Exercises 1-4 with pictures, audio and voice recordings, synonyms, definitions
• Record and play back your pronunciation of the vocabulary.  Click OK to download the Java applet.  Go to the Recording Support page for help.
• Lesson 7 Comprehension Exercises: 14 exercises, each with a new video that expands the topic; cloze, multiple choice, comprehension cloze, drag-and-drop
  
  
3. English Language Listening Lab Online <www.elllo.org> -- natural conversations with various speakers of English; over 1000 listening activities for all levels; includes new videos with video slide shows, script, audio vocabulary explanations and quizzes, vocabulary & reading comprehension questions (audio and written), listening games
   Types of activities: interviews, newscasts, surveys (Mixer), songs, mini-lectures/presentations (Talking Points), and listening games (for beginners)
• Views: Example: Dream House
• Mixer: six different speakers answering the same question; Example: What is your Dream Job? (intermediate to high-intermediate)
• Games (listening): The picture quiz for the listening quiz is designed to help people listen for gist. The text quiz is designed to help students listen for detail.  Example: Day at the Aquarium
• Videos: with or without closed captioning; good for note-taking and summarizing; example: Do you prefer to read online or offline?
• Songs: with song lyrics; Example: Another River by Christine Havrilla
• News Center: is an animated newscast with six stories. Newscenter can help students learn academic English and develop test taking skills for standardized listening tests such as TOEFL®, TOEIC® and IELTS; example: College Students
• Talking Points: Example: The Mountain Lion -- activities that help students with test taking skills and academic English. Each listening activity is a mini-lecture or presentation divided into six sections. They are designed to be short talks to help students on standardized tests like TOEFL®, TOEIC® and IELTS®.