Online Resources for Reading

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

Content & Schema Development through Internet Reading

1. Online literature/books/stories

• Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ -- over 42,000 free books > searchable Online Book Catalog

• Human-read Audio books: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/categories/1  
  Example: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle > The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: audio files, text
   

2. Reading & Listening: News

• simplified: Voice of America's Learning English (news at a slower pace and syntax complexity for English learners, different levels, captioned videos, world news in audio, many more); see also VOA Learning English on YouTube and YouTube's VOA: Listen and Read Along (simplified English video with words highlighted as they are readon the screen; a large variety of topics, including history, food, business, etc.)

 

• Examples

• How English Evolved Into a Modern Language: Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary; Play or download MP3 of this story--The History of English Part 2, Listen / Download PDF: History of English Part 2 

• Also: Articles with activities for English Beginners and Advanced English Speakers 

•  National Public Radio (NPR): audio news, scripts, interviews, videos, and more 

• Aljazeera English <http://www.aljazeera.com/>-- news from around the world; video/audio with text summaries; also podcasts, mobile

• Example 1: Aljazeera World, video or audio, with summaries of news 

• Example 2: Listening Post, with transcript (The Turkish Media Muzzle)

• BBC Learning English: Watch and Listen <http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia/> -- articles for English language learners with audio (some with video), vocabulary--definitions in text and audio, and script, web casts 

• National Public Radio (NPR) <http://www.npr.org/sections/news/> -- news stories with audio (download, mp3, transcript); programs on many topics of interest, no advertising

• CBC <http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/Ottawa/> -- Canadian news in audio/video 
  
  

1. News and Magazines

• The New York Times Learning Network: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html

• Example: Decision Point: Understanding the U.S.'s Dilemma over North Korea

• also includes Word of the Day 

• Breaking News English: <www.breakingnewsenglish.com/> -- English news lessons: Free EFL/ESL lesson plans, handouts and podcast for current events lessons, business English and listening

• Biography Magazine <http://www.biography.com> -- has message boards on movie stars, historical figures, and even mythical and fictional characters, a wonderful writing supplement to a reading unit or course

• Example: Maya Angelou
   

2. Folktales/proverbs/famous quotations 

• Commonly-used Proverbs: http://www.manythings.org/proverbs/

  

 

Using Technology for Reading Development 

 

1. Strategies for Reading Comprehension

• i-Lighter <http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/I-lighter-Download-60019.html> -- free download; provides a simple way to save and annotate snippets of text on the Web; one click transforms the cursor into a yellow marker.

• Timed Readings: at Cengage Learning's Online Study Center
  24 passages, free; After you read a short passage and click the "finished" button, your reading rate for that passage will be displayed. Next, answer a few comprehension questions about what you read.

• Graphic Organizers

• for Character and Story: http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/GO/character_story.htm

• for Vocabulary Development and Concept: http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/GO/vocab_dev.htm 
   

2. Reading Comprehension Exercises

• ESL Independent Study Lab--Reading: http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/reading.html

• Example of timed reading: Halloween by Makoto Nakazawa (Level 100 and up = beginner/advanced beginner)For each story, begin with Reading Comprehension: Click story on the right. The timer will start (10 min.)

• Exercises: Jumbled Sentences, Gap-fill Exercise, Matching Exercise 

   

• 365 ESL Short Stories - 365 short recordings of stories and related exercises; lots of content and great for students that want to work alone. Watch the tutorial as navigation can be a bit confusing. Good for lower levels. Downside = lots of ads (TTV for a video tutorial on using the site) 

Using Technology for Vocabulary Development

1. Quizlet <http://quizlet.com> -- with a free account, create electronic vocabulary flashcards to share with your students; they can practice vocabulary learning and test their knowledge with random matching, multiple-choice, and true/false questions; groups allow students to collaborate on sets