ESL Teaching/Learning Resources
Speaking

Recording sound/voice Presentation Skills Discussion Lists Online Speaking materials

Recording sound/voice

Rich Internet Applications for Language Learning (http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria/index.php) -- CLEAR (Center for Language Education And Research at Michigan State University); Link to video tutorials with step-by-step guidance for creating video mashups: http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria/videoTutorials/ ; by Dennie Hoopingarner

VoiceThread <www.voicethread.com> -- audio and text comments (group conversations) on pictures, video, graphics, documents, etc.; see/listen to example at http://voicethread.com/#home

Vaestro <www.vaestro.com> -- a free voiceboard/audio forum for recording and replying to messages; can be mounted on a web page; to create your own Vaestro powered audio forum, click the 'Create a Channel'.

Springdoo <www.springdoo.com> -- audio + video mail.  You can upload mp3, wav, mpg, mpeg, avi and 3gp file formats; files can be mounted on a blog/Web page; now called BedroomTV (www.bedroomtv.com)

MyChingo <www.mychingo.com> -- no longer free! (as of Sept. 2007); "Chingo" refers to "Chat Lingo"; Audio Comments for Web-based Voicemail; can be mounted on a web page. There are two ways to use it: 1) A public system: All messages are automatically available for people to hear when you receive them; 2) Moderated, private system: You decide which messages people can listen to.  All messages are recorded at 32kbps Bitrate, 22Khz Sample Rate, 1 channel mono.  You can easily download your MP3 messages from your control panel.

Audacity <http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/> -- [1.5Mb] click to download this free, cross-platform software to record, amplify, fade, edit, copy, paste etc; converts audio files to .mp3 format. Download the Lame client in order to process the conversion.

PureVoice -- works with Eudora; PureVoice is free recording software to create audio voice messages that can be attached to your email and sent to your instructor or to other students in your class. The program also allows the receiver of the email message to listen to the audio voice file if they have PureVoice installed on their computer.  For that you can download here <http://www.cdmatech.com/solutions/products/purevoice_download.jsp>.  Downside: I have encountered problems with PV generating errors in Internet Explorer and shutting down repeatedly.

TotalRecorder <http://download.com.com/3000-2170-10024762.html?legacy=cnet> -- [1.24MB] Total Recorder records streaming audio from RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, microphone input, line-in input, DVDs, or CDs. The resulting files can be saved in WAV or MP3 format. The program also can convert various sound formats to WAV, WMA, or MP3.

MP3 Sound Recorder Software at  <http://www.tongsoft.com/>

  • <http://www.tongsoft.com/sound-recorder-vinyl-to-cd.htm> Transfer LP, tape, vinyl album to CD easy and fast

  • Record streaming audio from internet

  • Record sound generated by other programs, such as Power DVD ,RealPlayer, WinAmp ,Windows Media Player,etc.

  • Record music from games

  • Record music from movies played by VCR or DVD player

  • Record music from tape player

  • Record sound from microphone

Fonetiks <http://www.fonetiks.org/> -- "The online resource for pronunciation and language study."

 

Presentation Skills

Effective Presentations -- Christine Bauer-Ramazani's animated PowerPoint slide show; good for use in teaching; advance topics with mouse clicks; view it on the web with Internet Explorer (IE 5+) at  <http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/Links/effpresent_web_files/fullscreen.htm> --set your font to Times New Roman or download Effective Presentations as a PowerPoint file.  If you do not have PowerPoint on your computer, you can download the PowerPoint Viewer 97 for PowerPoint 97, 2000, and 2002 Users at http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D1649C22-B51F-4910-93FC-4CF2832D3342&displaylang=en

Ten Commandments of Presentations <http://www.tagsys.com/Ads/strategic/tencommpres.html> 

Toastmasters International <http://www.toastmasters.org/> -- At Toastmasters, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment. A typical Toastmasters club is made up of 20 to 30 people who meet once a week for about an hour. Each meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice:

  • Conducting meetings. Meetings usually begin with a short business session which helps members learn basic meeting procedures.
  • Giving impromptu speeches. Members present one-to two-minute impromptu speeches on assigned topics.
  • Presenting prepared speeches. Three or more members present speeches based on projects from the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Program manuals. Projects cover such topics as speech organization, voice, language, gestures, and persuasion.
  • Offering constructive evaluation. Every prepared speaker is assigned an evaluator who points out speech strengths and offers suggestions for improvement.

Tips for Dealing with Nervousness <http://www.indiana.edu/~ucstm/edminute/jparment1.html> 

How to Prepare an Oral Presentation <http://learning.concordia.ca/Help/handouts/Oral%20Presentations/How_to_Prepare.shtml> -- excellent suggestions by the Student Learning Services, Concordia University
On Giving a Talk <http://www.msu.edu/user/zacks/OnGivingATalk.htm>

How To Prepare an Oral Presentation <www.student.seas.gwu.edu/~aiaa/Presentation.pdf> (Adobe Acrobat is required.) -- article on the Do's and Don'ts of oral presentations

Effective Presentations <http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/effective.html>

Designing Effective Oral Presentations <http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~riceowl/oralpres.html>

The Art of Communicating Effectively <http://www.presentingsolutions.com/effectivepresentations.asp>

Discussion Lists

SL-Lists:  International EFL/ESL Email Student Discussion Lists <http://sl-lists.net/>  -- discussion lists for English language students by Latrobe University in Australia; owned/managed by T. Robb and L. Halliday
     All new students should begin with the Introductions forum.   Fill out a New Account request at http://sl-lists.net/login/index.php.  Topics for classes and individual students:

For University and Adult Learners

  • General Chat -- Any topic except the ones below
  • Business English
  • Culture & Society
  • Current events around the world
  • Learning English
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Sports

For Immigrants & new residents

  • Living in a New Country

For Secondary School Learners

  • Teen Talk

Online Speaking materials

Fonetiks <http://www.fonetiks.org/> -- "The online resource for pronunciation and language study."

RealEnglish <http://www.real-english.com/reo/index.html>  -- online videos that are useful for Oral Interaction at Beginner level, Intermediate I, Intermediate II, Intermediate III, and Advanced; free registration

Teaching English: Speaking Activities <http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/speaktry/speaking_activities.shtml> -- by the BBC/British Council on Teaching English

Teaching Speaking (articles in the ELL Resources Center)

Using Movie Trailers in an ESL CALL Class

Facilitating English Conversation Development in Large Classrooms by Gerry Gibson

Promoting Learners' Speaking Ability by Socioaffective Strategies by Chou, Yen-Lin
Conversation questions for ESL classrooms

Reading Aloud (Out Loud) in Conversational English Classes by Derek Kelly

Back to Christine's Links to Useful TESL/CALL Web Sites
Last Updated: July 18, 2008
Christine Bauer-Ramazani.  All rights reserved.  This site may not be mirrored.