URL for this presentation:

http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/present/Iran2010/oralskills.htm

Christine's Links to Useful TESL/CALL Resources:
http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/Links/useful_sites.htm

     
The Internet has a wealth of resources to aid in the development of oral skills, both for teachers and learners.  From my over 7000-links-compendium I have selected sites that you can integrate into your classes for listening, speaking, and pronunciation practice.  In this hands-on workshop participants will experience audio and video resources for listening development, try out text-to-speech programs, and experiment with some free audio and video recording tools that teachers and students can use for interaction and collaboration on projects.
 

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)
 

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--Accent Reduction and Conversational English
• English Voices – for voicethreads; see tutorial for recording yourself at 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)
• Long conversations with RealVideo and script: Our Family Roots: Genealogy (easy)

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: 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®.

1. Breaking News English <www.breakingnewsenglish.com/> -- EFL/ESL news in British English with audio files (.mp3 downloads), free lesson plans, handouts, games for current events; topics include business English, environment, health, issues, lifestyle, people/entertainment/gossip, technology, world news
   • Example: India Rushing to Save Commonwealth Games; text (script)
   • Listening (podcast/.mp3 file)
   • Lessons & Activities: 13-Page PDF Handout - with all-skills activities
   • Activities with Answer Check: Vocabulary - Fill-in-the-blank; Matching; Hangman; Flash cards
   • Games with Answer Check: Sentence jumble; Missing words (cloze); No letters (text reconstruction); Crossword (puzzle)

1. Teaching with songs <www.isabelperez.com/songs.htm> -- song lyrics and activities for ESL, by Isabelle Pérez Torres; include matching, cloze, and other interactive exercises to practice vocabulary, grammar, sounds; arranged in alphabetical order by singer; link to IPA Fonts for downloading; phonetic symbols appear in some exercises.   

   • Dancing Queen, by Abba 

   • I'm alive
      

2. ESL Video.com <http://eslvideo.com/index.php> -- songs and other activities with video clips at beginning/low-intermediate/intermediate/high-intermediate proficiency levels, quizzes for listening comprehension, transcripts, and notes on culture, grammar, slang, pronunciation; quiz builder included

   • Beginning level: Bang Bang (past tense)                   Intermediate: Under the Bridge

   • Low-intermediate level: Every breath you take          High-Intermediate: Saturn

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

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

1. Pronunciation on TeacherTube

   • Learning English Pronunciation (British English): Pronunciation of -ed -- rules, examples (words, sentences) (8:10 min)

   • ESL Sentence Stress Focus Words (American English): (5:22 min)

2. ESL Pronunciation Lessons on YouTube (American English)

   • TH pronunciation English Meeting ESL Lesson -- articulation, examples, words and sentences with sound highlighted (10:58 min.)

   • Past Tense Regular Verbs -- explanations, examples (2:46)

   • Word Stress -- counting syllables, phonetic transcription, spelling, exercises, examples in native speaker speech (10:28)

   • Intonation -- meaning in communication, falling intonation patterns, examples, illustration (8:18)

   • Accent Reduction: Final sounds -- voiceless, voiced sounds, word pairs, strategies for pronunciation (5:41)
      

3. Phonetics Focus and Flashcard Maker <www.cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/> -- all phonemes with phonetic script and sounds, flashcards, Entry/Exit Tests, Phonemic Chart, games

   • Phonemic Chart > Phonemic Flip > Which Phoneme? > Phon' Chart Quiz for consonants, vowels, dipthongs (drag and drop) > Record and Practice (requires download) > Phonemic Hangman: practices sound-symbol relationships (recognition of IPA and spelling of words)
      

4. Phonetics: The Sounds of English <www.uiowa.edu/%7Eacadtech/phonetics/#> -- animated sounds, with side view and articulation in front view videos, plus audio samples of initial, medial, final occurrence (Flash 7 required); University of Iowa

   • American English > Consonants > Fricative > sh > Play
      

5. The Sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet <www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm> -- with audio (.mp3) of minimal pairs, some for both American and British English

© 2010: Christine Bauer-Ramazani; last updated: July 09, 2017