Listening
Listening can be one of the more difficult skills to learn, but it can also be one of the more enjoyable skills because you can here the use of English in action as it it used by native and non-native speakers. If you are a beginning level learner, please begin with the lower level activities, and don't be discouraged if you have to pause or rewind! That's how we learn.
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab provides a variety of listening activities at different levels. If you are an beginning or advanced level student, there is something here for you. The listening activities are mixed with exercises and quizzes to ensure that you have correctly understood the information.
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5 Minute English allows you to learn English during your busy schedules. Turn them on during your lunch break or when you are walking to class. There are many short listenings here that can help you improve your listening skills.
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ESL Pod provides frequently updated, downloadable podcasts on up-to-date hot topics. These are perfect because you can listen to them on your tablets, phones, or mp3 players and listen to them whenever your busy schedule allows. With ESL Pod, there is never a reason to not be listening for new English vocabulary and structures.
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Although we can learn English through textbooks or in a classroom, it can also be useful to be able to study when we have free time during our busy days. 1-Language.com has an online audio course for learning English, and it is appropriate for students from beginning up to higher intermediate English abilities. The site provides listenings, interactive questions, and the scripts for the audio recordings.
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The English Listening Lesson Library Online (ELLLO) has a wealth of different listening opportunities for students of all levels. There are games, listenings, and activities, and these are divided by different countries, levels, topics, and types of media. Browse the site and find a topic that you like at a speed you can comprehend.
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Who says listening activities always have to be lectures? The Bob & Rob Show offers a fun way to learn English through a radio show type podcast format. They have online discussions about English topics, and there are also attached study guides and quizzes to help you learn the lessons from the podcast. One of the presenters is from America and one is from England, so you have a chance to practice your understanding of different accents as well.
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One of the best ways that we can learn about a culture is through the speakers that the home culture admires. American Rhetoric is a website that offers audio and video files of some of America's most beloved speeches. These are not limited, however, to war or political speeches from fifty years ago. There are files for current speeches as well as famous speeches from movies.
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Throughout our lives, very few of us are constantly listening to lectures or famous speeches, but many people are involved in the art of listening to music, and music provides a wonderful way to improve your English. LyricsGaps provides some excellent activities for ESL students to improve their listening, reading, and vocabulary skills by providing videos, lyrics, and practice exercises for a large number of songs. Choose your favorite songs and learn. What could be better?
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