California Distance Learning Project (CDLP)

http://www.cdlponline.org California Distance Learning Project

This free site offers great listening to stories coming from the news, for Adult Basic Education and Intermediate to Advanced ESL learners. Some stories also have a video component. Possible life skills topics include: working, law and government, family, school, health and safety, housing, money, science and technology, services, going places and nature. Some are generic while others have some relevance to California, namely Sacramento County.

In addition to just listening to the story, read at a moderate speed by a native speaker, learners can go over hearing key vocabulary words, mastering their spelling and then utilizing hasic comprehension in a multiple choice format. Some lessons also have a matching game, a what did you learn activity, a writing activity and additional links to other Web sites.

(originally reviewed on the AELC Instructor Blog (http://wccniuesl.blogspot.com) in 2005, this current review is by AELC instructor Robin Bosworth)

ESL Websites

Here are some additional websites with comments:

1. www.esl-lab.com
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab. It has a wide variety of conversations recorded in real life, with some exercises.

2. www.voanews.com/SpecialEnglish/
The Voice of America has a program called "People in America" which focuses on one famous
American each week. This is spoken in "Special English" (spoken relatively slowly and using a limited vocabulary). The transcript of the program is easily downloaded. Lots of short musical interludes are included, so during the program, students can have a short rest in which they can think/process what they've heard. I recommend looking at the archived programs for a wider selection of topics.

3. The BBC World Service (www.bbc.co.uk)
has a wonderful selection of audio programs. Especially useful for more advanced students who want to have exposure to a wide variety of accents. They also have a special "learning English" page. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/

4. The Library of Congress, Boston University, the Poetry Society of America and Center for the Book (among many others) sponsors the Favorite Poem Project. This site has poem videos (like music videos) in which Americans talk about their favorite poem, giving personal stories about how the poem has been meaningful in their life. The famous (Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton) as well as the ordinary (a glass blower, a law professor, a teacher, a student) talk about their favorite poems. An interesting way to learn about people and poems.
http://www.favoritepoem.org/thevideos/index.html

5. There are also subscription websites like
www.English2go.com
(articles from Reuters with English exercises)
http://www.market-leader.net/
(articles from the Financial Times, adapted for ESL/EFL students).

6. http://esl.about.com/index.htm.
This site is a resource both for teachers and students of English as a second language.