Internet Tools for the ESL Classroom

Presenter: Beth Bogage, San Diego Continuing Education

Email: Class Website: www.ecc6.blogspot.com

Online Handout: http://www.quia.com/pages/bbogage/alliant

reading
Website Name / Website Address / Description/Comments
California Distance Learning Project / www.cdlponline.org
Related handout @
www.quia.com/pages/bbogage/alliant / This site provides short news stories across 11 topics for reading practice. All news stories have built-in listening capability, and are accompanied by a series of follow-up activities. Many stories also have a video component.
CNN / Literacyworks News Stories / http://www.literacynet.org/cnnsf/archives.html
Related handout @
www.quia.com/pages/bbogage/alliant / This is another site that offers reading material and related activities in the form of news stories. There are 12 categories from which to choose. Each story can be read as 1) the original news story, 2) the abridged story, or 3) an outline of the story. Follow-up activities are located in the upper left-hand corner of each story.
Marshall Adult Education / www.marshalladulteducation.org
·  On the left-hand side, click on “Reading Skills for Today’s Adult” / Excellent website with reading passages for high beginning to advanced. Each reading includes: timed readings, audio, pre-reading questions, post-reading questions, and summarizing/ personalization questions.
Reading (continued)
Website Name / Website Address / Description/Comments
Voice of America (VOA) / http://learningenglish.voanews.com/ / This site has many news articles with clear listening support. Each article has a vocabulary practice activity. Students can also click on any content word in the article for a Merriam Webster dictionary defintion (and pronunciation)!
Awesome Stories / http://awesomestories.com/ / µThis is higher-level reading!
For teachers: a good site to give you ideas about interesting readings / topics to use in your class.
For students: sign up (free), click on Students, and you can practice reading with listening support: click on Awesome Radio
Vocabulary
Spelling City / www.spellingcity.com / This site takes your vocabulary material and puts it online in an interactive format—with “teach me” audio introduction, spelling tests and a variety of activities. Teachers should create an account (free) to save lessons.
Quia / www.quia.com
Related handout @
www.quia.com/pages/bbogage/alliant / Put your vocabulary words online, create interactive quizzes and games with your lesson content! Quia can also be used to create your own class website.
µNOTE: This is a fee-site (about $50 annually); some districts might purchase memberships.
Vocabulary (continued)
Website Name / Website Address / Description/Comments
Quizlet / www.quizlet.com
Example: Beth’s Quizlet page:
http://quizlet.com/class/709924/ / This is a very fast and easy way to put your vocabulary online for students to practice. The site creates audio for anything you type (word or definition). It’s easy to upload images as well.
µ NOTE This site is free!
Language Guide English / http://www.languageguide.org/english/ / Great online vocabulary picture dictionary with audio. A variety of basic vocabulary topics (Food, Animals, Parts of the Body, etc.)
Grammar
Website Name / Website Address / Description/Comments
Learn American English Online / http://learnamericanenglishonline.com/ / Teaches grammar structures from Beginning to Advanced Levels; most lessons have videos with and ESL instructor explaining the grammar point.
Grammar Blog / http://eslgrammarpractice.blogspot.com/ / An online blog that offers a variety of grammar points for students to practice. Brief explanation is given for most grammar topic as well.
English Grammar 4 U Online / http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/exercises / Students can practice writing in basic grammar tenses (answers on typed on the site, and students are given feedback)
Authorstream / www.authorstream.com
Related handout @
www.quia.com/pages/bbogage/alliant
-(Grammar Ideas and Resources) / Create grammar PowerPoint presentations and use this site to post them online for your students! This site creates a URL for any PowerPoint that you upload, so that your students can access it online. You can also use the site to search for presentations from other ESL instructors.
Grammar (continued)
Website Name / Website Address / Description/Comments
YouTube
Related handout @
www.quia.com/pages/bbogage/alliant / www.youtube.com
·  English with Stacy
http://www.youtube.com/user/EnglishwithStacy
·  English with Jennifer
http://www.youtube.com/user/JenniferESL
·  Holmwood’s Online Learning; offers lessons with various teachers
http://www.youtube.com/user/HolmwoodsELT / Use YouTube to search for grammar points and explanations. Some ESL teachers actually have their own “channel” on YouTube, and you can find a variety of ESL topics that they cover through video.
You can also search for specific grammar points. In the YouTube search box, I usually type “ESL” + the name of the grammar, for example “ESL passive grammar.” You’ll be amazed at how many educational grammar videos are now available on YouTube.
Writing
Purdue University
The Purdue Online
Writing Lab (OWL) / http://owl.english.purdue.edu
Links on Main Page:
·  Non-Purdue Instructors and Students
·  English as a Second Language
·  Writing the Basic Business Letter
·  Developing Résumés / This site offers helpful explanation and resources on academic writing: the writing process, different genres of writing, style and language, citation, etc. (Find this in the section for “Non-Purdue Instructors and Students”).
There is also an “English as a Second Language” section with exercises on grammar, punctuation and academic language.
Long Beach City College / http://web.archive.org/web/20081220224223/http://esl.lbcc.edu/big%20list/readingandwriting.htm / Writing help and explanation at the sentence, paragraph, and essay levels.
Stickyball
Resources for ESL / http://www.stickyball.net/esl-writing-exercises-and-activities.html / This site is great for ESL teachers who want to incorporate more writing into their classes. This site gives writing lessons for all levels, and also integrates important grammar structures into each lesson.
Listening
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab / http://www.esl-lab.com/
Related handout @
www.quia.com/pages/bbogage/alliant / This site offers hundreds of listening conversations at various levels. There is also some practice offered with each conversation.
Voice of America
(VOA) / Level 1: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/section/level-one/3774.html
Level 2
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/section/level-two/3935.html / A variety of listening activities can be found here:
·  Reading and Listening (articles)
·  Everyday English lessons
·  American Idioms lessons
·  Business English lessons (Level 2)
Authentic Video Sources / µYou can Google these to find their homepages on the web, or you can search in YouTube. / I try to use every day videos in my classroom often, so that students hear REAL English and usually listen to a variety of people speaking
(i.e., reporter, people interviewed, etc.)
I like short inspirational news stories from sources like these:
ü  NBC News “Making a Difference”
ü  CBS “Assignment America” or “On the Road with Steve Hartman”
ü  CNN Heroes
ü  CBS 60 Minutes – longer video stories about 12 minutes long; higher level
ü  Watch Mojo.com

µExcellent Online Dictionary for ESL students:

Merriam Webster’s Online Learner Dictionary

ü  Gives simple definitions, pronunciation; example sentences in blue

http://www.learnersdictionary.com

µExcellent Resource for Teachers and Students: www.eslwithjim.wordpress.com

·  You can find extensive lists of great ESL websites for all levels

·  On the right side, Click on Beginning Level List or

Intermediate/Advanced Level List (Word Files)

·  When you click on the file, file name will appear on the left; click to open it.