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Being able to understand what is said in English in many different situations is essential. There is no mystery here; the more you listen, the more you will understand. However, many students complain that they don’t get enough opportunities to listen to spoken English. Well, wake up to the age of multimedia! Everything you need is on the internet and you can listen to whatever you want; songs, news, radio, sound tracks… Some resources are especially for esl (English as a 2nd language) learners – use them! Once you become more confident, start listening to sources for native English speakers; you will be surprised at how quickly you can progress, provided you listen regularly of course. Here are just a few examples of what is available: Extensive site including video & audio versions of news stories to improve your listening comprehension skills. You can listen to TV and radio broadcasts. Click on worldservice or radio. Don’t forget that CNN provides video and audio. Voice of America (VOA), is an extensive site with lots of resources for listening. Several language versions are available. If you click on "special English" you find a webpage containing links to webcasts, dictionaries, foreign student services. If you click directly on webcasts and then on one of the themes (business, science etc) you will reach a page with the headlines of the audio material. Click on a headline that interests you & you'll find the script with the audio link. However, remember that this site is government run. This is a goldmine. Go directly to story archives & start
exploring. You can listen and read at the same time, do comprehension
exercises, work on vocabulary, and more. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia/index.shtml This is an excellent multimedia site. Check out 'video nation' which is a way to meet people from across the UK and hear what they say about their lives and the world around them. Watch the video clips and test your comprehension in Listen out! Check what you have heard by looking at the tapescripts. Listening comprehension for all levels. Try it out! http://listening.englishclub.com/ Links to sites where you can listen to English, but some of the links don’t work (e.g. voice of America) This site allows you to listen to reports about topics relating to science & technology. Unfortunately, no tapescripts are available. In the left-hand menu click on 'songs & lyrics'. Here you'll find a site that provides links to a new song every week. You can listen to the song, read the lyrics & do some language practice activities in relation to the song. You can also click on 'archives' to find a database of songs that have been worked on. |