This is a great resource. Three university teachers (Phil Hubbard, Stanford University, Greg Kessler, Ohio University, and John Madden, University of Texas at Austin) presented on online listening lessons at TESOL, and this link is to their presentation. It contains information on the theory behind learning to listen and understand, as well as sample lessons and links to a variety of listening sites. Below are the authentic sites they list.
1. English, Baby! � http://www.englishbaby.com/. A commercial site, but presently free. Includes five new lessons per week, 3-4 of which are typically listening based, with text, quiz, and glossary. The new lessons replace those from the previous week, but institutions can purchase access to their extensive archives. Authentic, entertaining material geared toward teens and twenties. Great for advanced students but can be daunting for lower levels. Requires RealPlayer.
2. Randall�s Cyber Listening Lab � http://www.esl-lab.com/. A non-commercial site developed by Randall Davis. Includes over 140 exercises divided into 4 groups: general listening, academic listening, long conversations with video, and short exercises. Some are quite engaging (see for example �A Great Car Deal�). Exercises are also divided into easy, medium, difficult, and very difficult. Lessons have pre- and post-listening exercises, the latter including quizzes and text completion. Transcripts include glossed vocabulary. Requires RealPlayer.
3. About.com - http://esl.about.com/cs/listening/. This is the listening section of a large ESL site hosted by Kenneth Beare. Includes a variety of listening activities divided by levels. Exercises range from number identification and spelling to short dialogues and reports. Also has links to other ESL and native speaker sites for listening. Free, but filled with advertisements including flashing banners and extra browser windows opening. Some files play directly through browser; others require RealPlayer.
4. California Distance Learning Project - http://www.cdlponline.org. A free resource of listening materials, lessons and supportive instructional activities related to news stories, created by California Department of Education. Includes both transcripts and support exercises. A good source for lower level learners. Requires RealPlayer.
1. Online news hour � www.pbs.org/newshour/video . Has video segments from the PBS show, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Current as well as archived programs back to February 7, 2000. Videos have a transcript which appears beneath the video window. Archives of audio programs go back even further. Requires RealPlayer.
2. CNN Student News � www.cnn.com/fyi. This is the newest incarnation of the old CNN Newsroom feature. This one has a single new story each weekday in video on the web (the whole 10 minute piece can be videotaped off CNN from 3:12 AM to 3:22 AM Eastern Time M-F). There is an accompanying reading that is similar in content and structure but not a word-for-word transcription. Includes discussion questions and other suggested class activities. Video requires a password which you get for free by signing up for their email newsletter. Requires RealPlayer or QuickTime Player.
3. Scientific American Frontiers � www.pbs.org/saf/archive.htm. An amazing site with all the Scientific American Frontiers shows back to 1990 archived. Since they allow educators to videotape their broadcast shows and use them for up to a year, this is also a good support site for classroom video use. Includes quizzes and other support materials. Requires RealPlayer.
4. Marketplace � www.marketplace.org/. A daily public radio show that maintains several years of audio archives. Shows prior to December 24, 2002 include transcripts. Excellent for building vocabulary because the transcripts are accessible to Babylon (www.babylon.com/) and other online dictionaries (unlike the Online News Hour and Scientific American Frontiers). Especially interesting to students in business and economics. Requires RealPlayer.
5. Script-o-rama � www.script-o-rama.com/. Online site with transcripts of many movies and TV shows (has all episodes of Friends, for instance). This is a valuable website for support of videotape or DVD viewing either in class or individually by students.