Encouraging spoken language in ESL classrooms is essential in fostering maximum student input and output. More importantly though, a critical skill in learning a language is listening. Before many of our ELLs can utter a word, they begin by listening to fluent speakers word formation. Using podcasts in the classroom can play vital roles in developing ELLs listening, reading, writing and speaking skills as many lesson plans and activities can intertwine with podcasts. English Language Listening Lab Online, or ELLLO, is a great resource to motivate beginner language learners with speaking opportunities and enhance intermediate and advance students vocabulary and dictation. This site uses English speakers from around the world and provides many situational dialogs pertinent to the lives of ELLs which can segue students into writing and speaking about sensitive issues plaguing their lives. Additionally, mini-lessons can easily be created to enrich podcasts and ensure student involvement. The podcasts listed on the site include topic related pictures, a needed stimulus for ELLs, provides the transcript of the audio that can easily be used for differentiating instruction for middle and high school levels and useful hyper links within the dialogs that explain certain grammatical structures, idioms or vocabulary. Overall, podcasts can prove to be beneficial for all audiences, especially ELLs, the tricky part is selecting content and age appropriate material.
http://www.elllo.org/index.htm
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