ESLVideo.Com
This site contains thousands of web-based videos (from youtube, news organizations, individuals, etc) that have been selected for their educational potential. Quizzes and other language-related exercises have been developed for many of the videos. I would use this site because of the teaching power inherent in the visual/textual link.
ESL About.Com
Part of the About.com family of websites, this site contains hundreds of various resources for the ESL instructor. I was fan of this site even before I began my formal ESL training. The site is moderated by Kenneth Beare, an ESL professional with both domestic and foreign (Germany and Italy) teaching experience. Information on ESL as a discipline is included, as well as separate tabs/pages with interactive lessons for all levels of ELLs. An additional tab/page contains valuable information and teaching tips for both the novice and veteran ESL teacher. Highly recommended!
Dave's ESL Cafe
This site contains a huge storhouse of ESL information and links for student, teachers, and the public at large. Moderated by Dave Sperling, another longtime ESL professional, the site also links to job boards in several ESL hot spots worldwide, including Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. Separate pages on the site are dedicated to suggestions for lessons (Idea Cookbook) and a Teacher Training Forum. Students, too, can directly use several of the items under the “Stuff For Students” list, including grammar lessons, lists of idioms and slang expressions, and a Student Forum. I would use this site especially for professional development and job-related information because the Teacher Forums and Teacher Training Forums are full of real-world anecdotes and tips.
VOA News.Com Special English
This site is an adjunct to the main Voice of America (VOA) site. The Voice of America began during the Cold War as radio broadcasting service aimed at the former Soviet Union and its client states. VOA beamed information/propaganda at the people under Soviet domination or influence, describing American/Western culture. To some degree, the VOA and similar efforts contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union.
Today the VOA continues to disseminate information on the US and its history, government, and culture. As part of that mission, which includes broadcasts in many languages, the VOA also includes this Special English website, which contains several broadcasts and corresponding transcripts of VOA newscasts and feature stories. These stores are spoken at a slower pace to aid ELLs, especially at the lower proficiency levels. I would use this site to help teach the listening and speaking modalities. I especially like the eclectic sampling of subjects covered in these stories: there are many topics that we would appeal to a class of non-American ELLs.
The Bob and Rob Show: Weekly English Lessons from a Yankee and a Brit
This is a delightful and very effective website. The hosts, Bob (the Yank) and Rob (the Brit), both live and teach English in Japan. These two enterprising teachers have designed scores of ESL lessons based on newscasts and related video on a whole host of subjects, such as politics, business, education, history, geography, and many more. Each lesson is designed with the video of the broadcast, a study guide, and a quiz on the content. Bob and Rob have written the study guides and quizzes in a rather humorous and breezy style, which makes them all the more enjoyable for both teachers and students. I would most definitely use this site to work on the speaking and listening modalities. Most highly recommended!
