Skill-building Websites for Oral/Aural Skills

CALL technologies:

Can support experiential learning and practice in a variety of modes, provide effective feedback to learners, enable pair and group work, promote exploratory and global learning, enhance student achievement, provide access to authentic materials, facilitate greater interaction, individualize instruction, allow independence from a single source of information, and motivate learners.

PROS:  CALL provides teachers an endless choice of multimedia, software, applications and devices with which to create more exciting, interactive lessons. The traditional lecture-based lesson, while effective to a point, does not stimulate every type of learner. By adding a dimension to their lessons, teachers have the opportunity to engage more students and lead a more involved, energetic class.

CONS: With this increased access to knowledge also comes a probable loss of communication skills and interactive abilities between students and teacher, and students to peers. These skills are not as necessary in a classroom of computers, where individuality is a component of learning and is encouraged. Aside from learning, conflict resolution and socialization used to be two prominent reasons children came to school. The emphasis now has shifted away from these areas.

After reading Linda Miller’s article I completely agree with her when she says that for many teachers listening is not the main aim in the English language teaching classroom, in some Institutions here in my Country we have this problem,  I think it is because teachers sometimes  consider that it is not necessary to develop this skill and they are centered only in fulfilling the text so they devote most of the time only teaching  grammar, writing and communication, another important factor is that teachers do not have the required technology to teach in listening  in the classrooms.

For those teachers interested in teaching listening Miller gives some good and helpful strategies to follow in this process.

I recommend this website: http://www.esl-lab.com/elem/elemrd1.htm in this site we can find material to increase students listening such as: Pre- listening exercises; Listening exercises; Grammar; Post-listening exercise; Quizzes not only for beginners, but also for pre-intermediate students.

http://esl.about.com/od/beginningreadingskills/a/d_intro1.htm  This is another good option to improve communication specially if you are teaching English for beginners, intermediates or advanced students; here you can find exercises related to grammar, vocabulary, listening, speaking, writing.

But if you want to teach using games this site is excellent: http://www.esl-galaxy.com/forum/index.html

Try them!!!! I am sure that they will help you in the  teaching process.

Sylvia