I have looked at some of the websites that Ajarn provided for us to check on to, and there were some websites that caught my attention.
The first website that I like is Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab. The website is developed by Randall Davis which has different experiences in the teaching profession. Even though he finished a degree in Spanish studies, he did a Master's degree in TESL. He was able to gain more experiences from Japan where English is not the language used in the society.
I like his website "Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab" because to be honest, the website is really simple. It does not have a lot of designs that might distract the visitors or the learners of English. In the homepage of his website, you will see his offered general quizzes which are divided into three categories which are: Easy, Medium, and Difficult. Under these categories are loads of quizzes that you can choose according to your level of difficulty and the topic that you desire to listen to. When you click on to a topic, it will lead you to the quiz and it offers a step by step guide for you to facilitate the quiz.
These are: 1.) Pre-listening Exercises, where the developer suggests some pre-activities that might build up motivation.
2.) Listening Exercises, where you'll have the chance to listen to a conversation between two individuals. And after that, a quiz is provided for you to see if you were able to understand the conversation.
3.) Vocabulary and Grammar Activities, where you can review the grammar and the vocabulary used in the conversation that you listened to.
4.) Post-Listening Exercises, where the developer suggest some tasks that you can do to practice your learned knowledge.
5.) Online Investigations, where the developer asks you to do an online investigation on your own regarding the topics that you learned.
**Not all quizzes have the 5 steps
As an educator in a country where English is not used most of the time, for me, this website is really helpful for teaching English to students because the audios provided here are just short audio clips. And not only for the students but also for me, I can practice the quizzes all by myself to enhance my listening more. The simplicity of the website makes me want to come back and check out some updates by the developer.
The second website that I chose is the BBC's Learning English section. Since 1943, BBC World Service has been offering the global audiences free audio, video, and text materials. BBC delivers their materials as full length courses which are stand alone and can be studied on its own. Learners and educators can choose the best way to study, by following a course, or by individual materials that is most appropriate for them.
I like the pronunciation area offered by BBC because it provides In Pronunciation Tips where learners will have the guide and videos for proper way of pronouncing words. The video offered when the speaker is speaking is also presented by two videos where there is a close up view of the mouth movement which is good to let learners see the correct pronunciation of sounds and words. Next is the Features of English where different elements are handed to learners and also activities to familiarize the learners and to build their understanding to the area. The third one is the Quizzes where you can test your knowledge and help you learn more about English pronunciation. And the last one is the Programmes where it offers three programmes that you can download so you can practice your pronunciation skills more.
As educator of English language, this website will surely help me in teaching young kids on how to pronounce the words correctly, but not only for me, but also for other English learners who want to improve their English pronunciation as well.