LISTENING ACTIVITIES
http://www.esl-lab.com
Multiple choice comprehension questions on graded audio recordings of scripted dialogues, plus vocabulary and grammar exercises.
http://listenaminute.com
60 second recordings of scripted monologues, with gap-fill, spelling, and discussion exercises.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
Huge range of listening (audio, video) and pronunciation (transcription) resources with learning activities.
NB: This site uses a variation on IPA (/e/ instead of /ɛ/; length markings; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet_chart_for_English_dialects)
http://www.talkenglish.com/Listening/ListenAdvanced.aspx
Scripted dialogues with multiple choice questions and scripts.
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/media/spelling-challenge-v2/
Oxford dictionaries spelling challenge: type each word you hear to see how well you can spell
http://www.cdlponline.org
Texts read aloud followed by vocabulary practice with audio and comprehension questions
http://www.simpleenglishvideos.com
Watch movie trailers with clickable transcripts allowing you to jump to a particular place in the trailer.
http://tinytexts.wordpress.com
Native speakers read short texts aloud, which listeners can follow onscreen or
print a PDF with a gap-fill exercise. There are also vocabulary definitions.
http://www.eslradioandtv.com/
Scripted audio and video clips with optional captions and comprehension questions.
http://www.lyricstraining.com/
Fill in the blanks as you listen to and watch music videos.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/
The US Public Broadcasting Service features a daily video news report with transcript and discussion questions.
EXTENSIVE LISTENING
http://www.webofstories.com/
Video clips under 10 minutes featuring famous and ordinary individuals interviewed on all sorts of topics. (You also have the option of videorecording and uploading your own story.)
http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks
Listen online or download mp3 files to hear novels chapter by chapter. LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, Paul Auster's The Red Notebook, and Dickens' Great Expectations were favourites.
http://audioliterate.com/
Streaming and downloadable free audiobooks
http://www.onlineaudiostories.com/
Fairy stories and classic books to listen to and read online or via podcast.
http://www.chockadoc.com/nostradamus-2012/
Over one thousand full-length documentaries in English on a variety of topics.
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
http://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index
2 minute video extracts with optional subtitles, followed by vocabulary practice (type the word you hear, check native pronunciation with clickable phonetic symbols; repeat a word into your mic and get immediate feedback). Share on Facebook.
Live audio/video chat
http://www.practicespeakingaforeignlanguage.com
http://www.twinvox.com
https://www.verbling.com (chat with native speakers)
http://livemocha.com: Live text, audio or video chat with other learners of English. You can also record a video role-play for feedback from a native speaker (but only once without paying).
PHONETICS & PRONUNCIATION
http://www.cambridge.org/other_files/Flash_apps/Pronunciation/
The phonemic chart plus sounds, stress and intonation exercises.
NB: This site uses a variation on IPA (/e/ instead of /ɛ/; length markings; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet_chart_for_English_dialects)
http://pronunciationcoach.com/
Short explanations and advice for hearing and producing English sounds.
http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
The Sounds of American English: articulatory phonetics of vowels and consonants with animation, video and transcription
Here are my bullet points from reading this article which summarises recent research into L2 vocabulary acquisition for language teachers.
- there two types of vocabulary: high frequency and low frequency (Zipf's law - there is no middle ground). ESL learners need to meet high frequency words often, and learn strategies to tackle low frequency words
- extensive (rather than intensive) reading with graded readers works for high frequency words; learners can be encouraged in this if initial class time is devoted to a "proper extensive reading program" (p. 532)
- bilingual word cards - "deliberate decontextualised rote learning of vocabulary" - is effective for long-term learning and acquisition of implicit knowledge (p. 533) though should be viewed as a "support" rather than an "alternative to communicative learning"
- although deliberate learning is effective, deliberate teaching does not mean deliberate learning - studies often show less than half of taught words were learned via vocabulary exercises
Nation recommends paying attention to vocabulary learning via extensive graded reading and independent learning with bilingual word cards, rather than devoting class time to intensive reading and vocabulary exercises.
He recommends this research paper:
Elgort, I. (2011). Deliberate learning and vocabulary acquisition in a second language. Language Learning, 61.2, 367–413.
and this website: The Compleat Lexical Tutor http://www.lextutor.ca/