Skip to main content

Category: updates

Web Site Update – December 2019

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Hi everyone,

I want to thank you for visiting my sites over the past 21 years. It has been so exciting to see that many of my visitors are new to the site, some hadn’t even been born when I started it, and even a few who have followed my work during this whole journey. In addition to pointing out holiday-related listening activities in my last post, I also wanted to introduce or remind visitors of the other sites that I have created.

Although most people know of my main listening Web site (esl-lab.com), fewer visitors have tried some of my other Web sites for listening practices. You can find useful fliers and handouts on them here (https://www.esl-lab.com/esl-study-handouts/). Let me introduce these Web sites to you:

1. DailyESL.com (https://www.dailyesl.com) – I created this site to give focused practice on specific topics with a reading that includes many of the related vocabulary. These topics include shopping, going to a bookstore, visiting a flower shop, and so forth. These activities are different from esl-lab.com in that you get a concentrated dose of language in a reading passage verses a conversation. After listening to the passage, you then can answer three questions to check your understanding.

2. Trainyouraccent.com (https://www.trainyouraccent.com) – One of the biggest challenges facing language students is learning how to speak more smoothly and naturally. However, some students come from language backgrounds in which the vowel and consonant sounds are different, and students often stress every sound. However, one of the most common sounds in English is the unstressed schwa sound (ə) that affects stress and rhythm. Thus, on this site, learners can listen to a passage on a particular theme (e.g, breakfast meals) that highlights the unstressed sounds and then answer some questions related to the topic.

3. EZslang.com (https://www.ezslang.com) – This site focuses on introducing slang and idiomatic expressions. Visitors listen to conversation, answer questions, and review the related vocabulary.

Give these Web sites a try!

Web Site Update – November 2019

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Hi everyone,

October was a busy month, and I have been energy-filled creating more gap-fill exercises. They are fun to create, and they give learners new ways of accessing their listening skills. You can over 300+ vocabulary activities HERE:

The holiday season is just around the corner, and here are some activities to get you started:

More listening activities to come! Thanks for being a part of my online community.

Randall

Web Site Update – October 2019

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Hi everyone,

A lot has been happening on the Web site this past month, and this includes a whole group of new culture videos. Take a look HERE. Other updates are plans include:

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have ideas or comments.

Best,

Randall

Web Site Update – September 2019

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

With many students and teachers returning to a new school session or semester, I want to update you on changes to the site as well as some basic tips on how to use the site better:

  1. Review the video tutorials that help you understand the design and history of the site.
  2. Print out the ESL Study Handouts that can be very helpful to teachers and students.
  3. Create a study plan by using my Self-Study Guide. You can select listening and video activities by topic.
  4. Check out the over 300+ vocabulary quizzes that go with the listening activities. These are designed to review the key vocabulary in my conversations.
  5. Check out some of my newest culture videos to which I will be adding more this month.
  6. Contact me with an idea or suggestion for new listening activities.
  7. Visit my Facebook page where I post other learning tips and ideas.

I look forward to creating more new content during the last part of this year.

Randall

Web Site Update – August 2019

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Well, the new Web site has been up for about three weeks, and I have heard a lot of useful feedback, specifically on what teachers and students find most useful for their learning. One of the projects that is almost complete are the ESL Vocabulary Quizzes HERE that people have enjoyed over the years—about 350 of them!!

I have also been adding into the lessons the idioms section that teachers and students found useful, and you can see these near the topic of most listening activities.

 

 

Feel free to contact me if you have more questions or ideas.

Randall

New Web Site Update – July 2019

Written by Randall on . Posted in updates.

Hi everyone.

I want to welcome you to the new Web site design of Randall’s ESL Cyber listening Lab. I’m excited to move forward with a new chapter in the 21-year history of my online listening learning center, and I look forward to meeting the interests and needs of learners and teachers for years to come. I suggest checking the new video tutorials HERE to learn more about the site.

Since the Web site is just being released, there are certainly things to tweak and fix. Please CONTACT ME if you run across something.

Changes I still am working on include:

  1. Adding the the previous idioms into each listening activity.
  2. Revising the old vocabulary quizzes to see if they can be included again. The old were based on an old format that wasn’t compatible with mobile devices.
  3. Verifying that all of the audio files go with the correct listening activities.
  4. Checking to make sure all of the correct answers appear for each listening quiz.

Best,

Randall