ELASH / Test Prep Classes

ELASH / Test Prep Classes Online and Print Based Materials for Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension & Language Usage The aim of the ELASH/Test Prep Classes is to make the students comfortable with the testing format and get them accustomed to using academic English. Though much of the reading in the reading comprehension study is done independently, the aim of this class is to use the time together to interact and discuss the questions. Students are encouraged to analyze their answers and use their wrong answers as a learning opportunity. Print-based Resources: We are currently using three books for ELASH classes. These include TEST SMART! Ready-to-Use Test-Taking Strategies and Activities for Grades 5-12 by Gary Abbamont and Antoinette Bresher, Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test – Skills and Strategies by Deborah Philips, and Longman Introductory Course for the TOEFL Test by Deborah Phillips. All three books focus on test taking preparation. They also focus on reading, language and writing skills. Photocopies from the book can be made for students to work from, but during class time they should be used interactively as much as or more so than independently. Online Reading Comprehension Resources: The following websites can be posted on the OHP or viewed by students on their laptops. They are specifically designed for ESL students with aim of keeping learning interesting. For higher level students, however, it may be more appropriate to use current news websites such as Huffington Post, New york Times, Democracy Now, The Guardian, etc. Allowing students to choose the articles and topics which interest them encourages engagement in the content. Short stories such as those sent weekly with a free subscription to http://www.chickensoup.com/ can also offer highly engaging material as they are often emotionally appealing. http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/reading-intermediate.php This website has a variety of reading exercises. The topics are fairly interesting and the exercises vary with each passage. Some activities provide a short passage with multiple choice, true or false questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, sequencing etc. There are also a few other types of exercises such as matching proverbs, etc. http://www.newscientist.com/topic/teenagers This site offers current news articles relevant to teenagers. There are no comprehension questions or vocab review but the articles are of a higher interest level for students and a great basis for discussion.

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/reading.htm This website has some interesting articles with true and false comprehension questions. It prepares students with a list of vocabulary words. The variety of articles and activities is very limited though. http://www.elcivics.com/worksheets/reading.html This website provide printable reading comp worksheets. The level is a little low for high school, so this is better for lower level students. http://www.elcivics.com/worksheets/reading.html This site has different levels of reading comprehension exercises as well as vocabulary practice and grammar practice. The pages are printable but you can keep the activity on screen and used it interactively. Online Listening Comprehension Resources: The following websites are some of the best I have found for listening comprehension activities. Though your best resource will be your own discussions and interactions with students, these websites offer great news stories and dialogues on which you may base your discussions. It is also great for students to hear a variety of accents and speed of conversation, so I would encourage you to use a variety of the resources. For higher level students, you may also consider listening to podcasts on topics that interest the class. I have listed two at the bottom of this resource list but I encourage you to talk with your students and find podcasts on topics in which they might be interested. http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ This is an excellent site for listening comprehension. It offers a couple thousand articles on various interesting topics. The articles are in both print and audio form. The audio files are available in five levels: slowest, slower, medium, fast, & fastest. There are also multifarious comprehension activities that accompany each article. http://www.elllo.org/english/index-recent.htm This is another really good listening comprehension site. It offers a short dialogue with script about various topics. It has a vocabulary tab which covers key vocab, idioms and sayings from the script. The audio repeats the word several times, uses it in a sentence then provides an explanation. There is also a vocab and comprehension quiz to review as well as speaking and writing exercises. https://www.englishlistening.com/ This website offers a variety of short dialogues and monologues on various topics. The site allows you to filter through subjects, accents, speed of dialogue and difficulty levels. After listening students can take a test or read the transcript.

https://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html This site is better for lower level students. The podcasts cover various topics and are spoken very clearly and slowly. The transcripts are provided but any additional material is only available with a paid subscription. http://freakonomics.com/radio/ http://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast Freakonomics Radio and This American Life are two really great resources for higher level students. The hosts generally speak in a slow but natural manner and the variety of topics covered are both vast and interesting. You may want to assign the podcasts in advance so that students can listen to the podcasts at home as many times as they need. You can the use class time to discuss the content and even replay some of the material if needed. Online Language Usage Resources: Language Usage should be a focus that is incorporated throughout the course rather than specifically focused upon as a separate entity. That being said however, you may find that there are specific areas of concern with which student need additional practice. The following websites offer a variety of practice exercises sorted by grammar topic. The exercises can be assigned individually to students or worked on together as a class. http://englishteststore.net/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=10679&Itemid=440 http://a4esl.org/q/h/grammar.html https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-exercises http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/ http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/exercises.php