Primary Mainstream Links

Speaking/Listening

• Common Mistakes in English by Language Background

  Typical mistakes made by different language groups. No sound files, but links to commonly used pronunciation books.

• Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Classroom

  An extensive collection of questions to develop students' conversational skills. Useful for pair work (Internet TESL Journal).

• Crossword Puzzle Generator Maker - Crossword Puzzle Creator

  This is an easy to use crossword maker. To add language value adapt the crossword so that each student has some of the answers and some of the clues and each student must find the missing clues/answers by asking their partner.

• English Listening Language Lab Online

  A wide variety of listening tasks with varied accents. For advanced students.

• Fonetiks

  Online pronunciation for a variety of derivations of the Queen's English, including Australian nuances and inflections.

• Fonetiks.org

  Online language laboratory, this page focusing on vowel sounds (British English).

• KS1 Bitesize (BBC)

  Interactive literacy games aimed at students in their first years at school. Includes phonics, sentence construction, punctuation, pronouns.

• LearnEnglish Kids

  LearnEnglish Kids is for young students who are learning English. Includes games, songs, stories and lots of activities (British Council).

• Listening Activities (British Council)

  Practical activities to help students with listening.

• National Education Monitoring Project

  2006 reports - Writing, Listening and Viewing, Health & Physical Education.

• Penguin Dossiers

  Monthly articles - Penguin Reader level 3. Archive of past Penguin Dossiers and worksheets. Dossiers include reading and listening practice, and vocabulary building.

• Read Please

  Text-to-speech software, some of it free.

• Say Hello to the World

  Learn about language and culture (the Internet Public Library, Kidspace).

• Ship or Sheep.com

  English language pronunciation practice with minimal pairs. Uses Flash.

• Stories in a Nutshell

  A collection of concise folktale plots for retelling by the teacher or student.

• Story Box (PIZZAZ)

  An oral method for creating stories. The stories can then be literally transcribed, or a retold version can be written down.

• Storytelling: A Foundational Pillar of Literacy

  Telling family stories develops student literacy - as Margaret Attwood describes.

• Telling Stories: Using Drama and Multimedia with ESL Students

  Storytelling through drama provides opportunities for students to develop language and higher order thinking skills. It also offers students the opportunity to use their background experience.

• Text to Speech Software with Natural Voices-- Free NaturalReader

  NaturalReader is software that converts text into natural sounding voices. A free download is available.

• Using Fairy Tales to Debate Ethics

  Suggested tips for running an ethics debate in the classroom (Education World).

• Yahooligans News

  News stories (including slide shows) for school students.