Table of Contents:
1. School-based resources for ESOL
2. Commercial resources for ESOL
3. Picture/clipart resources
4. Resources for ESOL-specialized texts, picture books, or picture dictionaries
5. Word and language games
6. Resources for work and language games
7. Software
8. Resources for software
9. Useful ESOL websites
10. Other Resources
1. School-based resources for ESOL
A. Hilsborough County's Public School webpage http://esol.mysdhc.org/ containts information for both students, teachers, and parents about ESOL education resources available in the district.
2. Names and contact information of ESOL speciliasts for each high school
3. Bilingual school psychologists/ social workers/ guidance counselors
4. Information regarding the Title III grant
5. Immigrant Acculturation Center
2. Commercial resources for ESOL
A. Easi-Speak PRO USB Recorder - $89.99
http://www.learningresources.com/
This MP3 recorder offers and fun and efficient way to record presentations, reports, interviews and podcasts. With its 2 headphone jacks it can allow two people to listen without disrupting the rest of the classroom. The recordings can easily be downloaded to a computer or uploaded onto a website. This could be helpful for teachers to record lessons, ideas or thoughts. It could also he beneficial for students to practice giving reports or to record online podcasts.
B. Reading Rods Word for Word Phonics Game - $32.99
http://www.learningresources.com/
This fun and fast paced game makes students build words within a two-minute time limit. The game can be customized to work with varied levels of reading and word-building skills.
C. Side by Side Book 1 by Steven J. Molinsky $27.20
This is the first book of a series of books by Steven Molinsky. The lessons in the book can be used at home but are also great in the classoom. They consist of colorful pictures and photographs used to teach basic grammar, object identification, build vocabulary and practice pronunciation.
http://www.amazon.com/Side-Student-Book-Third-Edition/dp/0130267449
D. Verb Cubes - $7.49
http://www.learningresources.com/
These yellow foam cubes can be used to increase understanding of verbs and can be utilized in impromptu lesson plans. Students can pass the cubes around the classroom and create phrases or sentences based on the verbs on the blocks.
http://www.learningresources.com/product/teachers/shop+by+subject/language+arts/product+type/verb+cubes.do?sortby=&
E. Hidden Hints Mystery Word Game - $21.99
http://www.learningresources.com/
Students learn new vocabulary and how to use context clues in the simple classroom game. This games challenges students by making them discover word meaning based on clues. This inexpensive, yet interesting game would be ideal for a classroom reward, or for something to do if students finish their work early.
3. Picture/Clip Art Resources
1. http://www.pppst.com/clipart.html
This website contains over 1500 pieces of clip art that can be used in any non-profit scenario. It contains clip art for Language Arts, Science, Social Students, Holidays, School, and more. These pieces of clip art can be added to presentations or handouts to make them more appealing and understandable.
2. http://www.esl-kids.com/flashcards/flashcards.html
This website contain flashcards that can be used to teach vocabulary and can also be integrated into various other ESOL lessons.
3. http://www.teacherfiles.com/clip_art.htm
This website offers multiple different themes of clipart. They can be used in presentations and handouts to make them more appealing and understandable. The also can be used in posters and diagrams to be displayed around the classroom.
4. http://www.graphicsfactory.com/search/teacher_P1.html
This colorful clip art can be used to add creativity to classroom projects and handouts. It can also be displayed around the room to draw attention to certain objects around the classroom.
5. http://havefunteaching.com/tools/clip-art/
This site has a many different types of clipart. One specific kind that I found interesting was the Alphabet Clip Art. It can be displayed around the classroom to help teach students the basic fundamentals of the English language.
4. Resources for ESOL- Specialized texts/ picture books/ picture dictionaries
1. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss - $8.99
This whimsicle book is interesting to everyone regardless or age.
http://www.seussville.com/books/book_detail.php?isbn=9780394800011
2. Oxford Picture Dictionary by Oxford University Press - $24.94
3. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault - $17.99
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom/John-Archambault/9780671679491
4. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter - $6.99
5. I Hate English by Ellen Levine - $35.94
5. Word and Language Games
1. Scrabble http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble/en_US/
The object of scrabble is to score more than your opponent. Points are gained by placing words on a game board where each letter has a different point value. The higher scoring letter combination the better.
This game could be used to familarize students with vocabulary words. Students not only have to make sure their words are correct but they must also ensure that their opponents words are correct. Students could be given dictionaries in order to expand their options and to check the words of their opponents
2. Boggle http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=73DA2073-7419-1014-92FB-A61F6667B7F9:en_US
Boggle consists of a tray of 16 randomized cubes. Each side of the cube consists of different letters. The object of the game is to create as many words using the 16 given letters shown on the tray.
This game would be great to enhance quick thinking and word recognition. Students could play against one another in the classroom or students can play against themselves, simply trying to increase the amount of words found in the given time.
6. Resources for Word and Language Games
1. Word Confusion
The website funbrain.com has a game called "word confusion" which students must select the correct word to complete each sentence. There are two settings, easy and hard. Students must select the correct word between two homonyms. If the student selects the wrong word they are given an explanation as to why. Once the students have completed the game they are given a score with the date and time of completion. Students and teachers can print this out for their records.
http://www.funbrain.com/whichword/index.html
2. The Plural Girls
The website funbrain.com has a game called "The Plural Girls" which students must select the correct version of the plural words. There are four settings, multiple choice, tough multiple choice, fill in the blank, and tough fill in the blank. Students are given a random singular word and must select the correct plural version of the word. This game helps to review the different ways to make a word plural and can also help with word recognition. Once the students have completed the game they are given a score with the date and time of completion. Students and teacehrs can print this out for their records.
http://www.funbrain.com/plurals/index.html
3. Jeopardy Quiz Show - Verb Tenses, Past Simple, Future, Perfect
The website eslgamesworld.com contains many different fun esl games. They have a wide variety of grammar games and exercise. One inparticular being the Jeorpardy Quiz Show. This game can have up to four teams who will participate in a Jeopardy like show. This particular game focuses on verb tenses.
http://www.eslgamesworld.com/members/games/ClassroomGames/Quizshow/Verb%20Tenses%20Past,%20Future,%20Perfect%20Present/index.html
4. Billionaire Prepositions of Place Game
This is another eslgamesworld.com game. This particular game focuses on prepositions. It can either be a one or a two player game. Students must correctly answer the first question to move onto the next one, and so on. Students have the option to pick 50/50 to leave only two possible correct answers if they are struggling. This could be done as a class activity where various rewards are given depending on how far students get in the game.
5. Mad Libs
This is a funbrian.com game. Students are given a choice of words and must pick/or write verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs and various other parts of speech. Once they have selected the words they are compiled into a humerous story. Students could create their own mad lib and then present it to the class. This is a fun experience!
7. ESOL Software
Rosetta Stone
The project was founded in 1992 by Fairfield Language Technologies and Allen Stoltzfus in Harrisonburg, Virginia. RosettaStone can be used for personal, business, government, education, and homeschooled usage. Through Rosetta Stone you can learn at your own pace, perfect your pronunciation. It helps with natural discovery, speech activation, and native socialization. Currently Rosetta Stone its the world's #1 language-learning software. The software can be used outside of the classroom as extra work and to help learn along the way.
8. Resources for Software
This website can benefit both students and teachers. It offers multiple ways for students to improve their English skills. Students can talk to someone in English, learn new vocabulary, read an article, practice pronunciation and even study current events. Teachers can use this website to find a textbook, find a job or school, search for resources or share their ideas.
I chose this website because it is simple to maneuver around, it is simple to understand and it can benefit almost anyone.
This site specifies in perfecting English grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. It also consists of a full-text translation and multilingual dictionary. This website is extremely helpful for ELL students when they are writing papers and doing projects. The site also offers an error-explanation tool so they can not only understand what they're doing wrong, but also why.
3. http://www.WondrousWorksheets.com/
This website offers a plethora of educational worksheets for teachers in almost all subject matters. It costs $11.95 for 1 year's subscription. This site would be beneficial for teachers trying to written homework or classwork assignments for their students.
4. http://www.learningchocolate.com/
This website has an excess amount of different vocabulary words. They are sectioned into different topics. This website can be helful for students while writing papers on a particular topic. It could help to expand their vocabulary and enhance their writing.
5. http://www.eslteachersboard.com/
This website has information for ESL teachers, ESL resources, ESL schools, self growth, and ESL students. This website is beneficial for both ESL students and their teachers.
9. Useful ESOL Websites
1. http://www.tesall.com/
This website shows postings for TESOL jobs, schools, and courses. It consists of a discussion board, lesson plans, resources, teachers websites, teachers articles, and teacher videos.
2. http://www.rong-chang.com/ex/contents.htm
This websites consists of advanced english grammar exercises. They range from the topic of: a/an, count and non-count nouns, and adjectives and adverbs.
3. http://www.englishforum.com/00/
This website has dictionaries and references, message boards, interactive exercises, and student sections. It also has an online ETL Book catalogue, a teachers section and a good English language school guide.
This online resource is for teachers and students can get help speaking, listening, grammar, pronunciation, business, writing, reading, vocabulary, TOEFL and idioms.
About.com has different segments based on different aspects of the English language. Students can find information on telephone etiqutte to basic sentence structure. The website is easy to navigate and has fun and interesting examples.