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Working Guide - Resource Curation for Welcoming Newcomers/ELL/ESL: Home

This guide is a curated collection of recommended resources to upload to the Welcoming Newcomers & International Ed pages on the Student Life portal

Introduction & Purpose of Page

Please use this guide to upload recommended resources to support our ESL/ELL students, teachers and communities.  

Resources for students

Text to Speech Tools (from Larry Ferlazzo)

There are several simple text-to-speech tools out there. All students have to do is copy a word a few sentences from something they’re reading and paste it on one of these sites. They will immediately hear the word pronounced. Students can do the same with their own writing to double-check if it “sounds” right.

All these tools are similar — they don’t require registration, you can choose which “voice” it speaks, and it’s spoken in a fairly decent computerized tone:

Cepstral

Oddcast

Voz Me

iSpeech

Nice Translator is the newest addition to this list.  One way it stands out is by translating into your chosen language as you write it.  Most other similar sites require you to input everything and click “enter” before it begins to translate.

The Oddcast Translator is different from the others in two ways — it provides audio as well as text translation, and you could only use it a few times for free before it requires to purchase the program.

The ESL Reader and the amazing Lingro operate with the same perspective. Once you either copy and paste words (The ESL Reader) or input a url address (Lingro), then all the words become “clickable.” Once you click on a word, you see the the meaning of the word in the language of your choice — English or in a student’s native language.

Resources for communities & partners

Spanish language resources for Home

Subject Specific Resources

Free online tools for ELLs to assess language levels

The British Council has just unveiled an online assessment. Since it’s the British Council, you know it’s got to be good.

Test Your Vocab is an online tool where learners can get a rough estimate of how many words they know in English.

Vocabulary Size works in a similar way.

Test Your English from Cambridge.

English Tag

Language Level

Exam English

Test Your English Level

Easy English

English Jet

Reader Miss H recommends Read Theory.

Reader Marion recommends Anglia

Pronunciation Sites & Apps (From American TESOL)

Recommended Tools and Apps

  • Sounds of Speech is an interactive site with various sounds and videos of people making these sounds. Find this also in German and Spanish.
  • Text2Phonetics is a web application that transcribes small English texts into broad phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
  • Sounds is a free app based on Adrian Underhill’s work. Language learners study, practice and play with pronunciation.
  • Pronunciation Power is another free app to learn all 52 sounds.
  • The Speech Flip Book is a free iOS app, which can be used for phonological awareness, apraxia, and articulation. It is interactive and visual.
  • Fun Easy English has videos with characters showing mouth movements.
  • English Central has many courses to master sounds and pronunciation.
  • HowJSay is a free online talking dictionary of English pronunciation.
  • Forvo is the pronunciation dictionary.
  • BBC Voices is no longer updated, but has many authentic voices using real English.

Kids Pronunciation Resources

  • Starfall is one of the best sites with games, stories, songs, and activities for children to practice pronunciation.
  • Dream English is a site with videos, songs, touch and say audio lesson mp3s, matching worksheets, and flashcards free to download.
  • Phonics Studio is a free iOS app that has 2500 visual flashcards with sounds.
  • M & M Lite is a free iOS app for creating phonic mix and match activities for young learners.
  • English Raven, Jason Renshaw, offers free downloads of phonics starter kits for kids.
  • ABC Fast Phonics has phonics tutorials and cartoons for children.
  • Neo K12 has several songs, games, and quizzes.
  • Reading Bear is a free site with videos, quizzes, and reviews for children to learn phonics