Using The Listenings

We have some great listening resources here on esl-lounge Premium. These listenings can be used either as a part of a comprehensive, integrated listening lesson or can be used as a stand-alone activity.

On this page, you will find some information about how to use the listening section of esl-lounge Premium. If you are already familiar with using these listening files, go straight to the Listening Bank itself where you will find all the listenings (together with transcripts) and ordered by level.

Getting the listenings into your classroom.

Here is a step-by-step guide to getting the mp3 listening files from this site to your classroom.

1. All the listenings can be found in one section of the site: the Listening Bank. There you will find all the mp3 files and also the transcripts (in PDF format) for each one.

If you go to the Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate or Advanced pages, you will find that each level has a listening page where the lesson plans that include the mp3's can be found.

2. So you can use the mp3 files/PDF transcripts either as stand-alone listenings OR together with the full lesson plans which will also include vocabulary exercises and listening comprehension exercies.

3. When you know which mp3/transcript you want, go to the Listening Bank to retreive it.

4. Right click your mouse on the "Download File" link. Choose "Save Target As" (as illustrated below) and save the mp3 either to your Desktop or to another folder on your computer. All the mp3 files are pretty big - about 1 or 2 mb, so it may take a couple of minutes to download, depending on your modem speed. If you are using Firefox, you need to right click and select "Save Link As".

5. Now right click your mouse on the "Download Transcript" link. This will allow you to save the PDF document which is the transcript of the mp3 audio file. That way, you can use it yourself in class or choose to do a variety of activities with it in class with your students. Again, you will choose "Save Target As" to save the PDF transcript onto your computer in a location of your choosing.

6. That's it! You now have both the mp3 audio file and the PDF transcript document on your computer.

7. Now you need to get them into your classroom. The PDF transcript can be easily printed. Open the PDF (you may need the Adobe Reader to open these types of files but most computers already have it) and select "Print".

8. Now you need the mp3. Most teachers burn the mp3 audio files onto a CD using a burning application such as Nero or Easy CD. That way, you can either burn the mp3 onto the CD as "data", in which case they will stay as mp3's or you can choose to burn them onto the CD as "audio", in which case they will be transformed into audio files that your average CD player will also be able to recognise.

9. You can also leave the mp3 files as they are on your computer and just bring your laptop PC into the classroom and play them off it using some speakers.

If you have any queries at all about how to use the listening files on esl-lounge Premium, don't hesitate to contact us and ask us anything you like.

The Listening Code Numbers

Each listening is given a code number to for ease of use. This is the code number that is used in the Teacher's Notes in each lesson plan.

If you see in the Teacher's Notes something such as "for this part of the lesson, use listening file 2L6", then you know to come to this part of the site and find the relevant file. On most occasions, the listening file code number will coincide with the lesson plan code number but there will often be times when a listening can be used with more than one lesson plan as a supplementary material.

The first number in a listening code refers to the level:

1 - elementary
2 - pre-intermediate
3 - intermediate
4 - advanced

So you know listening 2L6 would be found under the pre-intermediate part of this section of the site.

Some lesson plans may not be integrated listening lessons but may be improved with the inclusion of a listening file from the Listening Bank. So sometimes in the Teacher's Notes, we may make suggestions as to other listenings that could be used to supplement a particular lesson.

Similarly, the listening files may be used as stand-alone listenings to back up what a teacher is doing in the classroom on any number of language areas. Keep an open mind as to how the audio files may be used to help and improve your teaching.

The Transcripts

Every listening you will find on esl-lounge Premium comes with a high quality PDF transcript. You can choose to use these in a variety of ways such as gap-filling (cloze), cut up and re-order or just to help students with a difficult listening.

If you find any mistakes in the transcripts, be sure to let us know. Thank you.