http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/
BBC learning English boasts its long history of providing a good variety of free online materials for learners. Up to now, this website has two courses: one is intended for lower intermediate learners and the other for higher level ones. On a weekly basis, new interesting materials are introduced accompanied by audio and written texts, and sometimes videos as well.
BBC learning English boasts its long history of providing a good variety of free online materials for learners. Up to now, this website has two courses: one is intended for lower intermediate learners and the other for higher level ones. On a weekly basis, new interesting materials are introduced accompanied by audio and written texts, and sometimes videos as well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
In terms of pronunciation, this website offers “pronunciation tips” where the users can learn about the phonetic alphabets through step-by-step practice and practice pronunciation of each sound.
Studying the phonetic symbols with only oral explanations and a handout may certainly be demanding and demotivating for leaners. Thus, the website can be helpful for them to enjoy the visual and aural help without difficulty. The good thing is each sound has its own video instruction to demonstrate the movement of mouth and lips so the users can see how exactly the sound is pronounced. This visual aid is of great benefit particularly for teachers who do feel uncomfortable about demonstrating how to pronounce each sound clearly by themselves. It is quite hard for both teachers and leaners to pronounce some sounds of English that their first languages do not have.
Teachers can recommend this website for learners’ self-study but they can also be creative by introducing some activities with the use of this website to their speaking/listening classroom instructions. For example, “similar sounds exercises” can be a good introduction activity in which students can listen and check the differences between sounds in minimal pairs with their partners before their teacher gives them actual practice in class.