Reading and Listening Resources
- This I Believe has a large collection of opinion essays. You can hear the writer read his or her essay.
- Breaking News English has news articles and activities to go with them at a variety of levels. You can listen to some articles.
- Voice of America has articles on current events and American history.
Just Listening
- Daniel Coffeen's Podcasts at Podomatic are challenging but engaging. The Rhetoric 10 lectures were recorded at UC Berkeley.
- On This American Life, the host has a topic and asks different people to talk about their experiences.
- On the show Stuff You Should Know, two hosts research and talk about a topic. I enjoyed their episodes on bail and knights. Watch the videos or listen to the podcast.
- The New Yorker's Fiction Podcast features authors who read and talk about short stories by other authors. My personal favorites are "Signs and Symbols" by Vladimir Nabokov (spoiler: it's depressing) and "The Man of the World" by Frank O'Connor.
Just Reading
- Books That Grow has classic short stories that have been simplified. Each story has several levels. You must sign up to access the stories.
- ESL Garden has short lessons on American history and famous Americans. The creator, Dan Spalding, has written these texts with a strong focus on learning for social justice.
- Newsela is a subscription based site that has leveled news articles.
- Check out my personal reading list for ESL students
Blogs are another way to practice reading in English, and usually the writers include a lot of pictures. Pick a topic you enjoy, and subscribe to a blog or two. I like Smitten Kitchen, The Sartorialist, and the fascinating Humans of New York.
