Free ELT audio from Kevin McCaughey
Here is a brief little song – only one sentence – featuring the words of the American poet John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892). Step 1 Play the song and ask learners to write down the 17 words that make up the … Read More »
“The Antioxidant Song” (0:30) lists the top 10 foods that contain the most antioxidants – cancer-fighting properties – according to a recent study in Oslo, Norway. These top ten are not listed in any particular order. This song features the … Read More »
Here’s a short little poem by William Carlos Williams that I set to music. It’s sung by Christy McWilson. Play it and ask students to write down what they hear. They should get the whole poem down in a few listenings. … Read More »
Listen for the 15 missing vocabulary items in this text. They are all short, but even so, you may need to listen several times to be able to write them all. Yeah, (1) ________ a little story about my first … Read More »
Here’s a short poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) which I’ve rendered into song: a ready-to-use listening, vocabulary, and literature lesson. No materials necessary except for the audio. Step 1. Talk and write (before you listen) Look at the following 9 … Read More »
Here’s what you do with this song. You’ll hear a list of 16 adjectives that describe a person’s personality or behavior. The activity is a kind of race. Play the whole song all the way through (1:14), and let students, … Read More »
Here’s a mini C-test you can write on the board. It’s the words to a song called “Valentine’s Day Pie.” In a C-test the second half of every other word is missing. If the word has an odd number of … Read More »
Meet Esmerelda. This interview took place in the Blue Rock Shoot cafe. It’s real English in a real location, so there’s background noise. But it’s important to practice listening in just such environments. Listen to the short interview with Esmerelda … Read More »
In this 40-second song you’ll hear a list of chores. Most of these are fairly strong collocations (words that go together). For example, what word is likely to go with “sweep”? Right, “the floor.” That’s not the only possible combination, … Read More »
There’s a lot of mystery around the history of Valentine’s Day. In this audio, generously read by novelist Kristin Elizabeth Clark (Chunk, Jess, and the Road to Infinity, Freak Boy, Leaving The Bellweathers), we learn some strange, funny Valentine stuff. … Read More »
St. Valentine's Day: The History and Mystery of Valentine's Day [ 3:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2129)