Here's one more resource for tonight:
NPR (National Public Radio) is a treasure trove of ESL teaching tools for the upper levels with the extensive free audio/visual materials they host on their site. They have news articles ranging from serious political topics for the argumentative students, to business news for the money-minded, to culture pieces that everyone can learn from.
I particularly enjoy using their StoryCorp audio clips, since they are authentic American stories that are usually short (about 3 or 4 minutes) and all come with transcripts (if you look closely at the website). The people being interviewed use extremely authentic language, and it's a great tool for breaking down real American English.
They usually have a...sad...focus to them however, as a drawback. I certainly had to veto quite a few I was listening to since they were making me tear up.
Only this past year did I discover Animated StoryCorp which has very useful videos accompanying some of the stories.
I watched the animated story about Ronald McNair, an African American astronaut who was on the Challenger Shuttle, with a private student recently and we both found it to be a GREAT discussion piece. I recommend watching it with higher-level students if you are discussing racism or race relations, plans for future occupations, or space travel, as it has elements of all three.
I prepared a list of useful vocabulary, content questions and discussion questions as well, if they are beneficial to anyone.
Here is the pdf download link.
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