Category: updates

Hi everyone,

Hi everyone,

As I reflect back on my teaching career and online presence, it is sometimes hard to comprehend that I started dabbling with creating websites 30 years ago. I was working in Japan, and I launched my first webpage on how to use email. Some of the services that I used in 1996 no longer exist, and the idea of creating online listening activities was almost unimaginable. People were still mailing letters . . . with stamps, reading a physical newspaper was so commonplace, and putting coins in a public phone was a part of daily life in some parts of the world.

I am both grateful for the advances in technology, but I also long for the simple pleasures of life. Cherish each moment you have.

Randall

Hello Everyone,

Randall will be speaking at the TESOL 2026 International Convention & Expo.

In a recent post, he shared the following thoughts about this event:

“The TESOL 2026 International Convention & Expo, the largest gathering of English educators in the world, is descending on Salt Lake City next month, and it is shaping up to be an exciting and invigorating experience. (March 24-27, 2026)

This year, 11 teachers and staff from my institute at the University of Utah will be involved in 8 different sessions covering the wide spectrum of research, program administration, teaching, and human development. These images give snapshots of some of our sessions.

In one session, I will speak with great candor about the physical and emotional challenges of participating in a 100-mile ultramarathon along the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and what this experience taught me about fear, heartache, resilience, and emotional support. I then use this story as a metaphor for life and describe how we can help teachers on the fringes of the profession who feel there is no place for them any longer.

When I attended my first TESOL convention 36 years ago, I couldn’t imagine being engaged at this level in the future. That was before email, Google, Facebook, texting, and all the fancy gadgets we have today. Fortunately, I am happy to still be around.

As always, I upload the handouts or PowerPoints to my website after my presentations at https://www.esl-lab.com/speaking-events/“

We are also working on adding more listening activities to the site. Check them out:

• Chore Wars
• Advertising Gimmicks
• Restaurant Recommendations
• Reality TV Entertainment

– Aubrey

Hello Everyone,

We have been making some formatting changes to improve readability. I have also started moving the Vocabulary and Sample Sentences from the transcript page to the main activity page to make the lessons easier to navigate.

In addition to formatting changes, we have also been working on creating more listening activities for the site. Here are the ones we posted in January:

• Offering Assistance
• Meeting Coworkers
• Coffee Shop
• Lunch Meals

We will be releasing more activities soon.  Stay tuned for more updates!

– Aubrey

Happy New Year!

As I have stated before, I started my website 28 years ago in 1998, and I never thought I would still be running AND developing my website after all this time, and yet, last year saw some of the greatest changes and additions to my site. Here is a short list of developments in no particular order.

1. Variable speed control – This feature was really huge in adding the ability for users to control the audio playback of conversations for more fine-tuned listening. Take a look at this feature in action – https://www.esl-lab.com/easy/family-recreation/.
2. Grammar Lessons – Although the main focus has been on listening, I wanted to expand its application to grammar as it relates to listening and speaking. There are 55 lessons at three levels (https://www.esl-lab.com/grammar/). There is also a section of problematic word pairs that often trip up students.
3. Agree/Disagree Statements – Teachers often look for warm-up activities to spark conversation. Now, most of my listening conversations have time.
4. Social media content – We have been publishing social media content to inform and promote my website content.
5. Social media reels – I have also been experimenting with short learning ideas and tips in the form of short video reels, now found on different platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
6. Numerous website enhancements – We have spent a lot of time adjusting website formatting issues, style changes, and navigation tweaks to improve content usability.
7. Content organization – We made a big change in how the listening activities are organized. For 25+ years, they were arranged in alphabetical order, but that didn’t help visitors find what they want and need. This past year, we rearranged the order of activities by topic. I think it makes more sense to have it that way. Take a look – https://www.esl-lab.com/easy/.

Many more tweaks have been made, and we look forward to more exciting changes in 2026.

Randall

Hi Everyone,

We are working on making some minor updates to the formatting of the website content to improve readability. We have also posted several new listening activities this month. Check them out:

• Meeting New Neighbors
• Evening Routine
• Morning Routine
• Homework Time

I am currently working on the additional content for the grammar section that I mentioned in our last update. We are on track to start publishing the new lessons in the next couple of weeks. These short lessons will focus on common grammar mistakes, starting with words that are often confused (for example, effect vs. affect).

-Aubrey

Hi Everyone,

A few minor site updates this month.

• Links for “Next” and “Previous” lessons have been added to the grammar section, most of the listening activities, and the English culture videos. This will also be added to other sections of the website.
• The listening activities have been updated to group them by category. Alphabetical order is still available for those who prefer the old order.
• Variable speed control has also been added to all listening activities on the site to give students and teachers more control over audio playback. I am also working on making some minor formatting changes across the site to improve readability.

In content news, we are working on adding new listening activities to the site. We are also looking at adding some more content to the grammar section of the website. Check out: Could I Have Your Name, Please?

Stay tuned for more updates.

-Aubrey

Hi everyone,

Several important changes are happening on my site.

First of all, I am going back to some of my classic recordings and restoring the audio (removing background noise, clips, hisses, and so forth) to provide the best audio quality possible.

Here is one example.

The old audio file with our son, Joshua.

The restored audio file. Do you hear a difference?

This will be a slow process over time, starting with the easy section, but I am committed to giving teachers and learners the best possible experience.

In addition, a great deal happened over the summer, and here are two major updates to my website. First, I have added a new grammar section with over 50 new lessons, audio recordings, explanations, self-assessments, and games.

The other upgrade has been adding variable speed control to many of my listening activities, so teachers and students have greater control over the audio playback. I have started this process with the easy and intermediate listening activities, and this will spread across the website over time.

Enjoy these new features.

Randall

Over the summer, I developed my newest section of my website on grammar, focused on improving students listening and speaking skills by seeing connections between grammatical accuracy and comprehension.

Here is a video tutorial on how to use these lessons. Enjoy!

Summertime is often when I find time to relax and also find opportunities to generate new ideas for future projects . . . and this summer has been no different. Our family spent time at a high-mountain lake and had a family reunion in a cabin in the perfect location to play games, go for a hike, and go tubing down a river.

That said, I have also been working a brand new section of my website that focuses on the connection between grammar and listening/speaking, and these activities will be available in August. Stay tuned.

Randall