Recommended Lab Practice for ESL 324 ESL 194 for ESL 324 is a lab course designed to help you excel in Listening and Speaking Skills Development. Suggested programs and activities for lab practice are listed below. INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE AND HOW TO USE IT: ♦ Longman English Assessment       • Open the Assessment icon on the desktop. First time users please create and set your profile to track your scores.       • Take the Interest Survey, a seven-question survey that will determine the appropriate tests for you.       • Take the Find your Level test, which will indicate a beginning, intermediate, or advanced level.       • After you find your level, on the Test Home page, choose Listening and take the test at your recommended level.       • You will receive your score after the test. Click on Test Home to see the links to your score report and a page listing recommended listening strategies.      • If you scored at a high-beginning to low-intermediate level, begin English Interactive 2 (English 2) on the desktop or Business English if business is your interest.      • If you scored at a mid-or high-intermediate level, begin English Interactive 3 (English 3) on the desktop or Talking Business if that is your interest.      • If you scored at the advanced level, begin English Interactive 4 .      • For all of the above programs, be sure to create and set your profile to keep a record of your scores. ♦ If you do not use Longman English Assessment for placement purposes, English 3 is recommended for ESL 324. To focus on Business content, use Talking Business ♦ North American Idioms      • Open the icon on the desktop. Select one of the 16 units. Each unit covers 12 idioms and includes a video segment along with a lot of activities to master the idioms in everyday language. It is recommended that you master the first 8 units in ESL 324. Listening & Speaking Challenge      • Use the 12 idioms in each chapter in original sentences. Review your sentences with a lab instructor or share them with a partner or small group of students.      • Write a dialogue using several of the idioms. Read the dialogue with a partner. ♦ Short Takes 2      • Borrow the CD-Rom and watch short videos on various topics. Each lesson includes speaking, grammar, and vocabulary practice. LISTENING TO LECTURES AND NOTE TAKING: ♦ Lecture Ready 1: You can borrow the textbook and DVD or audio CD. Please don't write in the book. ♦ Contemporary Topics 2: You can borrow the DVD and Audio CD. See the Instructional Assistant to request print material for a chapter. GROUP ACTIVITIES: Challenge your listening & speaking skills      • Watch a lecture from one of the above programs with a small group. Take notes as you watch. Use your notes to discuss the main points of the lecture with your group. Then express your opinions about the lecture. Did you like it? Was it interesting? Was the topic important? Why or why not?      • Small group activity: Three to four students listen to different lectures. Students then meet and use their notes to tell their partners what the lecture was about.      • Watch a video from Reading Explorer 2 with two or more students. Write down three or four questions about the video segment. Take turns asking and answering the questions each student wrote. LISTENING TO MEDIA MATERIALS FOR COURSE TEXTS ♦ NorthStar 3: Listening and Speaking ~ Video and audio CDs ♦ Q: Skills for Success 3 / Listening and Speaking ~ Listening and Speaking ONLINE PRACTICE Go to www.eslstation.net and open the Listening & Speaking link under the ESL 320 series of courses. When studying online, keep track of your time on the lab time sheet and bring it to the lab each time you have completed 4 hours (240 minutes) of practice at home. The last chance to turn in a time sheet is 2:00 P.M. on Friday of the 15th week (the week before final exams). Listening & Speaking Challenge      • Scroll to Video Archive on CNN Student News. Three to four students will each listen to the lead news story from a different day. Use who, what, when, where, why, and how questions to write down the important information. Then report the lead story to your partners.      • Borrow the digital voice recorder from the instructional assistant. Using your notes, make your own recording of the lead story. Save your sound file on the desktop and email it to yourself and/or your instructor. (Be sure to listen to yourself and write down words you need to practice.) Directions for using the digital recorder (or Audacity) are in the lab.      • Check your Moodle page often as you will find your class assignments and other links your instructor may post for practice.