Little Victories

General
http://www.esl-lab.com/

​Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab. Many stories with pre-listening, listening, and post-listening exercises. The stories are divided into Easy, Medium, and Difficult categories, and you can also search for stories about particular topics.

http://www.voanews.com/   (VOA News main site)
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/index.cfm   (VOA Special English)

Voice of America News (VOA). Click the button for “Special English” or go to http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/index.cfm to listen to simplified news stories in extremely slow, careful, precisely pronounced Standard American English. There are complete transcripts for each story. In the regular news section, there are somewhat more difficult stories in clear, careful English that is not unnaturally slow.

http://www.penguindossiers.com/​

Penguin Dossiers (Penguin Publishing Co.). Read news stories and listen to many of them. Click on “Audio” at the top of the page for a list of all the stories that have sound recordings. The speaker has clear and careful pronunciation in an American accent, but it is not unusually slow. You can also print transcripts of the stories and comprehension questions (“Factsheets”).

http://breakingnewsenglish.com/

​Breaking News English. Listen to stories on current news topics in Easier and Harder versions. There are also vocabulary and comprehension exercises for before and after reading.

http://www.elllo.org/​

English Language Listening Lab Online. Hear recordings of native speakers from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, and Australia talking about themselves or telling stories. Most of it is unplanned, casual, authentic conversation rather than specially written stories. There are complete transcripts and comprehension questions for each story.

http://www.world-english.org/listening.htm

​World-English. Listen to radio broadcasts in English from the U.S., Canada, England, Australia, and other countries. There are listening comprehension exercises for some of the news stories.

http://www.npr.org/

​National Public Radio. Listen to real-time radio broadcasts or past programs that have been broadcast on public radio stations. Programs are authentic English and so are appropriate for higher-level learners. They cover a wide variety of topics.

by Donna Washington via The Art of Storytelling by Brother Wolf

I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner

I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee

And he fills it
Only halfway
And before
I even argue

He is looking
Out the window
At somebody
Coming in

"It is always
Nice to see you"
Says the man
Behind the counter

To the woman
Who has come in
She is shaking
Her umbrella

And I look
The other way
As they are kissing
Their hellos

I'm pretending
Not to see them
Instead
I pour the milk

I open
Up the paper
There's a story
Of an actor

Who had died
While he was drinking
It was no one
I had heard of

And I'm turning
To the horoscope
And looking
For the funnies

When I'm feeling
Someone watching me
And so
I raise my head

There's a woman
On the outside
Looking inside
Does she see me?

No she does not
Really see me
Cause she sees
Her own reflection

And I'm trying
Not to notice
That she's hitching
Up her skirt

And while she's
Straightening her stockings
Her hair
Has gotten wet

Oh, this rain
It will continue
Through the morning
As I'm listening

To the bells
Of the cathedral
I am thinking
Of your voice...

And of the midnight picnic
Once upon a time
Before the rain began...

I finish up my coffee
It's time to catch the train

-Suzanne Vega