Elllo: A global online laboratory to improve English listening skills

In today's globalized era, the importance of English as an international language is self-evident. Whether it is academic research, business communication or daily communication, the ability to listen to English is indispensable. However, for many non-native English learners, improving English listening skills is not an easy task. Fortunately, with the development of the Internet, more and more online resources have provided convenience for learners. Among them, Elllo (English Listening Lesson Library Online) is undoubtedly a platform worthy of attention.

What is Elllo?

Elllo is a famous English listening learning website in Japan. It was founded by Japanese English education expert Todd Beuckens in 2003. Its full name is English Listening Lesson Library Online , which means "online English listening course library". The uniqueness of Elllo is that it includes listening materials from English speakers from all over the world, covering a variety of English accents and dialects. This allows learners to be exposed to a real and diverse English voice environment, so that they can better adapt to English with different accents.

Elllo's core features

Elllo's core goal is to help learners improve their English listening skills. To achieve this goal, it provides the following features:

• Globalized listening materials : Elllo's listening materials come from English speakers all over the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and other countries and regions. This diverse audio material allows learners to be exposed to English with different accents, thereby improving their listening adaptability.
• Wide range of topics : Elllo's listening materials cover a variety of topics, including sports, travel, games, culture, technology, daily life, etc. These topics are not only close to life, but also interesting and can stimulate learners' interest.
• Difficulty level : Elllo's listening materials are divided into different levels according to difficulty, from elementary to advanced, suitable for learners of different levels. Learners can choose the appropriate materials to practice according to their own level.
• Interactive exercises : Each listening material is equipped with corresponding exercises, including multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, true-or-false questions, etc. These exercises help learners consolidate the listening content and improve their comprehension ability.
• Free to use : Elllo is a completely free online resource that allows learners to access the website anytime, anywhere to practice listening.

Elllo's Learning Resources

Elllo's resource library is very rich. The following are its main types of learning resources:

1. Listening Lessons

Elllo's core resource is the listening course. Each course contains an audio or video clip, a corresponding transcript and exercises. The topics of the courses cover all aspects of daily life, such as shopping, travel, work, study, etc. Learners can improve their listening comprehension skills through these courses while learning related vocabulary and expressions.

2. Mixer

Mixed courses are one of the features of Elllo. Each mixed course contains six audio clips of different people talking about the same topic. Learners can learn different people's views on the same topic through these courses, while learning English with different accents.

3. Videos

Elllo also offers a series of video courses covering topics such as culture, travel, technology, etc. These videos not only provide rich visual information, but also help learners better understand the pronunciation and intonation of English.

4. News

News courses are another great resource for Elllo. These courses are themed around news events, helping learners understand global hot topics while improving their listening skills in news English.

5. Games

In order to make learning more interesting, Elllo also provides some game-themed courses. These courses help learners consolidate listening content through games and improve their learning enthusiasm.

How to use Elllo for learning?

Elllo is very easy to use. Here are the specific steps to learn it:

1. Choose a course : Visit the Elllo website ( www.elllo.org ) and choose the appropriate course based on your English level and interests.
2. Listen to the audio or watch the video : Listen carefully to the audio or watch the video and try to understand it. If you come across words or sentences you don't understand, you can check the transcript.
3. Complete exercises : Each lesson is accompanied by corresponding exercises, which help learners to consolidate the listening content and improve their comprehension skills.
4. Review and summarize : After finishing a lesson, learners are advised to review and summarize. They can take notes to record the newly learned words and expressions and apply them in their daily lives.

Elllo's Advantages

Compared with other English learning platforms, Elllo has the following advantages:

• Diverse audio materials : Elllo's listening materials come from English speakers around the world, covering a variety of English accents and dialects. This diverse audio material allows learners to better adapt to English with different accents.
• Topics close to life : Elllo's listening materials cover all aspects of daily life, such as shopping, traveling, work, study, etc. These topics are not only close to life, but also interesting and can stimulate learners' interest.
• Free to use : Elllo is a completely free online resource that allows learners to access the website anytime, anywhere to practice listening.
• Strong interactivity : Each listening material is equipped with corresponding practice questions, including multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, true-or-false questions, etc. These exercises help learners consolidate the listening content and improve their comprehension ability.

Limitations of Elllo

Although Elllo is an excellent platform for learning English listening, it also has some limitations:

• Lack of system : Although Elllo's courses are rich in content, they lack system. For learners who need to learn English systematically, they may need to combine other resources for learning.
• Slow update speed : Elllo's courses are updated relatively slowly, which may be insufficient for some learners who want to learn about the latest topics.

Conclusion

In general, Elllo is a very good English listening learning platform. Its diverse audio materials, topics close to life, and free resources make it the first choice for many English learners. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced learner, you can find listening materials suitable for you on Elllo. Through continuous learning and practice, I believe your English listening level will be significantly improved. If you are looking for an online platform to improve your English listening skills, you might as well try Elllo, it may become a good assistant on your English learning journey.