Tool Snapshot

Elllo Overview

Elllo was designed in 2003 by Todd Beuckens, an English language teacher based in Japan. The site is constantly updated and maintained. On his web page, Todd asserted that “the aim of the site it to make learning English fun, effective, and free and to provide teachers and students with materials that you cannot find in traditional textbooks” (source). Find about more about Todd Beuckens on his twitter page: @elllotweet. The resources on the site are oriented to young adults and adults.

The website developer maintains a sister site that offers listening activities and games in Spanish as well http://www.spanishlistening.org.

ELLLO Overview Video

ELLLO & the SAMR Model

Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool.

Here is an example of how ELLLO fits the SAMR model:

• Substitution: Learners can practice using the website exercises instead of worksheets.
• Augmentation: ELLLO offers learners a variety of accents and stories from all over the world, which enhances traditional textbook-based learning.
• Modification: Learners can customize their own learning plan. They can select the level they are interested in and the type of activities that can help them improve listening skills and vocabulary.
• Redefinition: The site does not sufficiently support redefinition on its own. 

Learning Activities

Views

This category includes natural conversations about several topics. Users can select them according to country, topic or level.  There is an option for curated lists according to level. Check out this example on a conversation about Japanese Culture.

Mixer

This section collects 6 people from different countries who answer one question. You can check this example in which people from Canada, Mexico, and England share their opinions about the heroes they look up to:

Games

Games help contextualize the conversations. Users have to listen to a piece of a conversation, read a question,  and pick up the corresponding image. Check this game about aquarium animals:

Videos

Maybe one of my favorite activities is one-minute videos that feature stories from speakers from around the world. A transcript and a quiz are included, sometimes a printable worksheet is also available.

Research

Hadi, M. S., Izzah, L., & Fudiantari, S. M. (2021). The Use of ELLLO in Improving Teaching Listening to Students. Ethical Lingua: Journal of Language Teaching and Literature, 8(1), 86-89.

Palangngan, S. T., Atmowardoyo, H., & Weda, S. (2016). English Listening Lesson Library Online (ELLLO) as a Supporting Media in Learning Listening. ELT WORLDWIDE" Journal Of English Language Teaching", 3(1), 51-62.

Image Sources

All images sourced from elllo.org.