The other day I went to a Bon Jovi concert. I was never a big fan of Bon Jovi – I’ve never bought their albums. But a friend gave me a ticket, so I went, and after all I had a great time.

Before going, I downloaded all the Bon Jovi songs I could find. Listening to them on my iPod, I realized that I’d heard many of their hit songs on the radio, and in the background at various shops, over the last 20 years. But I was amazed to see how the music world has changed in these last twenty years. Now, after hearing about a new band, we can download their music quickly and easily – and enjoy their concert even more!

Do you download music? Do you listen to it on your iPod? Do you listen to podcasts?

You can find many scripts for TV and movies on the Internet. One site is called Drew's Script-o-Rama. I t has transcripts from television shows like West Wing and CSI, as well as popular movies.

Unfortunately, the site is not easy to navigate because it has a lot of advertisements. So, I'll guide you through looking for one script for West Wing. On the first page, click on the link under the picture called TV Scripts. On the next page, click on the S-Z link. Use the scroll bar on the right side to find The West Wing and click on it. On the next page, use the scroll bar at the right and find the Episode List on the left side. Select a season, for example Season 3. Then, click on an Episode such as 3.06, Gone Quiet. The next page will have the transcript. You can print it and read it, follow along as you watch the episode, and practice the conversations with a friend!

What are your favorite American TV shows or movies?

Do you have a favorite English musician?

Sue: John says I'm pretty. Andy says I'm ugly. What do you think, Peter?

Peter: I think you are pretty ugly.

Note: Insulting someone is often considered funny, especially when that person wants a complement.

Note: pretty ugly = very ugly

Here is a very easy song: I'm a Little Teapot. Listen to the song, and repeat along. Here are the words:

I'm a little teapot,
Short and stout.
Here is my handle.
Here is my spout.

When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout,
"Tip me over,
and pour me out."

You can learn this song on your computer, or you can also save it and copy it to your iPod (or other music player) and learn while walking around. It’s a lot of fun!

You can set iTunes to automatically download new songs to learn: iTunes > Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast…, and then paste http://www.manythings.org/songs/rss.xml

If you don’t use iTunes, you can find more songs to learn at the Learn a Song website. Enjoy!

If you use iTunes, just click Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast…, and then paste http://feeds.feedburner.com/voa After that, iTunes will automatically download the latest news, and copy it to your iPod, so that you can listen while working, exercising, or commuting.

You can see a list of all the VOA news programs. Click on “MP3” to listen to the file on your computer. You can also save the mp3 file to listen later. Click the title to read the text of the news article: You can read while listening! Click PopJisyo to read the English text with pop-up Japanese definitions. This is a great way to read and listen to English!

If you like to listen to stories, EigoTown has Classic Stories like Cinderella and A Christmas Carol, and Mysteries you can listen to on your MP3 Player. StoryPatch has stories about a playful raccoon named Fatty. On that site you can listen and read and look up difficult vocabulary in a learner’s dictionary.

If stories aren’t what you like to listen to, then Englishcaster has a long list of English podcasts for English Language Learners. Users have rated them, so you can find ones that other English students have enjoyed.

With podcasts, you can “Listen Up!” anywhere, even while you’re running!

Listening and reading are great ways to improve your vocabulary! So, Listen up!

There are several places to go on the Internet to listen to news. I will introduce you to some that are designed for English language learners.

The first site is called The Learning Edge. (It requires Flash Player. If you don’t have Flash Player installed on your computer, you can download it for free.) The Learning Edge is an interactive newspaper on interesting topics in Canada. You can read about health, diet, jobs, and culture.

When you click on Issue 1, the newspaper will open. Move your mouse over the text to select a story to read. Then, click the headline or the story to hear it and read it. This site is great for beginning English learners!

Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab offers listening practice quizzes at 3 levels: easy, medium, and difficult. If you click on the first easy one, Answering Machine, a new page will appear that has important vocabulary and questions to answer as you listen.

To listen, click either the Listen with Real Player button or the Listen with Windows Media Player button. Of course, you must have either Real Player or Windows Media Player installed on your computer. They’re free, so you can download them if you don’t already have one.

While you are listening, you should answer the quiz questions and then click the Final Score button to find out how well you could understand. If you want, you can listen again and again until you get a perfect score!

There are so many listening activities at Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab. It will give you listening opportunities for many days. So, everybody, “Listen up!”

If you have English-speaking friends who want to study Japanese or Chinese, or Spanish-speaking friends who want to read English, they can use Rikai.com to help read their languages too! Similarly, PopJisyo.com will help students studying or speaking Korean. I hope you - and all your friends - Japanese and foreign - enjoy using Rikai.com and PopJisyo.com.

Give it a try! Popjisyo.com

1. Go to Rikai.com in your browser.
2. If you see "Enter a web-address" in the center of the page, click the "Japanese (英和)" link in the upper right.
3. Select the text "http://" in the box at the left of the page.
4. Type or paste in any English text (such as "Hello. My name is Miyuki."). This could be text from an email or part of a web page. Or, you can type or paste the URL of any web page. For example, paste in the address of Russell's World: http://blog.eigotown.com/Russell_Willis/
5. Click the "Go" button. (You need to click this button. Unlike other web forms, you can't just hit the Enter or Return key on your keyboard.)
6. Point your mouse at any English word on the screen. A Japanese definition pops up! This is a really easy way to get help reading English; It's much easier than using a paper or electronic dictionary.

Today I'd like to introduce a great web service: Rikai.com. Rikai.com will help you read English web pages, by very easily showing you the Japanese meaning of any English words. I use it all the time. You could use it to help read English web pages, emails, or any other text on your computer. It's a great way to practice reading English, without having to look up words in a dictionary. Rikai.com looks them up for you! Give it a try; I think you'll use Rikai.com every day.

I hope that you decide to read this blog every day. If you do, you will every day get better and better at studying English! Let's surf and learn together!

• dictionaries and translation services - and ways to use them effectively
• how to find blogs and podcasts, and how to make your own
• all sorts of great information sources, like wikipedia, wikibooks, RSS feeds, and big news sites
• stories, songs, and music
• how to find and even make your own video programs
• how to find pen pals and chat partners
• educational games, quizzes, and flashcards that will make learning fun