This is a list of websites and ideas which I compiled as part of a research project I am working on. You can bookmark this page and I will continue to add to the resources as I find new ones. I have not used all of these sites, and I am not endorsing any of these products! They seem like good or clever ideas and so it is up to you to choose which ones work best for you! As always, you should be careful when giving your personal information to anyone online.
Reading normal English books (Here are a few prestigious literary awards, browse their site to find the winners and also the shortlist of candidates for each year)
- http://www.themanbookerprize.com/
- http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Fiction
- http://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/
- Visit your local library or ask your friends!
Reading comic books
- Here is a list which has many excellent comics: http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/01/the-25-comic-books-you-need-to-read-before-you-die/
- Of course there are many more great comics! Ask your friends or post on a website for English learners (see below)
Reading English books for learners
- from Oxford: https://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/graded_readers/oxford_bookworms_library/
- from Cambridge: http://www.cambridge.org/us/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/cambridge-english-readers/components
- from Pearson: http://www.pearsonelt.com/products (click “graded readers” in the left column)
- from Macmillan: http://www.macmillanreaders.com/
- from Black Cat: http://www.blackcat-cideb.com/2-english-catalogue
Reading newspapers
- The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/
- The Times: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/
- The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
- The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/
- LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/
Reading news websites
- CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/
- BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/
- ABC (Australia): http://www.abc.net.au/news/
- CBC (Canada): http://www.cbc.ca/
Reading Wikipedia
Reading websites for English learners
- English Club: https://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/index.php
- Using English: http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/
- English Forums: https://www.englishforums.com/
Reading blogs, forums, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Reading information in cities or museums
Reading information about travel or tourism
- Trip advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/
Reading a text and answering questions after
- lessons from the Guardian newspaper: http://www.theguardian.com/education/series/classroom-materials
- lessons based on current news stories: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/index.html
Reading a text for fun
- any text will do!
Reading about photographs
- The Big Picture: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/bigpicture
- Guardian photos: http://www.theguardian.com/media/news-photography
- Associated Press photos: http://www.apimages.com/
- Reuters photos: https://pictures.reuters.com/
Listening to music
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
- Spotify: https://www.spotify.com
- Last FM: http://www.last.fm/
- SHOUTcast: http://www.shoutcast.com/
Listening to songs and reading the words
- Lyrics Training: http://lyricstraining.com/
- Lyrics Gaps: http://www.lyricsgaps.com/
- Tune Into English: http://www.tuneintoenglish.com/
Listening to the radio
- BBC Radio: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio
- National Public Radio (from the USA): http://www.npr.org/
Listening to podcasts
- Podcast Alley has a good collection: http://www.podcastalley.com/
- This article offers more places and apps you can use to get podcasts: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-is-the-best-way-to-find-new-podcasts/
Watching videos, films or TV shows
- Netflix (this is a paid service and may not be available in all countries): https://www.netflix.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
Watching videos online (Youtube, TED, etc.)
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
- TED (see below for more information about TED): http://www.ted.com/
Listening to audiobooks
- LibriVox: https://librivox.org/
- Open Culture: http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks
- Loyal Books: http://www.loyalbooks.com/
Listen to a text and read the words
- Voscreen (a fun game using Youtube videos with subtitles): http://www.voscreen.com/
- TED (extremely interesting talks and a very good interactive transcript feature): http://www.ted.com/
- Euronews (many of the news stories have the text below the video): http://www.euronews.com/
Listen to a text and answer some questions
- elllo: http://elllo.org/
- Learn English Feel Good (uses clips from Youtube): http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/eslvideo/
- Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab: http://www.esl-lab.com/
Playing video games in English (You can find games anywhere! You can buy games for your phone or tablet using your device’s store. If you are looking for games for your PC, you can try these sites–they are stores which sell games)
- Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/
- Good Old Games: http://www.gog.com/
Doing grammar exercises on the computer, smartphone or tablet
- Beginner grammar: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar
- Intermediate grammar: http://www.englishpage.com/grammar/index.html
- Advanced grammar: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/combining_skills.htm
Doing grammar exercises in a book (Here are some books of grammar exercises that I can recommend. I am linking to the publishers’ websites, you will need to find where to buy or borrow them–sometimes you can find them in a library!–where you are.
- Grammar in Use Beginner (Cambridge): http://www.cambridge.org/us/cambridgeenglish/catalog/grammar-vocabulary-and-pronunciation/essential-grammar-use-3rd-edition
- Grammar in Use Intermediate (Cambridge): http://www.cambridge.org/us/cambridgeenglish/catalog/grammar-vocabulary-and-pronunciation/english-grammar-use-4th-edition
- Grammar in Use Advanced: (Cambridge) http://www.cambridge.org/us/cambridgeenglish/catalog/grammar-vocabulary-and-pronunciation/advanced-grammar-use-3rd-edition
- Practical Grammar (Cengage) (all 3 levels can be seen on this page): http://ngl.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?N=4294918545%20200&Ntk=P_EPI&Ntt=39465039745805225621259515511799851093&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial#ProductsIncluded
Reading about grammar rules
- see the books and websites listed above
Reviewing my grammar notes
Re-writing my grammar notes
Asking a friend about grammar rules
Helping a friend learn a grammar rule
Doing extra grammar exercises from my course book
Doing grammar exercises from an old course book
Doing grammar exercises from a DVD or website connected to my course book
Helping someone with their English homework (you can also ask your own questions on these sites for free)
- English Club: https://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewforum.php?f=139
- Using English: http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/
- English Forums: https://www.englishforums.com/
Using a translation dictionary
- This depends on your language! I’m sure you or your friends know of good websites and apps for this!
- Word Reference is generally good: http://www.wordreference.com/
- Google Translate is NOT good! Sometimes it is OK, but many times it gives me very strange translations. Be careful if you use this!
Using an English-only dictionary
- Cambridge: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
- Oxford: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
- Macmillan: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/
- Longman: http://www.ldoceonline.com/
Making and using flashcards (Here are some tools to help you make and use flashcards on the computer. Of course, making flashcards with paper is also good!)
- Anki: http://ankisrs.net/
- Memrise: http://www.memrise.com/
Doing vocabulary exercises on the computer, smartphone or tablet
- Memrise: http://www.memrise.com/
- Learn English Feel Good: http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/vocabulary/
- Frankfurt International School: http://esl.fis.edu/vocab/
Doing vocabulary exercises from a book
- There are just too many good vocabulary books to list here, but the “Vocabulary in Use” books from Cambridge are very good: http://www.cambridge.org/us/search?site=CE&iFeelLucky=false&query=vocabulary+in+use
Doing vocabulary exercises from a DVD or website connected to my course book
Reading a text and looking up new words in the dictionary
Writing new vocabulary in a notebook and practicing it
Writing example sentences to practice new vocabulary
Saying new vocabulary words to try to remember them
Playing vocabulary games on the computer
- Free Rice (a great game and you donate to the World Food Program just by playing!): http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/
- English Club: https://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/vocabulary/
Playing spelling games on the computer
- How to Spell: http://www.howtospell.co.uk/spellingquiz.php
Writing letters or emails to friends in English
Writing formal letters or emails in English
Writing blog posts or forums posts in English (You can write anywhere you like! Here are some sites specifically for learners)
- English Club: https://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/index.php
- Using English: http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/
- English Forums: https://www.englishforums.com/
Writing in English on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.
Writing pratice essays for English exams
- Ben Teaches English (that’s this site, you can download tasks for free but you must pay for the feedback—unless you win the prize from the survey!): http://benteachesenglish.com/take-a-writing-test/
Writing SMS messages in English
Writing stories in English
Correcting a friend’s English writing
Writing letters to a pen-pal (always be careful when contacting people you don’t know on the internet!)
- My Language Exchange: http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/Pen-pals/Language/English.asp
- Pen Pal World: http://www.penpalworld.com/
- Pen Pal Party: http://www.penpalparty.com/language/English_penpals.html
Talking with friends in English
Talking with English-speaking people
Meeting people to speak English
- Meet Up (find people in your area to do things): http://www.meetup.com/
- Search Google for “expats” and your town, there may be a community of English speakers that you could join!
Using Skype to speak English online (always be careful when giving personal information online)
- Conversation Exchange: http://www.conversationexchange.com/index.php
- Babel Village: http://babelvillage.com/
- LRNGO: http://www.lrngo.com/
- Even more resources for finding language partners can be found on LearnLanguagesOnYourOwn: http://www.learnlanguagesonyourown.com/language-partners.html
Recording a voicemail message in English
Going to a restaurant and ordering in English
Going on holiday to an English-speaking country
Making a presentation in English
Having conversation practice with colleagues from school
Playing online video games with English speakers
- There are online communities playing many games on the Playstation and Xbox game consoles. You can always buy the latest games for your PC on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/
Repeating phrases you have heard
Reading phonetic spellings of words
Checking dictionaries for correct pronunciation of words
- In addition to the English-only dictionaries listed under “Using an English-only dictionary” in the Vocabulary section, here is a website simply for pronunciation: http://howjsay.com/
Recording your voice to listen to yourself
- Vocaroo: http://vocaroo.com/
- Audacity (this is a program you can use on your computer): http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
- There are also apps for smartphones that will let you make quick recordings
Recording your voice for computer analysis (These example products are not free. Because they aren’t free, I haven’t tried them myself so I can’t recommend any of them. I am including them so that you can try them if you decide they are a good value.)
- EyeSpeak: http://www.eyespeakenglish.com/
- eEnglish by Pronunciation Power: http://www.englishlearning.com/products/eenglish-by-pronunciation-power/
- Speak AP (for Android and Apple): http://mylynel.com/speakap/
Listening to pronunciation activities
- BBC pronunciation activities: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
- English Club: https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/
- American English Pronunciation Practice: http://www.manythings.org/pp/
Listening and repeating
- You can use the sites I listed under “Listening to a text and repeat the words” in the Listening section
Playing pronunciation games on the computer
- Easy Way pronunciation game (you will need to use the Chrome web browser for the game to work): http://www.chromeexperiments.com/detail/pronunciation-game/
Singing English songs (Here are two online Karaoke websites, but you have to pay to use them.)
- http://www.karaokeparty.com/
- http://www.singsnap.com/
- Also check the websites under “Listening to songs and reading the words” in the Listening section
