Thank you again for your help with my research project! Look below to see example activities for each of the different sections of the questionnaire. If you would like to save this page as a pdf, please click here. The drawing for the free exam writing session will be made on February 2nd and I will contact the winners then. Good luck and thanks again!

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)

Reading comic books

Reading English books for learners

Reading newspapers

Reading news websites

Reading Wikipedia

Reading websites for English learners

Reading blogs, forums, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Reading information in cities or museums

Reading information about travel or tourism

Reading a text and answering questions after

Reading a text for fun

  • any text will do!

Reading about photographs

Listening to music

Listening to songs and reading the words

Listening to the radio

Listening to podcasts

Watching videos, films or TV shows

Watching videos online (Youtube, TED, etc.)

Listening to audiobooks

Listen to a text and read the words

Listen to a text and answer some questions

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)

Doing grammar exercises on the computer, smartphone or tablet

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.

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)

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

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!)

Doing vocabulary exercises on the computer, smartphone or tablet

Doing vocabulary exercises from a book

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

Playing spelling games on the computer

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)

Writing in English on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.

Writing pratice essays for English exams

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!)

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)

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

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.)

Listening to pronunciation activities

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

Singing English songs (Here are two online Karaoke websites, but you have to pay to use them.)