Learning English
This provides a good collection of online resources for learning English, containing online English dictionaries, English tests, writing tips, listening practice, grammar lessons, vocabulary, idioms, quizzes, and video lessons. There are thousands of online resources designed to help learn English, from basic grammar lessons to creative essay writing. However, they are not in a place. They are somewhere on the Internet separately. And learning English involves various activities related to reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Through this collection, we try to present a list of online resources in those four areas (reading, writing, speaking and listening) in a comprehensive and well-organized way.
Online Dictionary
YourDictionary.com is a free online English dictionary that offers definitions, thesaurus entries, pronunciation, and
usage examples.
Thesaurus.com is a service on the Dictionary.com that provides a multi-source dictionary search service. It enables
users to easily find a book of synonyms of a word simply by typing the word in the search box at the top of the page.
The Phrase Finder is an archive of the meanings and origins of thousands of phrases, sayings and idioms. Users
can access the database via alphabetical browsing or search tool.
BusinessDictionary.com is a free online dictionary providing a clear and concise description of business terms.
It helps users to find a term which they are interested in by providing three different types of searching method: using
search tool, browsing by subject, and browsing by a letter.
Eggcorn Database is devoted to collecting the kind of unusual English spellings that have come to be called
eggcorns. Eggcorn, the word, is a coinage that goes back to the excellent Language Log. The About page retraces
the history of the term and offers more information on how this site came to be.
English Tests
Free English Tests for ESL/EFL provides lots of interactive grammar and vocabulary tests for TOEFL, TOEIC, GMAT, GRE, SAT, PCAT and MCAT.
Exam English provides free online practice tests for ESL/EFL exams such as IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, and the Cambridge ESOL exams including CPE, CAE, FCE and PET.
Parapal Online offers a variety of interactive English exercises, which are designed to improve listening, writing,
reading, vocabulary and grammar skills.
Activities for ESL Students offers a lot of quizzes, tests, exercises and puzzles to help ESL or EFL students learn
English.
ESL partyland provides lots of English study resources for learning English, especially with interesting games and quizzes.
ToLearnEnglish.com helps people learn English through solving simple and fun quizzes.
Writing Tips
Eslbee.com offers writing tips and examples for non-native English speakers who want to write academic essays
in English.
English writing skills for ESL/EFL classes at About.com brings a lot of articles on English writing, including English writing style, business writing, writing for work, and advanced writing.
The Purdue University Online Writing Lab offers over 200 free resources on English writing, including writing and teaching writing, research, grammar and mechanics, style guides, job search and professional writing.
10 steps to writing an essay offers a ten-step process that teaches students how to write an essay, including research, analysis, brainstorming, thesis, outline, introduction, paragraphs, and conclusion.
Businesswritingblog.com contains a lot of articles offering business writing tips and guidelines. The articles tell
how to write business messages, documents, or letters in a crisp, clean and efficient way.
Free eBooks about Writing Skills
Here is a small collection of free eBooks about writing skills, downloadable from scribd.com.
Listening Practice
VOA's Special English offers audio streaming service and downloadable MP3 audio files for delivered articles on
the subjects: US and world news, agriculture, health, education, economics, etc. The articles are written by Special
English writers using simple words and sentences, and read by Special English broadcasters at a slower pace to
help learners hear each word clearly.
BBC - Podcasts - Directory provides free downloadable podcasts about comedy, entertainment, learning, music, news, and sports from the BBC's Radio services.
Listen To English provides free downloadable podcasts updated weekly, in clearly spoken English, and designed to help people improve English vocabulary, pronunciation and listening skills.
ELLLO stands for English Language Listening Lab Online. This is a large collection of listening activities accessible on the Internet for free. Each podcast comes with its article and a set of quizzes helping develop listening compreshension skills.
ESL/EFL Reading - 365 ESL/EFL Short Stories provides free reading materials consisting of 365 short stories, as well as their audio files.
LoudLit.org is a website offering free text and audio books. This is helpful in learning English because readers can learn spelling, punctuation and paragraph structure by listening and reading the books.
ESLPod.com offers free podcasts that speak English at a slower speed and use everyday phrases and expressions.
The topics of the podcasts include daily life, business, shopping, entertainment, health, and relationships.
Business English Pod provides free weekly MP3 podcast ESL lessons covering a variety of business topics including negotiating, telephoning, travel, and marketing.
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab brings lots of listening quizzes on various topics, which help ESL/EFL students
improve their listening comprehension skills outside classroom.
General English Lessons
: Grammar, Vocabulary, Idioms, Phrases, and Quizzes
BBC Learning English provides listening and reading exercises, quizzes, English lessons on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, as well as general and business English lessons.
ManyThings.org is a website designed to help people learn English. This contains quizzes, word games, proverbs, slang expressions, listening activities, reading activities etc.
About.com: English as 2nd language is written by Kenneth who is an ESL teacher, trainer, and content developer. This site provides English learners with helpful tips and materials covering from beginners to teachers and from general English to business English.
Livemocha.com is a language learning site that provides some free audio-visual lessons for languages such as Arabic, English, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish.
Breaking News English.com offers free English lessons based on stories currently in the news. All the lessons are downloadable in word.doc and PDF formats for print, and in MP3 format for listening.
EnglishClub.com offers free online lessons and resources to help ESL or EFL students learn to speak English. The lessons cover various areas for learning English: grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
World English is an online resource for learning English, providing lots of English study materials on vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing, and quizzes.
UsingEnglish.com provides a large collection of resources for learning English, including English grammar glossary, idioms, phrases, irregular verbs, English usage articles, reading comprehension exercises, and English quizzes.
Learn English Today offers free English grammar lessons and exercises, business English, vocabulary, idioms and proverbs, and word games including crosswords and quizzes.
Video Lessons
ESL Videos contains over 700 videos helpful in learning English. The videos have been archived by month since
January 2006. They are categorized into various topics including grammar, history, idioms, interviews, news, travel,
writing, and more.
BBC Learning English: YouTube Channel provides many videos that help people improve English pronunciation and learn English idioms in a fun way.
engVid.com brings free English video lessons which help improve exam skills for TOEFL, IELTS, and TOEIC, as well
as general English skills including grammar, idioms, pronunciation, speaking, vocabulary, and writing.
englishmeeting.com offers video lessons that help English learners improve vocabulary, phrasing, speaking, pronunciation, and listening and comprehension.
Let's Learn English at blogspot.com: video lessons section brings a lot of free video lessons designed to help people learn English grammar. Each lesson deals with a specific topic on English grammar.