Dave's ESL Cafe is an amazing site that includes the ESL Quiz Center & the ESL Help Center (both for students), the ESL Search Page (to help you find ESL resources), and the ESL Idea Page (where both teachers and students can share ideas). Still the premier ESL web site on the Internet
Demos of grammar and listening quizzes on-line with results. This site requires the various multimedia plug-ins, including Flash, Shockwave, Quicktime, and Real Player.
Many ESL teachers are finding the use of Closed Captioning with television programs and movies very useful in their instruction. Our link is directly with the page that has information for teachers on how to use Closed Captioning in their classrooms.
This online dictionary contains over 40,000 entries and is based on the Newbury House Dictionary of American English. Providing simple and clear definitions, this online tool provides a wealth of sample sentences, idioms, and a wide array of cultural facts and figures.
Ruth Vilmi and her class have put together this grammar resource with pages of information on a variety of grammar topics. Her list of links are all grammar focused, so for those of you with grammar on your mind, head this way.
An interactive English learning site that customizes instruction for students based on their progress through guided exercises. The exercises include reading, listening comprehension, and grammar. There are online references including a dictionary and grammar information. Visitors can try out all the different components, but full access is only available if a complete course is purchased. (updated 10.26.04)
This site claims to be the only national center focusing on English langauge instruction for adults and out-of-school youth. I can't validate that claim, but the site provides full-texts versions of their ERIC digests and Q&As on topics in the field, FAQs, and information on their longer publications and other activities. A useful resource for teachers at the Adult Level.
This is an English learning site like none I have encountered. The focus of the site is motivation and techniques for effectively learning English. The authors of the site do not see grammar exercises as the way. There are reviews of techniques, pronunciation guides, and accounts of how the authors learned English. Requires an intermediate reading level.
Listed as a web resource for the developing language teacher, this site provides newsletters about teaching, teaching methodologies, lesson plans, and weekly teaching tips. Newsletters and tips are archived, but you can also subscribe to receive these by email. Developing Teachers.com is a commercial site that also offers email courses for language teachers.
Good things for elementary ESL classes. Includes lesson plans (it looks like they are all by the owner of the site), teaching tips from a variety of sources, the owner's pick of ESL resources, and discussion boards. If you would like to meet the owner in person, there is also a list of upcoming presentations she is making.
A variety of reading materials divided into beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. Includes glosses and vocabulary and comprehension exercises. A mix of British and American materials. For use in class and for outside independent reading.
A huge array of activities for English learners and teachers. There are online activities as well as lessons that can be reproduced for classroom use. There is way too much on the site for me to list it all here. All skills are covered, and there is also a phrasal verbs and a preposition dictionary with exercises for reinforcement. Check it out. (updated 10.26.04)
On the one hand, this is a commercial site advertising an English learning program available on videocassette and CDs. On the other hand, ten of the beginner-level units are available for free. Requires use of Real Player, and some of the downloads are pretty large. Includes a video clip, exercises, and vocabulary work. (updated 10.26.04)
An extensive selection of resources for the ESL teacher, from flashcards to grammar lessons. There's realtime chat, for students who want to chat with others, and forums (although somewhat sparse in postings as of this listing). One of the best things are current news articles, which are available as readings and audio recordings. Each article is accompanied by various exercises.
A unique resource for ESL students who may be specializing in medical fields. An extensive selection of online exercises, including cloze, passage reconstructions, vocabulary, and grammar. If a student wants to practice his/her English in the context of a medical diagnosis, this is the place.
A compendium of quite a lot of different things. There are discussions, a bulletin board, a grammar reference, online tests, and more. Many more materials than when the site was first reviewed several years ago. (updated 10.26.04)
Purely a discussion site with threads for general English questions, business English, and medical English. Lots of posts and still going strong after several years. (updated 10.26.04)
Yikes. The URL is only one letter different from the previous listing, but the content is much different. Many exercises for language practice, resources for teachers and students, guides to schools, message boards, and lots of links. (updated 10.26.04)
A site with lots and lots of links, organized into resources for teachers, students, and job seekers. There are also chat and discussion pages. Nothing unique to this site, but it pulls together many things into one place.
Webquests are cooperative Internet-based research activities that usually culminate in a written or oral research report. They involve research, critical analysis of sources, and organization of information found. This web site focuses on webquests and resources to support them. The author tries to break down webquests into its various components, and while the information is not always easily processed, it is comprehensive. These particular webquests are targeted more to secondary and higher.
Grammar can be deadly serious, so a little levity might be useful. Bill Cutler provides humorous but practical grammar and style advance on his website. Since it's humor, many ESL students will need to be somewhat advanced to get all the jokes, but teachers may find the points useful. (added 09.24.03)
The Reading Matrix is an international online peer-reviewed journal that focuses on issues of reading and second language instruction. The journal is purely online, but it is indexed in ERIC. Articles are in PDF or HTML format. Access is free, and the journal also includes an archive of previous issues. Published twice a year. (added 11.17.03)
An ESL site with a distinctively Asian bent. Grammar, idioms, folk tales, and lessons using advertisements. I contacted the owner to find out more about the site, and apparently it is just a work of love. (added 11.19.03)
A useful sight if you are looking for reading resources for intermediate to advanced students. One of the most useful features are a database of readings culled from websites throughout the web. They are ranked by difficulty (I think their "beginner" classification is more of an intermediate level). There is also a feature that allows you to take any reading from the web and have more advanced vocabulary glossed with links. (added 03.28.04)
This is a website with a very specific function. You input a block of text or a website, and the textalyzer analyzes the text/website for complexity and reading level. You also get syllable counts and average words in a sentence. A potentially useful tool for any teacher who wants to use web materials with their class. (added 05.14.04)
A variety of lesson ideas for all areas, from pronunciation to grammar. The mission statement emphasizes that the site is free and developed by ESL teachers. You may find a useful lesson here for your next class. There are also areas for chatting and posting job stuff, but I didn't look at those features. (added 05.14.04)
This is a commercial site for online English courses, but there are quite a few free activities available after a student registers as a community member (free). There are basic grammar exercises, explanations of slang, and resources such as an audio dictionary. The site makes a lot of use of multimedia, and there are several shockwave games to practice conversational exchanges and vocabulary. Registering for a class gives access to all their materials. (added 06.07.04)
This is a website for a shareware program called Vocaboly. Using this program, you can review vocabulary through a variety of exercises, tests, and games. Of specific interest to EFL students is its TOEFL vocabulary. You can download the program for free and then pay for it if you find it useful. Teachers and learners can customize the program with their own vocabulary. The program is only available for Windows. (added 06.07.04)
Encomium provides a 40-question sample for the TOEFL Structure and Written Expression test, a 15-item grammar quiz, and a quiz of the day. Challenging items. Click on "Directions" for directions and click on "Directions" again to return to the quiz. Provides a detailed explanation of why your answer was correct or incorrect at the end. (added 08.31.04)
A very technologically sophisticated site, using lots of Flash and interactivity. There is a diagnostic test, and you can choose from general or business English. The free lesson that I sampled had a very good cultural component (good reading practice, too), some grammar explanation, and a less than satisfying listening exercise where you have to spell-out idiomatic expressions (somewhat frustrating because of the speaker's pronunciation). I didn't sample the whole site, so I don't know how much is available for free. There is a fee for general access. Still worth a look. (added 08.31.04)
Part job resource, part teacher/learner resource, English Monkeys provides a bit of everything for the ESL teacher and learner. Not the largest job board (under 100 listings on the day I visited), and the variety of resources are a compendium of links and submitted lessons and plans. However, it is a general purpose resource that you may find has what you are looking for. (added 08.31.04)
Lots and lots and lots of links. There's a smidgen of original content. The usefulness of this site is in its categories of links. I found things I had never crossed before, so you will probably too. Covers everything ESL from jobs to listening exercises. Lots of Google ads. (added 10.26.04)
There are five online games for students to practice vocabulary: word search, crossword, hangman, matching, and multiple choice quiz. The vocabulary is grouped in categories. Since the items are fixed, you would need to check that your lesson includes the vocabulary used. The interfaces are very good, with cute graphics and sounds. (added 12.10.04)
Another vocabulary builder, this one definitely geared for a much higher level. Students review vocabulary with contextualized sentences and then choose an appropriate antonym. Basically vocabulary drills. Hosted by a website that gives information about US universities. (added 04.15.05)
Ready to use lesson plans that address speaking, reading, and listening skills. Each lesson plan has a reading (intermediate and a low-advanced version of each reading is available), which serves as the basis for discussion, word development, and a variety of listening exercises. A Word/PDF version of each lesson is available (formatted for duplication) as well as an MP3 of the reading to use for the listening exercises. Comprehensive and ready to use. (added 07.18.05)
Unlike many of our other resources, this site focuses on ready-to-print games that focus on younger English learners. The games include variations on Pokemon, Monopoly, and Battleship. There are also materials to work on Phonics. The materials are in PDF format and need to be printed out for classroom use. Instructions for use are provided, but some of the materials, such as the Big Town cards, can be easily adapted by a teacher for his/her own classroom needs. Mark Cox also has a series of Flash grammar games at his companion site, http://www.marks-english-school.com/games.html. (added 07.18.05)
Another site that focuses on younger learners. There is a large compendium of worksheets on topics such as months, holidays, and vocabulary (a la picture dictionary workbook sheets). I found two very interesting things. First, you can email the author to create customized worksheets from your ideas. I didn't do this, but the author emphasizes that this is a "free" service. Second, under "Writing - Beginning," you can create customized printing practice using your own text. For flash card sets, you need to register. Includes job information and singles match-ups! (added 10.12.05)
Teacher Joe looks like a very nice guy (you can see his picture in the conversation section), which, coupled with the enthusiasm and slang, gives this site some of its appeal. Nothing flashy on the surface, but the site makes a lot of use of audio files (dictations, readings, jokes) and some programming to provide timed readings. There are quotes, advice about taking the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), and quizzes. The grammar stuff is nothing to write home about, but the extensive use of audio files is a definite plus. (added 10.12.05)
This website is targeted to Spanish speakers and provides humorous stories along with translations of vocabulary, key phrases, and verbs. Pedagogically, there is not much support for a language learner, but a high-intermediate learner might find the jokes amusing, which might get him/her to learn the new vocabulary. (added 12.05.05)
This is a web directory of sites related to the English language. It has a multitude of categories, and while there is nothing really new at this site, it pulls together so much about the English language that an ESL teacher will probably find the site useful. There are links to sites on English idioms and movements to make English a national language. There are also interesting categories that could provide a change of pace for a class, such as the longest words in English or the influence foreign languages have had on English. (added 12.05.05)
A bilingual site for the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers. In addition to information about the organization, there are student lessons, articles, and other resources. In Canada, second language includes both ESL and French.
The purpose of ECCTYC is to advance English teaching and learning in the two-year college by providing opportunities for the exchange of discipline information, promoting professional interaction and growth among its members, and articulating concerns of the discipline to professional and policy-making groups.
The Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, Inc. is a nonprofit, professional advocacy association promoting unity and professionalism among California Community College faculty. A good site for keeping up-to-date on legislation.
Capital Area Pronunciation Specialists (CAPS) is a group of professional educators interested in the teaching of pronunciation and oral skills in an ESL/EFL context. The group sponsors workshops and meets four times a year at school sites in the Sacramento area to discuss and demonstrate materials and methods for teaching pronunciation and oral skills.
ICI is a non-profit, private foundation designed to foster an awareness and appreciation of cultural difference in both the international and domestic arenas. It offers resources and educational opportunities in the field of intercultural communication to students, faculty, administrators, trainers, business professionals, counselors, and consultants. (added 09.24.03)
