Useful Links And Resources
Sites for General Language Practice and Reference
About.com: English as a 2nd Language
Kenneth Beare provides explanations and interactive quizzes for learners at all levels. Topics range from general grammar to Business English. The site could certainly be a recommended resource for your students. Also, take a look at his suggested lesson plans and creative grammar chants.
Activities for ESL Students
This site offers a very large collection of exercises at all levels for grammar and vocabulary. There are bilingual quizzes, too. I’ve recommended the exercises to my private students for additional practice in the past. This collection has contributions from many different teachers.
ESLVideo.com
This site offers video-based quizzes for ELLs that make us of authentic commercials, music vids, and more. Recommend the site for independent study or use existing quizzes (beginner to high-intermediate) that tie in to your lesson plan. Take it a step further and create your own quizzes. The site allows you to build your own quizzes and share them with your students. Even better – you can see your students results on your teacher’s account.
Real English / Real English on YouTube
Mike Marzio is the founder of this project, and it’s an interesting, unique, and valuable resource to use both in and out of the classroom. The range of speakers will expose students to varieties of English. The intelligent editing makes the authentic speech comprehensible to learners. Quizzes on the Real English site are categorized by grammar level.
USA Learns
Funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education, this site is an amazing resource for beginners and intermediate students studying independently. There’s also potential for this site to supplement classroom instruction. Videos and readings could be worked into your lesson plans as homework. If you tutor one-on-one, consider registering to set up courses and track student progress.
Sites for Listening Practice
Elllo
This is a site I've used in the past to supplement my own lessons. The selection of recorded conversations is large enough that I can choose speakers and topics that match my learners’ needs and interests. I've been able to build on to the material by creating my own pronunciation and vocabulary exercises. We've also based some discussion on the recordings we listen to (before we meet). Just forewarn students that sometimes there are typos in the transcripts, but all is forgiven since the site is such a treasure.
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
Many teachers are familiar with Randall's wonderful work, which he has generously been sharing for over a decade. On his well-maintaned site, you'll find a large collection of listening quizzes for general and academic study at all levels. The quizzes come with transcripts.
TED
TED stands for Technology, Education, and Design. TED describes itself as "a nonprofit dedicated to ideas worth spreading". The project that provides a resource for English language teachers and learners is the award-winning TEDTalks. Many high profile people, such as Bill Gates and Michelle Obama, have given a TEDTalk. Topics range from innovations to the environment. Their YouTube channel TEDTalksDirector features these inspiring lectures. Closed captions and translated subtitles are available on their site.
Sites for Grammar Reference
Azar Grammar Exchange
Here you will not only learn by reading well-written grammar explanations, but you can also post questions and comments. Do you have a tricky grammar question? Just register and start a discussion on that topic. You can see the latest threads here. The greatest treasure is probably the archive of Grammar Q&A Messages. The keyword index facilitates your search. Kudos and many thanks to Rachel Spack Koch for moderating the forum and maintaining the archive!
Guide to Grammar & Writing
This is a non-profit site with great information for teachers and plenty of material you could recommend to students.
Sites for Pronunciation Reference
Paul Meier Dialect Services
Students and teachers can benefit from the rich and numerous online resources of Paul Meier, accent reduction specialist and dialect coach. English language learners can start with Paul's blog posts and interactive lessons, both of which include audio and video. On Paul's website there is one resource in particular that upper level students and teachers will appreciate: IPA charts, which cover both consonant sound and vowel sounds with the aid of flash animation and audio recordings. Teachers and serious linguists should also explore the hundreds of downloadable recordings on The International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA), of which Paul is the founder and director.
University of Iowa's Phonetics Flash Animation Project
The University of Iowa offers a wonderful resource for language study. Follow the link and you'll find animated explanations of phonemes. The site states: "Available for each consonant and vowel is an animated articulatory diagram, a step-by-step description, and a video-audio of the sound spoken in context." Click on the American English Phonetics Library and you will be able to select a vowel or consonant sound. Explanations of useful terminology (for example, "diphthong" and "voicing") are also given.
Miscellaneous Sites for Teacher Reference
ESLnotes.com
"The English Learner Movie Guides"
Raymond Weschler has compiled a list of films he recommends for English language instruction. His notes are helpful in choosing a film or recalling what a film is about. Each guide is a time-saver for classroom teachers and includes a plot summary, list of characters, and teaching notes (e.g. discussion questions).
Phras.In
This is a straightforward language tool currently in Beta. The idea is to help speakers decide which of two phrases sounds more natural by quickly providing the number of hits for each alternative. The mastermind behind the tool is a non-native speaker, Francesco Benetti, who you can follow on Twitter. He also provides a Gmail address for comments and inquiries. The simplicity is what makes Mr. Benetti's tool so nice. It's not about finding rules but the most frequent collocations. Many thanks to my colleagues in TESOL who shared this resource with me. I think both teachers and learners will find search results from Phras.In an insightful addition to dictionary entries.
Tefclips.com
Jamie Keddie offers lesson plans and useful teaching ideas for classroom use of YouTube clips. Very creative! Be sure to see the updated site he's been working on, Lessonstream .
TEFLVideos.com
A well-made collection of videos that offers practical advice on teaching EFL in the classroom.
The Idiom Connection
This resource has explanations and interactive quizzes on idioms. I prefer to list this as a teacher’s resource rather than one for students. As the teacher, you can select which ones and how many to present within the framework of a single lesson.
The World Clock
When I began to teach private lessons online, I quickly learned about the necessity of using a time zone converter. Always double check the time difference!
Other YouTube Channels
Please look for the other channels I feature each month on my own YouTube channel. From poetry readings to karoke, I try to highlight a variety of video collections that promote language proficiency. Every month I also feature one or two other ELTs who put out quality content on their own channels.
Textbooks and Other Offline Materials
Accurate English: A Complete Course in Pronunciation Dauer, Rebecca
I learned a lot by teaching from this book when I was a classroom teacher. My copy at home is from 1993, but I still keep it in my library.
English Pronunciation Made Simple Dale and Poms
A pronunciation textbook with CDs. Easy to follow because it’s well organized. This was the first printed material I worked with as a teacher in the pronunciation classroom.
How to Teach English Harmer, Jeremy
This is an easy read with solid and practical information for new teachers. Even experienced teachers would enjoy and benefit from Harmer’s discussion of English language teaching. He also has a blog that’s worth visiting.(See the link in my own blogroll.)
Look, Think & Write: Using pictures to stimulate thinking and improve your writing Leavitt and Sohn
This is a useful paperback book that can inspire you when you teach writing skills. My copy is from 1996.
Principles of Language Learning and Teaching Brown, H. Douglas
There is a lot of essential information packed into this book. I recommend it for any teacher who needs to bulk up on theory.
A Student’s Grammar of the English Language Greenbaum and Quirk
An oldie but goodie. I love the copy a colleague passed on to me. I often use it to solve tricky grammar questions. At times there’s probably more information than students actually need to know, but it helps sort everything in a teacher’s mind.
The Week: The Best of the U.S. and International Media
My favorite magazine for teaching and personal use.
