Interactive Student Resources
These are sources to which students can be directed for extra practice
out of class; however, it is worth considering that quite possibly not
all students will have home access to a computer and the WWW. Thus, to
equalize opportunities, it may be desirable to familiarize students
with computer access opportunities through public libraries and the
like, and/or or stress the potential to use learning-centre computers
in off hours. Moreover, depending on the class set-up, some of the
materials below may prove suitable for in-class use.
Banks of free online teaching resources tend to vary in quality;
moreover, because these sites are so diverse, categorization by
proficiency level can be inconsistent. Still, used with care, such
resources can definitely be of value. Please note that some of these
sites are also listed on the Online Interactive Students Materials Page
because they identify distinct sections for each of students and
instructors; however, you may also want to examine the other sites
listed there (but not mentioned here) because some of them could prove
useful in the hands of a creative teacher.
Aardvark’s English Forum
(http://www.englishforum.com/00/)
British-based resources for students and teachers of ESL/EFL. The students page features complete texts of well-known English novels with dictionary look-up and a list of useful online study resources.
About.com: English as a Second Language
Online audio files for listening, dictation practice & other activities.
Activities for ESL Students
This project of The Internet TESL Journal(iteslj.org) has thousands of contributions by many teachers. Quizzes, tests, exercises and puzzles help learners to study English as a Second Language(ESL).
Adult Learning Activities from the California Distance Learning Project
This site has a wide range of reading/listening passages on many interesting topics. There are listening (some video clips), reading and vocabulary activities on various topics such as Services, Family, School, Housing, Health & Safety, Money, Going Places. For Upper Intermediate Level to Advanced (CLB 5-7). For an explanation of all the options and how to use them, go to http://www.cdlponline.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=help.
BBC Learning English
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml)
Online interactive activities & games for English language learners.
Better English Lessons
(http://www.better-english.com/grammar.htm)
Online Business English Lessons for students, including vocabulary, idioms, phrasal verbs, listening, presentations, etc.
Developed for students, who can register to have a new ESL lessons sent to them by e-mail once a week.
Bubbl.us
Bubbl.us is a simple and free web application that lets students brainstorm online to create colorful mind maps which they can share, embed in a blog or website or save as an image to use in a document or presentation.
Chalk n’ Talk – the old-fashioned way to teach…
(http://international.ouc.bc.ca/chalkntalk/)
Intermediate and above (CLB 5+) level students can listen to and watch video clips on various grammar points.
CNN Student News
(http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/)
Student-oriented CNN site with podcasts, transcripts, one-pagers, maps etc.
Compleat Lexical Tutor
Professor Tom Cobb’s site, where—under the ‘Teachers’ title, on the right—you can test your own vocabulary and also get involved in vocabulary learning activities and projects.
Dave’s ESL Café
One of the oldest and most enduring ESL sites, with ‘Stuff for Students’ including Grammar Lessons, Idioms, Quizzes etc.; some materials (e.g. quizzes) are actually interactive, while many others are print-only lessons.
EFL ESL English Language Tests
(http://www.wordskills.com/level/)
Learners can test themselves at 3 levels for 10-15 minutes. There are also short tests available for Prepositions, phrasal verbs, negotiation skills, and the principles of ecommerce. Test results can be sent to teachers, if requested.
ELL English Listening Lounge
(http://www.englishlistening.com/)
Listening passages from Beginner to Advanced, featuring recordings of ordinary English speakers, with questions and other study aids.
English, baby!
A “hip” website providing students of English with access to real English, as it's spoken today, by Americans, in the U.S. The site includes English lessons for ESL topics such as basic English, English slang, business English, and English pronunciation.
English Club.com
(http://www.englishclub.com/listening/news.htm)
A monthly news digest online for ESL learners at CLB 5 and above with vocabulary, discussion and comprehension questions.
English Language Listening Lab Online
(http://www.elllo.org/index.htm)
Students from beginner to intermediate (CLB 2-4) can listen to English speakers from different parts of the world.
English Page
Free online English lessons and ESL/EFL resources for intermediate and advanced English learners.
ESL Bears
(http://eslbears.homestead.com/index.html)
Listening, vocabulary, grammar, pre-reading and reading exercises, games and more for ESL students at all levels.
ESL – Learning English with the CBC
(http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/esl/)
CBC Ottawa and CBC Archives developed this website with the Applied Linguistics Department at Carleton University to help new Canadians build their English skills by watching and listening to interesting stories from the archives of CBC Television and CBC Radio. The Radio and TV stories have lesson plans with study exercises to help students learn English.
ESL Listening for English Language Learners
(http://www.esllistening.org/)
High production-value (but sometimes slow-loading) video listening activities.
ESL Lounge: Student Site
(http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/index.php)
Use the menu at the right to select among many options: Grammar, Phrasal Verbs, Reading, Listening (both British and North American accents), etc.
ESL Reading: Simplified Versions of Classic Texts
(http://www.eslreading.org/index.html)
Reading texts with interactive questions.
ESL Resource Center
(http://eslus.com/eslcenter.htm)
Exercises on listening, spelling, writing, pronunciation, reading, grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and more for Beginner to Advanced levels.
ESLhome Student Page
(http://home.earthlink.net/~eslstudent/index.html)
An American-based compendium of links for for students for working online, as well as reference materials and classassignments. One section of the ESLhome website.
Focus English
(http://www.focusenglish.com/)
This site is dedicated to helping ESL/EFL learners develop conversational English skills by listening to native speakers talk about various topics and give sample responses, and by practicing responding in English to real-life conversations. Students also learn useful idioms and common words and phrases and test vocabulary skills in everyday English.
Guide to Grammar and Writing
(http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm)
High-level(CLB 5+) grammar and writing support at the word and sentence, paragraph and essay and research paper levels. Click on the “Ask Grammar, Quizzes and Search Devices” button to try over 170 interactive grammar quizzes.
Jim Edgar’s ESL/LINC Learner Links
(http://www.teslontario.org/links/learners2/)
A comprehensive hypertext listing of more than 30 ESL Learner websites with Canadian Language Benchmarks levels for reading, writing, speaking/listening activities. Each site includes host country, interactivity rating and Jim's star rating. Useful for learners as well as teachers.
John Keith Communications
(http://www.johnkeithcommunications.com/)
Online resources in listening, grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and pronunciation for intermediate to advanced students (CLB 5-7). Constantly adding material.
John’s ESL Community
In addition to an extensive menu for teachers (right side of the Home Page), this site has an interesting menu of links to lists of online materials for students (left side): language skills (including listening), quizzes, games, riddles and holidays.
Learn English Online - English Lessons and Tests
(http://www.englishlearner.com/)
Learners of English will find all types of interactive tests and exercises here: grammar, vocabulary, reading, crosswords, hangman and more.
NetGrammar
(http://netgrammar.altec.org/Units/menu.html)
Intermediate-level grammar through interactive listening, reading and writing activities. Units are organized by grammar points and tasks are for overview practice.
Online Lessons Reading Skills
(http://eslus.com/LESSONS/READING/READ.HTM)
Timed online readings with new lessons added regularly.
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
A site with recordings for online listening to “everyday conversations with adult and children's voices”, rated at “easy”, “medium” and “difficult”, with vocabulary tips and interactive comprehension questions.
Real English Video English ESL Exercises
(http://www.real-english.com/new-lessons.asp)
Quite realistic and interesting online videos for English language practice, beginning with simple ‘What’s your name’ scenes and becoming quite challenging. The dialogues include different English accents from around the world.
Takako’s Great Adventure
(http://international.ouc.bc.ca/takako/)
Listen and read about an international student's adventures in Canada. Episodes include vocabulary, cloze exercises and questions at intermediate level (CLB 4-5).
To Learn English
(http://www.tolearnenglish.com/)
French-based site with placement tests, lessons and exercises at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels, a social club, leisure time activities and useful tools.
University of Iowa: Phonetics
(http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html)
Animated mouth diagrams and sound files for how to pronounce specific sounds.
University of Victoria Study Zone
(http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/)
Lots of interactive self-study options.
Voice of America (Special English)
(http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/index.cfm)
DownloadableReal Audio and MP3 audio files of new stories, with printed copies of whatpeople are saying in the movies or the audios.
Writing Den
(http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/)
Listening and reading materials for intermediate-advanced (CLB 5-7) levels with quizzes on various topics: Canadian history, government. Writing tips are also featured.
Warnings: The following list is provided for information only; also list items have been selected with reasonable diligence, all such decisions are somewhat personal and TESL Canada in no way recommends any specific sites as suitable for any particular purpose. Additionally, many sites contain advertisements; TESL Canada in no way endorses any products or services so advertised. In both respects, teachers must rely on their own judgment.
Moreover, these sites may well not be entirely permanent. As a result, a much-appreciated exercise that was ‘there’ yesterday may be ‘gone’ today! Where possible and permitted, users are advised to download and save a copy of any material that they expect to re-use. And if you do discover that a site listed here has moved or simply disappeared, please email us at aliya@tesl.ca.
Also, be aware that—even when you are authorized to download and use materials from a site—if you and your colleagues really love a worksheet or whatever, it is highly unlikely that you will be allowed to make a link from, for instance, your school Website straight to that specific material; doing so could be considered to be bandwidth theft! However, it is normally just fine (as on this page) to establish a link to the overall site in question.
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