↓
 
Home→§-Links→Links for Learners

Links for Learners

EFLsuccess.com

Attention English-learners! If you are connected to the Internet, you are never far from some amazing places to practice and improve your English! Let this collection of links from students and teachers be your gateway to improved English in the real world. (Remember that the virtual world is always changing, and sometimes dangerous–see “NOTES” at the bottom of this page.)

Try these links for language learners: [♥ means “favorite”]

♥ Dictionaries: Longman English Dictionary   ~  Farlex Free Dictionary  ~  Farlex for idioms  ~  UsingEnglish.com (ESL resources, including the definition of sayings)  ~ Princeton’s WordNetWeb dictionary (A lexical database for teachers/writers/advanced learners)

At the moment, you’ll find many MORE links on our old site: http://www.krigline.com/learner_links.htm  Someday, I may test and move those links here. (In China, my old website had a mirror at www.krigline.com.cn, but it disappeared in 2018. If you are trying to reach a particular page, REMOVE “.cn” and be sure all letters are lower case, not capitals.)

For Students

Beginning level students (including refugees):

  • USA Learns https://www.usalearns.org/  These materials are paid for by California taxes; take advantage of the free resources! This can apparently also be used by those teaching immigrants or basic English-learners.
  • ♥ Great online dictionary: Longman English Dictionary
  • Learning Chocolate helps you memorize English (both US & UK), Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin), German or Spanish vocabulary in an easy, fun way (using pictures, sounds, and games).
  • Some of the links below may also be helpful

Middle to advanced level learners: (also look for resources/pages on this site, EFLsuccess.com)

  • ♥ SuccessfulEnglish.com  I moved this website to the top because its clear explanations and practical suggestions can save you from wasting time and effort as you reach for better English! These articles will help you understand the BEST way to acquire better English. This website is from Warren Ediger (we’ve corresponded by email; although his site has a name similar to my website and textbook, we are not related).
  • ♥ Turbocharged Resources This page in SuccessfulEnglish.com has links to many helpful resources, where you can do the BEST thing for your English: read and listen to comprehensible language  [http://successfulenglish.com/2013/10/turbocharge-your-reading-and-listening/]
  • ♥ https://www.gutenberg.org The Gutenberg Project provides over 60,000 free books, in digital form. These are free because of their age, but start with classics by authors like Mark Twain or GK Chesterton, and you’ll find plenty to read (for free)! Remember: look for materials on a topic you understand and enjoy, and that are at, or just above, your English level.
  • ♥ Librivox.org provides over 15,000 free books, in digital audio format. Like “Gutenberg,” these materials are in the Public Domain (so they are not new). I suggest that you download a PDF at Gutenberg and then listen to the same book while you read it (on Librivox.org or on YouTube). [Another link to Librivox]
  • ♥ http://www.grammarcheck.net/infographics/ Added in 2016, this pages links you to “infographics” (a cool mix of text and art) to cover some great topics, like basic writing tips, misunderstood words and idioms, resume writing, how to study a foreign language, and much more. The broader website has even more to offer both students and teachers!
  • ♥ http://www.englishclub.com/ For students and teachers, this free site has English lessons, interactive pages, forums, games, chat, penpals links and more. There is also a page with extra links to Chinese sites related to English learning and teaching
  • ♥ http://www.usinfo.pl/zoom/ If you want to read about America, try ZOOM, a monthly magazine for English-learners from the US Embassy in Warsaw. You can even get a subscription to these colorful, informative, easy-to-read publications.
  • ♥ http://www.edudemic.com/ (“Connecting Education and Technology”) has many articles about useful tools for students and teachers. Their posts are constantly changing, so if you can’t find the following, use their “search” feature.
  • Games4esl.com/ has fun and engaging games for teaching/learning English, including activity videos, Online quizzes, PowerPoint Games, Boardgames, and much more. It also has resources for teachers.
  • This website explains how to write an appropriate email from student to professor; if you have a teacher from a different country than your own, this might be very useful information!! How to email your professor.
  • An American teacher (and friend) has created this site, where you can buy her excellent materials (and more). See Cathi’s website: http://eslwithcathi.com/
  • [@Edudemic] Simple Tips For Students Learning English – Put away your fear, and focus on the fun of using your skills.
  • [@Edudemic]  5-educational-websites-older-students-should-be-using/ – Educational websites meant for teens; even if you are a bit older, you might enjoy them!
  • [@Edudemic] iPad Apps for ESL students – put technology to work for YOU!
  • ♥ http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/getting-started – While visiting Thailand, I found this section of the Bangkok Post newspaper, specifically dedicated to helping you improve news-reading ability. It includes interactive “challenges”, a free “English level” test, and even a chance to get your own articles published.
  • A visitor looking for help with English homework recommended this page, with links to a lot of helpful resources: http://www.freebooknotes.com/english-homework-help/
  • Someone who found my webpage about Far and Away sent this link to interesting information about immigration to the US, past and present (with links to lots more information). Check it out! www.uscitizenship.info 
  • ♥ VOAnews (http://learningenglish.voanews.com/) has lots of resources, including audio programs that you can also read. Here’s one about a famous city on one of our home states: Charleston, South Carolina — http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/charleston-south-carolina-fort-sumter/1835785.html. If this article disappears over time, just find something else at VOA.
  • Students thinking about “how to choose a career” might find these resources helpful (though they were written for Americans, not internationals): https://studentaid.ed.gov/prepare-for-college/careers
  • Here’s a guide to preparing for interviews (esp. research-related): https://www.msu.edu/user/mkennedy/digitaladvisor/Research/interviewing.htm
  • If you are a Chinese parent, or otherwise want to help small children improve their English, check out my friend’s unique learning system at http://www.pobomo.com/. (This website is in Chinese.)
  • ♥ 100+ Resources for ESL/ELL Students, Teachers & Parents (Added in 2020) (https://www.publicservicedegrees.org/resources/esl-ell-student-parent-teacher-resources/); scroll down just a bit and you’ll see three orange tabs marked “Resources for Students,” “Resources for Parents,” and “Resources for Teachers.” I’ve not checked out many of these links, but they look useful–and this was working in 2020 (most of my links were created years ago). This link also connects you to apps, and you’ll see “Useful English Language Terms” section that explains the difference between ESL, EFL, TOEFL, IELTS and other common abbreviations.
  • ♥ https://breakingnewsenglish.com  Offers thousands of free, ready-to-use EFL / ESL lesson plans on the latest breaking news from across the world in 7 levels. New lessons are uploaded every 2 days. Each lesson includes a 27-Page PDF containing all-skills activities, a 2-page mini-lesson, 5-speed listening, multi-speed scrolled reading, interactive dictation, 30+ online quizzes… and more.

For teachers:

  • ♥ SIL’s website provides many resources for teaching lower-level (even illiterate) students. www.sil.org/english-language-lessons. Great for teaching refugees, immigrants and other guests in an English-speaking environment.
  • [@Edudemic] http://www.edudemic.com/12-best-ipad-apps-world-language-classroom/ Since her list passed “12” a while ago, this ever-changing list of apps can help language teachers in many ways.
  • Teachers looking for specific resources (e.g., related to a specific topic) can request them here: http://educatorlabs.org/request-a-resource/
  • Teachers looking for help in relocation/finding a job, can check out http://www.careeronestop.org/
  • ♥ https://breakingnewsenglish.com  (2022) Offers thousands of free, ready-to-use EFL / ESL lesson plans on the latest breaking news from across the world in 7 levels. New lessons are uploaded every 2 days. Each lesson includes a 27-Page PDF containing all-skills activities, a 2-page mini-lesson, 5-speed listening, multi-speed scrolled reading, interactive dictation, 30+ online quizzes… and more.
  • ♥ https://ilsos.gov/departments/library/literacy/pdfs/literacy_resource_list.pdf (2022) This is a list of links to resources, websites, research reports and more, especially (but not exclusively) for those who teach literacy to English-learners.
  • EnglishForEveryone.org is your resource for printable English worksheets. On the Home page, you’ll find an index containing hundreds of quality teaching materials on various aspects of the English language.
  • Some of the links in “for students” are also for teachers.

For parents (or those who teach children)

For those learning other languages (not specifically English). [I speak Mandarin Chinese, and when I lived in Hong Kong, I thought about learning Cantonese; that’s where these resources came in.]:

NOTES: Visiting websites can allow viruses into your computer. Be sure your anti-virus software is up to date! Since the web is constantly changing, it is impossible to keep up with broken links–if something doesn’t work, you might try to Google it! Also, many websites outside China do not always work inside China (where I teach); sorry if you can’t connect from your location.
 

EFL/ESL Teachers: Do you have “favorite links” that we need to know about? Write to me, and if we like them too we’ll add your suggestions to EFLsuccess.com. See “About us” for an email address.

Resources posted at EFLsuccess.com do not imply any consent from or relationship with any web-hosts, universities, on-line services, publishers, producers, etc.

EFLsuccess.com; ©Michael Krigline, all rights reserved. Our resources were created for our students under my understanding of “fair use” for educational resources. As far as I am concerned, website visitors are allowed to print/copy these materials for personal or classroom use. For details, see our Website Standards and Use Policy.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~  advertisement  ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Comments are closed.

↑