ESL Site Awards

Mary Glasgow Magazines have been available since the 50s. The magazines are unique because they are written specifically for teen (or YL) English language learners. Understanding the digital learning trend, the UK publisher recently launched Magazines Plus, a website for their teen readers. Like the magazine, the website materials are for various levels of learners. In order to access most of the site you need a code from the print version of the magazine. (more…)

Sending a postcard while traveling abroad may sadly be a thing of the past. On the other hand, listening to podcasts on an Ipod is one of the latest trends. Combine the two and you get PodCards, a unique and modern way to learn English and explore the world. (more…)

If you want to practise your listening and comprehension skills, elllo is a great site to bookmark. The free site contains hundreds of listening activities with short quizzes to test your comprehension. While you listen you have the option to show or hide the text. The text version also offers audio explanations of difficult words and phrases. Elllo’s mp3 recordings are unique in that they offer English accents of people from all over the world, including America, Canada, Britain, Australia, (more…)

About.com is an information website about various topics written by experts in each field. The ESL section has been online since 1997. The ESL guide for About.com is a teacher and writer named Kenneth Beare. The categories on the site make it simple for learners and teachers to find suitable resources. Beginner and low-intermediate learners choose “Start Learning”. (more…)

Unlike many language learning websites, English-Online has no “bells and whistles” and focuses on one skill: reading. More like a magazine than a website, the home page contains one simple table of contents where articles are grouped by subjects, such as hobbies, technology, or travel. The latest (more…)

ESL Culips is a Canadian based website with playful podcasts to help you learn English. The focus of these podcasts is on real language and its everyday use. Episodes are divided into fun categories including “Close Up”, “Catch Word” , “Chatterbox” and “Curious Questions”. (more…)

This podcast for academic learners is based out of the Student Learning Centre of Massey University in Auckland. Each podcast focuses on a single academic “Word of the Day” with explanations in a real world context. The podcasts include a listening section accompanied by a test, a (more…)

Grammar Bytes, “the instruction with attitude,” offers well presented explanations of the most common English grammar terms and rules. Site creator Robin Simmons uses simple examples and graphs to explain grammar points, including important exceptions to the (more…)

English at Home is a website for learners who like to participate. Instead of putting your hand up to ask a question or make a comment you can type it. On this learning site you will find just about everything you need to practise English at home, including vocabulary lessons, reading

(more…)

ESL Reading offers free reading materials for learners of all ages. Some of the readings are original and others are adaptations of classic stories. There are ghost stories, true stories, and stories about fun facts. There are also some interesting stories to read about the (more…)

English Trailers is a free site for English learners. A trailer is a commercial that tells you what a movie is about. To view the trailers on this site you need to download Quick Time. The site has simple instructions for you. There are over 100 trailers to choose from on this site, such as The DaVinci Code and Harry Potter. Each trailer has a warm-up, a gap activity (more…)