Resources for Learners
The benefits of journal writing
Donalee Bowerman, a special-education teacher at Canajoharie Middle School, in Canajoharie, New York, starts each class with a journal writing activity. "It gives my students, who have great difficulty with written language, one time when spelling, punctuation, and grammar don't count," said Bowerman. "This lets them express themselves in writing without the pressure they typically have when doing assignments. It ensures they have one positive writing experience each day."
Click on journal suggestions
The benefits of learning collocations
Many linguists believe that second language learning is more likely to take place when the learner sees language in whole chunks in context rather than as individual words or structures.
Click on What is a collocation?
Why it is important to read for enjoyment
Reading opens doors to our inner and outer worlds. It enables us to access knowledge and power and can provide a lifetime of enjoyment. Research evidence demonstrates that reading for enjoyment is important for educational, social and personal development. It can have a major impact on children and adults achieving their life goals and raising their self-esteem.
In the following links you can read online news from the BBC, CBC or PBS. On Goodreads you can find ESL books that you can buy and download to your reader. On the short story link you can download stories for free.
Happy reading!
www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
www.goodreads.com/list/tag/esl
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia
www.pbs.org/newshour/
www.shortbreadstories.co.uk/story/view/educated_fishwives/#axzz3KyKzzNCN
How to improve listening skills
If you want to improve your listening skills, here's one good approach. First, choose something that is not too long. Listen to something like the news or a talk. You shouldn't worry about understanding every word, nor should you listen just once. On the first listening, just listen for the main idea--who, what, and where. On the second listening, add when and how to your list. On the third listening, take note of 5 new words or phrases. If you can, try to find a transcript, find those new words and try to discover the meaning in context before you go to a dictionary. Then do one more listening to see how much you learned.
Here are some good websites for interesting things to listen to that also have transcripts.
www.ted.com
www.aljazeera.com
www.elllo.org
There are more resources on the Exam Preparation and Writing for English Speakers pages, too!
back to top
The benefits of journal writing
Donalee Bowerman, a special-education teacher at Canajoharie Middle School, in Canajoharie, New York, starts each class with a journal writing activity. "It gives my students, who have great difficulty with written language, one time when spelling, punctuation, and grammar don't count," said Bowerman. "This lets them express themselves in writing without the pressure they typically have when doing assignments. It ensures they have one positive writing experience each day."
Click on journal suggestions
The benefits of learning collocations
Many linguists believe that second language learning is more likely to take place when the learner sees language in whole chunks in context rather than as individual words or structures.
Click on What is a collocation?
Why it is important to read for enjoyment
Reading opens doors to our inner and outer worlds. It enables us to access knowledge and power and can provide a lifetime of enjoyment. Research evidence demonstrates that reading for enjoyment is important for educational, social and personal development. It can have a major impact on children and adults achieving their life goals and raising their self-esteem.
In the following links you can read online news from the BBC, CBC or PBS. On Goodreads you can find ESL books that you can buy and download to your reader. On the short story link you can download stories for free.
Happy reading!
www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
www.goodreads.com/list/tag/esl
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia
www.pbs.org/newshour/
www.shortbreadstories.co.uk/story/view/educated_fishwives/#axzz3KyKzzNCN
How to improve listening skills
If you want to improve your listening skills, here's one good approach. First, choose something that is not too long. Listen to something like the news or a talk. You shouldn't worry about understanding every word, nor should you listen just once. On the first listening, just listen for the main idea--who, what, and where. On the second listening, add when and how to your list. On the third listening, take note of 5 new words or phrases. If you can, try to find a transcript, find those new words and try to discover the meaning in context before you go to a dictionary. Then do one more listening to see how much you learned.
Here are some good websites for interesting things to listen to that also have transcripts.
www.ted.com
www.aljazeera.com
www.elllo.org
There are more resources on the Exam Preparation and Writing for English Speakers pages, too!
back to top