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English Language Apps

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  • Ten Steps to College with The Greenes: College Planning Workbook
    An online workbook designed to help students prepare for writing a personal narrative. It breaks down their writing step-by-step in an outline to help make the writing process easier.
  • K12 Reader (Comprehension Skill)
    This section of the K12 Reader website provides worksheets that reinforce comprehension skills. It provides lesson activities across a variety of skill areas including cause and effect, context clues, literature, drawing conclusions, fact and opinion, main ideas, inference and more.
  • Breaking News English
    Allows students to practice reading at several different levels. It has different themes and topics for students to choose from with something for everyone. After each reading, there are several comprehension questions for students to practice with.
  • Read Theory
    A website that offers free reading comprehension and writing exercises that are designed to guide students to higher levels of comprehension and critical thinking. It works on improving reading and writing skills. Students can sign up for free and complete the pretest to determine the beginning reading level that is appropriate for them.
  • Read Every Day
    This site connects you to general interest magazines and journals in the UML Library collection.

  • Eflnet (Grammar)
    “eflnet” is a website that offers free English language learning resources. The site contains sections on grammar, listening, reading, and vocabulary and allows students to practice and become proficient in the language.
  • English for Everyone
    “English For Everyone” is a website that offers a variety of skill building worksheets designed to help students in a wide range of English language ability levels. The site is structured to help new English language learners with many aspects of the language such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and more.
  • K12 Reader
    “K12 Reader" contains practice worksheets to assist new English language learners in spelling, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing.
  • Using English
    “UsingEnglish” is a general English language website that specializes in English as a second language. The site contains a large collection of tools and resources for students, teachers, learners and academics and covers the full spectrum of ESL, EFL, ESOL, and EAP subject areas. There is a section that allows students to practice grammar and vocabulary as well as a section containing a testing program where students can take sample tests in English. This site also contains articles designed to help students with reading and comprehension.
  • 5 Minute English
    5 Minute English allows students to practice their English with simple, quick exercises in grammar, reading, vocabulary, listening, pronunciation and slangs/idioms
  • ESL Lounge
    ESL Lounge provides students with grammar, reading, listening, vocabulary, pronunciation and many more exercises. It provides clear explanations and examples to help students remember rules and tips. It also provides correct answers and feedback to help students reflect and improve.

  • Eflnet (Listening)
    The eflnet website offers a listening program that allows students to practice the pronunciation of contrasting consonant pairs and vowel pairs and listening passages and exercises that help new language learners with listening comprehension to practice and improve their listening skills.
  • Voice of America Learning English
    “Voice of America (VOA) Learning English” is a website that brings news in beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels to people who are learning English as a second language. The site allows students to choose the level of comprehension that is most comfortable for them and the different levels allows them to improve their English comprehension.
  • ESL Voices
    The “ESL Voices” website offers writing and listening passages from National Public Radio (NPR) and Voice of America (VOA) that are divided into intermediate and advanced skill levels. Students may use this website to read or listen to a passage and then answer the questions that follow, and also check their answers. In this way, students are able to work at their own speed and monitor their own progress.
  • Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
    These listening activities are for students to focus on everyday English at three levels based on content, voices, vocabulary, and natural speed. A combination of adult, teenage, and children's voices are included.
  • Listenwise
    Listenwise is a great way for students to practice listening comprehension as they get to listen to a passage and complete the corresponding questions. They get evaluated on several categories such as vocabulary, main idea, inferences and more.

  • WordReference
    The “WordReference” website is an online translation dictionary for the language pairs English-French, English-Spanish, French-Spanish, Spanish-Portuguese, English- Portuguese and many more. The site allows users to translate any word in any language and also provides its definition and pronunciation. Students can also download the app for their phones.
  • Duolingo
    A language learning platform that allows students to learn a language of their choice at their own speed. Duolingo lessons adapt to each student’s learning style with exercises tailored for each individual learner. The program asks students to spell, speak, listen and write in an engaging and interactive way. Students can also download the app for their phones.
  • Rachel’s English
    A website that provides over 400 free videos that teach the sounds of English and the keys to conversational English: rhythm, intonation, linking and stress. Rachel's English allows students to practice American pronunciation by watching videos, listening to podcasts, and engaging in other interactive activities.

  • ESL Gold
    Contains a variety of grammar lessons and explanations.
  • Grammar Exercises
    Although it has ads, this website has excellent exercises with answer keys – great for self-directed study.
  • English Club
    Another grammar exercise site with excellent explanations.
  • The MacMillan Thesaurus
    Unlike most thesauri, this one offers definitions of all synonyms, thus making it easier to select the correct word.
  • Onelook Dictionary
    Shows the entries in multiple dictionaries (so you can choose the one that works best for you); it also organizes the hits by discipline
  • Howjsay
    A great pronunciation tool that will play recordings of variations in pronunciation of the same word (for example, New Zealand vs. the UK, or Midwestern US vs Northeastern US)
  • An Advanced Grammar Book for ESL students
  • teachthought
  • Purdue OWL-Multilingual resources
  • Purdue OWL-Multilingual exercises

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