You can find some excellent English web sites here, something for everyone no matter what your interests. Please let us know if you find any out-of-date links.
Recommended Web Sites |
|
|---|---|
On-line Business Courses |
|
| Micro and Macro Economics | Free on-line textbooks for introductory economics. |
| Working Lunch | A series of lessons from the BBC for anyone interested in business. Suitable for advanced learners. |
| Free Clip art | Some of the images I use on this web site come from this
site. |
| Free photographs | Lots of free photos. Not all the photos can be used, so make sure you check the license. |
| Unsplash | Provides Royalty free digital images with CC0 licenses. |
| Computing Terms | A free on-line web dictionary of computing and technical terms. |
| Dictionary.com | An on-line English dictionary that allows searches for American and British spelling |
| Dict.org | A free searchable dictionary database. |
| Homophones | Just a bit of phonetic fun, a dictionary dedicated to homophones. |
| Rhyming Slang | At last someone has written an online dictionary of rhyming slang. So if you want to know what the apples and pears are for or who is your trouble and strife then read on ......great fun. |
| Thesaurus | An on-line thesaurus for when you are stuck for words |
| Allsorts | A selection of language dictionaries, including German, French, Italian and others |
| Arabic-English-Arabic | Searchable dictionary for translating English to Arabic and vice-versa. |
| Chinese-English-Chinese | Searchable dictionary for translating English to Chinese and vice-versa. |
| Estonian-English-Estonian | Searchable dictionary for translating English to Estonian and vice-versa. |
| German-English-German | Searchable dictionary for translating English to German and vice-versa. |
| Swedish-English-Swedish | Searchable dictionary for translating English to Swedish and vice-versa. |
| Urdu-English-Urdu | Searchable dictionary for translating English to Urdu and vice-versa. |
On-line Forums |
|
| Learn English Lessons | English lessons that take you from a very basic level of English to Intermediate level. |
| Advanced Word Games | The BoxerJam web site provides several fun word games, recommended for advanced learners only. You can join for free (and maybe win some prizes), or just play as a guest. |
| MES Games | Some fun English grammar games geared toward children, beginners and false beginners. |
| Simon Drew | This is the web site of one of my favourite artists. I found out about him in a small shop in Dartmouth many years ago. Since then I have bought his books, cards and pictures. He has an amazing sense of humour, using a play on English words. If you are looking for an original present for anyone learning English this is the place to go. |
| Tongue Twisters | Peter Piper picked a peck of...... and lots lots more! |
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage | OK so it's American, but it's free! Giving a detailed look for advanced students at grammar, style, diction, word formation, gender, social groups and scientific forms, this valuable reference work is ideal for students, writers, academicians and anybody concerned about proper writing style. |
| Antiques | With numerous TV shows in the UK, antique collecting has never been more popular. |
| Art | The Tate Gallery. |
| British Theatre | Links, reviews etc... |
| Card Games | I am a card game addict. From canasta to whist! Whilst trying to learn Skat I came across this site - brilliant! |
| Gardening | Gardening ideas and tips from one of the BBC's most popular shows |
| Knitting & Crocheting | Get those needles clicking. |
| Sewing | Try out some ideas from this web site. |
| Bird Breath | Life from a bird's point of view. |
| Best English Jokes | Some of the best (IMHO) jokes on the net. |
| Joke or not | Here you can rate some of the best jokes on the web. Do you get it - or not! |
| Family.com | Games and stories for all the family |
| BBC World Service | Award winning site for learning English. |
| Coursera | Once your English is good enough, push yourself by signing up for a course on a variety of subjects, many courses are free, or subsidised. |
| Aardmaan Animation | "Cracking cheese Gromit!", said Wallace. |
| Dreamworks | OK so it's American, but I am a big Spielberg fan, and besides it's a great site. |
| Movie a Minute | Don't have time to watch those all time greats - then go to this site and read the (sometimes) hilarious ultra-condensed version. |
| The Animals | Formed way back in 1963, the Animals harked from Newcastle in North-East England. |
| Lyrics from the good old days - do a bit of karaoke. | |
| Belle and Sebastian | One of my favourite current bands. |
| Cinerama | See the Wedding Present. |
| Eric Clapton | One of the greatest guitarists of all time, and still going strong. This site contains a biography, discography and my favourite - lyrics. |
| The Clash | One of my all-time favourites - public schoolboy punk rockers! This site has lyrics and sound samples. |
| Coldplay | Coldplay have been compared to many different bands, however once you've listened to their work you'll realise they have a sound all their own. |
| The Cranberries | Out of Limerick, Ireland, in 1989, a group called the Cranberries appeared on the scene and went on to sell over 33 million albums across the planet. For all Cranberries fans, the official Cranberries site is a must. |
Formed in 1958 they hail from the West country, and probably have the silliest name in British pop history. |
|
| Dido | Lovely singer/songwriter Dido Armstrong. She was born in London on Christmas day in 1971, and what a lovely present for British Pop Music she has proved to be. |
| Fat Boy Slim | The master of Big Beat and he had one of the best selling albums of 1999. Cool site too! |
| Franz Ferdinand | It all started in Glasgow in 2001 and in April 2004 they became my favourite 'listen to in the car' band. Thumping good music! Makes you proud to be British. |
| David Gray | With a voice to die for David Gray created a quiet revolution in 1999 with his massive album, White Ladder. |
| Elton John | Singer, songwriter, pianist - is there no end to his talent? |
| New Order | Mancunian group New Order virtually invented Techno. Born from the ashes of the pioneering postpunk group Joy Division they brought musical sophistication to dance clubs and propulsive rhythms to alternative radio for more than two decades. |
| The NME | Britain's most notorious music magazine - updated daily |
| Queen | The eponymous glam rock group. |
| Radiohead | Fave band of the 90's for me and probably the most interesting web site here! Confused? You will be! (Well at least I think it's the band's web site!) |
| Cliff Richard | Now of course Sir Cliff Richard. |
| The Rolling Stones | The Stones official web site |
| The Sex Pistols | They rocked the British music scene and heralded the era of punk. |
| Sting | Lyrics, biography etc. |
| Suede | Britpop band Suede have sold more than three million CDs. Started in 1989 they have consistently delivered great music. Their site includes downloads, a discography and the lyrics to some of their best known songs. |
| The Wedding Present | Affectionately known as the Weddoes this band is one of our all time greats. |
| Bangkok Post | The main pages of this Thai newspaper require a subscription, but they also have a very good section for English learners. |
| The Guardian | Often called the grauniad becuase of all the spelling mistakes in it. See even the best of them make mistakes! |
| The Independent | One of the best UK based current news websites. |
| Spiegel International | English version of this popular German news magazine. |
| The Economic Times | Based in India this site provides an excellent service - especially for anyone learning or teaching Business English. |
| The Times of India | Also based in India, this site provides daily, political and entertainment news in English. |
| The Japan Times | As you may guess, this online newspaper is based in Japan. Up to date news of what is happening in the Land of the Rising Sun, but in English. |
| Pravda | The English version of the Russian paper. |
| Languages on the web | Just in case you got lost and ended up here whilst trying to learn French or Serbo Croat! With over 30,000 links to lots of other languages; including English of course. |
| BBC Message Boards | A vaste array of message boards moderated by the good old BBC. |
| English for Friendship | A group to promote international understanding and friendship. |
| English Poetry | A variety of English poetry with dictionary look up. Double click on any word you're unsure of. |
| A. E. Housman | His collection A Shropshire Lad (1896) is probably the most popular single volume of English verse published in the 19th century. |
On-line Portals |
|
| Best on the web for teachers | Loads and loads of links, all ranked by popularity, for teaching different subjects including ESL. |
| ELT Web | A comprehensive index of English Language Teaching Resources |
| Phonetic Transcription | Type in English phrases, and this little program turns it into phonetic script. Thanks to C Line. |
| HowJSay | An online resource for pronunciation of many words, including names and places. |
| IDEA | International Dialects of English Archive - Here you can listen to recordings of English as it is spoken around the world. Interesting and fun. |
| Voice Thread | Listen to our favourite tonguetwisters and silly poems and rhymes. Maybe have a go yourself! |
| Easy EFL Exercises | A good selection of Easy English Language Exercises for students of English as a foreign language (EFL). |
On-line Reading |
|
| English Magazine | Read articles, songs, cartoons jokes. Fresh content daily, weekly and monthly. |
| Have fun with English | Read jokes about the English language - look out for the podcasts where you can read and listen. |
| The Learn English Network | Books, poems and short stories to read online. |
| BBC Radio 7 | Perfect for the adult learner - stories, comedy and plays from the BBC. Some programmes are suitable for children too. |
| Capital Radio | London based radio station. Uses Real Audio. |
| 7 Digital Radio | A radio broadcast that features books, drama, comedy and discussion. |
| Spotlight Radio | Specialist ESL broadcasts that many people can understand. |
| Virgin Radio | Listen to news, pop and rock music etc. Uses Real Audio. |
| Encyclopedia | A reasonably comprehensive free encyclopedia that allows you to search for information on most subjects. Because knowledge is cool! |
| CIA's World Factbook | This site is well worth exploring. Read what they say about your country. You might be surprised. |
| British Royal Family | The definitive guide to the Royals. |
| If things had been different | An alternative slant to the Royal family. |
| Science | From dinosaurs to the weather. |
| New Scientist | Everything happening in the world of science. |
| Aesops Fables | A concise collection of these famous short stories. Includes links to ideas for classroom use. |
| Ghost Stories | Ghost stories and strange folktales of the American South, told by the region's most celebrated storytellers. |
| Folk Stories from Around the World | A collection of children's stories, folktales, fairy tales and fables from all over the world. |
| English Stories | A variety of English stories with dictionary look up. Double click on any word you're unsure of. |
| Athletics | The British Athletics Association |
| Boxing | Nearly didn't put this one in. But if you like people hitting each other in the face; knock yourself out. |
| Cricket | Good Luck! |
| Football | All about the game and British football teams |
| Tennis | Wimbledon and all that stuff. |
| Wrestling | Not my favourite, but better than boxing. |
| Avalon Learning | If you're interested in teaching in virtual worlds, this is a must. |
| British Council | An excellent site including lesson plans. games and activities for the classroom and articles on teaching theory. |
| Best on the web for teachers | Loads and loads of links, all ranked by popularity, for teaching different subjects including ESL. |
| Biographies | Biographies of Famous People for use in the classroom. |
| Biz-Ed | If you need some business materials for your classes, this site is worth a look. |
| CAL | The Centre for Applied Linguistics aims to promote and improve the teaching and learning of languages, identify and solve problems related to language and culture, and serve as a resource for information about language and culture. |
| Drama in the ESL Classroom | What better way to get students to actually speak, than to give them a character to hide behind. This site is full of great resources and ideas on how to bring drama into the ESL class. |
| English Teachers in Germany Forum | A very informative forum for anyone teaching English as a Foreign Language in Germany. |
| Guardian Unlimited TEFL Resources | News, views and advice on teaching English as a foreign language. Ideas and contacts from around the world, and what is really nice is it's regularly updated. |
| Links for EFL/ESL teachers in Germany | A portal site (in German) with lots of interesting links from bilingual teaching to web quests. |
| MES English | ESL/EFL Resources for Teachers of Young Learners - Free flash cards, phonics cards, game cards and activities all ready for printing. No registration. Just print and go. |
| Help Teaching | A great site for teachers where you can write and share questions to create tests and worksheets. The database of questions can accommodate any topic at any level of difficulty. And of course - it's free! |
On-line Tests |
|
| Agenda Web | Vocabulary, grammar and listening exercises. |
| English Tests | Free English tests for TOEFL, TOEIC, GMAT, MBA, EFL and ESL practise. |
| Test the Nation | A free online test to assess your knowledge of the English language. It's hard! |
On-line Translation |
|
| All Translations | The All-Translations Company provides a professional translation service in a wide range of subjects and languages. They also offer free advice on matters involving translation on their forum. |
| Lingo 24 Translation Service | Lingo24 translation services. |
| Trip Advisor | It's got to be one of the best travel sites out there. |
| British in Germany | What is it like to live and work in Germany? |
| BBC | The one and only British Broadcasting Corporation. |
| ITN | The first British broadcast online news service with breaking news stories. Multimedia coverage includes streaming video of major news events. You can even have updates delivered to your email address. Uses Real Audio. |
| Not many people think about homelessness when they think about the UK. But it is a large problem all over the country. The Big Issue was set up in 1991 and ever since it has done a great deal to raise awareness and give assistance to homeless people all over the UK. It is now aiming to go International. | |
| Comic Relief | Every other year, all over the country, thousands of people do silly things to raise money for charity. This charity has now become one of our institutions. |
| Oxfam | Oxfam was set up in 1942 in the UK. Today it is one of best-known non-government organisations in the world. You can read all about their history and their current campaigns here. |
| RNLI | Britain is an island and the RNLI (Royal National LIfeboat Institute) is a charity that provides a 24-hour lifesaving service around the coast. Their volunteer crews give up their time and comfort to carry out rescues in difficult and often dangerous conditions. |
On-line Vocabulary |
|
| Frankfurt Language School | A fun way to learn vocabulary. |
| InHand | If you're interested in how the Learn English Network runs, this site should answer all your technical
questions. |
| Web Quests | Web quests are an excellent learning tool. Based around
a central theme they encompass critical thinking, cooperative learning,
authentic assessment, and technology integration. This web site has some
interesting and well thought out quests and ideas about how to build your own. |
| OWL Purdue | Lots of resources to help you improve your writing. |
If you have time, please let us know about any broken links - last review August 2017 using "Screaming Frog".
Inclusion onto these pages is through recommendation only. If you have found a useful (and free) web site and would like to recommend it to others please let us know.
Do you want to add your own commercial web site for free? Then Use the Learn English Free-For-All Links!