Social Networking

12 10 2010

Be careful when you meet strangers on the Internet! Do not give anyone personal details or information about your location.

Windows Live MessengerWindows Live Messenger - Text chat with friends.  Use the conversation prompts or role play cards in the CALL section of the SALC for ideas.  Print off your transcript when you finish and see where you could improve.

Facebook, Ning, Myspace - With these sites, you can create your own profile, join groups, play games, and meet English-speaking friends.

Twitter – Update your status regularly in 140 characters or less.  Follow the updates of  your friends or your favorite celebrities.  Don’t forget to follow the ELI & SALC at http://twitter.com/elisalc.

Blogger and WordPress - Write a blog in English!
- post photos, links and stories
- share your writing with others
- invite your friends to read and comment

ESL Cafe forums – Post your opinions on a topic to an online forum.  Share in written group conversations with English students from all over the world.  Don’t forget to register first.

Lang-8 – Write an entry in the English (or another language you are learning) then a native speaker will correct your entries.  You can help by correcting someone’s Japanese entries.  This site is highly recommended by students and Learning Advisors!

Fanfiction.net – Read and write stories based on your favorite books and shows.

Again, be careful when you meet strangers on the Internet! Do not give anyone personal details or information about your location.





Speaking

12 10 2010

Do you want to practice speaking with a native speaker?

There are students at the University of Minnesota, in the US, who are keen to practice their Japanese.

In America, the new semester has just started and the TandemPlus Skype language exchange program has opened up again. If you would like to practice regularly with native speakers of any language, choose times that suit you and the language(s) you want to practice. You can also choose the age and gender of your partner, although the more flexible you are, the sooner you will find a partner to email and speak to.

Click here for more info and here to register.


Voxopop - Voxopop talkgroups are a fun, easy way to develop your speaking skills.  They’re a bit like message boards, but use voice instead of text.

EnglishCentral EnglishCentral is a  exciting and powerful way to improve your English skills.  EnglishCentral helps you practice your pronunciation and tracks your improvement.  You can learn pronunciation by watching hundreds of commercials, interviews, and movie trailers.

English for Work – EnglishClub.com has some super activities here for speaking English at work. It’s great if you work at a shop, hotel, airport, restaurant, or other place where you have English-speaking customers.  **Recommended by students**

Skype - Use Skype with a microphone to practice speaking with a partner. Use the conversation prompts or role play cards in the CALL section of the SALC for ideas.  You can use Skype in the SALC speaking booths or downoad it to your computer for free.  **Recommended by the SSC (SALC Student Committee)**

Be careful when you meet strangers on the Internet!  Do not give them too much information about your location and personal details.






Listening

8 07 2010

Listen a Minute – One minute listening texts with vocabulary and comprehension activities

Randall’s ESL Listening Labdevelop your listening skills with many interesting  activities.  You can choose from  easy, medium and difficult levels.

Academic English Listening - This site has listening activities for 3 levels of Academic English with audio scripts and worksheets.

Australia Network – Nexus – Learn about Australia and listen to Australian English at this website.  There are videos to help you with vocabulary, and grammar as well as a drama called Living English, that you can watch online.

ELLLO (English Language Listening Lab Online)This is a free online listening resource of over 1,000 listening activities designed especially for language learners. Most listening activities include pictures, a quiz, a script and downloadable MP3s.

VOA News in Special English - Here, you can listen to radio shows that focus on the USA. Choose a topic from the menu on the left of the page, then choose a story, and listen to it by downloading the Real Audio file on the right of the page.

Video Jug - This  is a large collection of  videos which explain how to do everything from  love and dating to building machines and car maintenance.





Reading

29 06 2010

There are hundreds of graded readers in the SALC and new books are added to the collection all the time. You can find new books by using this computer.

There are many genres of graded readers (easy books) in the SALC!

Click these links for some graded reader recommendations with a theme you might enjoy (you must log in to Moodle first):

Practice your reading online with one of these links:


Extensive Reading with Graded Readers

Extensive Reading Foundation – This website shows some of the best graded readers, including winners of a special prize for the best graded readers!

Penguin  – On this website you can get help to choose a level of graded reader and try activities linked to the books in the Penguin range.

Macmillan  – Macmillan have set up a book corner club with activities and reading pages for books in their titles at different levels. Perfect for self-study!


Poetry

Poetry Archive – This is the best place to hear poetry on the web. The archive is an treasure box of poems, including some poets reading their own work.

Teen Ink - Poetry and stories written by teens for teens

Story It has some classic poems that are easy and fun to read.


Short Stories

Mystery Stories – Short mystery stories updated regularly

Short Stories – A large collection of short stories of all genres


BBC Bitesize – This website has an interactive focus, and can help to make learning about reading more fun.

Biographies – Short biographies of thousands of people

Internet Public Library – Online library including websites, magazines, newspapers, books and reference materials, organized by subject area

Topics – A magazine published by and for international students





Multi-Skills

29 06 2010

Do you need to practice more than one skill? Start with one of these links:

Study Skills Success

LiveMocha - online language learning committee

Smart.FM - General language learning site

BBC Learning English – This website is a good place to improve your listening, reading, vocabulary, and grammar skills by using some latest BBC news. It also provides vocabulary definitions to help you learn new words.

English at Home - English-at-home can help with grammar, vocabulary, idioms, punctuation and more.

English Baby! - Join the student community at English Baby!  You can learn new vocabulary, slang, and informal American English with the free resources provided here.

The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary - The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary gives definitions and examples of word use, as well as worksheets to help you learn new words.

Learn English—British Council - Songs, games, grammar and more.  Check out the archive for lots of English language learning materials.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~adelegc/index.html

British Council

Mingoville.com








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