Top ESL Websites

Listening and Speaking

ESL VIDEO.
Watch a video and take a quiz to check your understanding. Different levels available.

English Central.
An excellent free video website where you can watch parts of videos about topical events, repeat what you hear and get a score, fill in blanks with missing words that you hear and learn new vocab. You can choose your level. There are several channels to choose from.

BBC - 6 Minute English.
Take six minutes and practise your listening skills. This site explains new vocabulary. You can also read the transcripts.

Voice of America - Learning English.
Great news site for English learners. Includes audio and transcript of news stories as well as video.

Multi-media English.
A highly engaging multi-media site with videos, clips from TV shows, music videos to practise listening and learn new vocabulary. Highly recommended!

Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab. A good website for listening practice. You can choose your level, your topic, answer comprehension questions, and practise new vocabulary.

Spoken Skills - Pronunciation
Good listening practice, including confusing sounds. You can also record yourself and play it back for comparison.

Ship or Sheep - Pronunciation
Practice minimal pairs (words that vary by just one sound, such as 'lot' &'rot', 'pill' & 'bill', 'beach' & you know...)

Reading and Vocabulary

Newsela.
A excellent source of news and current affairs stories. You can choose your level and some articles have quizzes. If you register (for free), you'll have access to an unlimited number of articles.

Breaking News English.
Reading and vocabulary practice. Make sure you try the Speed Reading tool to help increase your reading speed.

English for Everyone.
This site has links to grammar, spelling, vocabulary, etc., but I often send students here who want extra reading practice. There are articles at different levels with questions about main idea, details, vocabulary and inference. Excellent explanations about why answers are right or wrong.

Premier Skills English.
A free website about football by Barclay's Premier League and the British Council. Read about players and clubs, learn vocabulary and answer questions. You can also practise listening and grammar. You can even connect to other football fans from around the world.

Quizlet.
Study vocabulary and practice with fun games. There's also a free Quizlet app for your phone. You can find my sets by searching for "jancouver".

Grammar and Writing

English Tenses.
Learn about verb tenses through cartoons and practice exercises.

British Council Grammar.
Learn grammar and vocabulary from this British Council site.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Online writing help. Grammar information as well. Check out the section for ESL students.

English Zone Grammar.
Grammar exercises organized by topic.

Spell Up.
A new game from Google which helps students develop their vocabulary through spelling and pronunciation.
https://spellup.withgoogle.com

Spelling.
Choose your level, listen to a text and spell the missing words. Check your score at the end. Excellent spelling practice.

Spelling.
Spelling tips.

Academic English

BBC Learning English.
Academic listening practice to help you understand university lectures better.

Using English for Academic Purposes.
A comprehensive guide for academic reading, listening, writing and speaking.

Note-taking.
A thorough guide from Simon Fraser University to help you take better notes during lectures.

Academic Word List.
Learn academic vocabulary by doing crossword puzzles, matching exercises, etc.

Extra Links

EVERYTHING you've ever wanted to know about the PRESENT PERFECT!

Passive Voice - Explanation and practice.

Essay Writing Infographic - from GrammarCheck

Lingua.ly - An excellent tool that allows you to save words from anything you read online. It collects these words and provides you with activities to review and practise them.