Useful Online Resources
Mixed Skills
This site contains material which allows you to practice and improve your reading, writing, listening, vocabulary and grammar skills. You can listen to podcasts, watch videos, read magazine articles and complete activities related to these. In addition, there is a section dedicated to IELTs practice and tips.
Voice of America is a news website which is designed for learners of English. You can access current news and other programs, and read and listen at the same time. In addition, there is an American idiom dictionary and an interactive wordbook, and a broad range of activities relating to grammar and vocabulary. In the activities section, in Academic English you can access a wide range of videos which give you step by step tips.
This site provides material relating to reading, grammar & vocabulary, and listening and pronunciation skills. The articles are interesting, current and cover a wide range of themes. You can also find a radio soap opera (Flatmates) designed specifically for learners of English which comes with games and activities.
National Public Radio is a reputable news website and is a non-commercial source. It is a good souce of reading and listening for learners of English because each article can be read and listened to at the same time. It contains a range of programs covering various topics, including music, sport, current affairs amongst others.
This site provides material relating to vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing skills. The grammar section is particularly useful because it provides explanations of many grammar points along with quizzes designed for a variety of levels. There is a useful section providing study tips, a writing section which includes advice on how to construct a variety of simple and complex sentences, and games/puzzles.
This is a particularly useful website for practicing specific grammar points. The site contains tutorials and quizzes for abroad variety of verb tenses and other grammar points. In addition, in the reading room, you can access authentic online reading material according to themes, and in Listening Resources you can find a list of authentic websites to practice your listening skills.
Listening/Speaking Skills
Useful listening practice for all levels of English
This is a fun and interactive site which uses video as its main source. You can find videos according to a theme or according to the vocabulary you would like to learn. While watching the video you can read the subtitles in English out loud at the same time as the speaker. The video records your voice and then gives you a grade relating to your pronunciation.
Writing Skills
Examples and rules about how to write different types of assignments in English.
This is an online edition of a book called Sentence Sense: A WriterÂ’s Guide. It was published by a community college in the U.S. The book is divided into four parts: Part One examines how sentences work, giving a structural understanding of language used every day. Part Two focuses on errors that commonly appear in written English. Part Three suggests techniques and topics for developing ideas in writing. Students may move back and forth among parts, and there are also dozens of writing-related quizzes with answers.
Useful online tool for checking synonyms and antonyms in English.
This site contains in-depth material on academic writing. If you enter the Purdue Owl section on the browser at the top of the page you can find a number of links which cover almost all aspects of writing.
Externado University Library
- Hogue, A. (2003) The Essentials of English – A Writer´s Handbook, New York: Pearson´s Education.
- Hogue, A. & Oshime, A. (1999) Writing Academic English, 3rd ed. New York. Pearson Education.
- Hopkins, D. & Cullin, P. (2007) Cambridge Grammar for IELTS – self-study grammar reference & practice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mc Carter S. & Whitby, N. (2007) Improve Your IELTS Reading Skills, Oxford: Macmillan Publishers.
- Murphy, R. (1994) English Grammar in Use, New York: Cambridge University Press.
