English Conversation Online

Should we be Using Twitter in Language Learning

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:36:00 +0000

I wonder should we be using Twitter in language learning?

I guess everyone knows what Twitter is but have you actually considered it as a means of improving your English? Probably not might well be your answer and I can think of one reason you might say that. The problem is the amount of characters you can actually send (140), so sentences have to be quite short and concise. Also there is the issue of getting someone to correct what you write, should you make an error, as well as the temptation to use slang or text abbreviations.

However if you already have a social network, perhaps including other English learners, then there might well be scope to develop some language practice using Twitter.

Personally I blog a lot, but blogs by their nature really need to be a bit more lengthy than 140 characters! So using Twitter to say how you feel, what the weathers like or what you are doing might well be a good idea to develop you English language use-call it a micro blogging platform, which could lead to you starting a blog in English too.

On the face of it Twitter certainly seems a fun way to practice short English sentences but for more serious writing perhaps its better to stick with a chat facility which is not governed by a character count. So from me a partial thumbs up for using Twitter in language learning.

What do you think?

Your Dictionary

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:03:00 +0000

As an online second language learner having an easy accessible online dictionary is really useful.

The free online facilities provided by Your Dictionary.com take some beating in this important area of language learning and understanding. The site is easy to search and can be added to iGoogle.

Aside from being a useful dictionary the site also offers word games to play and has links to lots of free English language learning resources.

I recommend you check out Your Dictionary.

More free resources soon.

Free English and Literature Courses for EFL Students and Teachers

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:12:00 +0000

EFL teachers and students who are looking for pre-made lesson plans and courses can find many quality educational materials online. There are courses and lessons available for learners at almost any level. Here are 10 free English language and literature courses to explore:

Online English Language Course - 1-language.com offers a four-part online English course with more than 70 study units. The course is split into four levels: starter, elementary, pre-intermediate, and upper intermediate.

Beginning English Course - This free About.com course is aimed at beginning English speakers. The course is delivered via email over an eight week period.

English Pronunciation Course - The English Club provides a comprehensive English pronunciation course for ESL learners. Course participants can communicate and help each other with the course in the English Club forum.

Livemocha English Courses - Livemocha, a social language learning community, offers three free online English courses: a course for beginning English students, a course for intermediate English students, and a course for students who want to learn English for travelling.

English Page Weekly Lesson - The English Page offers a new online English language lesson each week. Lessons are geared toward beginner and intermediate level EFL students.

FreeRice - Although FreeRice does not offer a traditional English or literature course, it does provide excellent English vocabulary practice for advanced EFL students. While learning vocabulary on FreeRice, students can also help feed hungry people around the world. For every correct answer, the site donates 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program.

Introductory Writing Course - Offered free by Utah State University, this English course introduces advanced English students to writing academic prose. This course is perfect for aspiring college students.

ReadWriteThink Lesson Plans - ReadWriteThink provides an excellent collection of English and literature lesson plans for grades K-12. Users can search for lessons by title, date, and grade level.

LitPlans - This site provides a wide selection of links for English literature lesson plans for students who read at the middle school or high school level. Each link leads to a full lesson plan based on a particular book.

LitLovers LitCourses - There are 10 free online literature courses available through LitLovers. Each course includes basic materials and lasts approximately 30 minutes.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online classes for OnlineClasses.org.

The Flatmates-BBC Learning English

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:19:00 +0000

I must apologise for being a bit late with this week English language learning resource. Anyway I hope you think its been worth the extra wait. BBC learning English have a series of videos-most available on You Tube-that look at everyday English in a variety of situations.

Watching and listening to the videos is a great way to consolidate your learning which helps you check your understanding English being spoken as a native speaker would communicate.

The video clips are quite short and therefore manageable.

I have included the first episode of The Flatmates in today's post and you can access the others via You Tube.

Have fun.

Interesting Things for ESL/EFL Students

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:06:00 +0000

This weeks free English Resource is brought to you by the Many Things site under the Interesting Things for ESL/EFL Students tab.

This is how the site owners describe the site:

"This web site is for people studying English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL). There are quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer assisted language learning activities. Even though the primary focus is for ESL, native English speakers may also find some interesting things on this site. This site is non-commercial and has no advertising. TESL/TEFL teachers may want to recommend this site to their students."

I think the description says it all and I can confirm that the material contained on the pages is of good quality and certainly useful to both non native and native English speakers. I had some fun with the flash hangman game but this is just one of literally hundreds of activities that are available free for your English practice.

Interesting things for ESL/EFL students?

Definitely!

1-language

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:46:00 +0000

This weeks free English language resource is brought to you by1-language.com.

Packed with useful resources for both students studying English as a second language or indeed teachers of the subject I am fairly sure you will find something that takes your fancy.

The site is easy to navigate and doesn't require any fancy plug-ins.

Personally I like the English Audio courses but there are plenty of other goodies packed into this excellent English language resource.

So when you get a minute check out 1-language.com.

Learning English-Using Voice of America

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:05:00 +0000

A great free English learning resource that is readily available throughout the world is Voice of America.

Besides listening to the regular broadcasts by radio, Voice of America also has an excellent web site dedicated to learners of English as a second language. You will find podcasts and videos to download that are related to radio broadcasts.

Of course the site is particularly useful if you wish to learn American English with its subtle and sometimes non to subtle differences to the English spoken in the UK.

The "special English" used in the broadcasts is unique and designed to help English learners throughout the world. This is what Voice of America has to say:

Three Elements Make Special English Unique

It has a core vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions. Some words are more difficult. They are used for reporting world events and describing discoveries in medicine and science.

Special English writers use short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. They use active voice. They do not use idioms.

Special English broadcasters read at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are fluent English speakers understand complex subjects.

So wherever you are and whatever your resources for learning English I recommend that you try this excellent free resource from Voice of America.

BBC Skillswise

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:45:00 +0000

Whilst searching around for a new English resource to offer you this week I actually ended up returning to the BBC Skillswise site. I have used parts of it before but never looked at it in its entirety.

I'm glad I returned because the links contained on the Skillswise home page lead to many useful resources if you are looking to improve your English. I particularly like the tabbed section that covers grammar, spelling, reading listening, writing and vocabulary.

Most of the tabs are linked to exercises, fact sheets and quizzes. This makes BBC Skillswise an extremely useful and compact English learning resource.

English Resource of the Day-ESL Monkeys

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:03:00 +0000

ESL Monkeys is a great online resource for learners of English as a second language. The site brings together lots of useful online resources that are sure to contain something of interest for everyone.

English teachers, schools and students are catered for with a reading room, word of the day and student forums being just a few of the things on offer.

If you are a webmaster/teacher there are some great free links for word of the day, lesson plans and job offers.

ESL Monkeys? In my opinion a good resource that is worth looking at.

Video Nation BBC

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:56:00 +0000

A great resources for practicing your understanding of English conversation is Video Nation from the BBC. The site contains numerous videos from the UK with a huge variety of participants.

Regional accents and interesting topics make this site worth a visit

You can check out the content of Video Nation here.

Rythmes for Learning English

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:50:00 +0000

Turning Your Cell Phone into an English Teacher

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:14:00 +0000

While most people think of their cell phone as a communications device, it can also help you improve your English on a daily basis. Since we tend to take our cell phones everywhere we go, it becomes an extremely compact, portable and accessible tool for improving your English.

Here are a few tips for taking any ordinary phone and turning it into a mobile English teacher:

1. Switch your phone language: If your phone is currently set in your mother tongue, consider switching it to English. Just by using the English interface you will build your vocabulary and become more comfortable in English.

2. Text in English - if you have some friends who will humor you,texting in English is one of the fastest and most fun ways to improve your vocabulary. Just make sure to keep a dictionary handy!

3. MP3 - if you have a cell phone that supports MP3s, consider switching out your music for informative pod casts in English. Alternatively, add English language music that you enjoy to your music player so you can have it everywhere you go.

4. Apps and More Apps - whether you use the iPhone, Palm Pre or Blackberry, there are numerous dictionary and language learning tools available for any smart phone. Take advantage of them and practice your language skills wherever you are.

This is a guest post by Elise Degrass is a freelance writer, who currently writes about T-mobile cell phones for Cell Phones.org. She is an avid learner and enjoys using her cell phone to further her education. She welcomes your feedback at elisedegrass@gmail.com.

8 Ways to Practice English Outside the Classroom

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:48:00 +0000

We all know learning a language takes lots of practice, both inside and outside the classroom. For those looking to incorporate English into every day life and accelerate the learning process, here are:

8 Ways to Practice English Outside the Classroom

1. Travel to an English-speaking country.
If you have the financial means, spending time in an English-speaking country is probably the best way to get lots of practice in English. As an added bonus, you can also visit different English-speaking countries to get used to hearing different accents.

2.Hang out where people who speak English hang out.
Check if your town or city has a place where English speakers gather, such as bars, pubs, libraries, or coffee shops. If they don't have formal meeting places like this, just hang around popular tourist attractions that tend to attract English speakers.

3. Take a class in something else that interests you in which the instructor only speaks English.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to find courses in various disciplines in which the instructor speaks only English; if not, why not try an online course entirely in English? Many are even free.

4. Listen to and sing along with English language music.
You won't be actually conducting English conversation, but you will be working on your pronunciation and getting a feel for the way words work together. You'll pick up lots of vocabulary, too.

5. Watch English language films.
Again, you're not necessarily talking along with the actors (although you could if you wanted to, I suppose), but you will hear lots of spoken English, and your brain will pick up the way certain words blend together, the natural pauses in sentences, etc.

6. Change your computer settings to English.
By forcing yourself to function in English, you will pick up lots of new words, common phrases, and sentence structure while gaining an overall comfortableness with the language that could take you much longer otherwise; frequent English-only websites and forums for extra practice.

7. Change all your electronic devices to English.
Applying the same principle as above, change the settings on everything from your cell phone to your alarm clock to English (assuming you already know how to use them well). You may be surprised to see how quickly using these devices in English becomes second nature.

8. Talk to yourself.
When I was learning Italian, one of the techniques I used was talking to myself only in Italian. Whether I was planning out my day in my head or writing a grocery list, I used Italian to get my brain thinking in that mode, and I'm convinced that help me learn faster.

What are some other fun ways to practice English outside the classroom?

Guest post by Michelle Fabio, an American freelance writer and former ESL teacher who lives in southern Italy and also writes about online graduation education at OnlineGraduateEducation.org.

English Conversation Courses Online

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:38:00 +0000

If you are looking for an English conversation course online you might like to check out emagister.co.uk. The list of 15 resources I found includes several that are free.

The emagister site while providing information on English conversation courses also can be used to search for other types of course.

A sort of course search engine you might say.

Another good resource for finding English conversation classes online is WiZiQ again there are several free courses offered alongside paid options. I notice that several of the providers are based in India. Good to know if your time zone is compatible.

Hope this helps you find an English conversation course online that suits your needs.

Bare, Bear and Bear

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:50:00 +0000

I am returning to the subject of homophones again today since I get many queries from students studying English conversation as a second language who are confused by these similar sounding words. So what about "Bear," "Bare" and "Bear." Now the last word bear is not a typo since it is spelled the same as the first word.

So what exactly are the three means of bear, bare and bear?

Here are three examples to help you.

1. The brown BEAR was rescued from a circus where the owner had mistreated it. So in this case the "bear" is an animal. Another example is : The bear was quite fierce.

2. His BARE skin got burned in the bright sunlight as he lay on the tropical beach. Here the "bare" means without clothes. Another example is: He painted the bare metal to stop it going rusty.

3. The bridge supports had to BEAR the weigh of a six lane highway. Here the "bear" to support something. Another example is: He "bears" a resemblance to a famous pop star.

There are many other uses of these words in English see if you can chose the correct one.

He was asked to bear/bare witness.

The bear/bare boy was found near the village.

What colour are the bears/bares at the North Pole?

Hope that helps with the difference between bear, bare and bear.

Learn English Abroad

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:13:00 +0000

There are many interesting destinations you could choose to visit to learn English abroad. The UK is a great choice and has many diverse areas you could locate yourself in. Since there are four separate countries making up the UK each with their own regional dialect of the English language it might even be a good idea to visit more than one of the countries if time and resources allow.

However many people who wish to learn English abroad plump for England, well it is the home of English and London the capital city is a very cosmopolitan place to visit. London has a huge concentration of major attractions and offers a lot of places to visit including museums, art galleries and theaters.

Other popular areas to visit and study include, Brighton on the South coast, Oxford, Manchester and Liverpool.

Wherever you go in the UK and England you are sure of a warm welcome. You will also find a huge variety in regional accents which can make conversational English fun and challenging. Local traditions and customs can be found everywhere and make your experience even more fun.

There are a wide range of providers of English courses specifically designed for learning English abroad whilst on holiday. These include formal courses like summer schools and home stays with English teachers.

Verbalearn for English Conversation

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Another resource to help develop your English conversation skills is Verbalearn. It comes in two guises in that it is offered in a stripped down form for free but also has several premium (paid) options.

There are lots of learning options offered including MP3 and video flash cards.

Although the best features are not available in the free version a rather novel cash-back offer is made on the most expensive package.

In my opinion its definitely worth checking out Verbalearn as a resource for developing your English conversation. How much you think is worth is of course up to you.

Free English Conversation Practice-Yappr

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:19:00 +0000

Free English conversation practice is always welcome especially when it comes with high quality video, messaging, email and transcripts of your own language as well as English. Of course finding the free English conversation practice that I have described is not always so easy.

However the good news is that I have recently discovered a site offering English conversation practice free. The site, called "yappr" is readily available for anyone with an Internet connection and although registration is required all the facilities are provided free.

Now I don't know how the founders came up with the name for their site, but to yap in English means to talk a lot! So if you like chatting away in English perhaps its time you became a yappr by heading on over to the site for some free English conversation practice.

20 Free Vocabulary Building Resources for English Students

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:30:00 +0000

The Internet provides some of the best free resources for expanding your English vocabulary. There are many different games, activities, quizzes, dictionaries, virtual flashcards, and other resources that were specifically designed to improve and build English skills. Here is a list of 20 free vocabulary building resources for English students at any level:

VerbaLearn - VerbaLearn provides effective study tools for students to increase comprehension and decrease overstudying. Students can use audio words, video flashcards, and crossword puzzles to increase their English vocabulary.

1-Language.com - A one-stop resource for building English vocabulary, 1-language provides grammar quizzes, word searches, and more.

Vocabulix - Vocabulix is a free language learning site that offers a vocabulary builder, verb drills, and verb conjugation tables.

A.Word.A.Day - With a community of 750,000 linguaphiles, this site is a great place for English students to build their vocabulary.

IVocabulary.com - IVocabulary.com is a free online vocabulary test designed for ESL and K-12 students. With a simple click, students can pick their grade level to begin their own vocabulary building test.

Quizlet - This flashcard site offers flashcards for studying vocabulary. Quizlet allows you to create your own vocabulary flashcards, share them with friends, and study pre-created flashcards.

ESL Mania - ESL Mania offers many different resources for building English vocabulary and grammar.

Dictionary.com - Dictionary.com offers a free Word of the Day to expand your vocabulary skills as well as a comprehensive online English dictionary.

Popling - Popling is a free web app that offers a unique way to study vocabulary. The app displays a small question window (flashcard) on your computer several times a day so that you can study vocabulary without effort.

Vocabulary.com - This free resource, used by over 22,000 schools, features tools to enhance your vocabulary and written skills. Vocabulary.com offers word lists, puzzles, lessons, and advanced study to build English skills.

WordAhead - The WordAhead site uses over 787 vocabulary videos and flashcards to increase your understanding of English words.

Learning Chocolate - Learning Chocolate is a free vocabulary game site that helps students memorize English words through pictures, games, and sounds. This is a great way for English learners to memorize simple vocabulary words in a fun, effective environment.

StudyBean - This free test preparation site offers flashcards and quizzes to help English students improve writing skills, increase vocabulary, and study effectively.

ManyThings - This free ESL site provides games, word lists, puzzles, and quizzes that can be used to effectively increase English vocabulary.

The Problem Site - The Problem Site offers online educational word games for all ages. Students can find picture word games, secret words, four word scrabble, word grids, and a challenging vocabulary quiz.

FlashcardExchange - The FlashcardExchange is a free flashcard creation website. Students can create vocabulary flashcards for studying or use pre-created flashcards that are already online.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary - With free daily vocabulary resources, Merriam-Webster is an excellent place to boost your word knowledge. This online dictionary features a daily crossword puzzle, word games, word of the day, and a daily podcast.

FunBrain - FunBrain offers several online games for children and beginner-level English students. Just a few of the games featured on the site include Infoplease Word of the Day, The Plural Girls, Grammar Gorillas, and What's the Word.

SuperVocab.com - SuperVocab.com offers free vocabulary lessons for SAT, GRE, and TOEFL. Lessons include quick tests, virtual flashcards, and word lists.

Number2.com - This free test preparation site provides a comprehensive vocabulary builder and word of the day feature to expand English vocabulary.

Guest post from Karen Schweitzer, the About.com Guide to Business School. Karen also writes about college courses online for OnlineCourses.org

Teaching English Online

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:58:00 +0000

Teaching English online can be a rewarding job. Flexible hours and the comfort of working from home are just two of the positives online English teaching can bring. However there are a few important issues that you need to consider before you rush headlong into something that does not suit everyone.

OK so working remotely being your own boss with few overheads and getting paid for it sounds good and under the right circumstances it can be, but like a lot of work in the TEFL world some potential employers and students are not always what they seem.

Actually finding a potential employer might not be that difficult, using online searches and web sites aimed at English teacher recruitment you can come up with a reasonable list. In addition posting your CV on English teacher job boards can also reap dividends.

But what sort of things do you want to know before you accept a job? Well here's a few ideas.

The number of clients they will send your way, how much per hour will you be paid and the duration of sessions is a good place to start. Equally its important to know the time zones your clients will be using and how this fits in with your own time zone.

The level of English of students is also important for teaching online since chances are you are going to get students of mixed ability. This can present problems when working online.

How you get paid is also important along with how frequently. Consider using Paypal or something similar although watch the fees as $10 can be a lot less after Paypal deductions!

Equipment requirements are also important as is the software you will use for lessons. Add to that a question about teaching materials and who supplies them since lesson preparation is unlikely to be paid!

Finally before accepting any job offer for teaching English online do a bit of research on your potential employer remember what I said there are a few people out there who promise the earth but then don't deliver.

If the offer sounds too good to be true it probably is. Believe me you are not going to get rich teaching English online but with a little effort you can find an interesting, flexible and rewarding job.

Online English Teacher

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:21:00 +0000

Finding an online English teacher is not too difficult. There are lots of packages available from different English teachers and some even include free lessons.

You can expect to pay somewhere $15-$20 an hour although there are often reductions if you purchase a package.

Here are a selection of links to various companies that offer either free or paid lessons with an online English Teacher.

1. Online English Teacher.
2. Buddy School.
3. Myngle.
4. English Tutor Online.
5. ESL Teacher Board.

There are of course many other opportunities to find a suitable English teacher. For example you will often find individuals not allied to a company offering this service, in fact many of these can be found in one place by clicking on link number 5 above.

Good luck and I hope you find a suitable online English teacher soon.

Singapore International Story Telling Festival 2009

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:44:00 +0000

From the organisers of the Singapore Story Telling Festival 2009.

Our International Story Telling Festival will be taking place in Singapore from 31 August to 12 September, and we would like to seek your support for the following programme:

1. Asian Congress of Storytellers
A meeting of professional storytellers that offers training in specific areas of storytelling through keynotes, workshops, performances and forum.

Dates: 11 & 12 September (Friday & Saturday)
Time: 8.45am to 5.00pm
Venue: National Museum at Stamford Road
Cost: S$350 per person (early-bird rate till 31 July; applicable for group registration for 3 persons or more)
Online Registration: please proceed to www.bookcouncil.sg/sisf/asiancongress.html

2. Other seminars which may interest you include:
- Introducing Children’s Literature through Stories and Storytelling
- Storytelling for Classroom Teachers
- Digital Storytelling
- Storytelling for Self-Esteem
- Storytelling with Children & Families (Early Intervention Programmes)
- Masterclass on Business Narrative (corporate storytelling)

Log on to www.bookcouncil.sg/sisf/seminars.html for more information and registration.

Teachers, librarians, community & caring professionals, executives, parents and aspiring storytellers are most welcome to sign up for the above.

We hope to see you in Singapore!

Lateral Thinking Puzzle

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:24:00 +0000

Here's a new lateral thinking puzzle for you to try and solve.

A man leaves his home on a sales trip, whilst he is away his wife has her lover to visit. The lover leaves before the husband returns and does not leave anything behind.

When the husband returns he is feeling tired so decides to take a shower in the on suite bathroom.

When he returns to the bedroom he accuses his wife of having a lover in their home while he was away.

How did he know her secret?

Answer to this lateral thinking puzzle in a couple of days-have fun.

Free English Conversation Videos

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:17:00 +0000

If you want some free English conversation videos why not check out these resources at engVid.com.

Neatly packaged You Tube videos all together on one site. There is sure to be something of interest for you. So whatever your reasons for wanting to improve your English conversation can I recommend you drop by engVid.com and see whats on offer.

Another great free English conversation learning resource brought to you by English Conversation Online your one stop shop for all that is best on the web when it comes to improving your English.

Enjoy.

Slideshare for English Learning Resources

thetefldon@gmail.com (The TEFL Don) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:03:00 +0000

25 Best List for Learners Resources

View more documents from Vina Johnson.

I came across Slideshare the other day when I was looking for different English learning resources to share with you. Slideshare works like You Tube but instead of videos you get a PowerPoint slide show. That said you can also embed video and podcasts within the presentations.

Today I have included an example from Slideshare with this post that details a list of English learning resources. There are literally hundreds of similar resources to choose from on the site.

If nothing else the site provides yet another type of English learning resource that can be used to improve grammar, pronunciation and conversation skills.