Get help
For many of us, the internet has become the first place to look for information, help or advice. Here are some useful sites that are not just for language learners, but that can help you to improve your English.
- The basics. Do you need help with apostrophes, commas or using the right tense? Many English-speaking adults also need help with their language skills. Go to "Words", then look under "Grammar" at the BBC's "Skillswise" site or go to the "Numbers" section to find out more about writing large numbers: www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/
- Spelling. If you can't remember how to spell a word, go to Wordsmyth. Type in the word with its approximate spelling and click "spelled-like" to get a list of suggestions that match your word: www.wordsmyth.net
- Reports. Do you have a report, a summary or an academic essay to write? Some of the best sites on writing skills come from the United States, where many universities have online writing programmes. You can also download the podcasts from Qdnow, where Grammar Girl gives you her "quick and dirty" writing tips: http://grammar.qdnow.com
- English for work. Whether you just need to improve your general telephone skills, or are preparing for a job interview abroad, Munich University's job applications site Jobline can help. You'll find a range of resources, as well as six learning modules. The module on telephoning will improve your confidence on the phone as well as your comprehension skills: www.jobline.lmu.de
- Life. The video site Videojug describes its content as "a visual handbook to life". The good-quality, short videos deal with such subjects as "how to get rid of spam", "how to juggle three balls" and "how to be the perfect boyfriend". To improve your understanding, watch such videos several times, pausing them when you need to. Then print out the instructions or send the link to a friend who needs this advice: www.videojug.com
Stay informed
International news sites, TV and radio networks all have their own learning zones. In many cases, these include specialist pages for language learners. Use news sites for listening practice and to build your vocabulary around the current-affairs topics you want to be able to talk about.
Simple English. For international news in simple English, try the Voice of America. This part of the Voice of America site offers simplified daily world news and features in text and audio. The site also offers podcasts, so you can listen to the items again and again to reinforce your listening skills: www.vocnews.com/specialenglish/
- Bilingual stories. Find a news site in English, such as Der Spiegel, that runs stories of interest to you. Listen to or read the news in German first, and it will be easier to follow the same stories in English later. Make an English news site your home page, and always browse the news briefly there before moving on to other sites: www.spiegel.de/international/
- Short texts. Go to Breakingnewsenglish.com and click on an article that looks interesting. Start thinking about the topic with the "before reading/listening" task. After reading or listening to the article, do the gap-filling, multiple-choice and matching exercises. Come back another day to do the test that asks you to recreate the text: www.breakingnewsenglish.com
- Language workout. Watch a documentary. Frontline has free 60-minute programmes in streaming video. The teachers' centre has summaries of many of the programmes and offers activities such as true/false questions to ask yourself while watching: www.frontline.org
Seek out culture
It's much easier to learn a language if you are relaxed or are having fun, and even better if you are in touch with the background culture. Here's how to improve your English without even thinking about it.
Film. You'll find more than 90 trailers of recent popular films at English-trailers.com. Choose one to watch, but read the summary and check the vocabulary first. Then do the Cloze (gap-fill) exercise while you listen again, and submit your answers: http://www.english-trailers.com
- Stories. The Mysterynet.com site offers interactive mini-mysteries. If you need help, click on "get a clue". You can also join an online community and work together to solve the "whodunnit": www.mysterynet.com
- Art. At click on thumbnail images from the Whitney Museum of American Art. Choose pictures you like and get involved with them by answering some questions. You can even create your own collection (using the "Collect Art" tab), and write your own catalogue notes: http://whitney.org/
- Your opinions. Why not write your own commentary? You will find thousands of short videos on the web, many of which are without words. When you find an interesting title (for example, "Scratchzilla"), imagine what the video could be about. After watching the video, write down all the words that come into your head, and look up any other words you need in a dictionary. Now imagine you are a journalist reporting what you have seen. Write down what you would say. Sites: www.youtube.com www.myspace.com www.boreme.com
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