A few years ago I wrote a blog post about 10 Websites for English Language Teachers. At the time it seemed to be quite popular with readers but it suddenly dawned that I did not write about any websites which would be best suited for learners of English. So read on to find out the 10 websites which I recommend for learners of English.
1. ESOL Courses
This wonderful self-study website, ESOL Courses, is great for students as all lessons are available online, there is no registration so lessons are free and they cover a range of areas as well as levels. I was first introduced to this website when I met Sue Lyon-Jones and she was referring to this website. I would definitely recommend students to look at this website and do some of the lessons in their spare time.
2. BBC Learning English
I have been using the BBC Learning English website since I first started English language teaching in South Korea. I always used to refer my students to it so that they could develop their own listening and vocabulary skills in their own time. The website has obviously developed and improved over time and there are now videos and activities.
3. Five Minute English
This website, Five Minute English, was one that I came across by accident and it contains quite a number of lessons which focus on listening, grammar, vocabulary as well as a range of other skills. It is fantastic and students can look at this website in their free time. The website is basic but content is good for students to study a little bit more after lessons and is invaluable for those students who have very little time for self-study.
4. ESL Podcast
This website, ESL Podcast, has small listening lessons for students to learn vocabulary and idiomatic expressions related to a particular theme. When students look at the lesson, there is a script. There are not any activities but it is just an additional opportunity for learners to improve their listening skills in their own time.
5. English Page
English Page is an engaging learner focused website which offers areas of study with grammar, vocabulary as well as weekly lessons. It is a useful website with exercises within the website so students do not have to download or print activities. This can reinforce what is being studied during lessons.
6. Flo-Joe
Flo-Joe has been around for years and I was introduced to it when I was working in Korea as it was the go-to website as lessons were associated with Cambridge ESOL Examinations and it still is. It is still an invaluable website for those learners that are preparing for examinations such as the PET, KET, FCE or any other Cambridge ESOL focused examination. Students will develop a lot of exam skills and they will be able to use this in their free time.
7. English at Home
English at Home is a great website for students as there is a focus on spoken English, vocabulary and grammar. There are lessons available but most of the activities are basic ‘choose the correct answer’. However, it is a useful website that students could use to refer to during their selfstudy.
8. DuoLingo
You cannot write a blog post for learners of any language who wishes to study in their own time without mentioning the great DuoLingo website/application. I have this on my phone whenever I feel inspired to study French or German. However, there are courses for students whose first language is not English but wish to selfstudy English. For example, a South Korean student can access DuoLingo and learn English with the ease of using their L1. You should definitely recommend your learners to access this website on their smartphones or on their laptop.
9. Breaking News English
This is a wonderful website for students who wish to learn more about what is happening around the world, with regular updates to Breaking News English by Sean Banville. Students have free access to all lessons and activities as well as the audio. Students may need some support and introduction to the website but you could always get learners to complete a listening activity as part of their homework and then share their experiences of learning through this website.
10. University of Victoria Study Zone
The University of Victoria has free access to a Study Zone and learners may benefit from the numerous online lessons. It is primarily aimed for students from the University of Victoria. This website has a lot of resources available for students with a focus on grammar, vocabulary and reading. It does require a bit of learner training but once students have developed confidence with the website, it could supplement lessons quite nicely. Lessons are organised into levels and there is also a grammar index.
As an idea for getting students to become more aware of online content to complement their studies, I try to show the websites in class with a class set of laptops or Chromebooks, students then choose a lesson, from one of the websites, to complete during the lesson. After they have completed a lesson, they then chat to their partner about the website and for homework I organise students to write about their thoughts of the self-study content and a review with a Google Drive document, which can then be shared to all other learners when they return to class another day.
What are your favourite websites to get students to learn English outside of the classroom? Do you recommend any that have not been mentioned here? Do you have any activities that you incorporate in class to supplement learner autonomy and training?
*An update to this post and to all my readers. I was nominated and successfully won the delightful Teaching English Blog of the Month Award. A huge thanks to everyone at the British Council for their support and massive thanks to all my readers, colleagues and friends for their help. To receive recognition for the work that I do and the blog that I maintain is fantastic, so a big thank you to everyone.
Hello Martin, thanks a lot. Have already sent the link to my ss 🙂
That is brilliant. So glad that this post was useful.
Hallo miss.All i want to speak english.please. can you help me.please I into english
Reblogged this on The Echo Chamber.
What about busuu? Does it not make it on the list? https://www.busuu.com/enc/
Thanks for sharing this website, I never knew it existed so hence it wasn’t on the list. I’ll definitely recommend any which benefit learners and develop autonomous self-study. I’ll have to have a look more at Busuu.
you missed this one: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/
Thank you. A good current affairs website for learners of English.
I find http://www.engvid.com really useful.
Fantastic, thank you for sharing.
great collection, very helpful! thank you
A great list! If I may, I’d like to add the British council website:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/ .
I agree Clare. It’s a wonderful website for learners of English.
I always send my students to http://www.agendaweb.org/ to practise grammar, vocab whatever. It has different levels, shown in colours. If you don’t like a webpage, just try the next one.
i use to learn English from bbc learning English it is very useful website .. i am from Algeria and the English is not the priority in our school and university … but i try to lean English of myself by listening to the video .. now i thing my English is improving because i can understand lot of dialogue in news and in the video internet without translate … but i find difficulties in pronunciations because i don’t have anyone to speak with them.
Reblogged this on Ithileth.
Does anyone of these websites give me free lessons?
Check them out and I’m sure you’ll find something that you’re after.
http://www.dailydawnenglish.com This might help you to improve more.
Another wonderful find. Thanks for sharing.
My students love http://lyricstraining.com/en/
Not only is it free, it’s also TONS of fun! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this website
Hi Martin,
Just to let you know that we’ve shortlisted this blog post for this month’s TeachingEnglish blog award and I’ll be putting up a post about it on today’s TeachingEnglish Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TeachingEnglish.BritishCouncil, if you’d like to check there for likes and comments.
Best,
Ann
Ann, thank you ever so much for shortlisting my blog post. Good luck to all those that are shortlisted.
very good post, if you have any source which will help to non-English then it will be good for us.
Thank you for the list. On my blog, I’ve been sharing some websites where students can find more authentic materials and also some online vocabulary and grammar games which I create by using Articulate Storyline. Here is the link; https://englishinlife.wordpress.com/
Well done
http://www.elllo.org
I think there is a very good website that is not mentioned : http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/
the best system to learning English from this site
Hi Martin. I would definitely recommend adding http://www.fluentiq.com to the list. Your readers can self assess and get a very clear understanding of what they need to focus on to improve.
TED.com and TED ed
Nice sharing. I also use quizlet alot along with Kahoot in my classes. They are great sources for vecabulary teaching. I like the most about these two websites is that they enhance 21st century skills among learners like calibration, communication and teamwork. Quizlet.live is a new development on the website,but it is amazing, I suggest all EFL teachers should try these two websites.
Reblogged this on Ilokaswz's Blog.
Great post very useful. Since you referred a lot of your students to this site does that also mean that students can navigate through the websites in Korean as well as English?
thank you so much it’s usefull
I’ve been using https://lingbase.com for grammar learning. It’s mobile friendly, no ads, besides, currently free:) They have six types of exercises so you don’t get bored when you practise.
Great list…thanks for it………Learners may start with Cambridge, BBC and British Council….These are authentic source of English language…….. check another list from internet for websites which uses innovative ways for learning – https://discovervibe.blog/2019/04/03/online-english-language-educational-learning-speaking-videos-websites/
You may also include https://www.italki.com , if English is a second or foreign language for you.
Thank you! These are well-known sites where every second student probably starts his/her studies.
I also use more advanced resources from this list: http://matefl.org/useful-links-for-students.html There are pronunciation, listening, and grammar related resources. I like to combine different tactics and approaches.
Speak English Free
http://www.speakenglish.biz
Our site has 100 free idioms, 20 free grammar lessons and 15 free advanced lessons in speaking English.
David Slade
Great article, thanks a lot for this list!
I would add two more websites https://www.lingq.com. and https://www.repeto.org/learn/english Both sites have got some nice stories and are very useful for learning new English vocabulary.
Hi! Thank you for sharing! Can I add some more on your list? You may also learn from here: https://www.justlearn.com
Kindly consider Self-Assessed Online Listening Tests at https://www.wecwi.com/post/self-assessed-online-listening-tests
This website helps me alot to know about different English learning websites. thanks once again.
Have you heard of TUTOROO? You can learn the English language by hiring a private tutor. You can choose your own tutor from their website and inquire directly with them. Visit their website for more information. Hope this helps!
This is very useful article. Because some peoples asked me how to improve our English. So I told the peoples about this link. Thank you!