Useful resources

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• Recommend reading
• Useful websites
  • Sites for Students whose First Language is not English
  • Language Courses Around the World
  • Dictionaries
  • Grammar Sites

Recommend reading

Lewis, M. Study Skills for Speakers of English as a Second Language (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003)

Useful websites

Sites for students whose first language is not English

Below you will find some examples of websites that can help you to improve your English. We start with a site that gives tips on how to learn English effectively, especially by yourself, called Antimoon.com .

• English Daily
  This site has information about various aspects of the English language.
• English Club
  This site is a "web club" for anyone learning or teaching English as a second or foreign language.
• Grammar Help
  Interactive language exercises for students of English as a second language.
• Learn English
  British Council site - activities and advice on improving English for students whose first language is not English.

Language courses around the world

• www.esldirectory.com
  On this site you can search for language courses by country.
• LanguageCourse.Net offers a free comparison of more than 1.600 accredited language courses for 11 languages in 31 countries. 
• Test of English as a Foreign Language
  A very common test is the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). On this site you can read about it and also order materials to prepare for the test such as CD Rooms, sample tests etc. You can download sample questions and writing topics for free.
• Free Toefl
• Free ESL Net
• International English Language Test
  Another common test is IELTS (International English Language Test). You can find information about the test as well as some practice materials on this site.
• Score It Now
  ‘Score it now’ is a service offered by a company that lets you practise writing and gives you scores for your essays. There is a fee for using this service.

Dictionaries

There are many dictionaries online, and most of them are free!

• Cambridge Dictionaries Online
• Macmillan English Dictionary
  The Macmillan English Dictionary has been written for learners of English who are at good intermediate to advanced level. It gives the most up-to-date information about the English language as it is being used at the present time.Macmillan has but together a few important questions that you must ask before deciding what dictionary to buy. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/
• Dictionary.com
  This is a multi-source dictionary search service produced by Lexico Publishing Group. To use the dictionary, simply type a word in the blue search box that appears at the top of every page and then click the 'Look it up' button
• Babylon
  This dictionary is a special one. You can download different dictionaries, such as English-English or English-Japanese. Then, when you are using your word processor or even when you are reading any other text on your computer (such as a website), you can click on the word and get a translation. There is a free trial version that will work forever, and there is also a more advanced version, but for that you have to pay.
• Chinese Languages
  If your first language is Chinese, Japanese or Korean and you know pinyin (pinyin is a way of writing these languages in Roman script, such as you are reading now), then you can use this online dictionary to find the translation in English.
• Wordsmyth
  This is a dictionary of American English. It also includes a thesaurus.
• dictionary.net
  Returns word, and phrase definitions from a variety of english dictionary resources

Specialist dictionaries

Below you will find a number of very specific dictionaries and glossaries. These contain words and definitions from various academic and professional fields. There are many more. You can find them by using a search engine like Google or Yahoo.

• Dictionary of Acronyms
• Dictionary of Cell Biology
  Dictionary of Computing
• Glossary of Financial Terminology
• Internet Language Dictionary
• The On-line Medical Dictionary
• Nolo's Legal Dictionary Online
• Dictionary of Psychology
• Dictionary of PC Hardware and Data Communications Terms
• Internet Glossary of Statistical Terms

Grammar sites

• Good Grammar, Good Style
  Good Grammar, Good Style - find answers to your questions on this archive of useful articles and frequently asked questions on matters of grammar and punctuation.
• The Internet Grammar of English
  Internet Grammar of English written primarily for undergraduates. Doesn’t assume prior knowledge of grammar.
• Grammar Help for People Needing More Help About Basic English
  Includes links to other grammar sites.