Links for Self-Study

American Immigration

Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
Check out the link called "The Immigrant Experience." It has personal histories, timelines and general information about immigration between the late 1880s until the time Ellis Island closed. By the way, Ellis Island is where the Statue of Liberty is.

Biographies

Biography.com
  The place for biographies about any and every famous person. Do you want to do a a biography speech about Malcolm X? You can find the information here! Just click on "Biography Search" on the left-hand side of the page.

Books

ESOL (Levels 5 - 8) Book List
Looking for books to read this summer? Check out this list!
The Online Books Page
Books on-line? Yeah, that's right! See if there's anything you care to read.

Dictionary

Dictionary.com
 A simple-to-use dictionary and thesaurus.
Merriam-Webster On-line Dictionary & Thesaurus
You can use the collegiate dictionary and thesaurus free. What's great about this site is that if you have a sound card and speakers, you can hear how words are pronounced. However, the unabridged section of the website costs money.

Grammar

Active or Passive Voice?
Take this quiz to see which choice works better. There are10 example sentences.
Adverbs or Adjectives?
Take this quiz to find out which word form you should use!
All about Adverbs
  Troubled by adverbs? This website (from Vietnam!) tells you the definition, what kinds of adverbs there are, and which order to put them in. No quiz...just an explanation.
Articles (A/An) 
Take this quiz to see how much you know!
EnglishCLUB.com/Grammar
  Parts of speech defined + on-line exercises and tests.
Forming Gerunds
  After a brief explanation, click "first exercise" at the bottom of the page and you'll be taken to a series of fill-in-the-blank quizzes. Good spelling practice too!
Grammar Bytes: Interactive Grammar Review 
Problems with comma splices or irregular verbs? This site can help you!
Grammar Online
  Trouble with adjective clauses? Passive voice? Verb Participles? This site is for you!
Identifying Prepositions
University of Oregon's guide to prepositions.
Interactive Quizzes
Quizzes on everything you can imagine...including spelling!!!! Wow!
Online English Grammar
From "As + adjective +as" to "zero conditional." Check it out!
Passive Voice
Just learning about passive? Confused? Here is a very detailed explanation and a quiz. It is to be enjoyed by all.
Using the Present Perfect Tense
After an explanation of this tense, click on "first exercise" to see a series of multiple choice quizzes.
Verb Tense Tutorial
A complete verb tense tutorial with exercises.

Idioms/Slang

Dave's ESL Slang Page
Toon In to Idioms
Cute cartoons ("toon" is slang for cartoon) that show the meaning of each idiom. If your computer has speakers/sound card, you can listen to a dialogue using the idiom.

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs
Exercises and a Phrasal Verb Dictionary.
Phrasal Verb Dispenser
A wacky little thing that looks like a soda pop machine. Choose a topic, then click on arrows to match the verb, particle (preposition), and meaning. Click on "check" to see if you are correct. If you are correct, a can of soda will appear. Bizarre, but fun!

Holidays/Special Events

Multicultural Calendar
Explanations of many holidays worldwide.
Nobel Web - Through the Year
Take a look at the holidays which are listed under the "month by month" section for information on the various holidays celebrated in the U.S. (you'll also see information about some holidays like "Bastille Day" which are not celebrated in the U.S.)

Listening Journals

NPR.org
Many instructors have Level 7 and 8 students listen to NPR on the radio. Here's the website.

Magazines

Movies

Internet Movie Database
Look up reviews, plot summaries, quotes and much more from your favorite movies!

Newspapers

Newspapers.com
  Business publications, college newspapers, newspapers from around the U.S. and the world!
Today's Front Pages 
Read the front page of newspapers from around the world!

Pronunciation

Intermediate/Upper Intermediate Pronunciation Skills 
Try this page for help with IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). There are also some audio files where you can hear the pronunciation of vowels and the pronunciation of numbers.
Phonetics: The Sounds of English and Spanish
Click on "Launch English Library" and you will be able to listen (if you have a sound card in your computer) to each sound - consonants and vowels - in the English language.

Public Speaking

Tips on Designing Presentation Visuals
Why visual aids are important to your speech and how to design them
Topics for Informative and Persuasive Speeches
  Wow! Over 850 topics to choose from! Some of these topics might be "too young" as this site is aimed at high school kids. Always check with your teacher to make sure the topic you are interested in is okay.

Quizzes

ESL Quiz Center
   Courtesy of Dave's ESL Cafe. You'll find quizzes on many different topics. You think you're a "brainiac"? Go prove it by taking a quiz or two!

Reading Skills

Finding the Main Idea
  Having trouble finding main ideas? This web page provides some explanation and some practice.
Identifying Topics, Main Ideas and Supporting Details
No exercises on this website, but there's a lot of information about reading. Check out the links on the left side of the page!
Implied Main Ideas
  Sometimes a main idea isn't directly stated. When it isn't, you have to figure it out on your own. This web page has both information and exercises.

Study and Test Taking Tips

How to Study
  A site that offers free study skills, study strategies, and study tips
Study guides and strategies 
A site that offers information on studying. The information is available in many other languages, too. Cool!!
Virginia Tech's Study Skills/Self-Help Information
 A site that has everything from using your time more wisely to writing papers, and it is all written in clear, easy-to-understand language.

Time

World Time Server
 Going on a vacation to another country, or just want to know what time is it "back home"? World Time Server provides the most accurate current local times of any world clock on the Internet. No matter what time zone a country or city is located in, this site is your best resource for determining any time, anywhere. Fun!

Vocabulary

Crossword Puzzles for ESL Students
Like to do crossword puzzles? Try some of these!
Vocabulary University
  Puzzles that can help you increase your vocabulary!

Word Games

Internet Anagram Server
Did you know that you can make your name or anyone else's name (or any word, for that matter) into an interesting phrase? Have fun!

Writing

Writing about Literature

Attention Level 7 and 8 Reading Students!! Is your instructor making you write a paper on that novel you just finished? Still not sure how to write this kind of paper? Check out these links:

Purdue University's OWL
Writing About Fiction
UNC Writing Center
Writing About Literature
Using Quotations in Your Essay
Some helpful advice from L. Boyd