Learning a language takes time, a lot of time. If you can find time to learn English outside of class, there are lots of great resources on the Internet that can help you learn faster. Here are a few of the favourite resources of people in Mohawk College's Programs for Newcomers.
All Skills
BBC is an excellent site from Britain with lots of different activities for English language learners.
Voice of America is another excellent American website, with news stories told from an American point of view. You can choose from stories at levels one, two and three to watch, listen to and read. There are stories on different topics, with vocabulary. There are also special vocabulary videos.
Breaking News English has stories from the news at different levels. You can choose to read the story at different levels or listen to the story at different speeds. There are also exercises to do.
The University of Victoria has reading, vocabulary and grammar exercises at different levels.
Listening
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab has many different listening exercises, including conversations and more academic texts, with comprehension and vocabulary activities.
CBC has up-to-date newscasts and stories from Edmonton, Alberta a for English language learners to listen to.
Historica Canada is a website about Canadian history. It is not for English language learners, so the language is more difficult. You can watch one-minute videos about important people or events in Canadian history. There are also Radio Minutes (listening only.)
Ted talks are video lectures by brilliant and interesting people from all over the world, talking about many different topics. They are usually less than 20 minutes.
CBC archives are the video and audio archives of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's national broadcaster. You can watch or listen to stories from Canada's past. The stories are organized by topic.
McMasterUTV YouTube channel has 60 second lectures. These are people from the university talking about subjects they know well. The talks have been cut to 60 seconds.
CBC marketplace is a Canadian TV show. It investigates and reports on consumer issues.
CTV w5 is a Canadian investigative report show.
Speaking
Toastmasters international has advice on making presentations, including excellent videos.
Pronunciation
English Accent Coach teaches you the sounds of English vowels and consonants and their phonetic symbols (as used in dictionaries).
Writing and grammar
Write and Improve is a free service for learners of English to practise their written English. Submit your written work and receive feedback in seconds, covering spelling, vocabulary, grammar and general style. It does not give the kind of feedback a teacher can give you because it is a computer program, but it does give you a chance to practice and to get some feedback.
Internet4Classrooms There are many grammar activities. You can also look for easier and more advanced grammar by clicking on different grade levels.
The Purdue Writing Lab This is an excellent site to help advanced students with writing and grammar.
Grammar Bytes This site has good grammar explanations and practice for more advanced students.
Resources of the Language Portal of Canada is the Language Portal of Canada. This site has information and activities at a higher level.
Vocabulary
Merriam Webster Learners Dictionary has definitions that are easy to understand and you can also hear the pronunciation of the word.
English vocabulary exercises has many vocabulary exercises for intermediate and advanced learners.
Free Rice You can answer vocabulary questions and help the World Food Program at the same time.
Knoword This is a word game that tests your knowledge of English vocabulary. It’s not easy!
Wordnik If you love words, you will love this site with its articles about words, their meanings and their histories. For example, there’s a great article on all the terms used around the world for convenience stores.
Other
Khan Academy You can learn and practice math, from the very basic level (e.g. adding and subtracting) up to university level (e.g. multivariable calculus). You can also watch videos, read articles and do quizzes in the areas of science, arts and humanities, economics and finance, and computing.
Ted blog The language tab always has interesting articles about learning languages.
the Canadian Encyclopedia Do you want to learn about Canada? This site has lots of information!
Canada.ca and Ontario.ca These are the sites for the governments of Canada and Ontario.
