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Great Sites: Literacy

 

 

 

 

 

ESL Sites of Interest to Students and Teachers

 

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks

  • The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks is the centre of expertise in support of the national standards in English and French for describing, measuring and recognizing second language proficiency of adult immigrants and prospective immigrants for living and working in Canada

 

Citizenship & Immigration Canada Forms - videos to help fill out CIC forms: Settlement Series #1

 

LiveMocha

  • World's largest language learning community

  • Courses available for 30 languages

  • Visit site to register

 

Learning English with the CBC

  • Audio and video lessons in English

 

TESL Links

  • Listen to podcasts, download MP3 files, grammar, games, quizzes, jokes

 

Learn English

  • American English listening course

  • Good article: "How to Learn English as an Adult"

 

English as a Second Language

  • Practice pronounciation, grammar and vocabulary for beginners, intermediate level, or advanced students

  • Lesson plans for teachers

 

Dave's ESL Cafe

  • Everything you need for either student or teacher

 

Rong-Chang's ESL

  • Start here to learn English online

 

The Tower of English

  • Your ESL guide to the Internet; clear and easy to use

  • A good place to start to learn English

 

Isabel's ESL Site

  • Try Isabel's fun and unique way of learning grammar

  • An amazing picture dictionary with sound!

 

English as a Second Language

  • Learn how to sign up for ESL classes in your neighbourhood

  • Find out how to improve your English

 

John's ESL Community

  • Great listening activities and sample dialogues to study, i.e., "At the Doctor's Office"; quizzes, puzzles, games

 

Talk English

  • A free resource that focusses on teaching students to speak English

  • Listen to and then practice English speaking

  • Regular English lessons, business English, travel English, interview English

 

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English Language Tests

 

  • Required by Canadian universities and colleges if applicant has not attended English speaking school full-time for the past 4 years

  • Applicants should check with their chosen university or college to determine which test will be needed for admissions

  • Each university or college sets its own standard for minimum test scores

  • Look below for more detailed information on each test

 

 

TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language

  • Take a practice test; register for the test

  • 100 percent academic, it tests the skills you need to perform at a post-secondary school

  • Depending on the test centre, the test will either be Internet based (iBT) or paper based (PBT)

  • Test is given 30 to 40 times a year, and you can re-take the test to improve your score

  • No face-to-face interviews; the speaking section is recorded by microphone

  • Scores are done anonymously by multiple experts

  • $200.00 fee to write the test

 

 

IELTS - International English Language Testing System

  • For test takers, teachers, schools, and researchers

  • Choose from either the Academic Test or the General Training Test

  • Test takes 3 hours to complete and includes a face-to-face interview

  • Used by Canadian universities and colleges

  • Used by Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Visa officers require some immigrant applicants to take the IELTS

  • Used by professional associations: Ontario College of Nurses, Ontario Teacher's College and more

  • $265.00 to write the IELTS

 

 

TOEIC - Test of English for International Communication

  • Speaking, writing, listening and reading tests

  • In general, TOEIC is used by the business community and measures workplace and everyday English skills

  • A good TOEIC score could help you acquire employment in a corporation or advance your career

  • Multiple choice test of 100 questions takes 2 hours to complete; you can re-take the test once a month

  • Used by some academic institutions and professional associations; i.e., Ontario College of Nurses and The Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators

  • $100.00 plus tax to write the TOEIC test

 

 

ETS Canada - Educational Testing System

  • For students, this site helps you prepare for the TOEIC or TOEFL tests

  • For teachers - learn to quickly and accurately assess your students and use the results to promote further learning

 

 

CAEL - Canadian Academic English Language Assessment Test

  • Find CAEL test centres, register online for CAEL assessment

  • Information for foreign-trained physicians

  • CAEL tests ability to use English as it is used in Canadian universities

  • Topic-based test in which you read articles, listen to a lecture, answer questions, and write a short essay all on one topic

  • No multiple choice questions; you can write as many times as you want to

  • $175.00 to write the CAEL test

 

 

Conestoga College IELTS Test Centre

  • Prepare for the IELTS test

  • Find out how to register

  • Test dates for Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba

 

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Business English

 

Business English

  • Grammar quizzes

  • Learn about words used in Accounting, Sales, IT or medical jobs

  • Try the listening tests, or test on video

 

 

Workplace English

  • Excellent site from about.com

 

 

English for my Job

  • Need to talk to customers in English? Need help? Try this easy to use site.

 

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Dictionaries

 

BBC Learn Languages Online

  • Online translation dictionaries

  • Audio and video courses in grammar, vocabulary and pronounciation for many languages

 

 

Your Dictionary

  • Listen to English words

 

 

OneLook Dictionaries

  • Easy to use, easy to read

  • Find words by subject: business, science, art, religion, etc.

 

 

Wiktionary: Multilingual Dictionary

  • The meaning of words explained in your own language

 

 

English to Farsi Dictionary

  • Easy to use English to Farsi translations

 

Microsoft Translator

  • Translate web site information

 

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Visual Dictionaries

 

The Internet Picture Dictionary

  • Try the spelling, flashcard and word scramble activities

 

Visual Dictionary

  • A teaching website and excellent academic resource, similar to an encyclopedia

  • A fun way to learn by seeing the picture, hearing the word and watching a video!

Visual Merriam-Webster Dictionary

  • Explore the 15 major themes to access more than 6,000 images and see words
    like never before.

 

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Grammar

 

Purdue Owl

  • Visit the writing lab and the new grammar blog

  • Ask a teacher your grammar questions through the "OWL Mail Tutors"

 

 

Tower of English

  • Daily grammar lessons mailed to you

  • Practice the TOEFL test

 

 

Learn English Feel Good

  • Video based exercises to improve your grammar and vocabulary

  • Practice spoken English; many good pronounciation lessons for student or teacher

 

 

Daily Grammar

  • Great for all ages and skill levels

  • Join the Daily Grammar Lessons blog and work on lessons Monday through Friday with a quiz on Saturday

 

 

Grammar Book

  • Helpful rules, real-world examples, fun quizzes

  • Watch grammar videos!

 

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Vocabulary

 

Vocabulary

  • Learn new words

  • Try the Daily Word Puzzle

 

 

English Club

  • Practical vocabulary by subject, e.g., "Telling Time", "The World", "Weather"

  • Useful word lists; figures of speech

 

 

Find more Great Sites here

 

 

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