By rizwan

Welcome to online-English-Resources, a site to help you learn English or teach English as a second language. Access to all pages is free. You'll find everything from lessons for students to jobs for teachers.

English Grammar

Welcome to English Grammar for ESL learners. Many of these grammar lessons also have quizzes to check your understanding. If you still don't understand something, feel free to ask a question at the Grammar Help Desk.

grammar (noun): the structure and system of a language, or of languages in general, usually considered to consist of syntax and morphology.

English Grammar Terms (long version)
English Grammar Terms (short version)

The 8 English Parts of Speech
These are the words that you use to make a sentence. There are only 8 types of word - and the most important is the Verb!

English Pronunciation

Welcome to English Pronunciation for ESL learners. If your questions about pronunciation are not answered here, feel free to ask a question at the Help Each Other With English forum.

pronunciation (noun): the way in which we pronounce a word
pronounce (verb): to make the sound of a word

English is not Phonetic
Always remember that English is not "phonetic". That means that we do not always say a word the same way that we spell it.

Word Stress in English
The secret key to English pronunciation! Many languages don't use word stress but English does, and so must you! More about word stress in English.

Sentence Stress in English
Like word stress, sentence stress is a fundamental part of the English language. Your English pronunciation will improve immediately if you start using sentence stress! Learn more about sentence stress in English.

Homophones
Homophones are words that have exactly the same sound (pronunciation) but different meanings and (usually) spelling. For example: hour/our or to/too/two.

English Phonetic Spelling
When speaking on the telephone, it is sometimes useful to spell a word using English Phonetic Spelling.

Pronunciation Power
A pronunciation training program on CD-rom for Beginner to Advanced levels. Teaches the 52 sounds of English. Recommended by EnglishClub.com.

Linking in English
Linking is important in English. When we say a sentence, we join or "link" many of the words. Learn about linking here.

English Vocabulary

Welcome to English Vocabulary! If you don't find what you want here, feel free to ask a question at our English Help forum, or check out our Tips for Vocabulary or English Vocabulary Questions Forum.

English Alphabet (a, b, c)

English Phonetic Spelling (alpha, bravo, charlie)

Dictionary or thesaurus?
What's the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus?

Synonyms and antonyms
What's the difference between a synonym and an antonym?

Useful Word Lists

Say or Tell? Say or Tell Quiz

Do or Make? Do or Make Quiz

Irregular Adjectives (good, better, the best)

Prefixes (non-, inter-, post-)

Contractions (I'm, aren't, here's)
Informal Contractions (gimme, gonna, wanna)

WH Question Words (WHo, WHat, HoW)

Figures of Speech (like a bat outta hell)

Idioms by category | with quizzes

English Speaking

Welcome to English Speaking for ESL learners, to help you learn and practise the skill of speaking English. Speaking is the 2nd of the four language skills:1 Listening, Speaking, 3 Reading, 4 Writing

The Importance of Speaking Practice
Speaking to yourself can be "dangerous" because men in white coats may come and take you away!! That is why you should make every effort possible to find somebody to speak with.

Greetings
How to say hello in English. On these pages you can listen to and practise greeting people in a variety of situations - from the classroom to business.

"What should I call you?"
How to Address People in English
What name or title can we use when speaking to friends, colleagues, acquaintances, teachers, doctors etc?

Telephone English
In this lesson we look at some of the words and expressions that we use for telephoning. There are also some practice sessions and a quiz for you to check your understanding.

Presentations & Public Speaking
Presentations in English Learn how to give a presentation or speak in public in English. This tutorial guides you step by step through the process of making a presentation, from preparation to conclusion and questions.
"Well Done!!!! All the basics, in an easy to use, easy to follow format! Finally, my students have some high quality, free material to use!"
John Herzig, Teacher, USA

English Reading

Welcome to English Reading for ESL learners. This is where you'll find help to improve your reading skills.

Reading is the 3rd of the four language skills:

Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing

Classic English Reading
Here are some short, famous texts to read in English from classic sources like the Bible or Shakespeare. There are word definitions and explanations to help you.

English Short Stories
Including...

The Winepress
Upper-Intermediate
1500 words (British English)
Vocabulary | Vocabulary Quiz | Comprehension Quiz
This short story is set in Madagascar and France. It tells about wine and love - and hate. And about a winepress, the machine used to press the grapes from which wine is made.

The Chapel
Advanced
3000 words (British English)
Vocabulary | Vocabulary Quiz | Comprehension Quiz
The background to this short story is the tropical island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. This is a story of quick lust and long revenge - with an ironical twist at the end.

The Métro
Advanced
7000 words (British English)
Vocabulary | Vocabulary Quiz | Comprehension Quiz
This short story is set in Paris. This is a story of love and murder, and a little voodoo.

English Writing

Welcome to EnglishClub.com English Writing for ESL learners, to help you learn the skill of writing in English.

Writing is the 4th of the four language skills, and usually the one that we learn last:

Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing

Writing in Joe's Cafe
Write your ideas and thoughts on a variety of topics

The English Alphabet (Aa Bb Cc...)
Here is the English alphabet from Aa to Zz, in large and small letters.

Use of Large Letters (Capitals)
In English, we do not use capital letters very much. It is not correct or even polite to use a lot of capital letters in English. But there are times when capitals are important.

Spelling Rules
The following rules can help you to decode the mysteries of English spelling. But remember, even the best rules have their exceptions. This section includes spelling variations in English and American English.

English Punctuation
Punctuation is the system of symbols (. , ! - : etc) that we use to separate sentences and parts of sentences, and to make their meaning clear. Here are the punctuation marks that we use in English.

Plagiarism - and how to avoid it!
Plagiarism is an illegal form of copying. It means taking another person's work (without asking) and calling it your own. Plagiarism is against the law in most nation

Resources for learners

Pronunciation Power
Pronunciation Power is a comprehensive program on CD-rom that teaches the 52 sounds of English to ESL learners.

8in1 English Dictionary
The 8in1 English Dictionary is an illustrated English dictionary on CD-rom that lets learners hear the correct English pronunciation of words.

English Prepositions List
This downloadable ebook, English Prepositions List, shows English prepositions and gives example sentences for each one. Prepositions can be divided into one-word prepositions (after, in, under) and complex prepositions (apart from, because of, in spite of). This ebook lists almost all the one-word prepositions and most of the complex prepositions.

1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context
This downloadable ebook contains a list of 1,000 common English phrasal verbs for ESL learners, with two sample sentences for each verb, exercises and answers. Designed to help learners of English improve their knowledge of phrasal verbs, this ebook can either be used as a self-study guide, or the printer-friendly material can easily be used by teachers in class.

Resources for teachers

Developing EFL Learners' Vocabulary Awareness
This downloadable ebook presents 15 original lesson plans with step-by-step instructions, answers and teaching notes. It is freely photocopiable for classroom use.

CALL for You
This downloadable ebook is an introduction to CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) methodology, with 10 original CALL lesson plans and free access to 10 CALL programs.

Lucy Pollard's Guide to Teaching English
This downloadable ebook will help new teachers deal with their first two years in teaching. It gives tips and ideas for the situations they’ll encounter. It will help new teachers and serve as a reminder for those who have followed a course. It describes the main teaching methods and contains practical tips that can be instantly put to use in the classroom.

Talking TEFL
This 1-hour documentary explores everything from in-depth teaching methodology to advice for first time teachers, in a social and informal probing of today's TEFL industry. The road that TEFL teaching can take one down branches off into many directions and this, the world's first documentary film on the TEFL industry, neatly bundles together the evidence that proves it.

English Language Reference

Idioms and idiomatic expressions in English

An idiom is a group of words in current usage having a meaning that is not deducible from those of the individual words. For example, "to rain cats and dogs" - which means "to rain very heavily" - is an idiom; and "over the moon" - which means "extremely happy" - is another idiom. In both cases, you would have a hard time understanding the real meaning if you did not already know these idioms!

A (26) B (26) C (27) D (25) E (25) F (27) G (26) H (25) I (25) J (25) K (25) L (25) M (27) N(25)O (25) P (27) Q (16) R (26) S (26) T (25) U (25) V (17) W (26) X (2) Y (18) Z (5)

Articles

1. Public Speaking in English: Presentations

People speak in public for many reasons. One of the most common forms of public speaking is the 'Presentation'. In a presentation, you 'present' or introduce something (a product, an idea, financial results, a project etc) to your audience. You give a presentation because you want to 'communicate' something. Generally, you want to do one of four things. You want:

to inform
to train
to persuade
to sell

A presentation is one of the best ways of communicating your message. And because English is so widely used in international business, a knowledge of the vocabulary and techniques used in an English language presentation is very useful.

This article will give you 7 of the most important areas to consider when giving any presentation.

1 Preparation

Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Good preparation is essential for any presentation. With good preparation and planning you will be fully confident. Your audience will feel your confidence. And so your audience will be confident in you. This will give you control. With control, you will be 'in charge' and your audience will listen positively to your message.

2 Structure

A good presentation has a clear structure, like a good book or film. A good presentation has:

a beginning (introduction & preview)
a middle (main message)
an end (review & conclusion)

3 Equipment

You may have any of the following pieces of equipment at your disposal:

whiteboard
flipchart
overhead projector
35mm slide projector
computer graphics

Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. The important thing is to be the master of your equipment, not the slave. You should know and understand your equipment perfectly.

4 Visual Aids

"A picture is worth 1,000 words."

There are many types of visual aids - photographs, graphs, pie charts, maps, tables, real samples etc. But you should use visual aids with care. Do not overload your audience with too much information in a short time. A good rule is: use one image to give one message. Do not try to give two messages with one image.

5 Signposting

When you read a book, you know where you are. You know the title of the book, the subject, the chapter, the end of one chapter and beginning of another, the section and even the page number. But when you give a presentation, your audience does not know where they are - unless you TELL them! You can use special language called 'signalling' or 'signposting' that helps your audience know where they are. Here are a few examples:

Let's begin by...
That's all I have to say about...
Now we'll move on to...
Let's consider this in more detail...
I'd like to deal with this question later, if I may...
I'd like now to recap...
To start with...later...to finish up...

6 Audience Rapport

You need a warm and friendly relationship with your audience. How do you achieve this? Well, enthusiasm is contagious. If you are enthusiastic, your audience will be enthusiastic too. Try to make eye contact with each member of your audience. Each person should feel that you are speaking to him or her personally.

7 Body Language

What you do NOT say can be more important than what you say. Your BODY is speaking to your audience even before you open your mouth. Your clothes, your walk, your glasses, your haircut, your expression: it is from these that your listeners form their first impression as you enter the room.

2. Listening: A good way to learn English

Everyone knows that there are four skills in learning a language, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. They are always related in terms of usage, and speaking is viewed by learners as the most desirable skill in face-to-face communication in the globalization era. However, what is the answer to the following questions?

What do you have to do before you can speak?
What does a child learn before he talks?
What do we do before chatting?

Listen, of course!

Naturally, children begin listening to their parents when they are babies. They are often greeted, spoken to and admired without any response expected. Though nobody knows if the baby understands the spoken words, the process continues. Children automatically acquire such language over some time, and later on gradually produce it through actual experience. The production may be incomplete at first, but successful at last. That leads to speaking skill which is quite applicable to daily conversation.

In learning English, listening can help improve speaking considerably. Although it is the first of all skills, it is neither the easiest nor the most meaningless. We need to hear various types of English repeatedly and continuously if we want to communicate properly, meaningfully and naturally.

Why is listening good?

When listening, we are reviewing a lot of English usage such as vocabulary, grammatical structures, intonation, accent and our own interpretation.
We can learn new words and expressions by hearing them frequently.
Besides the English revision, general knowledge from news, features, or even advertising spots is certainly beneficial for regular listeners.
We can imitate what we hear and apply it with great confidence.
Listening can be a good "hobby" while we do other things such as cooking, ironing, exercising, relaxing etc. In other words, we have no wasted time at all.
Listening is also a great way to train our attention.

How can we listen to English?

Nowadays, radio cassette recorders are household appliances, but we often overlook their radio function. We can experience English language radio programmes almost anywhere in the world. They are usually picked up on FM bands and aired particularly for foreigners. Short wave radio programmes are another option. Two of the most easily found English language broadcasters are the BBC and Voice of America. Today, you can even access them by internet. You'll find some useful links for listening to the radio by internet, including "News in Easy English", here.