Literacy and ESL Website Links

Dictionaries

• Cambridge Dictionary - English translation into multiple languages for English learners

• Cambridge Pronunciation Dictionary - English pronunciation of words with the ability to translate into multiple languages

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary - Word definitions with audible pronunciation

• Oxford Learner's Dictionary - Find English words by topic, Word Lists: Oxford 3000 most important words to learn in English includes words, pictures, usage, and pronunciations

• ESOL Help - Beginners' picture dictionary

• English Picture Dictionary - Useful for beginners and intermediate English learners

News

• NewsForYou Online - Easy-to-read news stories to learn to read, write, speak, and understand English. New stories posted weekly, along with audio, exercises, vocabulary, crossword puzzles, word searches, and polls.  Subscribers have the ability to read and / or listen to each news story.  Free online subscription for CLC students and tutors.

• Newsela - Free articles on current news, sports, math, and science topics.  Each article can be geared toward a learner's reading level by adjusting the Lexile  level of each article (lower Lexile level for beginners, higher Lexile level for more advanced readers). Easy to print.  Free, but must join Newsela to have access.

• BBC - Learning English - Part of BBC World News Service offering free audio, video, and text materials to English learners.  Full-length language courses for three levels of intermediate language learners. This site uses British English, so some spelling, idioms, and pronunciation are different than American English.

• Breaking News English - Free, ready-to-use EFL / ESL lesson plans on the latest breaking news in seven levels.

• News in Levels - World News for students of English available in three learning levels with written and audio news.

• Voice of America - Learning English - VOA's multimedia source of news and information for English learners. Audio programs and captioned videos are written using vocabulary at the advanced beginner and intermediate level. Programs are read 1/3 slower than normal English.

Learning English

• Canton Public Library ESL Resources and Languages - Online English lessons - Canton Public Library card required

• Plymouth District ESL Resources and Languages - Online English lessons - Plymouth District Library card required

• ProLiteracy - Free membership for CLC Tutors - Must create an account. Students: reading, writing, math, everyday skills, test preparation (GED and U.S. citizenship)Tutors: videos, online courses, lesson plans, techniques.

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• Bow Valley College literacy readers - Simple, short stories on everyday living topics. The stories are available at several levels. There is an audio component that will read the page as you see the words in writing. 

• College Cliffs - A list of literacy ideas and resources for learning a foreign language. Many of these ideas can be implemented at home for free by the learner. Some of the resources require a subscription. 

• Dave's ESL Cafe - Includes grammar, lesson plans, and quizzes for ESL students

• Daily ESL.com - Practice for English listening and speaking with free English lessons

• Diffit - You can search for articles by topic, or copy and paste an article and / or video (such as from YouTube) from another site.  The site will allow you to pick the reading level: 2 - 11+, introduces and highlights vocabulary , choose or add your own reading comprehension questions, choose or add conversation prompts

• Duoligo - Game based site for learning how to read, write, speak, and listen to English

• EdPuzzle - Allows tutors to use videos to teach help teach various topics in English.  Tutors are able to add their own comprehension questions and / or edit the video as needed, or use the the many videos already created by instructors.

• ELLOO - Free English listening lesson library for beginning and intermediate English language learners.  Each video and/or audio recording is under 10 minutes.  This is a great source for conversation topics.  The site provides written scripts, audio, quizzes, and sometimes video from English speakers across the world.  

• Emojis - Use emojis to teach English in a fun and innovative way.  This blog includes numerous lesson plans and worksheets about the usefulness of emojis in teaching English.  Emojis can be used as writing prompts, to teach vocabulary, to teach adjectives, and to facilitate conversation between ESL speakers and native English speakers.  Have fun with this thorough and engaging collection of ideas of using emojis to teach English. 

• English Club.com - ESL website designed for students or teacher where you can study English grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, as well as play games and complete quizzes 

• English & French YouTube Channel - The channel has weekly new videos and includes themed vocabulary, idioms, phonics, and grammar. There are interactive activities for the students, such as fill in the blanks, role-play for "real world" conversations, quizzes, pair questions, and more.

• EL Civics - Learn Civics with great pictures and easy words.  English Language Civics provides an easy way to learn about American history, geography, holidays, life skills, and English language.  New lessons are added elcivics.com every week.

• Ellii - Thousands of English lesson plans available at various literacy levels.  Many lessons are printable as well as audible and sharable.  There is a monthly fee for access to lesson plans.   However, there is a free YouTube site called ellii library.

• English Daily - Online site with resources for learning English, including exercises for idioms, abbreviations, and slang

• English for Everyone - Printable English worksheets

• English Grammar 101 - Free grammar and writing lessons

• English Hints - ESL lesson plans, games, and worksheets 

• English Page - ESL grammar, vocabulary, and weekly lessons

• ESL Gold - Vocabulary and grammar practice with audio

• Flo-Joe - Practice testing for Cambridge First and IELTS exams

• isLCollective - Free worksheets for ESL learners in pdf and document form.  This site has a lot of useful worksheets, however you do need to navigate through a lot of online ads.

• Larry Ferlazzo's ELL Resources - An English language learner educator who shares some of his "best practices" for teaching.  There are lots of blogs and articles to help educate and motivate the ELL tutor.   Here's a link to sign up for his monthly newsletter: there is usually a section devoted to ESL/ELL: https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/about/subscribe-to-a-monthly-newsletter/

• Let's Talk About Education ESL - ESL video worksheets and lessons

• Learn American English Online - Helps students with English grammar and vocabulary with seven different levels of instruction.  

• LINCS Learner Center - Features a variety of web-based resources from reputable organizations for adult learners.  Topics include learning math, science, English, job skills, and U.S. civics / citizenship.

• LINCS Resource Center - Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education.  High quality instructional resources for use by adult educators, searchable by topic.

• Linguistic Fundland! - Offers activities, exercises, and multiple links to other helpful ESL websites.

• Literacy Minnesota - Free ESL and ABE resources.  Theses resources include videos, worksheets, and workshops for ESL and citizenship.

• MIchigan Educational Library resources - No cost online resources.  Check out "eResources", then K-12 Britannica School.  The site allows users to search for topics, change the reading level of articles, change the font size, listen to portions or all of an article, and email articles. This is good source of conversation topics too.

• Multilingual Skills: How to make your multilingual skills stand out on a resume - This article has practical strategies for effectively showcasing multilingual abilities in a resume or job interview, even if someone might not have a formal education or a degree in a particular language. It also offers some great tips on how to use these skills to stand out even if it might not be an immediate requirement for a certain job.

• PBS Literacy Link - Adult literacy information for students, including college and career preparedness 

• Pedagonet - Free word games to play with ESL learners.

• Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab - English listening comprehension quizzes and activities compiled by Randall Davis, an ESL instructor.

• Rapid Reads - A list of adult short books that are appropriate to use with ESL learners.   Each book will provide you the reading level / Lexile level, so you are able to pick books based on your learner's ability.  You may purchase these books on site or order copies for you and learner through your local library.  Here is a link to free reading guides from Rapid Reads: https://www.orcabook.com/Adult/Rapid-Reads

• Reading Skills for Today's Adults - Ready-to-use conversation topics organized by reading level. Stories can be printed or read online. Reading selections for adult learners with topics on civics, employment, housing, health, school, money, government, and more.  

• ReadWorks - A free database providing articles on a large number of topics.  The user may search for articles by topic and  / or Lexile (reading level).  Articles include fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.  There are accompanying vocabulary activities and reading comprehension questions for each article.  

• Resumes  - Help for people who speak more than one language on how to list multilingual abilities on your resume

• Story Corps - Intermediate to advanced short, recorded stories and / or animation to prompt conversation.   Most stories are under three minute.  To better prepare for discussions, reviewing stories is recommended prior to using in a tutoring session.

• Talk English - Free English listening practice with lessons and exercises

• TEDx Talks - TEDx Talks are a fun way to learn English by listening and reading.  TEDx Talks can be assigned to students prior to a tutoring session, then discussed.  Here are a couple of TEDx Talks to try: Andrew Tarvin, The Skill of Humor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdZAMSyn_As and Jia Jiang, What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection -  https://youtu.be/-vZXgApsPCQ

• Ultimate Grammar Cheat Sheet - Assistance with common grammar mistakes and help with broadening vocabulary.

• USA Learns - Learn beginning and intermediate English with videos and activities.  Focus on reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Also, includes a section on how to prepare to become a U.S. citizen.

• Using English - This site specializes in resources for learning English grammar for English as a second language students.

• Video Games for ESL - Useful for beginners or advanced beginners.  These are short video guessing games that teach basic vocabulary for everyday items, places, animals, or activities. 

Pronunciation

• Speechling - This site allows the user to record their speech and receive feedback on their pronunciation.  The Base Level is free.

• Top 10 Tips for Teaching Pronunciation 

• YouGlish - YouTube based site that provides videos that pronounce whatever word you are trying to learn.  

Safety

• Home Safety Council - Free downloads of easy-to-read home safety education materials on necessary home fire safety skills including fire protection and disaster preparedness measures in the home. The project materials are designed for adults who read at lower level and / or who are learning to speak English.

Driving Information and Practice Written Driving Tests

• Department of Motor Vehicles - Driving permit practice tests

U.S. Citizenship Information and Practice Tests

• Application for Naturalization, Form N-400

• Becoming a U.S. Citizen, Eligibility Requirements  - Begin YouTube video at 37:55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vChOzqYVxjg

• USCIS Eligibility Requirements - https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship-resource-center/learn-about-citizenship/naturalization-eligibility

• Interview and Test Video

• Study for the Test - https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/flash-cards/M-638_red.pdf

• Study for the Test - More test practice from USCIS

• U.S. Citizenship Test Practice - listen to test questions and receive feedback on answers https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/civics-practice-test-2008

• The Naturalization Test - Practice Civics tests.  Applicants will be asked 10 out of 100 civics questions and must correctly answer 6 out of 10 questions to pass.

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - Citizenship information, applications, and practice tests

• U.S. Citizenship Resource Center - A course curriculum designed to prepare for the naturalization interview and test.  Primarily for intermediate ESL students with suggestions to adapt for beginners.  

• Word Tips  - For intermediate and advanced learners.  This site focuses on grammar and sentence structure.

• Additional Sources:

Citizenship Preparation Classes in the Detroit area - in person and via Zoom: https://www.iimd.org/education-and-training-classes/citizenship-prep-classes

Civics Test Questions:

1. All 100 Civic questions, with answers. Good to use when quizzing a student. From USCIS. (PDF)

https://www.citizenshipstudyguide.com/member/citizenship-test-questions-quiz.php

2. Gives multiple choice answers to 20 Civics questions per quiz. Can play audio to listen to the question.  Also gives some explanation of the US history relevant after the question is answered. Provided by the USCIS.

https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/civics-practice-test-2008

3. Multiple choice Civic test. Can listen to audio of the question.

https://www.citizenshipstudyguide.com/member/citizenship-test-questions-quiz.php

Writing and Reading Test Prep:

Interactive quiz using the words on the English writing test. Has two levels. First level has you move words into the proper sequence. Second level has you type the complete sentence:

https://www.citizenshipstudyguide.com/member/citizenship-test-civics-writing-exercises.php

Preparation for Citizenship Interview:

1. This is a video from USCIS that shows you what to expect on the day of your interview.

https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learn-about-citizenship/the-naturalization-interview-and-test

2. This is a citizenship interview video where a woman asks a question and gives you time to answer. I suggest that you Stop the video after each question. Then, you answer the question out loud. If you did not understand the question, you can replay it. Re-start the video after each of your answers to hear her next question.

https://youtu.be/NmfkFMPaRyE

3. Common questions asked during citizenship interview. Two videos.

Part 1;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XtwabagYYg

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbuP_-F8BvA

4. What to bring to your citizenship interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhSl-AZuePo

5. Video describes the common mistakes to avoid during your interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaiud_xt50M

6. These 4 videos will help you understand the vocabulary (words used) in Part 12 of the N-400 interview questions. The end of the link title lists the question numbers that are talked about in that video.

• Watch a video about the words in the N-400 Part 12, questions 1-21

• Watch a video about the words in the N-400 Part 12, questions 22-29

• Watch a video about the words in the N-400 Part 12, questions 30-44

• Watch a video about the words in the N-400 Part 12, questions 45-50

7. Video example of citizenship interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PM_eDPDRnw

8. This video is an example of a woman having her citizenship interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTxzysQ17hc&list=WL&index=3

9. This video is of a woman who just finished her citizenship interview. She tells about her experience and the questions she was asked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktMoKgksOBg&list=WL&index=6

10. Examples of "small talk" questions that an officer may ask before your interview. Examples of answers to the questions. (9 minute video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvdJFe0xUAo&list=PL9kfEuXF6wYGjTO3033fsQFJp5fOSBqRF&index=3

11. Several different versions or ways that the USCIS officer may ask the same questions. (9 minute video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HBLYhZ_-e4&list=PL9kfEuXF6wYGjTO3033fsQFJp5fOSBqRF&index=9

12. Video has 12 tips to pass your citizenship interview: (11 min video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxKoWft3BqM

Oath Ceremony Prep:

1. Oath of citizenship read for you to hear and repeat (6 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuT4RtK5rdc

2. Video of what to expect at the Oath Ceremony.  Mentions how to prepare, what to expect at the ceremony, and what needs to be done after you become a citizen: (15 min video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuT4RtK5rdc

3. Oath of citizenship written down. Vocabulary words defined. From USCIS (PDF)

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/n-400-topic-exercises/The-Oath-Of-Allegiance.pdf