Language and Linguistics

Through these links you can access sites on various aspects of language: academic writing, language varieties, specialised vocabulary, pronunciation and much more.

Academic writing

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writinglab
An online writing lab brought to you by Purdue University in the USA. Includes information on academic writing conventions, punctuation, grammar and presentation skills.

http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm
A nice clear website with lots of useful information on academic writing. There are sections on process, organisation, functions, paragraphs, citations, punctuation, spelling and style. There is also an extremely useful checklist at the end.

http://www.uefap.com
Academic writing is more than just knowing the constraints of style. There are lots of other areas that need considering, including vocabulary, reading skills and so on. This site has an exhaustive range of activities as well as lots of clear explanations.

British and American English

http://englishclub.8m.com/ukus1.htm
A comprehensive British/American English dictionary. Simply gives the equivalents without giving any definitions or examples. Look up the words here and then use your copy of the Macmillan English Dictionary to get definitions and examples of usage.

http://www.effingpot.com/
Use the menu bar on the left to choose a topic area and then get a clear explanation of the differences between British and American English. You could write up a number of words you'd like your students to look up and find out a) if they are British or American English and b) what the words mean.

Business English

http://esl.about.com/cs/onthejobenglish/a/a_basbletter.htm
This is a website covering business English writing with a set of examples and tips to help your students. Use this site as an introduction to basic business letter writing. There are quite a few areas of writing covered, from applying for a job to a letter replying to an enquiry.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/news/words/business/
index.shtml
'Business words in the news' is an interesting site from the BBC. On a regular basis, short news stories from world business news are adapted for use by English Language students. One of the great features is the facility to listen to the stories and individual words.


Collocations

http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blcollocation_1.htm http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blcollocation_2.htm http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blcollocation_3.htm http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blcollocation_4.htm http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blcollocation_5.htm
Five pages of exercises that cover collocations with the following verbs: break, catch, come, do, feel, find, get, go, have, keep, make, miss, pay, save and take.
Why not get your students to use these pages to practise and revise their knowledge of collocates?

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/advparta.html
This site focuses on particles and has the snappy title of 'Watch your particles'. The pages have good example sentences showing common collocations, followed by exercises giving students a chance to practise.

Common errors

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors
Take a closer look at lots of 'common' errors. This site has over 100 common errors including words often easily confused, punctuation and false friends. If your students have problems with a particular area, why not look here to see if you can find a nice simple explanation?

http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk3.html
A slightly more complicated set of 'rules' but nevertheless quite useful for teachers. A few of the explanations and examples are difficult to find elsewhere and yet are relevant to many students - including over-elaboration and using unnecessary words.


Computer words

http://wordwizard.com/indexresources.htm
This site contains a great list of 'slang for the computer'. You will need to start by clicking on 'slang' and then 'using the Internet' to access an interesting and informative site. A lot of these expressions appear to have made their way into international language and may already be familiar to your students.


Etymology

http://www.worldwidewords.org/
A comprehensive site which aims to take a look not just at the meaning of words but also their origins. You can search words in the conventional alphabetical way or by using the typical www search facility. An interesting feature is the 'Surprise me!' button which can take you anywhere on the site! The site also contains a Q & A section - maybe you or your students have a question? You can also sign up for a weekly newsletter.

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ling215/NewWords/index.html
New words in English collected by American linguistics students with definitions and brief etymological notes. You'll find a lot of quite obscure words here, as well as a few that your students might already be using without really knowing their meaning or origin.


Idioms

http://www.eslcafe.com/idioms/
Know your idioms inside out by taking a crash course and make learning a piece of cake! Lots of idioms with explanations and examples, all easy to find as they are listed alphabetically. Use this site for both revision and expansion purposes.


Phrasal verbs

http://eslcafe.com/pv/
Another one of Dave's ESL Cafe pages with lots of useful information for your students. This one takes a look at phrasal verbs - a perennial source of problems for learners of English. Clear explanations and examples help clarify the meaning of many common phrasal verbs.

http://english-zone.com/index.php?ID=52
This site provides information about what phrasal verbs are, how they are constructed and how they are used. Let your students browse through the pages answering these points before getting them to try out some of the online exercises.


Pronunciation

http://www.soundsofenglish.org/
This site contains information on pronunciation, word stress, exercises and activities and lots of other bits and pieces. The focus is on American pronunciation and there is an audio section included with many of the exercises.

http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc.htm
Lots and lots of information about the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), which is used in the Macmillan English Dictionary. Includes sections on: How to learn English pronunciation; What is good English pronunciation; and sounds and the IPA.