Thread: The Best ESL Links

Please, post the links to ESL sites that you think are the best. Also mention why people should go (or not go ) and see the site.

http://esl.about.com (the site) (warning: annoying pop-up ads)
http://forums.about.com/ab-esl/start (the forum)
Before I discovered MasterRussian I lurked quite a lot in that forum (how I wish I had more spare time) and it was very interesting for me. I was delighted with how the native speakers explained things to ESL learners (of course they do it everywhere, it only happened to be the first such forum I visited) and that urged me to look for similar forum for Russian Language learners and try myself in helping them.

http://www.usingenglish.com (the site)
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum (the forum)
The structure of the forum is similar to MasterRussian's.

http://grammarbook.com — The name says for itself. A lot of examples and very detailed infomation. Recommended by BBC World

www.eslcafe.com

As a teacher it's an unequalled (even vital) resource. As a student, I think maybe it's a lot less impressive , but it's probably still worth a look. No pop ups either I think.

If you are interested in various dialects and accents of English this site is definitely for you: http://www.ukans.edu/~idea/
It's a collection of mp3 files with the samples of speech. Each speaker reads one of the standart texts and then tells something (sometimes very interesting things ) about himself and his life. There are not only native speakers but ESL speakers (including Russians ) as well.

Audio Tapes To Accompany
Accurate English: A Complete Course in Pronunciation
http://www.umass.edu/langctr/online/audio.html

Englis Grammar Exercises. Questions and Answers.

http://www.philosoft.ru/_subsites/tcpor ... tr07_4.htm

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/

English Grammar and many exercises with answers

Common Errors in English http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

Index to Grammar Materials http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/grammar.htm

330 Grammar Topics http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/ ... /index.htm

http://englishtips.org

A huge collection of textbooks, grammarbooks, dictionaries from Cambridge, Longman, Oxford, etc. + audiocourses, audiobooks, soft and other materials for ESL learners.
You'll find there anything you need to prepare for your FCE, CAE, CPE, TOEFL or IELTS exam.

More than 4000 items. Updated daily. Free downloads. English interface is available.
It's the best site. Ever.

For ALL english slang words and their meanings/uses

Urban Dictionary

The TOEFL Tests: http://www.testmagic.com/toefl/

Originally Posted by Автобус

For ALL english slang words and their meanings/uses

Urban Dictionary

Почему же называется 'urban' словарь? Люди, живущие за городом не ругаются, что ли?

Originally Posted by basurero

Originally Posted by Автобус

For ALL english slang words and their meanings/uses

Urban Dictionary

Почему же называется 'urban' словарь? Люди, живущие за городом не ругаются, что ли?

У них нет Интернета.

Почему же называется 'urban' словарь? Люди, живущие за городом не ругаются, что ли?

Yo cuz, didn't you no dat dey call it urban cuz most dem words be from them urban areas, ya hurd?

Like shizznit and dueces, and gat, and kicks, and stacks, and whip, and thuggin. Dey all be from the hood. Mang how white is you?

Just like "Ya'll" and terms for riding horses could be said are from a "country" dictionary. Because they originate in rural areas.

Questions and Answers
http://freerice.com/subjects.php?t=14410314832

I'm not a learner, but I am a native English speaker. I'm interested in helping friends learn English, so I checked out the sites recommended here.

I would NOT recommend the Urban Dictionary.

Why waste learner's time and effort learning expressions that may well cause offense. There is no reference in this "dictionary" about where the expressions come from and who - what social group, where, and in what context - would utter such middle class urban rubbish. It is OK if you walk in those circles, but definately not for people who want to make a good impression when talking English.
It isn't American black slang - that you can get from rap songs. The layout and the language on this site is confusing. Learners who don't understand the nuances of the language would misinterpret the appropriateness of these expressions.

Slang words come and go very quickly - they are only worth learning if they are here to stay - like "bling", "fit" etc. Slang is a code language for small groups of people to help them identify with each other. Find the right slang for you by listening to the groups that you identify with, .... otherwise you will sound extremely odd or offensive.

This post is for those learners who seriously want to speak English. Other people probably think my advice is over the top.

In my personal opinion, Urban Dictionary is just a plain reference to occasional speak you might encounter here or there, like overhearing something... The "dictionary" is neither linguistically correct nor just correct in many other cases. But it really helps in finding that only meaning you need. It is still useful, not for beginners, I agree, but for those who deal with slang.

May be useful for grammar practice: http://englishpage.com

Take a chill pill

Urban Dictionary does not translate from other languages, it simply explains English slang terms in correct (Mostly) English. It has the ability to be used as a tool to understand modern English speech.