Learner Dictionaries

Click here to download the workshop notes on using Learner Dictionaries.

   

Using Songs - Beyond the Gap-Fill

Click here to download the workshop notes on using songs in the EFL classroom.

Exploiting Listening Texts

Click here to view, print and download the workshop notes from April 2009 on Exploiting Listening Texts in class.

Ideas for using Cuisenaire Rods in the EFL Classroom

Click here to download and print the workshop notes for using Cuisenaire rods in the classroom

 

Collocations, Chunks and the Corpus - A (more) Lexical Approach

To view and download the full workshop notes from this session in September 2009, please click here.

Using the Internet in Class and Beyond

Welcome to the LTC Development Blog.

I'd like to guide you through some of the more useful websites and blogs available for use both in and out of class.

We'll start with websites for teachers. Click on any of the links to be taken to the websites.

Just for Teachers

• The British Council

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/

This is a huge resource. It's full of practical ideas, lesson plans and articles on all things ELT.

• Breaking News English

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

EFL / ESL English Lesson Plans & Podcast for studying Current Events and News. Thousands of FREE 13-page, Ready-to-Print Handouts with Downloads & Quizzes. Keep up with the news and learn English - Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking.

• The Developing Teacher

http://www.developingteachers.com/

Lots of articles and lesson ideas.

• Six Things

http://sixthings.net/

A miscellany of English language Teaching

• Humanising Language Teaching

http://www.hltmag.co.uk/

An impressive archive of articles on various issues of language teaching and methodology as well as practical exercises aimed at primary kids, secondary teenagers and adult learners.

• Nik's Learning Technology Blog

http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/

Tips, resources and teaching materials to help EFL and ESL teachers use ICT and new technology in the classroom.

• Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

Award winning blog from an American with a lovely name.

• Teacher Training Videos by Russell Stannard

http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/

Step-by-step videos showing you how to use a range of ELT websites.

• Multimedia Training Videos by Russell Stannard

http://www.multimediatrainingvideos.com./

Step-by-step videos showing you how to use a range of software from Flash to Photoshop.

• Course Book Companion Websites

Total English

Inside Out

English File

Straightforward

• Enchanted Learning

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html

25,000 pages of material aimed at native speaker children, but there's some lovely stuff on dinosaurs, countries....Worth a look.

• Tefl Clips

http://www.teflclips.com/

A website dedicated to the possibilities for YouTube and other video sharing sites in the classroom. Every week a new lesson plan is uploaded. 

• Wordle

http://www.wordle.net/

Create beautiful word clouds.

Resources for Teachers and Students

• Data Driven Language learning

COBUILD Corpus

British National Corpus

WebCorp - The Web as Corpus

The Compleat Lexical Tutor

• Online Dictionaries

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/about-visual_overview.php

• Cambridge ESOL

https://www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org/ts/

Teacher support for the full Cambridge suite of exams, offering advice, lesson ideas and more.

• Executive Planet

http://www.executiveplanet.com

Essential business culture guides for the international businessman. Lots of useful information on a host of countries.

• Overheard Everywhere

http://www.overheardeverywhere.com/

Snippets of everyday conversation. Some of the content is truly bizarre.

• British Library Sound Recordings Archive

http://sounds.bl.uk/BrowseCategory.aspx?category=Accents-and-dialects

Archive of native speaker recordings from around England and Wales (doesn't appear to have any Scottish or Northern Irish - not very British is it)

For Class?

• ToonDoo

http://www.toondoo.com/Home.on

Create and publish cartoon strips

To watch a video tutorial showing how to use this, click here

• Hero Machine

http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heroMachine/classic.asp

Create and publish your own Super Hero

• Bombay TV 

http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/index.php

Produce your very own subtitles to accompany a Bollywood film.

• Dvolver

http://www.dvolver.com/live/moviemaker.html

Make your own film. No experience necessary.

Games

• British Council - Kids Games

http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-games-fun.htm

Lots of fun language games for kids (and some adults).

• 20 Questions

http://www.20q.net/

The classic game of twenty questions - online. 

• Gwap

http://www.gwap.com/gwap/

Language games to play online against other players around the world. There are 6 to choose from.

Homework?

• Learn English - British Council

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/

Huge website with a wealth of information and activities.

• BBC Learn English

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/

Massive website and constantly up-dated. Grammar, vocabulary, news - you name it!

• Nik's Daily English Activities

http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/

A site aimed at the more autonomous students out there

• Podcasts in English (PIE)

http://www.podcastsinenglish.com/index.shtml

More listening practice than you can shake a stick at.

• English Listening Online

http://www.elllo.org/

If you still need to shake a stick at some listening, try this.

• Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab

http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm

Still want to shake that stick. As you can probably guess from the title it features plenty of North American accents.

• Listen and Write

http://www.listen-and-write.com/

Does exactly what it says on the tin. You listen to a news item and write. Online dictation. Updated regularly. Students love it!

• English Central

http://englishcentral.com/en/home

Wonderful site that can help students with their speaking / pronunciation. Try it. Loved by all students that have tried it.

• Phonetics Focus - Cambridge English Online

http://www.cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/

Students can enjoy a wide range of fun resources, specifically designed to help them improve their pronunciation and knowledge of phonetics.

• Ship or Sheep

http://www.shiporsheep.com/

Online practice from the people that brought you the book.

• New English File - Student Site

http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/englishfile/

Students can learn more here with interactive exercises, useful downloads, games, and weblinks. Practise their grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, listening, and reading, and have some fun too.

Exam Focus

• Flo-Joe

http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/

Exam practice for FCE,CAE and CPE

• Exam English

http://www.examenglish.com/

Practice for TOEFL, IELTS, KET, PET, FCE, CAE, CAE and more.