Let me share two favorite English study tools that I use when teaching English. I have been teaching English as a second language since 2006. My students have been young and old, people who need English for their jobs and people who study English as their hobby.
| My 2 favorite English study tools |
|---|
| Oxford Learners Dictionaries (For vocabulary) |
| Grammarly (For grammar) |
All my lessons have one goal – to help my students use English with confidence.
As a native-speaking English teacher (from Canada) I have a life of experience communicating with English. But we can all use some help!
When I prepare lessons, blogs, PDFs, or other teaching materials I have 2 English tools that I love to use.
Favorite English study tools – Vocabulary
Oxford Learners Dictionaries
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
Learning new vocab is necessary for all language learners. Here is something I learned as a language student (Japanese).
It is better to learn new vocabulary definitions in your new language.
This means you shouldn’t always just translate a word into your first language. Here’s why.
When I learn new vocabulary in Japanese, if I just do a direct translation, my brain thinks in English. If I want to use Japanese naturally I want to think in Japanese.
I like Oxford Learners Dictionaries because the definitions use simple English. I think the definitions are easier to understand for my students than other online dictionaries. You can think in English!
I use these definitions in the PDFs or personal blogs that I make for my private students. I also use them in man-to-man and group lessons.
Good point #2
Oxford Learners Dictionaries has audio too!
You can listen to the words and hear them pronounced in both North American and British accents. This is very helpful for pronunciation practice.
I have included these audio links in many of my public posts too. You can use them for your own study too.
Visit the page and search for a word that you want to hear by typing it into the search bar.
On the word’s definition page, you will see some blue and red speaker icons. Click the blue icons to hear the British English pronunciation [BrE] and the red icons for North American pronunciation [NAmE].
This website is very helpful for me and my students. I’m sure it will be helpful for you too!
Favorite English study tools – Grammar
Grammarly
Grammarly is an awesome tool for finding and correcting spelling and grammar errors in your written work. This can be a valuable tool for anyone learning English as a second or third language.
How do I know?
I am a native English speaker and I use Grammarly! A lot!
As I said above I prepare many English study tools for my students and my public blog. This material is made for people studying English as a second language, so it can’t have grammar mistakes!!!
Learn English the FUN way – Famous Quotes (10 Quotes explained)
Of course, I’m a busy teacher and I’m only human. I might make a typing error or cut and paste some text into a place where the grammar doesn’t match.
Grammarly helps me catch these mistakes and saves me time.
I use Grammarly to proofread my blog posts, PDF downloads, eBooks, and student worksheets.
You can also use Grammarly to check your English writing. School projects, business letters, your resume, and even email messages too.
World English Blog is a Grammarly affiliate. This means that if you use the link in this post to sign up for Grammarly, World English Blog gets a small commission.
Even if you only get the free basic version it supports this English blog.
Did I mention that it’s free?
Which of these two English tools will you try first? How can they help your English study or work? Tell me in the comments!
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