Language Back-up

1. Language Help

BBC World Service English Learning - one of the very best sites for learning and practising English.

English for Academic Purposes - from the University of Hertfordshire UK, lots of good advice and exercises.

Dave's ESLcafé - lots of interactive resources.

English Club all sorts of resources for learning English.

Reading and writing strategies and other help from Helsinki University Language Centre teachers.

Study Guides and Strategies from the University of St Thomas in Canada.

This British Council website has lots of different ways of learning English.

2. Grammar

Internet Grammar of English - online course in English grammar for university students.

Interactive grammar - basic elements of English grammar, clearly set out.

Online (advanced) English Grammar

Guide to Grammar and Writing - this page has won lots of prizes for its help with grammar.

Hyper Grammar - prizewinning electronic grammar course from the University of Ottawa.

Abitreenit - YLE pages with all sorts of help and exercises.

3. Online Help

ESL Help Centre - get help fast from an international team of volunteer teachers.

4. Words, slang and idioms

Idiom of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

A.Word.A.Day - subscribe to this and they e-mail you a new (advanced) word every day.

Buzzwords - Macmillan's weekly buzzword, and archives.

Everyday phrases from the extensive English Daily site.

Learning new words - 10 hints on learning vocabulary from the University of Manchester.

5. Reading

Reading Room - help with your academic reading problems. In Finnish

Story Archives - texts from various field followed by tasks and exercises.

Goodreads - a wonderful site for finding good books to read.

The Economist - Britain’s best weekly magazine with good articles for reading parctice.

6. Speaking and Pronunciation

Oral Presentations - a whole course, with lots of excellent advice, real opportunities for practice and video examples from the University of Masaryk, Brno.

Oral Presentation Skills - good advice and examples from the University of Canberra.

British accents - recordings of British voices with a wide range of accents.

English pronunciation - a collection of on-line exercises.

7. Writing

Academic Writing in English - excellent advice and exercises. Made in Finland!

Purdue University On-line Writing Lab

Academic Writing - good tips from the University of Canberra.

Academic Phrasebank from the University of Manchester. Good advice for academic writing.

Guide for Writing Research Papers

Dartmouth College Writing Program gives advice on writing in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences as well as for students with English as a second language.

8. Listening

BBC Radio 4 - Great opportunities for listening practice here, often including the tapescripts.

Pulse of the Planet: National Geographic's site with text, sound and pictures

History Buff - listen to authentic speeches from history.

University of Berkeley - listen to courses and prominent speakers.

The English Listening Lounge - real people, language tasks and transcripts.