Websites for ELL Reference, Activities, and Exercises
ELI-PAC
These websites and apps are for beginning level English learners. The sites are listed by domain.
Reading
This site has leveled readings with optional reading comprehension quizzes. The readings begin at the two-word sentence level and continue to advanced level. The readings include a nice mix of fiction and nonfiction. The nonfiction includes history, geography and science content.
Vocabulary development
http://www.eflnet.com/vocab/picturevocab.php
This site has a drag and drop activity to match different categories of vocabulary with the matching picture. The website has many other vocabulary exercises and activities.
The sentence completion exercises range from very basic to GRE level. There are many grammar exercises as well.
This site includes the Fry word list by 100s, the Dolch sight words, spelling exercises by grade, spelling rules, reading comprehension, grammar, and writing activities. This is good for reviewing spelling and grammar basics.
Grammar
This is good for reviewing grammar basics. There are grammar exercises to practice targeted grammar points.
This site has basic explanations and many basic grammar exercises.
Listening & Speaking
http://www.eflnet.com/listening
Includes several listening passages with listening comprehension questions. This site also includes pronunciation contrasts of selected consonant minimal pairs and vowel minimal pairs.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation practice focusing on minimal pairs. Students listen and then choose the correct word. There is also a chance to repeat the words.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/
This dictionary offers British and American pronunciation options. This is good for students who want to contrast British and American pronunciation.
http://soundsofspeech.uiowa.edu/index.html#english
This website shows how and where phonemes are made in the mouth. It is excellent for beginners who are learning new phonemes that they do not have in their own language.
ELL 054-055, ELL 074-075
Reading
This site has a complete phrasal verb list with definitions. It also includes a very concise grammar glossary. For each grammar point, there are drills which can be done online or printed out. The drills and quizzes are divided into three levels of difficulty. There are also reading comprehension pieces with multiple choice and T/F exercises.
http://www.readworks.org/books/passages
This site includes leveled readings organized by grade level, lexile, topic, text type and skill/strategy. At the end of each reading there are multiple choice comprehension questions followed by several open response questions. The answers are provided on a separate page. Students must create an account to use this site but it is free.
Newsela is a daily online newspaper for students with selected high interest news stories. This website allows students to choose the lexile level for each article. After each article there are comprehension and writing activities.
Vocabulary development
The sentence completion exercises range from very basic to GRE (Graduate Record Exam) level. There are many grammar exercises as well.
http://write-site.athabascau.ca/egh/
This is the English Grammar Handbook at Athabasca University. It includes a great section on morphology (word forms) which includes prefixes with definitions, and suffixes broken down into verb suffixes, noun suffixes, and adjective suffixes with definitions. This is a reference book and contains no exercises or activities.
https://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/
This site contains a very complete list of phrasal verbs with definitions and example sentences. There are also many phrasal verb quizzes (in the quizzes section) to check comprehension.
Grammar
https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/
This section of the website contains many quizzes on all areas of grammar. The quizzes are organized by level including beginning, intermediate, and advanced. The quizzes can be done online and then the answers can be checked. In another section of the website, there are brief definitions of many grammar words with examples.
http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Verb-Tenses.htm
This section of the website contains many drills to improve use of tense and aspect.
Listening & Speaking
http://www.agendaweb.org/listening/intermediate_advanced.html
This site includes many short listening passages with listening activities at the bottom of the page. The transcript is included so students can follow along.
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/
Voice of America simplifies the news to increase comprehension.
http://esl-voices.com/students/basic-listening-practice/
This site offers listening passages from NPR and VOA with comprehension questions divided into levels.
Writing
http://www-tc.pbs.org/tenstepstocollege/write.pdf
This is a nice worksheet to prepare for a personal narrative.
http://www.k12reader.com/subject/composition/
This section of the site includes editing and proofreading, sentence patterns, topic sentences, transition words, writing introductions, and writing conclusions. It is a nice site for students who need to learn and practice the conventions of American writing from the bottom up.
Accelerated Learning Program ENG 099 and ENG 101
Reading
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/levels/z98jmp3
This is the BBC site for GCSE (British A-level exam) preparation. There are texts in all subject areas with comprehension questions and then suggested answers. The questions require open responses which is excellent practice for getting ready for regular college classes at MCC.
This site requires a pretest to determine reading level and then it requires students to register which is free. This site guides the student to higher levels of comprehension and critical thinking.
Vocabulary development
The sentence completion exercises range from very basic to GRE level. There are many grammar exercises as well.
Grammar
https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/
This section of the website contains many quizzes on all areas of grammar. The quizzes are organized by level including beginning, intermediate, and advanced. The quizzes can be done online and then the answers can be checked. In another section of the website, there are brief definitions of many grammar words with examples.
Writing
http://slc.berkeley.edu/writing-worksheets
This site has it all! There are worksheets for every aspect of the writing process.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/678/01/
This is the ESL section of the Purdue OWL site. There are grammar and mechanics pages as well as a section on plagiarism. Under the ESL Students heading there is much helpful information about studying at an American college or university.
http://englishforeveryone.org/PDFs/Run%20on%20sentences.pdf
This is a nice place to identify and correct run on sentences.
General Knowledge
Search for vocabulary quizzes and short answer questions about all subjects.
https://www.jognog.com/Towers.aspx
Take quizzes on all subjects. There is an extensive literature section focusing on the canon in American high schools and universities. There is also a nice section on developing vocabulary for the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test).
https://create.kahoot.it/login?next=public/kahoots/featured
This is kahoot! which is absolutely addictive. It makes learning content into a competitive adventure.