ESL RESOURCES
The Writing & Learning Centre offers special materials and support for non-native speakers of English.
- Tutoring
- Tutoring Mini-series
- Books on English Grammar and Vocabulary
- On-line Grammar Resources
- On-line Vocabulary Resources
- On-line Listening Comprehension Resources
- Toronto ESL Programs
Tutoring
Make an appointment with one of our tutors for help with your written assignments. When you make an appointment, you can ask to meet with a tutor with training and experience in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). For foreign students, we can also help you understand and adapt to the expectations and assumptions of the North American academic tradition. See also our general Writing Handouts.
All writers need feedback on their writing. Many students find it helpful to ask a friend to edit their assignments. However, writing tutors have special training and experience and often they are the best people to help you express your ideas in writing. Tutors can help you clarify your ideas, focus your writing, and solve common problems such as plagiarism.
Consult these handouts for tips on getting good feedback:
Who Should You Ask For Feedback? (UNC)
Why Tutors Don't Edit Your Paper (ECIAD)
Tutoring Mini-series
If you want to work intensively on grammar or vocabulary, sign up for a “Tutoring Mini-series.” You will meet with a specialized ESL tutor for an intake session to be followed by three weekly sessions to work on your language skills. The Editing for Grammar mini-series will teach you how to identify and correct your most common grammar errors. The Vocabulary Building for Writing mini-series will help you build your academic vocabulary and use new words accurately. Each session is 45 minutes and you can book these sessions in addition to your regular tutoring time.
Books on English Grammar and Vocabulary
Look for these English dictionaries and grammar books (PDF) at the Dorothy H. Hoover Library
On-line Grammar Resources
University of Ottawa : Hypergrammar
- This site provides comprehensive grammar explanations for a number of topics, including: parts of speech, using pronouns, building phrases, using verbs etc.
- This site links to a number of ESL podcasts covering grammar as well as everyday language usage.
University of Victoria: Study Zone
- This site has a variety of grammar exercises for different levels of proficiency.
- This site features a number of videos specifically geared towards ESL learners. The content covers a wide range of topics, including current events, pronunciation and grammar. Please note that we have not screened all the videos for their quality or level of difficulty.
- This site provides a number of video lessons dealing with grammar and common mistakes made by English learners.
- This site consists of a variety of exercises and quizzes addressing different aspects of grammar.
Capital Community College Foundation
- Divided according to levels with emphasis on grammar forms and usage
On-line Vocabulary Resources
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
- This is a great on-line dictionary specifically for English language learners. It also features a word of the day for vocabulary building.
- This podcast is great for developing an advanced vocabulary. Subscribe to a free daily podcast or just visit the site. The mp3 contains two words, their spelling, definitions and examples of their use.
- The Academic Wordlist is a collection of words which appear frequently in academic texts. This site includes exercises and comprehension quizzes to accompany academic vocabulary.
- This site highlights academic words from texts you enter into the site.
- This site is great for vocabulary development and online research. When you enter the URL for any web site into the Lingro system, each word of that web site becomes clickable, revealing definitions for those words. The site then keeps track of all the words and sentences you have clicked and builds vocabulary lists and activities around these words.
British National Concordance Search
- This site allows you to check word usage by searching for a word or phrase in a large collection of written and spoken texts. It generates a list of real examples of the word in a full sentence.
MICASE: Michigan Corpus of Spoken Academic English
- This site allows you to check word usage by searching for a word or phrase in a transcripts of real spoken academic English. It generates a list of real examples of the word in context (partial sentences only).
On-line Listening Comprehension Resources
CBC Manitoba EAL: English as an Additional Languate
- This site offers a variety of interactive listening comprehension and vocabulary building exercises addressing current Canadian content.
CBC Ottawa: Learning English with the CBC
- This site features videos about Canadian history as well as current events. These are accompanied by interactive listening comprehension lessons.
English Listening Library Online
- This site features interviews and other conversations for listening. These are accompanied by multimedia listening comprehension quizzes. Please note that much of the content of the content was designed for the UK, so the pronunciation is different than in Canadian English.
Toronto ESL Programs
List of ESL programs in Toronto (PDF)
A number of courses and activities for ESL students are offered at other institutions, including programmes for improving your grammar, composition, and informal speaking skills. Some of the programmes are free.
Last Modified:1/24/2012 12:57:33 PM
