IMPROVING ENGLISH LANGUAGE VOCABULARY
A Spelling Bee Interactive: AN INTERACTIVE FOR SPELLING BEE CONTESTS AROUND THE WORLD, Helps
Develop Vocabulary:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/spelling/index.html
6 VISUAL DICTIONARIES AND THESAURI:
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/10/six-visual-dictionaries-and-thesauri.html
VOA Rolls Out Learning English Wordbook App - Inside VOA Learning English at home or on the go is now
easier and more fun with VOA’s Mobile Wordbook app. The app, which adds to VOA’s expanding range
of free language learning tools, is getting rave reviews. “This is a great app!! Very easy to use and
extremely helpful. Very nice,” one satisfied user commented. The Mobile Wordbook app is available free
through the iTunes app store and has about 1,000 entries from the VOA Learning English wordbook. It helps users
build their vocabulary by hearing how words are pronounced and used, and seeing images that make the meaning clear.
http://www.insidevoa.com/content/voa-rolls-out-learning-english-wordbook-app/1444236.html
MyVocabulary.com offers free vocabulary lessons, word lists, and word puzzles
designed for middle school and high school students. The vocabulary lists are based on books commonly used in middle
school and high school classrooms. MyVocabulary.com also offers word lists and activities based on SAT vocabulary.
Visitors to MyVocabulary.com will find stand-alone vocabulary lessons as well as activities to complement the reading
of specific stories.
Flashcards, either online or physical, still seem to be one of the preferred methods of studying vocabulary words.
Flashcard Flash is a handy little search engine designed for one purpose,
helping you find sets of flashcards. Flashcard Flash was built using Google Custom Search. Flashcard Flash searches
twenty-two different flashcard services including Flashcard DB, Quizlet, and Study Stack
Classroom Activities for English Language Learners: (from VOA)
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/theclassroom/activities/
http://knoword.org/ is a fun and challenging game that tests one’s ability to
match definitions to words. Knoword is played like this; you're presented with the first letter of a word, and the
definition. You then have to fill in the correct spelling of the word. If you enter the correct word, you earn points.
If you don't
get it right, you lose points. You don't have to register to play Knoword, but you can register if you want. Registering
for Knoword gives you the option to keep track of your game statistics. Registered users can also earn badges based
on their performances.
http://flashcardstash.com/ is a free service that describes itself as "half
vocabulary builder, half dictionary, and full awesome." Word Stash is pretty true to its self-description. At its
most basic Word Stash is a dictionary that provides contextual examples to support the definitions offered. For many
words, Word Stash provides an audio pronunciation. The vocabulary builder aspect of Word Stash lies in the fact that
users can create accounts in which they create and save lists of words to study. Users can create as many lists as
they like and expand existing lists as they go. Word Stash provides short quizzes based on the words a user puts into a list.
http://www.wordia.com/ is a free visual, video dictionary. Wordia features a selection of
user-submitted and professionally created videos explaining the meaning of a word. The videos focus on the everyday use of
words while the text accompanying each video provides the dictionary definition of the word.
http://www.vocabahead.com/ offers online study rooms in which students can take
practice vocabulary quizzes. The quizzes provide instant feedback on each question as well as summary information at the
end of the quiz. While taking the quiz if a student is stuck on an item he or she can click on the hint tab. Vocab Ahead
also offers video demonstrations of SAT vocabulary words. Teachers can create their own custom video playlists and place
them into playlist widgets.
http://www.spinandspell.com/ has been featured on a number of blogs over the last year.
Spin and Spell asks students to select a picture and then spell the name of the item. Alternatively, students can have word
select for them and then identify the correct corresponding image.
Kids Spell www.kidsspell.com provides eight free games that help students learn to
spell more than 6,000 words
http://www.spellingcity.com/ not only offers games, it also offers the capability for
students to type a word and hear it pronounced.
Catch the http://www.manythings.org/cts/ offers more than two dozen categories of
spelling games. Each game has the same format; as words fall from the top of the screen, players have to "catch"
the appropriate letters in the correct sequence to spell the word displayed at the top of the game.
Grammar Ninja http://www.kwarp.com/portfolio/grammarninja.html
is a fun game for students to play as they develop a working knowledge of the parts of speech. Grammar Ninja has three levels for
students to work through. As long as you answer questions correctly, they continue through the game, but answer incorrectly and
the words explode.
The Houghton Mifflin Company produces Grammar Blast. Grammar Blast offers
35 interactive grammar activities for students in grades two through five.
Spelling Match http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsv/smg/ is a spelling game developed
by Houghton Mifflin. As the name Spelling Match implies, students have to complete matching activities based on the sounds and or
meanings of words. Spelling Match offers different levels of difficulty for students in grades 1 through 8. The games can be played
as timed or untimed activities.
The Grammar Practice Park
http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/preview/harcourt_language/grammar_park.html produced by Harcourt School Publishers provides
12 games for students in grades three, four, and five.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ has a wide variety of games, puzzles, and activities
for students of elementary school age. National Geographic Kids has nine games specifically for developing geography skills.
Learning Together http://www.usa.learningtogether.net/ offers four activities for
learning about the geography of the United States. Learning Together also offers a game about world geography and a game about
European geography.
Pronunciator - Lessons for Learning 60 Languages
Pronunciator is a free service offering self-paced lessons for sixty languages. Each lesson is comprised of flashcards that are
read to viewers in the language that they are trying to learn. Additionally, each flashcard has each word written
in the student's native language and the language that he or she is trying to learn. There are practice quizzes available with the
Pronunciator lessons
Games with Words:
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/games/
(VOA): contains many learning exercises and fun games to play to master the language
Confusing Words Clarified: http://www.confusingwords.com/
Simple English Wikipedia: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
A useful source in finding articles and resources using basic simple English words
ESL HOLIDAY LESSONS
ESL Holiday Lessons provide a comprehensive collection of lesson plans for every major holiday in the United States.
The collection also includes many lesson plans for minor holidays. Contains English Lesson Plans and Handouts.
BREAKING NEWS ENGLISH: www.breakingnewsenglish.com
Breaking News in English ESL Podcasts for Easier Learning (available in MP 3 files)
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/podcast.html
VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH: http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/
An excellent web site for English language learners.
