ESL Books for Beginner Learners
Basic English Grammar with Audio CDs and Answer Key by Betty S. Azar (4th edition)
Basic English Grammar Workbook by Betty S. Azar (4th edition)
Merriam-Webster’s Essential Learner’s English Dictionary by Merriam-Webster
Let’s Learn English Picture Dictionary by Marlene Goodman
Scholastic First Picture Dictionary (Revised) by Scholastic, Genevieve de La Bretesche
My First Dictionary: 1,000 Words, Pictures, and Definitions by DK
Market Leader Elementary Business English Course Book with DVD-ROM by David Cotton
Practice Makes Perfect: English Vocabulary for Beginning ESL Learners by Jean Yates
ESL Books for Intermediate Learners
Fundamentals of English Grammar with Audio CDs and Answer Key by Betty S. Azar (4th edition)
Fundamentals of English Grammar Workbook by Betty S. Azar (4th edition)
Merriam-Webster’s Essential Learner’s English Dictionary by Merriam-Webster
Let’s Learn English Picture Dictionary by Marlene Goodman
Oxford Picture Dictionary (Monolingual English), 2nd edition, by Jayme Adelson-Goldstein
Webster’s New World American Idioms Handbook by Gail Brenner
Market Leader Pre-Intermediate Business English Course Book and DVD-ROM by David Cotton
Market Leader Intermediate Business English Course Book with DVD-ROM by David Cotton
Market Leader Upper-Intermediate Business English Course Book and DVD-ROM by David Cotton
Practice Makes Perfect: English Conversation, Premium Second Edition by Jean Yates
English Pronunciation Made Simple (with 2 Audio CDs), 2nd Edition, by Paulette Dale and Lillian Poms
Clear Speech Student’s Book with Integrated Digital Learning: Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in
North American English by Judy B. Gilbert
ESL Books for Advanced Learners
Understanding and Using English Grammar with Audio CDs and Answer Key by Betty S. Azar (4th edition)
Understanding and Using English Grammar Workbook by Betty S. Azar (4th edition)
Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary by Merriam-Webster
Webster’s New World American Idioms Handbook by Gail Brenner
Market Leader Advanced Business English Course Book and DVD-ROM by Iwona Dubicka and Margaret O’Keeffe
Practice Makes Perfect: English Conversation, Premium Second Edition by Jean Yates
English Pronunciation Made Simple (with 2 Audio CDs), 2nd Edition, by Paulette Dale and Lillian Poms
Clear Speech Student’s Book with Integrated Digital Learning: Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in
North American English by Judy B. Gilbert
The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test with DVD-ROM, Fifth Edition, by Educational Testing Service
Barron’s TOEIC: With Downloadable Audio by Lin Lougheed
Learning English through the News
Free news sites are a great way to help you improve your listening and reading comprehension and build vocabulary. Staying abreast of current events and issues also increases the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with native English speakers.
The Times in Plain English: www.thetimesinplainenglish.com
This website takes current articles from news publications and rewrites them using simpler English (easier grammatical structures and vocabulary).
New York Time’s Times Minute : https://www.nytimes.com/video/the-new-york-times-minute
Short videos (some as short as 2 minutes) of recent international news, politics, ideas, and culture.
BBC 6 Minute English
Short podcasts on a diverse range of interesting topics that will help you improve your listening comprehension. Transcripts and vocabulary terms are provided.
BBC Words in the News
Although this series has ended, you can access their archives of short videos that help build listening comprehension and vocabulary. Each video includes a vocabulary exercise at the end.
Listen to and watch up-to-date news bulletins from BBC World and learn key words and phrases that help you make sense of the news.
BBC News Report
Improve your listening skills and build vocabulary through authentic audio news stories from the BBC.
E-NEWS: Weekly News for English Language Learners
I really like this site because it provides articles on current events written for 3 different levels: beginning, intermediate and advanced (and it’s easy to navigate between levels). Key definitions are provided to aid comprehension and build vocabulary. Audio reading is provided as well.
Ted Talks
Interesting and thought-provoking presentations. Search for talks that are based on your interests to help you build your listening comprehension and vocabulary.
New York Times
Well-written news articles covering top stories in politics, business, sports, etc. Limited access to their articles without a subscription.
The Economist
A weekly publication covering in depth analysis of current events. The Economist also provides an audio feature in which the full text of each week’s issue is read by professional broadcasters.
Writing Websites
Purdue Online Writing Lab
A great site run by Purdue University. Provides guidance on writing and grammar tips for students learning English. The site also provides guidelines on citing sources for undergraduate and graduate writing (APA and MLA styles). on
FOURTH SECTION
Vocabulary Websites
Language Guide
www.languageguide.org
I like the vocabulary portion of this website. Provides 11 vocabulary categories, which includes numbers, food, the house, etc. Place your cursor over the image to hear how the word/phrase is pronounced and to see how it is written. The site also gives you the ability to learn the same vocabulary in languages other than English.
Vidtionary
A video dictionary is a collection of videos devoted to defining words by showing various example scenes illustrating a word’s meaning and presenting the text of the word itself in a visually meaningful way.
American Culture
Want to have a better understanding of American Culture? Check out these links…
This American Life
Thematic storytelling that can provide insight into the diversity and complexities of American culture. Audio is available on their website, podcast, or on the radio.
Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
A weekly radio show that humorously recaps the weeks news and events. Understanding humor can be challenging since it requires an understanding of current events and cultural norms. Episodes are available to listen to via the web, podcast or on radio.
