This page contains information on Language (including English as a Second Language) resources located on the Internet. Our purpose in providing you with information on these resources is simply to draw them to your attention. We are NOT guaranteeing that these particular resources will be valuable and without frustrations.

If you didn't find what you were looking for on this page, the complete archives of Network Nugget links are keyword searchable .

• Top Quality Japanese(Monday, April 12, 1999)
• Karin's ESL Partyland(Thursday, March 25, 99)
• Canadian Language Network(Tuesday, October 6, 98)
• The English Learner(Monday, September 21, 98)
• National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education(Fri, 24 April, 98)
• Sign Language(Tues, 23 February, 98)
• English as a Second Language - Resources(Mon, 26 January, 98)
• Language Teaching with the Web(Thurs, 27 November, 97)
• ESL Teachers on the Internet(Wed, 28 October, 97)
• Japanese Language via Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo(Mon, 22 September, 97)
• Dictionaries and Translators(Thurs, 29 May, 97)
• CALL - Computer Assisted Language Learning(Fri 11, Apr, 97)
• Current Events Activities for ESL(Wed, 27 Nov 96)
• ESL Cafe/Discussion Center(Wed, 2 Oct 96)

  Return to Network Nugget Archive's Main Index

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  Top Quality Japanese

  http://www.cic.sfu.ca/tqj/

  This site was suggested by B. Wang from Vancouver. It contains a great deal of information about Japan and it's culture from a Canadian's perspective. Topics include: Getting it Right (communicating Japanese Style), Voices of Experience (students, teachers and experts), Learning Tools (critical guide to books, cd's and tapes), Japanese Study Past and Present, and Employment. Other informational links and exceptional graphics are also included.

  Top Quality Japanese is hosted by Andrew Horvat at SFU and is suitable for students in grades 6-12.

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  Karin's ESL Partyland

  http://www.eslpartyland.com/teach3.htm
  

  This teacher made site for ESL students and teachers is brand new! The student pages include interactive quizzes, discussion forums, and other links. The teacher pages include lesson concepts such as: conversation, grammar, integrated skills, listening and speaking, and reading and writing. The lessons also come complete with printable materials and answer keys!! There are lessons based on popular music, ie. "Prepositions found in Bruce Springsteen's songs." and movie trivia. There are also discussion groups and email capabilities for both teachers and students.

  Karin's ESL Partyland is hosted by Karin Clintron and is suitable for ESL students in grade 8-12.

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  Canadian Languages Network

  http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/theb/
  

  With our two official languages (English and French), it might be easy to overlook the many other languages that are part of the Canadian experience. The Canadian Languages Network is a website with a focus on the complete range of languages spoken in Canada.

  Sponsored by the Department of Canadian Heritage, this site has links to organizations, online courses and lesson plans related to First Nations languages as well as those brought to Canada from other parts of the world.

  The "Canadian Languages Network" is a "CLN" that is NOT the one I usually talk about (the Community Learning Network, sponsor of Network Nuggets and webhost to the page you're looking at right now). The two "CLNs" are not related and I hope you do not find the acronyms too confusing!

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  The English Learner

  http://www.englishlearner.com/
  

  'The English Learner' is a site for ESL (English as a Second Language) students of all levels. With interactive tests and quizzes, fill-in-the-gap exercises, reading tests, crosswords, teachers' resources, books lists and more, it's a valuable resource for independent learning.

  The English Learner site is easy to navigate and lots of fun, although if you have a slow connection you may find that you'll have to be a bit patient while waiting for some of the interactive material to appear.

  This site also links to "English by e-mail" where free English lessons are available by e-mail every week and a student mailing list and chatroom where ESL students can communicate with each other.

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  National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education

  http://www.cal.org/NCLE/
  

  This clearinghouse is a meta-site on the web for English as a Second Language (ESL) resources. Software information, ERIC digests, a bibliography, frequently asked questions and more are all available here.

  Note that there is a focus on adult ESL in the U.S., but much of what you'll find at this site also applies to ESL students at the secondary level.

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  Sign Language

  http://www.deaflibrary.org/asl.html About American Sign Language
  

  The web has many collections of excellent resources related to signed language. Sign languages are visual, linguistically complete natural languages-- not artificial renditions of a spoken language. Both American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des Signes Quebecois (LSQ) are used in Canada.

  Here are some links to help you learn (or learn about) these widely used languages (e.g. The above "About ASL" site states that ASL is the fourth most commonly used language in the U.S. I would guess the statistics are similar for Canada.)

  ASL Dictionary:
  http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html

  Alphabet LSQ (Langues des Signes Quebecois):
  http://www.surdite.org/alpha.htm

  French Sign Language:
  http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/guides/fsl.html

  Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf/Societe Culturelle Canadienne des Sourdes:
  http://www.ccsdeaf.com/

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  English as a Second Language - Resources

  http://www.5minuteenglish.com/
  

  Learning English as a second language (ESL) is not always easy, but it should be fun.

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  Language Teaching with the Web

  http://langlink.net/langlink/teach.htm
  

  Lauren Rosen's work with language websites has been mentioned in Network Nuggets in the past, but when I found the above "Teaching with the Web" area, I knew it was time to refer to it again.

  This special corner of a very large website has ideas for teaching activities relating the web to language learning of many types. Touring a foreign city online and reading and reporting back about current news found in foreign language newspapers are examples of activities where the web can provide a rich background for exploration. This site links directly to sites that support the activities, making it a very useful, practical resource.

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  ESL Teachers on the Internet

  http://sf.bilingual.net/
  

  The above Language Academy site has been designed for ESL Teachers (and students) on the Internet.

  The Language Academy is a website for those involved in English as a Second Language (ESL) with online chats and threaded discussion groups for learners and teachers. There are research articles related to bilingual education, links to a variety of relevant web sites and even a small set of lesson plans in the teacher resources section.

  You'll need a frames-based Java-capable browser to view this site.

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  Japanese Language via Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo

  http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~tx2h-mtok/jalearn.html
  

  The internet offers many resources for those who want to learn the language and culture of a foreign country. For instance, The "Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo" web page links to dozens of Japanese Language sites with quizzes, vocabulary lists, discussion forums, stories, teaching ideas, software and much more. Since the site is aimed at all levels; primary teachers will find ideas for multicultural activities at this site while those involved in advanced studies of Japanese will also find many valuable links. Not all links from the above site will work for those who don't have access to an advanced browser, but there are many sites that are just fine when viewed "text-only". For example, the link to Japanese "idioms and proverbs" (which can be made directly at: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/4220/kotowaza.html is a delightful source of expressions that would be of interest to anybody with even a passing interest in Japan.

  eg. Romaji: I no naka no kawazu taikai wo shirazu
  Literally: A frog in a well doesn't know the ocean
  (or: broaden your horizons!)
  
  Romaji: Iwanu ga hana
  Literally: Not-speaking is the flower
  (or: some things are best left unsaid!)
  

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  Dictionaries and Translators

  http://rivendel.com/~ric/resources/dictionary.html
  http://www.travlang.com/languages/indextext.html

  If you need to know the meaning of a word in a foreign language, or want to find the foreign translation for an English word, you can turn to one of the many lists of Dictionaries and Translators on the internet. I've selected two that are fairly simple to use and very comprehensive.

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  CALL - Computer Assisted Language Learning

  http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/chorus/call/index.html

  Jim Duber has put together an interesting 'Languages' web page with a focus on Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). You'll find book and software reviews, cutting edge demos, and links to a variety of language-related sites on the internet including internet discussion/news groups for language students and teachers.

  Much of the site is accessible with Lynx, but please note that the software demos, which include lessons from ESL (English as a Second Language) and ASL (American Sign Language) software, require a fairly high-end browser to run the Shockwave plug-in that makes it all work.

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  Current Events Activities for ESL

  http://lc.byuh.edu/CNN_N/CNN-N_page.html

  Brigham Young University-Hawaii has created a web page featuring grammar and vocabulary exercises, as well as speaking or writing discussion questions, all designed especially for ESL (English as a Second Language) students. The page is updated weekly and is based on the WorldView Broadcast by Turner Educational Services Inc. and CNN news.

  Vocabulary and grammar activities are interactive and provide immediate feedback to individual users. The discussion topics can also be used as a starting point for ESL students to get involved in conversations or write reports about events in the news.
  

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  ESL Cafe/Discussion Center

  http://www.eslcafe.com/discussion/

  Dave Sperling has created a 'Cafe/Discussion Center' for students of English as a Second Langage and their teachers. Anyone involved in ESL can join in the ongoing discussions.

  Student topics include: Current Events, Food, Holidays, Learning English, Movies and Music. Teachers are talking about Activities and Games, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Employment, English for Specific Purposes, Teaching-Learning Material and Teaching Tips.