Yearly Archives: 2007

Major U.K. Newspapers 1

Major U.K. Newspapers

Reading English newspapers is one of the best ways to learn modern current English. Check out some of the most well know U.K. Newspapers available on-line:
– The Cambridge Evening News
– The Daily Record (Glasgow)
– Guardian Unlimited
– The Huddersfield Daily
– Examiner
– Independent Digital
– The Observer
– The Telegraph
– The Times

Irregular Verbs Hangman Game

Download the Irregular Verbs Hangman Game

. Please Read This Carefully First

1. This game will only work with the Windows operating system.
2. The game is downloaded as a ZIP file. If you have a version of Windows prior to Windows XP, you will need to have a special utility (such as Winzip) to unzip this file.
3. No technical support whatsoever will be provided for this game. If you don’t understand how to do something, please go to a website (such as www.newbieclub.com) which is a specialist in teaching people how to use their computers.
4. This program is provided ‘as is’ without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You download and play this game entirely at your own risk.

. About The Game

* This Hangman Game will give you fun practice of the main Irregular Verbs.
* In order to use the game, you have to download it to your computer.
* You can do this by clicking on this link and choosing ‘save’.
* Clicking this link means that you have read, understood and agreed with all the terms and conditions on this page.
* Once you have downloaded it, you need to unzip the game.
* Find the icon for the game in the directory to which you unzipped the game.
* Click on the icon and start playing.
* Have fun while you are learning!

Play the Hangman! 1

Play the Hangman!

The Hangman: It’s an easy game which everyone knows.
What has been done here is that it has been set up with over 180 words which are commonly misspelled. See whether you can find them.
Good luck!

Tongue twisters

Repeat After Us: tongue twisters online!

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Can you say this tongue twister very quickly?
Mmmmm….I guess you might have to practice a little, no?
Well, this site is perfect for it!
RepeatAfterUs is an award-winning online library with the best collection of copyright-free English texts and scripted recordings.
The free audio clips provide an excellent resource for students and literature lovers of all ages.
Genres include:

Spoken Grammar 1

A Spoken English Grammar for ESL learners, free online

This is an excellent on-line resource to improve your English pronunciation. The website presents grammar points -with sample sentences- orally.

> TRY IT HERE!

– Cambridge Advanced Learners’ Dictionary

– Merriam-Webster Online

– American Heritage and others

Pronunciation of names

British English pronunciation of names and place-names

This site offers the British English pronunciation of names and place-names for some female and male names, some familly names and city and country names from around the world.

> TRY IT OUT HERE!

Pronunciation 1

Fonetiks: Online pronunciation guides to 9 varieties of the English language

Fonetiks is an awesome on-line resource to help you learn English.
This collections of websites  uses Instant sound technology and has recorded hundreds of pronunciation samples by over 40 native speakers.

Fonetiks was originally conceived in 2000 as a response to new visa restrictions which made it increasingly difficult for some English language learners to come to study English in the USA, Britain and Australia. Fonetiks enabled these language learners to study native speaker pronunciation without leaving their homes, merely by mousing over the text on their computer screens.

> TRY IT OUT HERE!

Reading and spelling with instant sound

Interactive course in reading and spelling with instant sound

This is a free online interactive course in reading and spelling with instant sound. This site is perfect for a beginner and allow the user to revise on the basics of spelling and reading.

> TRY IT HERE!

English dictations

Graded English dictations

This site offers Graded English dictations with fast, studio-quality sound free online.
Excellent for listening comprehension and written expression.Choose your English dictation. You’ll hear it read four times :

* first, the whole passage is read at normal speed for you to listen for gist;
* second, each phrase is read slowly twice, with punctuation, as you write;
* then the whole passage is read again for you to check your work;
* finally, the written text is shown – count your mistakes.

> TRY IT OUT HERE!

Free English Tests for TOEFL, TOEIC, GMAT, MBA, ESL, EFL

Free English Tests for TOEFL, TOEIC, GMAT, MBA, ESL, EFL

At English-test.net you can not only test but also improve your English. At the same time you can meet new people, exchange experiences on how to learn languages and a whole lot more. You will find hundreds of interactive grammar and vocabulary tests as well as other useful resources such as short stories, ESL articles and interviews with business people.

In addition, you can subscribe to a free email newsletter that provides useful information about the English language in a lighthearted way. Maybe, you want to make new friends and practise your communications skills? In that case you should join the e-community by clicking on the friends link. You can also ask questions, get answers and support in the forums.

This is an exciting place to share your thoughts and ideas with people from all around the world. If you like learning new languages, you should explore the Pimsleur store where you will find a great variety of audio courses. Of course you can also read more about the people who are running English-test.net — in the e-business section you will get to know how this website came into existence and meet its founders. There are even two free e-books for you to download.

TRY IT HERE: Free English Tests for TOEFL, TOEIC, GMAT, MBA, ESL, EFL

SHIP or…SHEEP?! 1

SHIP or…SHEEP?!

This website is excellent for on-line English language pronunciation practice with minimal pairs and Instant Sound. Just click on the words/minimal pairs to hear them.

> TRY IT HERE!

HOW to use Shiporsheep:

Shiporsheeep uses a well-known language teaching device known as minimal pair practice to teach English speech sounds. This technique helps learners to distinguish between two different sounds by presenting two words which sound identical apart from the pair of sounds concerned.

Shiporsheep uses a patented technique allowing learners to hear words spoken instantly and naturally simply by mousing over them – no ‘click-and-wait’ is needed.

To use Shiporsheep, choose a page, click on it to open it, then mouse over each pair of words to hear the difference in pronunciation. Listen to each word & repeat it several times. If your computer has a microphone, you can record your own voice and compare it with the original, using Microsoft Sound Recorder (Go to Start – Programs – Accessories – Entertainment – Sound Recorder)

To use Shiporsheep, your computer must have sound, and Flash must be installed. Flash is installed on almost all computers, but if it isn’t, you can install it here.

Welcome to The English Circle

Pierre GESLiNI have spent 20 years in Australia, 2 years in Amsterdam and 3 years in Belgium, working in communication and the media…

I now reside here in the north of France, next to the Belgium border, where I work as an English teacher for adult education and ebusiness consultant.

English is a Global Language we all need to learn.

This blog will facilitate the learning with articles, links to other sites and resources available online.

Make sure you register/subscribe if you want to keep in touch.

Pierre

email: pgeslin@gmail.com