Online Resources for Writers
Popular Resources
- Writing College Application Essays
- Personal Statements
- Honors Theses
- Research-Intensive Projects
- Writing Frequently Asked Questions (From the University of Louisville Writing Center)
- Writing Workshop Videos (From the University of Louisville Writing Center)
- Writing Handouts (From the Harvard Writing Center)
Resources for English Language Learners
List of Materials and Resources for English Language Learners (Last Updated August 2023)
There are numerous websites, books, magazines, and other resources available to support English language learning. The Emory Writing Center and English Language Learning Program have compiled a selection of recommendations for the development of English language skills below. This is a good place to begin, but is certainly not a comprehensive list.
Note that this list features external websites whose content we do not control and may change without notice.
If you have any feedback regarding the list, please contact Dr. Levin Arnsperger (levin.arnsperger@emory.edu), Associate Director of the Emory Writing Center and the English Language Learning Program.
General Language Resources
- Dave’s ESL Cafe: Resources, lessons, forums, jobs, etc.
- British Council: Plenty of exercises and lessons
- BBC Learning English: Videos, stories, quizzes.
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Centre for Independent Language Learning: Website with many different materials, for example lessons, explanations, links to resources, etc.
- Reddit, English Learning subreddit: Discussion board where users can ask questions, share tips.
Grammar, Vocabulary
- University of North Carolina (UNC) Writing Center: Excellent website for college writing advice; also includes pages on grammar and punctuation.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Dictionary website, also includes games, quizzes, and videos; the focus here is on US English (which is of course also used outside the US).
- Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary: Dictionary website, also includes grammar section; the focus here is on British English (which is of course also used outside the UK).
- Lexchecker: Corpus query tool, showing how words are used.
- Vocabulary.com: Dictionary for learning words, with activities.
- Idiom Connection: Explanation of idioms, with quizzes.
- Englishpage.com: Grammar lessons and explanations.
- Perfect English Grammar: Tutorials, exercises, courses.
- Fluentu: This page explains some American slang terms.
Reading
- BITS English Language Learning: Short stories, novellas, novels, from intermediate to advanced level; also some activities.
- New York Times Bestseller List: Bestselling titles.
- Goodreads: An online reading community with recommendations for many different kinds of books; free to join.
- Project Gutenberg: Repository of 70,000 free eBooks.
- Oxford Bookworms Library: Graded, abridged classic texts.
- Magazines (focus on US magazines): The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Smithsonian, National Geographic, Wired.
Listening
- English Listening Lesson Library Online: Listening lessons.
- Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab: Listening activities.
- National Public Radio (NPR).
- Podcastsinenglish.com: Podcasts for all skill levels.
- This American Life: Radio episodes, podcasts.
- TED talks: Subtitles available in English for all talks; transcripts also available.
- StoryCorps: Stories and conversations featuring “regular” people.
- Nature documentaries such as Planet Earth or March of the Penguins.
- TV shows: for example, The Office, Abbott Elementary, The Big Bang Theory, Schitt’s Creek, Modern Family, Queen’s Gambit
Speaking, Pronunciation
- Rachel’s English: Videos, courses, podcast.
- Easy English: YouTube channel with videos on conversation practice but also grammar.
- English Accent Coach: Interactive online game, registration required.
- BBC Learning English: YouTube channel with many videos about speaking and pronunciation.
- Learn English with English Class101.com: YouTube channel, mostly with videos for beginners.
- Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online: Exercises focusing on listening and pronunciation.
Phone Apps
- Duolingo
- Tandem
- Babbel
Grammar, Usage, and Citation
- Grammar Girl (Blog)
- Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab at Purdue)
- Grammar Brushup (Videos at Weber State University)
- UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center (Resources, especially on citation, academic writing, grammar, listening and speaking, and vocabulary)
- The MLA Style Center (Writing resources from the Modern Language Association)
- Non-binary Gender Pronouns (Handout from the University of Minnesota Writing Center)
- Subject-Verb Agreement (Handout from the University of Minnesota Writing Center)
- International Writing Center Association Position Statement on the Use of the Singular "They" (PDF)
Science Writing Resources
- The Science of Science Writing (National Center for Biological Sciences website)
- CARS Model (PDF)
- Carnegie Mellon University's Global Communication Center
- Writing Scientific Reports (UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center website)
- Science Writing & Lab Reports (PDF)