Language Learners

Assess your skills

(all areas of language development, suitable for all levels)

Active vs. passive voice
“a little” vs. “a few”
“a” vs. “an” - real beginners
Using adjectives and adverbs correctly  1, 2, 3
Determining correct adjective order
Distinguishing between “and”, “but” and “or”
General quiz on various aspects of grammar
Using “at”, “on” and “in” for times and dates
Parts of the body – real beginners
Changing idioms to regular speech
Identifying common grammar errors
Conjunctions and connecting words
Choosing the correct homonym
Choosing the correct preposition
Choosing the correct verb tense
Using non-count nouns
deciding when to use “to make” and when to use “to do”

Oral Communication

Pronounciation Guides and Practice Activities

Word stress in English, including rules, practice and a quiz
Sentence stress in English, including rules, listening activities and a quiz
Word linking in English, including consonant to vowel and vowel to vowel
Pronouncing “the” in English – “the” or “thee”?
Tongue twisters in English focusing on minimal pairs and difficult sounds
English is stress-timed language – focus on intonation and stress

Speaking Skills

Telephone skills: including key vocabulary and phrases for making appointments, ordering pizza, taking a message, etc.
Key vocabulary and phrases for conversation starters and making small talk at bus stops, parties, offices, etc.

Pronounciation/Phonology: For Students

Centre for Independent Language Learning - This website includes sound clips to help students improve their pronunciation.
The Phonetic Chart - An interactive phonemic chart where students can click to hear the English sounds.

Listening Skills

Short news reports in English - updated weekly
(Each broadcast includes pre-taught vocabulary items, comprehension questions and dictation exercises)
Listen to past programs from CBC radio
Hundreds of short, high-quality video clips from around Britain - for advanced level students
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab
(Has hundreds of listening activities which are graded according to levels of easy, medium and difficult. Each listening activity uses authentic materials and includes pre-, during- and post-listening exercises. Includes a number of health-related topics such as making doctor’s appointments, healthy lifestyles, nutrition, surviving cancer, etc.)
Interactive listening activities on real-life topics - avanced, beginning
Guide to hearing and producing consonant sounds - for beginning students
Guide to hearing and producing vowel sounds - for beginning students

Written Communication

Vocabulary

Guessing the meaning of difficult vocabulary items from context
Idioms using parts of the body
Word-building: nouns from adjectives
Word-building: nouns from verbs
Words with multiple meanings
Plural forms of irregular nouns
Plural forms
Possesive Pronouns 1,2
word-building: suffixes
distinguishing easily confused words 1, 2
word association

Online Grammar Rule Sheets

How to use “So do I”, “Neither do I”, etc. Includes a printable page and practice quiz
Shows the difference between “all” and “whole”. Includes a printable page and practice quiz
Shows the difference between “beside” and “besides”. Includes a printable page and practice quiz
How to use “by” in passive constructions. Includes a printable page and practice quiz
Distinguishing between “by” and “until”. Includes a printable page and practice quiz
An introduction to English Conditionals (zero, first, second and third
How to use “for” and “since”. Includes a printable page and practice quiz
How to use “whether” and “if”

Online Grammar Worksheets for Self-Study at all Levels

Adjectives and prepositions 1, 2
Basic Tag questions
Tag questions with various verbs
Present Perfect or Past Simple? 1, 2
Present Simple or Present Continuous
Deciding when to use the gerund or the infinitive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Subject and verb agreement
Distinguishing between “their”, “they’re” and “there”
“how many” vs. “how much”
Word order in English

University of Ottawa Writing Centre Hypergrammar electronic writing course:

The Parts of Speech: the verb, the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction, and the interjection
The Parts of the Sentence: subject and predicate, objects and complements
Punctuation
Using Pronouns
Using Verbs
Modifiers
Building Phrases
Building Clauses
Building Sentences
Writing Paragraphs
Diction
Spelling
Miscellaneous Topics : the thesis statement, word formation, apposition, noun and pronoun characteristics

Games

Crossword puzzles - for all levels

Resources for HSS Professionals

For HSS Professionals

Health related topics
Links to ESL websites focusing on the language used in the Health and Social Services Domain

For use by teachers and students/professionals

1. EFL Laboratory

Website’s description: “This site targets listening, reading, and writing skills for students enrolled in the health sciences. Here you can improve your reading, writing, and vocabulary skills in the building blocks of the health sciences: biology, chemistry, and physics. However, when you are up to a challenge, work through health science reading and writing exercises. If you want to practice your English and study for an upcoming test at the same time, check out the course section.”

2. ESLflow

This website is an ideal resource for teachers looking for ready-made lesson plans on a range of health issues, including ESL health literacy, nutrition, parts of the body, medical English, etc.

3. Centre for Applied Linguistics

Website’s description: “These picture stories are designed to help ESOL instructors address topics of health and well-being. They have been designed to act as safe, impersonal prompts to allow students to discuss difficult topics, ask questions, and obtain information. The picture stories are a useful teaching tool because they use the students' own language, experiences and observations to create a product, their own story. Furthermore, they promote speaking, listening, reading and writing, while letting students decide on the content.”

4. Englishclub ESL Learning Centre

Website's description: "These pages can help nurses, doctors, pharmacists, paramedics, receptionists, specialists or even those who volunteer. They will help you learn some basic English expressions and vocabulary related to the medical field. By studying and practising Medical English, you will be able to make your patients feel more comfortable, and have a better understanding of their needs. You will also learn how to talk to their loved ones and communicate with other medical staff who speak English. Do the exercises and take the quizzes to test your knowledge and understanding.

French for McGill Students in Health Science and Social Work Programs

French courses intended for students in Health Science and Social Work programs are currently available through the McGill French Language Centre.  For more information, please click on the image below.