The real stuff

If you are bored of textbooks and grammar rules, why not focus on the real stuff?

Most of us are already familiar with apps and websites such as Duolingo or Livemocha. They are simply amazing, but they may not be enough to be able to speak and understand a language.

Below you’ll find the links to three of the best free websites we have so far recommended to our students, especially to those who are reluctant to learn a language “the traditional way”, that is by simply opening a textbook and doing exercises, which is our nightmare as teachers as much as yours as learners 🙂

1) Breaking News English contains various news articles edited especially for ESL/EFL/ESOL learners. With many of the articles you’ll also find follow up questions and activities.

2) One-minute World News is great if you need to improve your listening comprehension and at the same time want to know what’s happening in the world. The videos are very short and get to the point quickly, so they are ideal if you don’t have much time to practise. There is also plenty of other videos on the same site. Many have written articles alongside, which can be really useful in aiding comprehension.

3)TED features more than 1800 talks on a lot of different topics from entertainment and design to global issues and technology. You can also decide on the type of talk you want to watch (whether you are after something persuasive or funny, inspiring or ingenious). We usually suggest watching the video without subtitles first, then watching it again with English subtitles and finally, if you are looking for that specific word you really didn’t catch, switch the subtitles into your own language.

We hope you find them useful.

Simon and Chiara