There are lots of free resources to learn English online. Check out our list of English vocabulary and grammar resources below.
Podcasts
Podcasts are a fantastic homework because they help you improve comprehension and teaches you vocabulary. Here are some of our recommendations.
Beginners to intermediate
ELLLO – Elllo offers a treasure trove of hundreds of short podcasts, in various accents, along with a transcription. Levels start from beginner and go up to intermediate.
Link: https://www.elllo.org/
Intermediate to advanced
6 Minute English – The brilliant 6 Minute English from the BBC is a great resource for ESL students of pre-intermediate or above. The podcasts are fun, informative and come with a transcript and vocabulary set to help students learn more vocabulary.
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english
Videos
If you are an upper-intermediate or advanced level student, International newspapers and magazines have some fantastic channels on Youtube for you to watch. Here are some of our favourites.
Economist magazine (Accent UK): Great for content about business, environment, news and politics.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheEconomist/videos
Wall Street Journal (Accent US): Great for content about business and technology.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/c/wsj
Financial Times: Great for content about business and finance
Link: https://www.youtube.com/@FinancialTimes
BBC Reel (Accent UK): Great for content about history, science and geography.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCReel
Vox (Accent US): Great for content about society and popular culture.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/@Vox/videos
New Scientist: Great for stories about the environment, technology and scientific breakthroughs.
https://www.youtube.com/@NewScientist
TED Talks: TED shares talks from experts in the field of technology, policy, science and the environment. Find them on Youtube or on www.ted.com
Grammar exercises and quizzes
English grammar exercises with solutions are great homework activity to reinforce understanding of a language point. Here are a few of our favourite resources.
Perfect English Grammar
This site is great for interactive grammar exercises, with hundreds of activities covering A1-B2 grammar.
Link: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/grammar-exercises.html
ELT Base
ELT Base offers word-ordering and multiple-choice quizzes on a range of grammar and vocabulary points.
Link: https://www.eltbase.com/quizzes
BBC English
BBC English offers, podcasts, videos and short courses on English grammar and vocabulary. Some videos also have a short quiz at the end.
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/upper-intermediate
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/intermediate/unit-6
Phrasal verbs
Phrasal Verb Demon teaches phrasal verbs by preposition (or particle) rather than the verb. For example, the ‘on’ in phrasal verbs has the meaning of ‘to attach’ (e.g. ‘put on a jacket’) or ‘to continue’, (e.g. ‘carry on with your work please’).
Link: https://www.phrasalverbdemon.com/index.html
Then, take a deep-dive into the 101 most common phrasal verbs with this quiz.
For a deeper understanding of how phrasal verbs work including a list of over 50, then check out our book Next Level English: 50 Lessons to Improve your English.
Reading
Great for beginners, read with parallel text in your own language with Parallel Text. Classic texts available such as Jane Ayre or Sherlock Holmes.
Link: http://paralleltext.io/
What internet resources do you use for your ESL study? Tell us in the comments below.
