Great resources

woman sitting in front of macbook

Feeling lost?

Before the internet, students went to the library or asked their professors about good material. Today, with resources like recommendations on social networking sites or blogs and great resources like YouTube and online streaming services like Netflix, it is hard to know where to start and what to use. This page lists just a few of the many useful resources there are to get you started, but you should try to find material about things that interest you in a format (like audio or video) that you like! Don’t forget there are places on campus like the Global Commons you can ask for help too.

General sites (which provide a wide range of resources)

Video resources (including some examples of interesting YouTube channels)

  • TED talks (Videos usually less than 20 minutes about a wide range of topics, often with subtitles in many languages.)
  • TEDEd (A bit easier than TED talks, and there are follow up activities.)
  • VOA Learning English (the YouTube channel for Voice of America: A wide range of resources.)
  • Behind the News (An Australian site for school students with short videos.)
  • English class 101.com (A YouTube channel with a wide range of English language learning videos.)
  • Easy (British) English (A YouTube channel that is a bit more challenging – interviews with British people on the street about interesting topics.)
  • Vogue magazine’s 73 Questions (A YouTube channel with short videos where famous people are asked lots of questions about their lives, likes and work.)
  • バイリンガール英会話 | Bilingirl Chika (Just one example of a YouTube channel that talks about life in both English and Japanese)

Skills and vocabulary resources

  • Purdue OWL (Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab – a great source for academic study from a famous university.)
  • FreeRice (A United Nations vocabulary learning tool that helps feed people.)
  • Biography (A chance to read about about the lives of famous and successful people.)
  • ESL discussion topics (A site with lists of questions for discussion about a range of topics – you can practice speaking with your friends!)
  • Podcasts in English (You can listen for free, but need to pay for worksheets, etc.)
  • Extensive Reading Central (where you can read and listen as well as practice vocabulary.)
  • FluentU’s English Learning Resources section (which has lots of ideas for all skills, like a list of Instagram accounts that might help you study English. Note: Some recommendations cost money, but there is a lot for free here too.)
  • ChatGPT (a recent and now very famous AI which has many uses – including language learning. Chat with it in English, ask it to explain things to you in, for example, “intermediate English”, and if the answers are too difficult to read, ask it to “explain again in easier English.” … the uses are endless. A powerful new tool!)

Study abroad preparation (IELTS testing and learning other languages)

MOOCs: Online courses for free in English

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) give you the chance to study content from organizations or universities around the world. They are free (although you usually need to create an account,) but they often also have certificates if you choose to pay for courses.

EdX and Coursera ( both based in the U.S.) are probably the most famous, but there are many others, including, Alison (from Ireland), and Khan Academy (for all ages of students.) Wikipedia has a list of them here.

Bonus: Some great online tools to help you create for class or yourself

Canva (An online design platform that can help you make everything from PowerPoint presentations to social media posts. You need to register and, if you want, you can pay to upgrade what you can do.)

Pixabay (A place you can get photos, videos, sound effects and music that are copyright free, which means you can use them on the internet.)

Unsplash (Another great source of free-to-use images.)

Musopen (Where you can get free to use music – mostly classical. Could be good for background.)

KSU Faculty of Foreign Studies

Department of English