English Skills
Four Common Thesis Statement Mistakes in Academic Essays
Four Common Thesis Statement Mistakes in Academic Essays - A thesis statement is a clearly-worded summary of your opinion about a topic. In my...
Build Active Vocabulary: Mental Strategies and Quick Tips
Build Active Vocabulary: Mental Strategies and Quick Tips for English Learners For English language learners, continuing to build vocabulary...
Writing: The 4 Basic Parts of an Essay
Academic Writing: The 4 Basic Parts of an Essay - Writing a clear, convincing essay is an important English skill, whether it's for school,...
Pronunciation: Can and Can’t
Pronunciation: Can and Can't - This video lesson will help you recognize the difference between can and can't in American English...
American Humor Part 3 – Riddles
Understanding American Humor - Part 3: Riddles - Understanding what people think is funny—and why—is a challenge for anyone who tries to learn...
Where Could English Tutoring Take You?
Where Could English Tutoring Take You? - You have goals for your life: places you want to go, things you want to experience,...
American Humor Part 2 – Knock-Knock Jokes
Understanding American Humor - Part 2: Knock-Knock Jokes - Understanding what people think is funny—and why—is difficult in any language. The...
Understanding American Humor – Part 1
Understanding American Humor - Part 1: Puns - Understanding what people think is funny—and why—is difficult in any language. In fact, one sure...
English Pronunciation and The Magic of Vowels
English Pronunciation and The Magic of Vowels: Every language learner knows the uncomfortable feeling: You just started a friendly conversation...
4 Steps to Confident Conversations
4 Steps to Confident Conversations - It happens quickly: At a small gathering of people, you suddenly find yourself face-to-face with someone...
Polite English: 3 Common Mistakes When Saying Please
Polite English: 3 Common Mistakes When Saying Please - Everyone recognizes the importance of being polite, whether it's in your first or second...
How to Make an Apology That Builds Trust
How to Make an Apology that Builds Trust - Regardless of where you live or what language you speak, we all make mistakes in life. Some people...
5 Ways to Feel Confident in Your Spoken English
5 Ways to Feel Confident in Your Spoken English - How can you build confidence in your spoken English ability? Every language learner dreams...
4 Great Sentence Styles to Upgrade Your Writing
Upgrade Your Writing with these 4 Great Sentence Styles - When you need to make a great impression in your writing, basic sentence structures...
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Grammar Guides
Vocabulary: 8 Common English Phrases with Surprisingly Dark Origins
Vocabulary: 8 Common English Phrases with Surprisingly Dark Origins - What do criminals, horse-drawn carriages, and hats have in common? They...
Vocabulary: Correctly Using Normal, Typical and Regular
Vocabulary: Using Normal, Typical and Regular Correctly - English has many words that seem similar but carry important differences in meaning...
Vocabulary: Using Say, Tell, Talk and Speak
Vocabulary: Using Say, Tell, Talk and Speak - This video lesson will help you recognize how and when to use these four important verbs. Click...
Participial Adjectives: Grammar Guide
Participial Adjectives: Grammar Guide - This video lesson offers rules and examples for understanding participial adjectives and using them to...
4 Apostrophe Rules: Grammar Guide
4 Apostrophe Rules: Grammar Guide - Apostrophes may be small, but they have a big impact on grammar! Correct usage of the apostrophe shows...
Understanding Clauses and Phrases: Grammar Guide
Understanding Clauses and Phrases - Developing advanced language skills requires understanding the structures and rules that are working...
3 Rules for English Phrasal Verbs: Grammar Guide
3 Useful Rules for English Phrasal Verbs - Look at the following sentences: “We need to find out when this happened, and why.” “If you don’t...
5 Rules for Using A and The in Sentences: Grammar Guide
Using A and The in Sentences: Grammar Guide - Even for people who are quite fluent in English, using A and The can still be confusing. This...
Conditional Sentences: Grammar Guide
Conditional Sentences: Grammar Guide - Conditional sentences are all about expressing possibilities. They include a main clause that offers...
Their, There, or They’re: Grammar Guide
Grammar Guide for Their, There, and They're - Spelling can be very challenging in English: very often, written words seem completely different...
Living
Great Leaders for Racial Equity in America
Great Leaders for Racial Equity in America - The history of racial equity in the U.S. has been shaped by the hard work of both men and women...
4 Great Reasons to Start Private English Lessons in 2025
4 Reasons Private English Lessons are a Great Way to Start the New Year - The start of a new year is the perfect time to set goals and make...
The History of New Year’s Resolutions
The History of New Year’s Resolutions: Each year as the calendar turns from December to January, people around the world take time to celebrate...
Christmas Traditions: 5 Lessons from A Charlie Brown Christmas
Christmas Traditions: 5 Lessons from A Charlie Brown Christmas For many Americans, watching A Charlie Brown Christmas in the month of December...
4 Fun American Thanksgiving Traditions
4 Fun American Thanksgiving Traditions: Each November, Americans from all kinds of backgrounds celebrate Thanksgiving, a U.S. national holiday...
Halloween Safety Tips
Halloween Safety Tips for Parents: Taking Your Kids Trick-or-Treating Halloween is an exciting time of year in the United States, especially...
Your First Halloween in the U.S. – 5 Things to Expect
Your First Halloween in the U.S. - 5 Things to Expect: Halloween—there is no denying that this October celebration is an important part of...
5 Fun Things to Do on Labor Day Weekend
5 Fun Things to Do on Labor Day Weekend - In the United States, the Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. Labor Day is always...
Being a Good Houseguest: 7 Helpful Tips
7 Helpful Tips for Being a Good Houseguest - The rules and expectations for what it means to be a good houseguest have a lot of variety from...
3 Steps to Reduce the Risk of Cyber Kidnapping
3 Steps to Reduce the Risk of Cyber Kidnapping: On December 28, Chinese exchange student Kai Zhuang ran away from his host family out into the...
4 Surprising Things About Parenting in the U.S.
4 Surprising Things About Parenting in the U.S. - Moving to the United States from another country brings changes and challenges of all kinds....
3 Great Ways to Make New Friends in the U.S.
3 Great Ways to Make New Friends in the U.S. - Moving to the U.S. can be both an exciting and a lonely experience. “At home in Japan I had a...
Resources
Great ESL Books for Kids (2024)
Great ESL Books for Kids (2024) - One of the best ways to help the young English language learners in your life develop the skills they need...
Book Recommendations: American Immigrant Stories
Book Recommendations: American Immigrant Stories - Crossing between cultures is an experience of deep, lasting change. Life in a new country...
American English Vowel Sounds
American English Vowel Sounds: American English has a large number of vowel sounds: around 20 of them! This set of sounds changes in different...
Resources for Vocabulary Building
Resources for Vocabulary Building - These are some of my resource picks for students who want to focus on building vocabulary. I've used all...
Pronunciation and Grammar Resources
Pronunciation and Grammar Resources - Pronunciation and Grammar can be a very useful combination for English Language Learners. Whether you...
Great ESL Books for Kids (2023)
Great ESL Books for Kids (2023) - When it comes to ESL books for kids, the options can be overwhelming! How to choose? Every good English...
Vocabulary and Grammar Resources
Vocabulary and Grammar Resources - Here are a few great resources for building vocabulary and English grammar skills:Grammar Resource:Top...
Videos
Vocabulary: Using Say, Tell, Talk and Speak
Vocabulary: Using Say, Tell, Talk and Speak - This video lesson will help you recognize how and when to use these four important verbs. Click...
Pronunciation: Can and Can’t
Pronunciation: Can and Can't - This video lesson will help you recognize the difference between can and can't in American English...
Participial Adjectives: Grammar Guide
Participial Adjectives: Grammar Guide - This video lesson offers rules and examples for understanding participial adjectives and using them to...
Mailing a Letter: English for Everyday Activities
Mailing a Letter: English for Everyday Activities Discover important vocabulary and expressions related to the everyday activity of mailing a...
Changing a Light Bulb: English for Everyday Activities
Changing a Light Bulb: English for Everyday Activities Discover important English vocabulary and expressions related to the everyday activity...
More
For more great English resources, take a look at our recommended links. All included links feature free options, though some have for-pay options as well.
Community:
- English Language Learner’s Alliance – A Bellevue, Washington organization that sponsors activities for English Language Learners
Grammar:
- British Council LearnEnglish – This site features British English rather than American, but offers useful free lessons on a variety of grammar topics
- Dave’s ESL Cafe – Free resources for a variety of grammar topics that includes helpful examples and explanations
Pronunciation:
- The Pacific Northwest English Study – A scholarly look at unique pronunciation features of Pacific Northwest English
- Rachel’s English – A great collection of activities for both pronunciation and listening comprehension. Includes free and premium options.
Writing
- The Purdue Online Writing Lab – Helpful guides to MLA, APA, and Chicago Styles for academic writing
