English Dictionaries, Grammars, newspapers, etc; On-Line

AskOxford.com - free access to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary

Beginning English for Speakers of Somali by M. Ansell

A Brief Grammatical Sketch of English by Thomas E. Payne

English Online by the New Zealand Ministry of Education

English Grammar by Ultralingua

An Elementary Grammar by The English Institute (for speakers of French)

Free English (in English, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish)

Free On-line English Lessons by Englishpage.com

Guide to Grammar and Writing by Professor Charles Darling

Internet Grammar of English, University College London

Learning English by the BBC

An On-line English Grammar by Anthony Hughes

A Traditional English Grammar by Donald E. Hardy

Altsächsiche Grammatik (Old Saxon Grammar) by Johan Hendrik Gallée (1910)

Anglo-Saxon Reader by James W. Bright (1912)

English Language Books and other Resources

English On-line Newspapers (by country)

English On-line Radio Stations (by country)

English Dictionaries

Word of the Day!

Today's Word:
Practicable (adjective)

Pronunciation: ['præk-ti-kê-bêl] Listen

Definition: Capable of being put into action, feasible; usable, capable of being used in all senses of the word.

Usage: Today's word is frequently confused with practical "involving actual practice or experience" as in "practical knowledge" or "practical experience." A "practicable plan" or a "practicable river crossing" is a plan and crossing that can be used. The noun is "practicability" and the adverb, "practicably."

Suggested Usage: Today's adjective refers to the extent something may be put to use: "The mountain pass was not practicable for the faint of heart." Here is a sentence with both adjectives at work in it: "Renee's plan to repair the leak in the roof with bubble gum is not practical because bubble gum is not a practicable roof-patch material under our weather conditions."

Etymology: Medieval Latin practicabilis "usable" from practicare "to practice," a verb based on the noun practica "practice." This noun was borrowed from Greek praktike "practical science," the feminine of praktikos "fit for action" from the verb prassein, prak- "to make, do."

Check out TODAY's WORD!

–Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com

The (WORD) GameRoom

So you like word games, do you?

Well, you have come to the right place. We have the richest assortment of crossword puzzles on the planet: anagram puzzles, cryptic puzzles, Roman and Arabic numeral puzzles, study puzzles for geography, physics, astronomy, Spanish and the Bible, puzzles with holiday messages, with graphics and web links.

Now we have crossword puzzles for kids. We also have encrypted word puzzles and a new invention: fill-in crossword puzzles! Choose your favorite now!

20 Different Kinds of Crosswords

Word of the Day Crossword Puzzles

Word of the Day Semantic Scramble

Word Jungles

Encrypted Enigma Machine Puzzles

Fill-in Puzzles

Crossword Puzzles in Other Languages

100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English

Now that Dr. Language has provided a one-stop cure for the plague of misspelling, here are the 100 words most often mispronounced English words ("mispronunciation" among them).
There are spelling rules in English even if they are difficult to understand, so pronouncing a word correctly usually does help you spell it correctly. Several common errors are the result of rapid speech, so take your time speaking, correctly enunciating each word.
Careful speech and avid reading are the best guides to correct spelling. Have a GO HERE!

150 MORE OFTEN (MISPELLED) MISSPELLED WORDS IN ENGLISH

Here is the second dose of Dr. Language's medicine for misspelling: another 150 words that are highly susceptible to misspelling.
Master the orthography of the words on this page to control some of the most important points of written English. Try it out HERE!

100 MOST OFTEN (MISPELLED) MISSPELLED WORDS IN ENGLISH

Dr. Language has provided a one-stop cure for all your spelling ills. Here are the 100 words most often misspelled ('misspell' is one of them).
Each word has a mnemonic pill with it and, if you swallow it, it will help you to remember how to spell the word.
Master the orthography of the words on this page and reduce the time you spend searching dictionaries by 50%.
Check it out HERE

Text to Speech: Listen to your computer speak!

Have you ever wondered how to say a word or a sentence in English? Well now you can ask your computer to say it for you and you can listen to it, again and again, until you know it by heart!

SitePal's Text-to-Speech (TTS) functionality allows SitePal characters to speak using realistic, computer-generated voices from written text (typed in or that comes from a file).

Choose between over a dozen male and female voices from the US and the UK. It works for other languages as well...

Try it out now by clicking HERE!

Free On-line: Test your English

This Peak Online interactive placement test will evaluate your skill level over 40 questions divided into the four Skill Categories: Situations, Grammar, reading Comprehension and Listening Comprehension. Try it out now!

9 On-line exercices...How good are you?

These nine demo exercises are quiz-like. All of these carefully-configured exercises are interactive and provide the second language student with instant feedback on his/her progress.

There are exercises on:
1) Correct verb Usage (elementary level)
2) Present-Past Sentences (Elementary Level)
3) English-French Vocab Game (Elementary Level)
4) Question-Answer Matching (Intermediate Level)
5) Intuitive Exercise (Intermediate Level)
6) Gap-fill Exercise (Intermediate Level)
7) Reading Comprehension (Advanced Level)
8) Mixed Sentences (Advanced Level)
9) When did it happen ? (Advanced Level)

Have fun! You can always let us know how you go!

On-line Pepositions Crossword

Check out this on-line Preposition crossword by Cyberlang. If you get stuck you can always click on the "Hint/indice" button...There is also an option to check your answers when you have finished.Find it HERE.

On-line Quiz Show

This is a quite good general knowledge on-line quiz-show for intermediate to advanced students. Beware: you play against the clock! See how good you are...

Personalised English Learning Program On-line

Email me now to inquire about how best we can set up your Personalised English Learning Program On-Line

Another Daily Cartoon for your enjoyment...

...and your learning!
Have fun!

View -and sing- the lyrics of your favorite song!

You know THAT song!?
The song YOU love!?
Yeah!...Wouldn't it be great to understand the lyrics of that song?
To know what they are really singing about?
It WOULD, wouldn't it?
Well, now you can log onto the Musical Box, an on-line Karaoke website, and search for your favorite song.
As the music starts, the lyrics are being displayed on screen...
You may, or you may not sing, but you'll be able to discover the lyrics you'd been wondering about for so long.
Give it a go with friends: it's a must!
Great to polish your English too, whilst having some fun.
Check it out here!

Test Your English

Stop guessing what your English level is! Find out the real score with this FREE "Test Your English" service.
Take time to answer the questions, ranging from multiple-choice to picture association types. There are also situational types wherein you are given scenarios, complete with animations, to test how practicable is your English in real-life situations.
I have taken this test myself and I must say it is quite good and very adaptable to your knowledge in English: the better you are the harder the test gets!
That's when the fun begins!
Try it here!

English as a Visual Language?

Newsflash

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe.

What to you think of this?
Could English be such a VISUAL language that it does not matter in what order you write the letters of a word?
Give me some feedback...
Let me hnow what you think about this...

First video Broadcast trial

This is just a test...Hopefully the first of a series. Stay tuned to the English Circle!

A logo for the English Circle

This blog is an add-on to the courses I give here and there in "real space"...
The whole thing is taking shape.
It's got a name, so let's give it a look too...
What do you think of the logo?
Do let me know!