Adult Education, English Language, and Library Resources

Videos of Adult Learners

2012-02-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in becoming a tutor or if you know an adult who might want instruction, these videos from Philadelphia -- in 4 parts on YouTube -- might be of interest: It's never too late to learn to read.

TED talk shows possibilities for language learning

2012-01-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

Academic Word Lists

2011-11-29T03:08:00.000-08:00

In the course of advising several ESL learners who want to increase their mastery of words commonly used in texts and discussions of intellectual material, I ran across several valuable web sites. The AWL originated in New Zealand, these are British and Canadian sites, and they include American spellings also.

Download a list of the AWL word families

Copy and paste text to see highlighted AWL terms

Practice exercises and pronunciation audio

Get help completing FAFSA

2011-02-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

http://www.collegegoal.org/

This web site explains the help available. The Hutchinson site is Parker Student Union on the HCC campus.

Great free courses

2011-01-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

This basic English/Spanish course can be done online, or saved for working offline:

http://ocw.usu.edu/University_Extension/CALFNES_Spanish/index.html

Take a look at this beta site for many free university-level courses. If Einztein takes off, this could offer an exciting way to learn.

http://www.einztein.com/

For food for thought, take a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Learn English

2010-11-03T15:17:00.001-07:00

Take a look at the New York Public Library list of sites for learning English.

http://www.nypl.org/help/community-outreach/immigrant-services/learn-esol-online-resources

Tatoeba translates sentences

2010-05-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

http://tatoeba.org/eng/pages/home

Google Translates

2010-05-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

from Der Spiegel

There have been some decided improvements recently. Google now offers pronunciation, also, for a handful of languages, with more to come.

Research Materials, Free for the Asking

2010-04-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

The National Institute for Literacy, a federal agency, is closing in September. In advance of that, they have made available fee copies of literacy and reading publications which they had published to support adult literacy and education stakeholders. Yesterday, I received multiple copies of about 8 different research reports. Feel free to stop by my office on the 2nd floor of the Library, take a look and choose any for which you might have a use.

Ready to start up again

2010-01-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

I have not tended my blog for some time now, but I want to revisit some old resources and highlight some new ones. To begin with, however, I want to encourage students and tutors to sign up for the 2010 project at the Hutchinson Public Library:

www.hutchpl.org

You will have an opportunity to begin at your own level and proceed at your own pace, while getting a nice introduction to lots of newer online applications.

Start a blog to practice English

2009-09-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

One of our students has begun to write a blog.I think blogging is a wonderful way to practice writing English with a purpose. You might enjoy checking out her site.

http:/vegangifts.blogspot.com

"Just Words" now offered as one choice

2009-09-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in learning about and evaluating the Tutor and Student materials for the new Wilson Reading System's "Just Words," come to the Literacy Office. I attended a training session last week, and would love to discuss with you what this system offers to adult learners. You can read about the program here:

http://www.justwords.com/

Free computer courses and job seeking information

2009-07-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

www.gcflearnfree.org

Great free help and actual training. Take a look.

Consejos de Salud Para Tí

2009-07-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/espanoix.htm

Rebecca Brown, MLS, Kansas Outreach & Technology Liaison, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region
University of Kansas Medical Center announces:

Consejos de Salud Para Tí (Health Advice for You), a new monthly online health advice column for Spanish-speaking consumers. The column is part of AHRQ's Información en Espanol Web site which now includes audio and video in Spanish on a wide range of health care issues.

AHRQ's enhanced Spanish-language Web site includes more than 35 consumer guides (guide titles are in English as well) on health care quality, surgery, health conditions and diseases, quitting smoking, safe use of medicines, understanding health insurance options and prevention and wellness. The 30 and 60 second audio spots on the Web site focus on comparisons of pills for type 2 diabetes, pain medicines for osteoarthritis, tips for preventing blood clots, safe and effective use of blood thinner pills, tips for quitting smoking, preventive health and more.

Learn new vocabulary words in context

2009-07-08T12:59:00.001-07:00

http://www.vocabsushi.com

A new project that might be worth taking a look at. There are costs involved to subscribe, but you can try it out for free.

Language Megasite

2009-04-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.word2word.com

This site gathers together all of the various language sites and most, if not all, of the world's languages. It was one of the first projects I learned about when the Internet was new, and it has grown exponentially over the years. Take a look.

LingQ

2009-01-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Several people in the Adult Learning community have given high marks to this online program for languages, including English. Although they have courses for sale, considerable content is available for free. Take a look

http://www.lingq.com/

U.S.A. Learns

2008-11-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

http://tinyurl.com/5qo2us

New, free English course designed for adults. Take a look.

Videos for Math Review

2008-09-23T06:30:00.001-07:00

If you click on "Basic Mathematics," you will find good videos explaining fractions, decimals, percents, and other basic math operations. There is video in Spanish, too.

http://mathtv.com/

Google's Literacy Project

2008-09-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

There are some worthwhile sites featured here:

http://www.google.com/literacy/projects.html

Full list of Kansas online databases

2008-08-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here they are -- the complete list of online databases available with the Kansas Library Card and provided by the State Library.

http://www2.kumc.edu/SLK/resource.asp?myses=5170162&cuid=ksuc&cusrvr=muses

Role play the news

2008-07-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.playthenewsgame.com/community/home.action

This is Mr. Ferlazzo's number one!

Online learning games

2008-07-10T07:58:00.001-07:00

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/07/09/the-best-online-learning-games-2008/

Take a look at this recent list of games. Ferlazzo, who compiled it, produces a wonderful blog and website.

News Sites for Learners

2008-05-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

http://digbig.com/4wxqt

Larry Ferlazzo's list includes great options for reading along with both audio and text.

Elllo - English

2008-05-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.elllo.org/ is a great site for practicing listening, and there are numerous study sheets and quizzes for many of the lessons.

Read Alouds

2008-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Members of the Screen Actors Guild read favorite children's books -- read along and view the text and pictures:

http://www.storylineonline.net/

GED study

2008-03-03T06:40:00.001-08:00

http://ged.free-ed.net/free-ed/ged/

Completely free for self-study, but a student should be reading at the ninth-grade level to succeed in this program. For pre-GED, work with an individual tutor or in Adult Ed classes is probably in order. Take a look to see if this is for you. If you would like to discuss it with me or work on it at the library, give me a call or come to my office.

Learning Edge

2008-02-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.thewclc.ca/edge/ Great site for computer, internet and reading practice.

Live Mocha for Language Learning

2008-02-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

For the time being, at least, this site is free and offers practice--with interactions with tutors and native speakers -- for learning several languages. It is currently in beta and definitely worth a look.

http://www.livemocha.com/

Interactives

2008-02-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

I love the rich offerings of learner.org. Take a look at these interactives -- drop-down menu lists them all. This first one deals with polling and statistics. I like to use it for vocabulary.

http://www.learner.org/interactives/statistics/index.html

Vocabulary practice

2008-02-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Comic Strip Generator

2008-01-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

This is a fun tool for teachers and for students. There is a Spanish version now, also.

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/comix.php

Mario's list

2007-12-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

For self-study by one of my students:

http://www.cdlponline.org/

http://www.esl-lab.com/

http://larryferlazzo.com/english.html

Site pronounces words

2007-12-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.howjsay.com/

Books in One Syllable

2007-12-05T06:24:00.000-08:00

I was reminded the other day of the work of Mary Godolphin (Lucy Aiken), who re-wrote several classics in words of one syllable. They are worth taking a look at -- and they are available here in various formats. Look around the site for many other audio and print texts.

http://manybooks.net/authors/godolphi.html

Visual dictionary

2007-12-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

http://visual.merriam-webster.com

Start with the image and see a diagram with labels to learn what something is called.

Great resource

2007-11-27T05:45:00.000-08:00

Note the following free K-12 materials provided by the National Institutes of Health. Tutors, home schoolers, students may access free of charge.

http://science.education.nih.gov/customers.nsf/supplements

Sites for November class meeting

2007-11-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

These are suggested:

http://www.pumarosa.com/ Beginning students seem to enjoy this site.

http://www.pdictionary.com/ Good for vocabulary and spelling drill.

http://www.colorincolorado.org/ Good short list of cognates. Valuable guides for bilingual guides for parents.

http://larryferlazzo.com/english.html Gigantic list of resources.

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/ Blog

http://www.learner.org/ "Connect with English" is enjoyable for more advanced listening practice.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorial.html Valuable for bilingual medical videos.

http://www.esl-lab.com/ Great listening practice.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslstudent.html Comprehensive list of online resources.

http://www.cdlponline.org/ I have often used this, but some of the topical information is dated.

http://digbig.com/4sgta For citizenship study materials.

www.eslpod.com Probably the best of the podcasts. No need to pay--much of what is offered is still free.

Another "On this day" and a great poem -- with audio -- too.

2007-10-26T06:56:00.001-07:00

clipped from mail.google.com

Library of Congress

2007-10-26T06:44:00.001-07:00

The best of the "What happened on...?" sites. Less popular culture and more political and social history!

clipped from memory.loc.gov

Today in History mines the American Memory historical collections to discover what happened in American history today…and every day.

Tons of information for tutors and students

2007-10-24T08:55:00.001-07:00

Navigate the site carefully and you will find links to much valuable USA information. The site is impressively well-organized.

clipped from www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz

Subjects

Settings

Other Info

Welcome to the New Zealand Literacy Portal. This Portal contains information about adult literacy.
If you want to find out more about children's literacy in New Zealand click here

OWL Writing Lab

2007-08-23T06:03:00.001-07:00

There is no better place for grammar and writing help than the Purdue Online Writing Lab -- OWL -- for tutors, for students. Online since 1993-1994, OWL has carved out a special place for itself and now online tutors will answer questions from anyone, not just students at Purdue! Take a look at all of the help that is offered there or visit the next time you have a specific question.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

It is a large site, but English as a Second Language tutors and students might want to begin with the link on the right to ESL.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/536/01/

Verizon support for Volunteers now part of ThinkFinity

2007-08-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this re-vamped literacy site:

http://www.thinkfinity.org/home.aspx

Notre Dame Joins OpenCourseWare

2007-08-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

The offerings of university courses provide wonderful opportunities. See Notre Dame's materials, and take a look at the other offerings from institutions in other countries also. (See list on right side of web page.)

http://ocw.nd.edu/

New words added to Merriam-Webster Dictionary

2007-08-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/newwords07.htm

It is always fun to see how many of the new words you know and use.

Online Courses

2007-08-13T14:37:00.001-07:00

Here is a convenient, fairly comprehensive set of links to online learning:

http://www.eliteskills.com/free_education/

Best ESL teacher/blogger

2007-08-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

Check out this blog and Mr. Ferlazzo's website, which I recommended earlier and heartily recommend again!

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/ , for the blog.

http://larryferlazzo.com/english.html for the website.

Learn to read the 55 early reader words

2007-06-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.learntoreadfree.com/

Writing Course Online from Annenberg

2007-06-09T09:28:00.002-07:00

http://www.learner.org/resources/series128.html

I had an inquiry today about English Composition classes and that reminded me of this great resource. Free videos for download.

Learning Chinese?

2007-06-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

I know there are students using Rosetta Stone to try to learn a little Chinese. The latest thing
to come to my attention comes from the University of Maryland. Take a look at this press release about new available materials for learning to read Chinese full form or simplified characters.

http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/sociss/release.cfm?ArticleID=1453

Attention Rosetta Stone Users

2007-06-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

Those using Rosetta Stone provided by Hutch Public Library may find it necessary to re-enroll, since the "new term" began June 1. The time period for an active registration will be noted on the account screen. We are sorry for the inconvenience to those who experienced unexplained difficulty accessing accounts after May 31. By the way, I would be so happy to hear from anyone who is successfully using Rosetta Stone. E-mail me at sgustaf@hutchpl.org or stop by the Library and tell me about your experience using the program. Sandra

Worth Looking For with Your Kansas Library Card

2007-05-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a good database that is hard to find on the Kansas Library Card list. In the “Additional Databases” section at the end of the list of Thomson-Gale (InfoTrac) Databases is a kid-friendly (K-5) searching tool. KIDS InfoBits provides full-text articles from many developmentally appropriate sources on current events, the arts, history, sports, science and more. Students can choose to use icons to narrow their subjects, a Basic search box, or an Advanced search strategy that allows them to limit by date, reading level, etc. There is even a “toolbox” for teachers.

Go to the list of databases available from your Kansas Library Card ( http://www.kslc.org/ ) and choose InfoTrac Web. Then scroll down to or click on the Additional Databases list to explore Kids InfoBits.

Idioms

2007-04-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

About.com's guide to ESL compiles wonderful resources for both students and teachers. However, I have always found the site to be cluttered and therefore difficult to use, especially if printing is the goal. These idiom sites are valuable, however.

http://esl.about.com/od/engilshvocabulary/a/idiom_resource.htm

Make Math Worksheets

2007-04-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

http://themathworksheetsite.com/

Quite a few possibilities for free practice worksheets. Good for math facts.

U. S. Citizenship

2007-04-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here is current information for adult educators: http://digbig.com/4sfkn. These are some good specific resources: http://digbig.com/4sgta.

Award-winning ESL teacher's page

2007-04-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to follow all of the links on this huge site, but there sure is a lot here for both students and teachers.

http://www.bayworld.net/ferlazzo/index.html

Read , Write, Think

2007-03-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

There are many elementary-level exercises for students at this link, and there is much of worth for tutors elsewhere on this site:

http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

Basic Math Review

2007-02-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

A very good presentation.

http://www.accd.edu/sac/slac/ppointshows/math_0300/math_0300_review.htm

Tutors may find lessons on this site.

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/lessons/

More online education

2007-02-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

Here is a good way to stay current with the offerings:

http://www.archive.org/details/education

While many of these offerings are advanced, there are others that are quite accessible. Look, for example, at the American History advanced placement course, which is linked under recently reviewed items.

Grammar Girl

2007-01-26T09:36:00.000-08:00

Featured recently on CNN and moving up the charts in iTunes, Grammar Girl podcasts are also available in a text version on the web. Good for grammar review.

http://grammar.qdnow.com/

Fun Way to Learn Spanish Phrases

2007-01-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

http://www.boomergirl.com/learn/language/spanish/

A travel phrase a day.

Podcasts

2007-01-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

http://digbig.com/4qnwg

Here are lots of podcasts. Look at the foreign language learning list, including the information about podcasts for learning English. These will go nicely with Rosetta Stone.

2007 Banned Words List

2007-01-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

This year's list is here. As is true with most trite words and phrases, new English speakers and readers need to learn them first and then practice avoiding them!

http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php

Common Words in English

2006-12-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

http://digbig.com/4qjsd

Here is a handy list and a discussion of the most freqently used words in English. Note that most of the common words are of Anglo-Saxon origin and often do not follow the phonics rules we teach beginning students. That is one of the reasons English is so confusing and that learning to read is hard.

Take a look at the new words, also.

http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/newwords/?view=uk

It's Not a Waste of Time to Play This Game!

2006-12-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

This 20 questions game is very popular this season, both online and as an electronic toy. Try thinking up an answer in one of the categories, and see if the computer can guess what you are thinking by asking you questions. Available in several languages and good for practicing English also.

http://q.20q.com

Practice English by Viewing Movie Trailers

2006-12-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.english-trailers.com/index.php

This may be a lot of fun for some of you who are practicing listening. There are exercises, too.

A fun site for grammar rules and review

2006-12-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

Take a look at Celebrity English here:

http://www.celebrityenglish.com/

Plagiarism and Language

2006-11-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

This article in Slate discusses the use of Google Books to document instances of plagiarism in the works of authors long gone and largely forgotten. What really struck me while reading this piece, however, is how individual most language choice is. When we study English as a second or other language, we teach common patterns of speech, while most of what we write really is quite original. Repeat, for fun, the kind of exercise that the author of the article does. Put in one, two, three, four, etc. words in Google or Google Books and see how many hits you get: a phrase or clause with nine or ten words in sequence will not receive many.

http://www.slate.com/id/2153313/

American Rhetoric

2006-11-21T06:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/ is an online speech bank of more than 5000 recorded media events. One can listen to and read the full-text transcriptions of the one hundred most important American political speeches of the 20th century. Good for English pronounciation and listening practice.

Great Ways to Find Good Sources

2006-11-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

These are some of my favorite sites to visit to stay current:

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/
http://scout.wisc.edu/index.php
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
http://www.resourceshelf.com/
http://www.researchbuzz.com/wp/
http://www.freepint.com/issues/020206.htm#tips
http://www.lii.org
http://www.ipl.org and search for "online learning"

Featured sites for 11/15 class

2006-11-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here is one person's stab at gathering the current crop of online learning opportunities.

http://www.lifehacker.com/software/education/technophilia-get-a-free-college-education-online-201979.php

http://www.learner.org for language learning videos in Spanish, German, French and English.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/ for more language learning courses.
http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/socrates/lingua/products_en.html See what the European Union is doing.
http://web.austin.utexas.edu/wlh/ One attempt to keep up with the online offerings.

Google -- site: edu podcasts for audio and video presentations from educational institutions.

Animations

2006-11-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

http://science.nhmccd.edu/biol/animatio.htm

OpenCourseWare

2006-11-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is just one of several instutitions of higher learning who offer free courses online. Here is MIT's site and their list of video offerings:

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/OCWHelp/avocw.htm

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/all-courses.htm provides a list of all MIT courses, many of which include only text materials.

Other institutions are also offering courses, tutorials, other learning materials. Browse or search this site: http://iberry.widged.com/

Calling all volunteers

2006-08-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

Interested in the Library's Literacy Program? Take a look at the following and then let me know if you want to be a part of what we are doing at Hutchinson Public Library.

http://www.thinkfinity.org/

Keep learning all summer long.

2006-06-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Newswise Summer Learning Tips: Avoid the "Summer Slide"

This article applies to adults also!

Get a free comic on May 6

2006-05-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

Hastings, who is participating here in Hutchinson, is also a generous annual donor to the Hutchinson Public Library Adult Literacy Program, through corporate matching of local store donations.

Project Gutenburg celebrates 35 years!

2006-05-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

Watch for a week of free access to the World ebook Library this summer during the World ebook Fair. One-third million free books (PDF files) await you from July 4-August 4. Until then, visit http://worldlibrary.net and consider joining for only $8.95 per year.

Catch this

2006-05-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

http://denison.uchsc.edu/outreach/medbib3.htm

Reference Staff Updates ILL Skills

2006-05-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Two Hutch Library staffers "got current" by attending an Interlibrary Loan Conference last week in Estes Park, Colorado. Over 200 librarians updated their service skills to help their patrons find and obtain books, articles and information from other libraries.

English practice

2005-03-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

Until the new databases are available, I am recommending a few web sites for your individual practice sessions.

Try http://www.myesl.org and http://www.pumarosa.com.