Vocabulary Resources
This page provides some resources that our instructors and students recommend to build vocabulary knowledge. Having a large vocabulary is crucial for all language skills, as Dr. Paul Nation explains in this lecture.
Academic Word List and Academic Vocabulary Use
Academic Word List Core vocabulary for academic discourse.
AWL Exercises Pre-made exercises and study plans for the Academic Word List.
AWL Exercises Pre-made exercises and study plans for the Academic Word List.
AWL Highlighter An interactive tool for helping you work with the Academic Word List.
Academic Phrasebank http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/ This resource was originally set up for English writing but can be adapted for presentations and academic speech as well.
COCA https://corpus.byu.edu/coca/ This resource can be used to for a variety of language learning activities. Use the KWIC function to see how collocations are used.
Language and Word Games
Merriam-Webster Quizzes & Games Because not all vocab-building has to be boring! There are a number of games on the website to choose from.
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day Read online, subscribe to daily e-mails, or listen/subscribe to podcasts. Word of the Day includes the definition, a discussion about how the word relates to similar words (and how to use them), and a real-world example of the word in context.
7 Steps to Learn English This site has an amazing collection of resources for vocabulary, grammar, and expressions. The phrasal verb collection is a great place to start, they are organized by topic, base verb, or alphabetically.
Wordle Poplar five-letter word game posted daily by New York Times. If you get stuck or addicted, see also this unlimited version and hints here.
Phrases, Idioms, and Expressions
Colwords A curated collection of words to add "color" to your vocabulary.
Prepositions & Phrasal Verbs Online tutorials with dictionaries and self-quizzes for using the right preposition with various verbs. Includes a dictionary of phrasal verbs that explains variations in meaning as well as possible variations in word order.
Various Idioms This site has a variety of idiom lists e.g. Business Idioms, Slang, Proverbs, Conversations, Native-speaker sentences, etc. It also has examples of use and synonyms.
Other Idioms http://www.idiomconnection.com Very nice site with idioms organized alphabetically as well as by topics such as Animal, Fish, Heart. There are also quizzes.
Youglish This resource mines youtube for the use of words and phrases. You can hear them used in context. This resource can also be used for pronunciation.
Other Idioms http://www.idiomconnection.com Very nice site with idioms organized alphabetically as well as by topics such as Animal, Fish, Heart. There are also quizzes.
Youglish This resource mines youtube for the use of words and phrases. You can hear them used in context. This resource can also be used for pronunciation.