Resources for Students and Teachers of Foreign Languages
Newbury House Online American English Dictionary
Newbury House, known for its English as a Second Language publishing program,
has put its American English Dictionary online (nhd.heinle.com/home.aspx).
Visitors can type in any of the 40,000 words currently in the online dictionary
and get a short but useful definition followed by a contextual use of the word
in a sentence. In addition to standard English words, the dictionary includes
unique Americanisms and many words from regional dialects. For instance, both
“poor boy” and “hoagie” are defined as types of sandwiches.
However, slang words are largely absent from the current collection of entries.
The site is a handy place for students of English as a foreign language to obtain
quick, concise definitions of words and examples of their uses. In addition,
the site also features pronunciation hints and a cultural note of the day.
EFL Web
English as a Foreign Language Magazine (www.eflweb.com)
is for anyone interested in EFL or English as a second language (ESL). Continuously
updated, the site features services for teachers and students, including job
postings, guides to available programs for learning English, lists of conferences
and exhibits, an online product catalog, and lists of chat rooms for practicing
English. EFL Web is a useful resource both for those seeking specific information
and for those who simply want to join a community of other teachers or students.
The home page is divided into a Teacher Zone and a Student Zone. This site originates
in England but covers programs and issues that are worldwide.
iLoveLanguages Site
Formerly called the Human Languages page, iLoveLanguages (www.ilovelanguages.com)
is a comprehensive catalog of language-related Internet resources. The more
than 2,000 links at iLoveLanguages cover 193 languages or language categories
and have been reviewed to bring users the best available language links. The
site features links to online language lessons, translating dictionaries, native
literature, translation services, software, language schools, and more. There
are also dozens of linguistics links and resources and a list of nearly 40 organizations
devoted to particular areas of languages and linguistics. This is an excellent
starting point for anyone seeking information or translation of one of the lesser-studied
languages.
Language Resources Online
The Education Index Language Resources page (www.educationindex.com/language)
offers dozens of annotated links to ESL and foreign language sites on the Web.
The collection ranges from resources for the armchair traveler to sites for
serious students of foreign language. Here users will find German fairy tales,
a guide to Japanese grammar, and lesson plans for foreign language teachers.
Some of the annotated links are lists of links themselves, including resources
for students and teachers of Chinese, French, and Welsh. Other links are amusing,
such as the Turkish language site that features jokes (in Turkish) and the “fast
and friendly French” site.
Online English Grammar
This grammar guide (www.edufind.com/english/grammar)
was developed by ESL teacher Anthony Hughes. Users will find an alphabetical
subject index, English language practice page, and an English grammar clinic
to aid students. The table of contents is organized simply and cleanly around
parts of speech, with subheadings for particular English language issues. There
are special sections on the use of the verb “get” and on the use of
capital letters in English. The site also contains sound clips, such as the
spoken alphabet. Users who have already bought the desktop version of Online
English Grammar have access to the “Grammar Guru,” who answers specific
questions online.
ARTFL Project
The creation of a new dictionary of the French language, the Trésor
de la Langue Française, led to the collection of 150 million words representing
a broad range of written French—from mathematics to literature. The value
of this collection to anyone studying French language and culture was immediately
apparent. Thus was born the database project titled “American and French
Research on the Treasury of the French Language,” or ARTFL (humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL),
a cooperative project established in 1981 by the Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique and the University of Chicago. The collection includes nearly 2,000
texts from medieval times to the present, ranging from classic works of literature
to technical writing. The search system is uncomplicated and flexible. A single
command allows users to search a single text, texts by a single author, texts
from a particular time period, texts with a particular word in the title, or
all the texts in the database. In addition to searching the database, users
can read newsletters, consult FAQ sheets, and skim the ARTFL bibliography online.
The Web site is available to subscribers only.