CeDAS recommends a range of additional online resources to help students develop appropriate skills to meet the demands of studying at university level.

Vocabulary

Manchester Academic phrasebank

This is a website managed by the University of Manchester. It contains a range of useful Academic English sections. This one is a list of phrases typically used in particular situations, ranging from signalling transition to referring to sources when writing an academic assignment. 

Academic Word List

This is just a list of the most frequently used words in academic texts. It is useful if you want to increase your academic vocabulary in a systematic way. 

Vocabulary exercises using the AWL

Here you can practise the words listed in the list above to increase your academic vocabulary. It also includes 'clickable' definitions of the words. 

 

Grammar

Tense buster

This software helps you to understand and practise tenses in English. As it is licensed to RHUL, it can only be used on campus. 

Monash grammar

This is a learning support website hosted by Monash University. It focuses on grammar for academic purposes, and more specifically on the passive voice, verb tenses and articles. There is also a very detailed section on grammar for Engineering. 

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

A student favourite! This website is hosted by Purdue University. It is a very comprehensive set of resources on English for Academic purposes. This particular section focuses on grammar explanations.

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Exercises

A student favourite! This website is hosted by Perdue University. It is a very comprehensive set of resources on English for Academic purposes. This particular section focuses on grammar exercises, to help you to improve clarity and accuracy in your writing. 

 

Pronunciation

Clear pronunciation

This software helps you to practise and improve your pronunciation. It includes clear explanations of how the sounds are formed and many exercises. As it is licensed to RHUL, it can only be used on campus. 

English word pronunciations

A simple yet comprehensive website detailing how words are pronounced in different varieties of English (from Welsh to Australian). It also contains some very useful examples of short vs. long vowels (e.g. sheep or ship): click on "English pronunciation practice with minimal pairs."

BBC Learning English

A more wide-ranging website containing information and exercises on sound vs. spelling, connected speech, voicing and minimal pairs (e.g. sheep or ship), and some quizzes.

 

Studying in the UK

Prepare for Success

These activities will help you to adapt to your new academic life as an International Student. It covers study skills such as team work and time management, but also cultural issues (e.g. differences in univesrity study) and academic skills (e.g. using what you read in your academic study.) 

Listening to Lectures

Monash listening skills

This is a learning support website hosted by Monash University. This section focuses on improving your academic listening skills, and asks the questions: Why go to a lecture? and What to do if you miss a lecture? It also has a section on lecturing styles. It then offers tips on what to do before, during and after a lecture, and on the best note-taking strategies.

TED.com

This is a very popular website containing high-quality lectures (Ted Talks) delivered by specialists on a great variety of subjects, mostly academic ones. They also vary greatly in length, but often contain transcripts and biographical information about the speaker. A good way to get exposure to a variety of accents.

Imperial College Lectures

This is a series of recorded scientific lectures given at Imperial College in London. They usually last 50 minutes. 

Preparing for Success: Listening to lectures

This website was designed to prepare international students for academic study in the UK. It contains a variety of user-friendly, short activities designed to help you with different aspects of student life in the UK, but also activities to help you to study more effectively. This section contains two activities: Comparing lectures and Listening for clues to help you understand a lecture. 

 

Reading and Note-Taking

Monash Essay writing

This is a learning support website hosted by Monash University. This section focuses on helping you to select what to read for a particular assignment, to make useful notes from your reading, and to read more selectively and effectively. It contains a lot of examples and the advice is easy to follow. 

Preparing for Success: Reading for your course 

This website was designed to prepare international students for academic study in the UK. It contains a variety of user-friendly, short activities designed to help you with different aspects of student life in the UK, but also activities to help you to study more effectively. This section contains two activities: How to manage reading lists, and Reading efficiently.

Preparing for Success: Using what you read in your academic writing

This website was designed to prepare international students for academic study in the UK. It contains a variety of user-friendly, short activities designed to help you with different aspects of student life in the UK, but also activities to help you to study more effectively. This section contains two activities: Understanding what referencing involves and Identifying examples of paraphrase, quotation and plagiarism.

 

Academic Discussion

Monash classroom participation

This is a learning support website hosted by Monash University. This section focuses on the benefits of having in-class discussions and on how to participate in an interactive class. 

UEFAP Working in Groups

This is a simple, yet very useful website for international students. Click on 'group work' to reach this section. It outlines the group dynamics and the different roles which make up an effective group, with the language typically used by people in each role. 

Prepare for Success: Taking part in seminars

This website was designed to prepare international students for academic study in the UK. It contains a variety of user-friendly, short activities designed to help you with different aspects of student life in the UK, but also activities to help you to study more effectively. This section contains just one activity entitled Finding out about seminars.

 

Online Dictionaries

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Detailed entries, with a special section for English language learners.

The Free Dictionary 

Comprehensive monolingual, bi-lingual and subject-specific dictionary website.

 

English Language Tests

IELTS 

Find out about the International English Language Testing System exam which is recognized by most British universities as the principal measure of competence in academic English across the four skills (writing, reading, listening and speaking).

If you need to improve your IELTS scores, or are preparing to take the exam for the first time, Road to IELTS provides an introduction to the format of the IELTS exam and chances for you to practise all areas of the exam with these self-study preparation materials.

TOEFL Online 

This is the official TOEFL web site for the Educational Testing Service. It offers information about each exam and access to practice activities.