English as a Second Language (ESL) Subject Guide
Getting Started: Dictionaries, Test Prep Guides, and Manuals
Listed below are dictionaries, writing manuals and other books to help ESL students with the English language.
The American Heritage dictionary for learners of English.
Rev. ed of The American Heritage English as a second language dictionary.
MAIN PE1628 .A6229 2002. (1 copy also in Reference)
The American Heritage dictionary of idioms for students of English.
MAIN PE2839 .A46 2001. (1 copy also in Reference.)
The American Heritage student dictionary.
OVERSIZE PE1628.5 .A45 1998
The American Heritage student thesaurus.
OVERSIZE PE1591 .H4434 2007. (1 copy also in Reference.)
Longman preparation course for the TOEFL test: next generation iBT.
OVERSIZE PE1128 .P46176 2005
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. 11th ed.
REFERENCE PE1628 .M36 2006
Merriam-Webster's visual dictionary.
REFERENCE PE1629 .M56 C78 2006
Official guide to the new TOEFL iBT/ETS.
OVERSIZE PE1128 .O34 2006
What makes America tick?: a multiskill approach to English through U.S. culture and history. Wendy Ashby.
MAIN PE1128 .A687 2003
Write English right: an ESL homonym workbook. Lawrence Klepinger.
OVERSIZE PE1595 .K58 1993
Writing from experience: with grammar and language skills for ESL/EFL students.
MAIN PE1128 .A2 F68 2004
A year in the life of an ESL student: idioms and vocabulary you can't live without. Edward J. Francis.
OVERSIZE PE1128 .F73 2004
Selected Easy Readers
Lasers. P. M. Boekhoff.
MAIN TA1682 .B64 2002
Minnesota. P. M. Boekhoff.
MAIN F606 .B695 2002
Native Americans of the Great Lakes. P. M. Boekhoff.
MAIN E78.G7 B64 2004
A Plains Indian village. P. M. Boekhoff.
MAIN E78.G73 K35 2002
Tornadoes. P. M. Boekhoff.
MAIN QC995.2 .B64 2003
We also have an extensive collection of juvenile books, which can provide good practice for those learning to read English.
topFinding Books
Begin your search with MnPALS, our online catalog. MnPALS provides access to books, audiovisual materials, eBooks, and other resources available at DCTC and at other libraries in the MnPALS system. Our books and audiovisual materials are organized according to Library of Congress call numbers. Items not available from the DCTC Library can be requested online through interlibrary loan (ILL).
The best way to begin a search in MnPALS is to enter one or two keywords on your topic. To focus your search, find the most relevant records in your results and look at their subject headings. MnPALS displays subject headings as links and clicking on them will begin a search for that particular topic.
MnPALS includes the titles of our magazine and journal subscriptions but does not provide the articles themselves. To search for articles, see the Finding Articles section below.
Sample subject headings for ESL resources:
|
English language — Study and teaching second language acquisition reading comprehension |
English language — Rhetoric — Study and teaching English language — Textbooks for foreign speakers readers |
Most books about the English language are shelved in call numbers beginning with PE. You can browse those shelves for ideas.
topFinding Articles
Use periodical indexes and databases to locate articles, reports, and other documents on your topic. Most of these resources provide full-text articles, which you can print, save, or e-mail. We also have print subscriptions to some magazines and journals that aren't available electronically. We keep the current year and three previous years of most magazine and journal issues. If an article you need is not available at the DCTC Library in either print or electronic format, you can request the article from another library through interlibrary loan (ILL).
Periodical Indexes & Databases
EBSCO MegaFILE (1865 - Present)
EBSCO MegaFILE indexes nearly 24,000 publications and provides full text for over 19,100 publications. EBSCO MegaFILE covers virtually all subjects and includes biographies, company profiles, primary source documents, and images. EBSCO MegaFILE combines four EBSCO indexes and databases: Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, MasterFILE Premier, and Regional Business News.
PsycARTICLES (1894 - Present)
PsycARTICLES provides full-text articles from 66 journals published by the American Psychological Association and other associations.
Access World News (1977 - Present)
Access World News provides full text articles from more than 2,000 newspapers, wire services, and broadcast transcripts from all over the world.
ProQuest Newspapers (1980 - Present)
ProQuest Newspapers provides full text articles from nearly 700 newspapers and wire services from all over the world.
Magazines
Magazines are an informative and entertaining resource for English-language learners. Listed below are some titles that ESL students may particularly enjoy. The Library holds the latest three years of most titles.
- Consumer Reports
- Mpls-St. Paul
- National Geographic
- Newsweek
- Parents
- People
- Reader's Digest
- Sports Illustrated
- Time
- Vogue
Web Sites
BBC Learning Service
A well-designed and fun site from the BBC. Includes short courses, quizzes, grammar, vocabulary, audio and video designed to help English-learners improve their language skills. (It's British English, but useful to anyone learning the language.)
ESL Café's Idea Cookbook
Teachers' suggestions for classroom activities, organized by theme.
The Internet Picture Dictionary
A completely free, online multilingual picture dictionary designed especially for ESL students and beginning English, French, German, Spanish and Italian language learners of all ages. Search in various languages or browse pictures by letter or category. Site also offers interactive activities: flashcards, fill-in-the-blanks, word scramble, stinky spelling, and straight recall.
The Internet TESL Journal: for teachers of English as a second language
A monthly web journal, with articles, research papers, lesson plans, classroom handouts, teaching ideas, and links.
Purdue's Online Writing Lab: ESL Resources
Links, handouts and exercises for ESL teachers.
Sound Learning
From Minnesota Public Radio. Listening, reading, critical thinking and vocabulary exercises based on current events and features.
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Home Page
Contains information on the "Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)," which "measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to use and understand North American English as it is spoken, written and heard in college and university settings." Includes sample questions and writing topics from the test. From the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Topics: An Online Magazine for Learners of English
In this online magazine "learners of English as a second language express their ideas and opinions on topics of interest to them." It features accounts of international foods, festivals, dances, superstitions, proverbs, and more. Also includes a description of class projects from around the world.
The Tower of English
This Internet resource guide is for students and teachers of English as a second language (ESL). There are about three dozen interest categories and several hundred Web sites in an A-Z list that use "endless games and fun activities to catch the interest and imagination of ESL students," while practicing the use of the English language. Many sites include interaction in foreign languages. Searchable.
Annotations from Librarians' Internet Index and the Minnesota Department of Education's ELL Education Program Guidelines.
topReference Librarian
The DCTC Library's Reference Librarian is
Barbara Tuttle
651-423-8345
Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, concerns, or for additional help with your research.
Last updated: October 29, 2007.