Bea Bees English

There is a very interesting article in the New York Times on learning a language on the internet.
Here’s an appetizer:

With the growth of broadband connectivity and social networks, companies have introduced a wide range of Internet-based language learning products, both free and fee-based, that allow students to interact in real time with instructors in other countries, gain access to their lesson plans wherever they are in the world, and communicate with like-minded virtual pen pals who are also trying to remember if bambino means baby.

Learning a language sometimes seems as difficult as dieting. The solution is to figure out how to stay interested after the novelty wears off.

Read more and even more on Online Language Learning.

If you’re thinking of moving to Canada to study or for a long stay, it’s a good idea to get in touch with the people at Portal do Imigrante. They have first-hand experience of the whole process, from the birth of the idea to finally feeling well and integrated there. They will be of great help to tou.

If you have any trouble with connecting ideas or would like to improve your style, I do recommend a visit to this site. Not only do they have all you need (connector summary), but they will lead you through examples and practice.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology – the famous MIT – has put on line many of their courses online for free. They have courses on about any topic (aviation, architecture, engineering, health and science technology, management). A great opportunity to improve not only English but academic and professional skills.

A visit to the MIT OCW is a real trip.

Hi,

If you’re interested in knowing what to work on next time you feel like studying grammar, why don’t you take one the Oxford Living Grammar tests? There are 3 levels, tests are different each time, and you get a diagnosis.

Could be interesting

I just noticed I had never introduced VocabGrabber here. It is a great tool if you like to read and increase your vocabulary. Here is how it works:

VocabGrabber analyzes any text you’re interested in, generating lists of the most useful vocabulary words and showing you how those words are used in context. Just copy text from a document and paste it into the box, and then click on the “Grab Vocabulary!” button. VocabGrabber will automatically create a list of vocabulary from your text, which you can then sort, filter, and save.

Select any word on the list and you’ll see a snapshot of the Visual Thesaurus map and definitions for that word, along with examples of the word in your text. Click on the word map or the highlighted word in the example to see the Visual Thesaurus in action.

Fantastic, I love it. From a single text I can travel hours and hours. I hope it can serve you too.

Today I found out about a channel on YouTube offering video classes to Brazilian learners of English: Inglês Verde e Amarelo

It’s great because it deals with specific mistakes or difficulties in vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.

Inglês Verde e Amarelo is also a ning community sharing blogs, forum, videos and chat.

This blog is a nice place to read in English about Europe, all with a good dose of British humor.

This last month I’ve been training to do a good job with wikis and I came up with a wiki for learners of English for professional purpose. In the beginning it’s aimed at pilots and engineers who need certification.

It’s mostly resource, interesting links and so on but I hope it will also become a collaborative space and that more professions will be included as time goes by.  You can access here or on the badge I just received.