In a rapidly changing labour market, continuing to acquire skills after university is no longer a luxury. Learning English online is one way to enhance your skills and professional and career opportunities.
Besides the many job opportunities that English proficiency offers, it also raises learners’ educational level, and helps them to explore new areas of education and possibly change their career path. With simple research, you will find many courses and programmes for learning English online with a focus geared toward any discipline you want.
Here, we highlight five free resources to get you started, but many more options are available. All you need is a computer or a mobile phone, and an Internet connection, to take off your promising learning journey.
BBC Learning English
BBC Learning English is provided by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It offers multimedia resources and learning activities for English learners and teachers. It also broadcasts BBC Radio programmes.
On the service’s website, you will find many sections that allow you to learn English for a specific purpose. There are sections for those interested in business, children, teachers, as well as a section for grammar, vocabulary, and correct pronunciation, etc.
On the service’s YouTube channel, you will find many playlists of specific educational topics, following the same sections on the website.
VOA Learning English
Learning English is a service is provided by the Voice of America, a U.S. government-funded public broadcaster. It offers lessons at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.
The best thing about this resource is its news videos, which are read slowly and distinctly, along with English subtitles, to enable you to match the pronunciation of words with their spelling.
Learning a language through newcasts is one of the most effective ways to gain fluency, since news reports typically contain the most common and frequently used vocabulary, and avoid neglected and uncommon words and idioms.
The newcasts are divided into categories. You can find a playlist for economic news, another for technology news, and so on.
The service also has a YouTube channel.
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EngVid
EngVid offers more than 1,000 free English-language learning videos, offering lessons on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, accent, slang, common idioms, and the culture of English speakers. It also offers content to help prepare for the TOEFL and IELTS exams, as well as sections dedicated to business English.
The best thing about EngVid is the diversity of teachers. Currently, nine are available, each with their own YouTube channel. You can find the teacher whose teaching method suits you best, subscribe to their channel, and follow the lessons.
After watching each video, you can test your comprehension by taking a short quiz on the website. The website also allows you to divide the lessons by level.
English for You
The English for You YouTube channel offers short, practical lessons at three levels: beginner, elementary and intermediate levels. The teachers are native speakers whom the channel describes as famous linguists. The courses offer a real classroom experience, where a teacher interacts with real students in a classroom ambience, while you follow the lessons with them virtually.
Learn English with Let’s Talk
The Learn English with Let’s Talk YouTube Channel offers more than 2,000 free English lessons. It also offers a variety of teachers, so you can choose your teacher and school, and follow their playlist on the channel. There are also playlists for specific topics, such as learning an American or British accent, or training on job interview skills.
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