English
What is English?
English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca. Named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to England, it ultimately derives its name from the Anglia (Angle land) peninsula in the Baltic Sea. It is the third most widely spoken language in the world, after Standard Mandarin and Spanish.
Learning English can be a rewarding experience. It can open up new opportunities in your personal and professional life. Whether you're learning for school, work, or just for fun, there are many resources available to help you improve your English skills.
Some people learn best by attending formal classes, while others prefer to learn on their own time. There are many online and offline resources available, including books, websites, apps, and other materials. There are also many different English dialects, so it's important to choose resources that are appropriate for your particular learning goals.
Whatever your learning style, there are plenty of resources available to help you learn English.
English Resources
Practice Makes Perfect: Exploring Grammar
Short explanations followed by heavy drill, from McGraw-Hill's long-running self-study series. Cheap, plentiful practice.
Side by Side: Student Book 1 (Third Edition)
A conversation-first beginner course built around guided dialogues, which makes it one of the few ESL books that works with two people at a kitchen table.
Essential Grammar in Use with Answers
Raymond Murphy's elementary grammar reference, built on a two-page unit format that makes it genuinely usable for self-study.
Word Power Made Easy
A vocabulary builder that teaches Greek and Latin roots rather than word lists, so each session unlocks families of words at once.
Basic English Grammar Workbook (Azar-Hagen, 5th Edition)
The grammar series most ESL teacher training programs are built around, in workbook form with a full answer key for self-study.
Oxford Picture Dictionary, Third Edition
The standard visual dictionary in ESL classrooms worldwide: roughly 4,000 words organized by real-life situation rather than alphabetically.
English for Everyone Practice Book Level 1: Beginner
The written practice half of DK's Level 1 course. Buy it with the course book, not instead of it.
English for Everyone Course Book Level 1: Beginner
DK's visual self-study English course, built so a complete beginner can work through it alone without a teacher explaining every page.
Evan-Moor Daily Reading Comprehension, Grade 6
Daily reading comprehension practice with increasingly complex passages building inference, analysis, and critical thinking for sixth graders.
Scholastic Success with Reading Comprehension, Grade 1
Engaging reading comprehension workbook with fiction and nonfiction passages teaching main idea, sequence, and inference skills for first graders.
Scholastic Success with Reading Comprehension, Grade 3
Third-grade reading comprehension workbook with diverse passages building inference, cause-effect, and critical thinking skills.
Scholastic Success with Reading Comprehension, Grade 4
Fourth-grade reading comprehension workbook developing advanced inference, analysis, and text evidence skills through diverse passages.