The BBC and the British Council are both good places to start exploring as they provide the most comprehensive selection of English learning activities at different levels.

At the BBC, listen to world news as well as audio broadcasts on business, sports, education, science, youth, arts & drama, features, music and religion. There is also a special section on English language learning which has audio clips and listening comprehension exercises. Topics include news, study skills, science and technology, speaking English, business, society and culture, and English for beginners.

The British Council site includes test yourself, words, audio, grammar, songs, magazines, games, stories, poems, postcards and links. You can practice all your language skills here.

For some quick revision, explore Study Zone from a Canadian university. It's wonderfully easy to navigate with clear and simple explanations and exercises sorted by level and theme.

For a tour of some of the best free sites to help improve your English at all levels, read on . . .

Lingual Net has movie extracts sorted by category with subtitles and quizzes. The videos are slow to load but it is worth it as there is a wide variety to choose from. You can also chat with other visitors.

TV news channels like CNN, Sky and BBC have videos for current news items with associated articles and links. CNN has a new daily 10 minute student news in its Watch & Learn section with exercises and scripts. You can even download it onto an Ipod with Itunes.

Besides current news videos, ABC Australia contains a big well-structured audio archive of radio current affairs reports with transcripts. You can choose any day back to March 2005 and select a specific report or use the search function. The transcript archive actually goes back to 1999 but without audio.

Designed more for the learner, literacynet provides a selection videos of older CNN and CBS news stories with associated learning activities.

The BBC Learning English web site is a gem and is frequently updated. You could easily spend all your time on the wide range of activities here. More advanced learners could also try one of the BBC radio programmes which are available to for up seven days after transmission. There is also a regularly updated soap opera called The Flatmates which is specially written for English learners.

Voice of America has news items recorded specially to help learners. It includes the scripts and is limited to 1500 words, short sentences and no idioms. If you find that too easy try the main VOA site .

To google is now an expression in the English language and probably the quickest way to find useful sites but make sure you use Google.com or Google.co.uk to highlight English sites.

Using English as a means rather than an end is likely to improve your level more easily. The Internet is ideal for this as you can pursue your own interests on specialist sites written in English such as the Lonely Planet travel guide and forum. At Imdb, cinema buffs can find a wide variety of viewer’s opinions about virtually every film ever released. Here, you can watch movie trailers with comprehension exercises.

Have you ever wondered why the British take so many tea breaks or what happens on April Fool's day or bonfire night or how the education system is structured? Learn English takes a light-hearted look at British customs, traditions and culture.


At English Baby, the focus is on using today's American pop-culture, like movies, music and conversations, to teach you how Americans speak. You also have the chance to practice what you learn with lessons under the themes of slang, music, eavesdropping, movies and real life. There are also chat rooms, message boards, and the chance to make e-pals.

To work on accent and rhythms visit Train Your Accent or Fonetiks to learn more about regional variations.