English | Spicy Tooth

World Book Day

World Book Day this year is on 7th March. As you can probably guess, it is all about encouraging people to read and enjoy reading. Students at primary and secondary schools in the UK are given a £1 voucher which can be exchanged for a book from a selection that has been specially written for…

Newspapers

There are an incredible range of online newspapers, many of which are free. A lot of online newspapers have e-editions, that present the newspaper as it would appear in a traditional newspaper. Here are a selection of e-editions: The Metro was originally a free London newspaper that was distributed at London Underground stations. It has…

Eye halve a spelling chequer

I have recently been looking at the peculiarities of English spelling, which prompted me to dig out a poem I came across a number of years ago. I believe the poem below is the original version, although various modified versions of the poem also exist. The British Council website has a good activity for the…

Arcademic Skill Builders

Arcademic Skill Builders is a fantastic website for ESOL and numeracy learners. The site contains a variety of games that enable learners to practise maths and English. What’s great about the games is that learners can play against each other by creating a private room that others can join if they know the password. Examples…

Websites for practising English grammar and vocabulary

There are countless websites for practising English grammar and vocabulary. My favourites are englishgrammarsecrets, better-english and englishpage. These sites complement each other very well, offering interactive exercises covering grammar, vocabulary, prepositions, phrasal verbs and collocations. There is something here for every level of learner! I have updated this page, with additional links to more of…

Open University – 20th Century British Authors

Interactive map of twentieth century British authors from the Open University.