Self-study resources

Yet again...I can't believe all this is free of charge.

Crashcourses (15 min presentations with pretty accurate closed captions available)
https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

Full semesters organized by subject (Higher learning. Verbatim closed captions available)
http://oyc.yale.edu/courses
https://www.youtube.com/user/YaleCourses/playlists

Short clips organized by topic. (clowny approach)
https://www.youtube.com/user/OUlearn

In-depth documentaries (full transcripts available)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/topics/

In-depths investigative reports (full transcripts available)
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/episodes/

Debate sites (Closed captions available)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdfcR-8hEY
https://www.youtube.com/user/IntelligenceSquared

Short clips on a variety of topics (closed captions in several languages available)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IcJI8PUf5Z3zKxnZvTBog

Animated interviews with 20th century personalities.
https://www.youtube.com/user/blankonblank

Long articles on a variety of issues available as downloadable audio files
https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/the-long-read

Podcast dealing with different aspects of global development (full transcripts available)
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/series/global-development-podcast

Two interesting bits on sloppiness in science taken from The Economist's podcast and online version repectively.
https://soundcloud.com/theeconomist/is-science-wrong
http://www.economist.com/node/2724226

The guardian books podcast (fiction and non-fiction reviews and loads more)

http://www.theguardian.com/books/series/books

This guy can teach! Great stuff on phrasal verbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsE4UmmkVtU&list=UUwA7Aepp7nRUJNa8roQ-6Bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_YAUaSqV8o&list=UUwA7Aepp7nRUJNa8roQ-6Bw

Psychometric verbal reasoning tests...brilliant for your English and good training if you re looking for a job.

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tests/verbaltest.htm

 Body idiom vids!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Ygbm2GuHk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWfHZkrA_Zg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taGtKw_Pv00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJ21f4-zpw

Here's the role reversal vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b5Ld2j3VQY

More GRANTA stuff.

vids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65mtLCbODCk&list=UU-QBOHsJwH6kjI6QcrGvv3w&index=1

podcasts
https://soundcloud.com/ted-hodgkinson-granta

To err is human...lyrics is plural!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrics
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/lyrics

Some miscellaneous comments and reviews taken from the amazon, youtube and vimeo.
http://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Than-Me-Amy-Winehouse/dp/B0000DD9AV
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Macy-Gray/dp/B000N8UYBO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CYE0DYIbaw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limit_to_Your_Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwTU9CY0gLE
http://vimeo.com/15624524

 Three clips from a very juicy documentary

The English people are systematically taught is not the english most UK natives speak
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEsI2t-mvZk

English as the language of the Empire and Lingua franca
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzt2p1jRiro

Dated slang and slang that made it into the 21st century
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qub-s7e55k


 Naughty mockumentary on the history of the English language
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rexKqvgPVuA

Brilliant vocab videos! Try to repeat the definitions and examples along with the reader.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb3AsHQy0rw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-19j66HoWJE&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KltDgdNf2sU&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuGUs6Z1oQQ&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eVOhw3FTFw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y-DW3BzHW8&feature=relmfu


Same thing minus a proper voice plus helpful visual input and synonyms!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbNjrKaabFI&feature=related

What's on the menu today?

For starters, you can give your eyes and ears a bit of our exotic vocab salad. here's a brilliant couple of vids brimming with descriptive words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY1oFuh_AeQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCC1YCgB9Jo&feature=edu&list=PL82CAF3F170641910


Our main course today is...




surprise surprise...











more marinated body idioms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJqCMZiZDn0&feature=edu&list=PL82CAF3F170641910
Alternatively you can revel on this vid which features all you need to know to describe charts,  trends and so on, to wit: juicy verb adverb collocations, exotic-tasting verbs, heavily spiced phrasal verbs, and a few alternative recipes and an over-enunciating teacher-chef!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1uAImH4GwA&feature=relmfu
To top it all up, here's a clip you can use to practise describing urban landscapes.
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=36314216#editor/target=post;postID=5409618596162573237

OOZY Juicy webs if you're after a good old list of examples for words, idioms, collocations, phrasal verbs, set phrases, etc.

blink/ in the blink of an eye
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=blink
http://www.wordnik.com/words/blink
blush
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=blush
http://www.wordnik.com/words/blush
 frown/ frown lines
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=blush
grit one's teeth
 http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=grit+one%27s+teeth
 http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=grit+her+teeth
keep your ear to the ground
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=+keep+your+ear+to+the+ground
lose face
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=lose+face
http://www.wordnik.com/words/lose%20face

...on the practically unfathomable difference between organized and well-organized people...

http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic12326.html
http://petenut99.tripod.com/transferableskills/id3.html

For extra science vocabulary and real-deal listening practice...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/series/science

Should you have any doubts related to the field of law, here's an excellent specialized dictionary.

http://blackslawdictionary.org/

b2 A great page if you're into giving your bit a touch of slangy coolness

http://www.ezslang.com/

Some reading practice.
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/tests/tsindex.htm
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/cae/students/tests/pt1index.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/English_in_Use.php
http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/useofenglish4.php
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ai577/esl-test.php
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ai576/esl-test.php

Some useful links to practice your phrasal verbs:


General explanations with great links.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-grammar-phrasal-verbs-introduction.htm

Some intermediate level (B1)games.

http://www.isabelperez.com/hotpot/phrasal_v_1.htm

http://www.isabelperez.com/dictionaries/phrasal_2.htm

Some upper-intermediate level (B2) games and quizzes. The second link is amazingly comprehensive!!!

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/CET/flashactivities/phrasal_verbs_send.html

http://a4esl.org/q/h/idioms.html

Some useful FCE( First Cerficate in English links to practice your syntax, phonology and vocabulary:


http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/firstcertificate/contenidotematico.htm
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/OMFIRST2/GERONA7/lesson28/page3.htm
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/firstcertificate2/howtopronounceED.htm
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/firstcertificate2/confusingwords.htm