Rick's Picks

Here are some useful sites: English practice, search engines, and information on Oregon State University, Oregon, American universities, visa rules for studying in the U.S and so forth:

English Practice		Oregon Information	Other
All Skills	Writing	OSU and ELI	Search Engines
TOEFL and GRE	Miscellaneous	Oregon News	American College and University Information
Grammar		Oregon Government	Student Visa Information
Vocabulary		Oregon Weather

English Practice

All Skills

Dave's ESL Cafe on the Web. Where English is fun!

ESL Independent Study Lab. Links to many sites with descriptions. Listening, reading, TOEFL, pronunciation, writing, content study/research, vocabulary, grammar, fun&games.

English...OU CALL. Grammar, reading, vocabulary, writing, listening, speaking.

EnglishCLUB.net. Study (reading, grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary), Fun (games, jokes, quizzes), Reference (rules of English) and more.

ESL Multimedia Language Learning Listening&speaking, reading&writing, grammar, English for academic purposes, cultural information.

ESL STUDY HALL. Reading, writing, vocabulary, conversation, grammar, listening, discussion, reviews of sites by students.

Rong-Chang Li ESL Home Page. Listening&speaking, reading with understanding, grammar and writing, more categories (business English, exercises and quizzes, online dictionaries).

Quizzes - Self-Study Quizzes for ESL Students

Quizzes - The ESL Quiz Center

ESL PartyLand--quiz center Quizes on grammar, idioms, slang, phrasal verbs, reading, TOEFL style, useful expressions, and vocabulary organized by subject and level.

 

TOEFL and GRE

TOEFL OnLine. Official TOEFL site from ETS.

TOEFL. Practice test with explanation.

GRE Information from ETS.

Grammar

Guide to Grammar and Writing. Excellent site!

An Elementary Grammar. 22 modules with explanation and example.

NetGrammar. An intermediate ESL site for reference and practice. Provides extensive grammar practice through a variety of reading, writing and listening activities. 15 units.

Grammar Rock

Salzmann Grammar Homepage. Tenses, passives, modals, articles, adjective clauses, adverb. clauses, noun clauses, conditionals, gerunds&infinitives, logical connectors - overview and practice.

Science Fiction Grammar. Grammar explanations and exercises with a science fiction and fantasy slant.

Grammar and Vocabulary - CNN Newsroom for ESL. Practice in the context of news stories.

 

Vocabulary

Common American Slang. Over 280 slang expressions sorted alphabetically, with definition and example sentence.

Common Errors in English. Lots of words that are easy to confuse, like "bazaar" and "bizarre."

Idioms. Lists, definitions and examples, sorted alphabetically.

Longman Dictionaries Home. English language workout, word games, study exercises and product information on Longman dictionaries.

Vocabulary Puzzles These puzzles are designed for American junior high and high school students.

Definitions, Synonyms - Wordsmyth: Welcome! Type in any word and get a definition and synonym.

Writing

Guide to Grammar and Writing. Excellent site.

General and Business Writing - Donna Shaw's. Our ELI Learning Center Manager's page. She also teaches business writing.

NWCA Links to Writing Center Handouts Useful information to make you a better writer

Resources from NWCA Writing Centers Online. Lots of links related to college writing.

Resources from Ohio Univ. Lots of links related to college writing.

Resources from Purdue Univ. Lots of links related to college writing.

Resources from Univ. of Richmond Lots of links related to college writing.

Writing and Research - Longman English PagesComposition, literature, technical writing, basic

skills.

Documenting electronic research. You may need this in your ELI research papers.

Miscellaneous

Research - Thinking Critically about WWW Resources The World Wide Web has a lot to offer, but not all sources are equally valuable or reliable. Here are some points to consider from a UCLA librarian.

Reference - Research-It! - Your one-stop reference desk. Dictionary, thesaurus, translator, maps, stock market, cuurrency converter, etc.

Culture - exchange ideas. Culture learning goes hand-in-hand with language learning!

News, Reference - Washington Post International Page. Catch up on international news.

ESL Help Center - ask a question. Can't get an answer to an English question? Try this service.

Travel & Lodging. Preparation&planning (visa stuff!), maps, tourist information

E mail pen-pal opportunities for students Would you like a pen-pal? Good way to practice your English.

MacInstruct Online -- How To Get The Most Out of Your Macintosh! A step-by-step guide to the use of the Macintosh computer.Includes General Computer Use (physical side of a computer, programs, computer operation, troubleshooting, application software, upgrading your software) and Tips for Using Key Application Programs (operating system, sticky notes, Quicken use tips, America Online and using Netscape).

Search Engines

Getting the Most Out of Internet Search Engines. Good advice from OSU Information Services. Read this first!

MetaCrawler meta-searcher. Rated the #1 metasearch service on the World Wide Web. In response to every user query, MetaCrawler incorporates from the top search engines on theWeb. It collates results, eliminates duplication, scores the results and provides the user with a comprehensive list of relevant sites.

Dogpile meta-searcher is a leading metasearch service that integrates several medium and large Web search and index guides into a single service. It also provides a single launching point for stock quotes, usenet articles, weather forecasts, yellow pages, and more. Metacrawler and Dogpile are the Web's two most popular metasearch services.

Inference Find!. A meta search engine.

Internet Search. Netscape's Netcenter. Includes the search engines Netscape, Excite, GoTo.com, HotBot, LookSmart, Lycos, Snap, About.com, Google.

Yahoo! A well-known search engine.

Lycos, Inc. Home Page Another well-known search engine.

Infoseek Guide: News A well-known search engine

Starting Point. Categories include career&education, business, technology&internet, travel&leisure, entertainment

DejaNews Research Service - homepage Find information about products and services, meet new people and get advice, and even buy new and used wares. 12 categories to choose from, including computing&tech, consumer electronics, health&fitness.

WebCrawler Searching Search the web and go to various categories, including arts&books, money&investing, people&chat, career, games, home&real estate.

Welcome to The Electric Library! If you area member, you can type in a question or some key words to search through magazines, books, newspapers, maps, pictures and radio&TV transcripts.

Britannica Search This is an online encyclopedia.

NewsTracker . Guide to 300+ Web periodicals

CNN Interactive. Search CNN.

WhoWhere?People Search. People finder.

Shareware The way to find shareware. Search from more than 250,000 files in their software library to find shareware.

 

American College and University Information

Colleges and Universities - Links from ETS. Graduate and business schools; college and university websites; college and career planning.

JW's Advisor Resource Page. College&career advising; international education; government; non-government organizations; visa information.

Peterson's: The Graduate School Channel. How to find a graduate school, apply to it, pay for it and prepare for it.

American Universities. Index to home pages of colleges/universities

Prentice Hall Super Site. Major exploration, study skills, career path, money matters and fitness&well-being.

Guide to web pages of worldwide universities Not just American universities, but universities all over the world.

 

Student Visa Information

US Immigration and Naturalization Service Home The official website of the INS.

John's Service Station: Travel & Lodging. Preparation&planning (visa stuff!), maps, tourist information, reservations&ticketing, lodging.

JW's Advisor Resource Page. Visa information; college&career advising; international education

government; non-government organizations.

Oregon

OSU/ELI

Oregon State University Home Page Go Beavs!

English Language Institute Home Page Your home away from home!

Rick Finnan's ESL Classes Home Page Yours truly! Lots of links to help you with your English and university studies, as well as information about Oregon and OSU.

International Programs of Oregon State University. The ELI is part of a larger international services and programs office. Find out all about it here.

OSU Academic Resource List A description and contact information of various offices that can help and support you in your studies at OSU.

Oregon State University Valley Library Gateway to a world of information and services. You'll be surprised how much there is at the OSU Library website - check it out!

Oregon State University Electronic Reference Center A world of information at your fingertips! Link to Full-text sources (InfoTrac Databases, Electronic Journals, Encyclopedia Brittanica, Lexis-Nexis, Oregon Newsstand, Reference Sources) and Article Indexes (UnCover Journal Service, FirstSearch Database Service, CD Network, OSU Government Information Page, Oregon Libraries)

Help from OSU Valley Library Reference Librarians Confused? This is how reference librarians can help you.

Orbis Academic Union Catalog This is the unified library catalog of 14 ciolleges and universities in the Pacific Northwest. Through Orbis you have access to more than 7 million books, sound ecordings, films, video tapes and more. With a single search you can view selections from the collection and borrow materials.

OSU Bookstore, Inc. Everything from books to music to a complete collection of Beaver gear - you gotta have it!

 

Oregon News

Gazette-Times Online Your source for local news.

OPB On-Line: Northwest News Listen to the news from Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Oregon Government

Welcome to Oregon On-Line! This is a table of contents and index to all the state's websites and services.

Official Oregon Tourism Web Site: Planning An Oregon Vacation Get out and explore this beautiful state! Lots of information to help you plan a trip.

Oregon Weather

Oregon Climate Service

Oregon Climate Service with photos and maps

Western U.S. Satellite Images

Corvallis, Oregon Forecast

Oregon Current Streamflow conditions

Tide/Current Predictor

Current Observation for Newport, OR

WeatherNet: Oregon Weather

NWS Portland Web Weather & Forecasts

Newport Oregon Local Forecast

Salem, Oregon Local Forecast

Oregon Ski Areas

Northwest Ski Report