English Links (last updated January, 2013)


1. General material for students of English as a second language (also see the 経済学部英語クラスHP英語自習用おすすめ教材・リンク)

Learn English: British Council
This contains interesting links, grammar explanations, a level test etc. 
BBC World Service: Learning English
This contains information about vocabulary linked to the news, advice about grammar and pronunciation, quizzes on vocabulary and grammar. You can also gain access to World Service programmes for learners of English and an online course on Business English that includes videos.

The New York Times on the Web Learning Network
A New York Times site designed for U.S. students (up to high-school), but also good for university students studying English as a second language. Contains summaries of major news stories, guides to vocabulary in the news etc.

The Language Guide
This is a site for expanding or testing your basic English vocabulary using pictures and sound.


For vocabulary, try the list of vocabulary links for students on the website of the Internet TESL Journal. (TESL= Teaching English as a Second Language) For the complete list of language-learning links, see here. For advice about learning vocabulary, see this page of my website

For listening material, see this page of my website, and the Economics sites given below. (See 3.)

2. Sites focussing on English for academic purposes

Using English for Academic Purposes: A Guide for International Students, Andy Gillett, School of Combined Studies, University of Hertfordshire
This British site contains practical advice, exercises, and links for non-native speakers of English studying in an English-speaking environment. Please note the sections on reading and note-taking.

Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
Hamilton College Writing Center
These are both designed to help U.S. university students with their writing assignments and include useful sections on style, grammar, plagiarism etc.
A similar site is Chestnut Hill College Writing Center Resources for Writers It has a section on essay organization that might be useful.


3. English language sites on Economics

Why Study Economics
This British site "provides information and advice on studying economics at higher education for prospective students, school and college teachers and university lecturers." It includes short films by students giving an answer to the question "Why study economics?", diaries written by students currently studying economics, and information about jobs for economic graduates.
It has a sister site for economics students:
Studying Economics This includes a page that will link you to video clips about economics, economic games etc.


The website of the Economist, a famous British weekly magazine which has what I would call a "monetarist" viewpoint, used to have a "research tools" page which gave access to its archives via useful headings, and to its style guide (with grammar tips). It is still accessible via the wayback machine, here. You should certainly look at Economics A-Z, its online guide to economics and economic vocabulary. The explanations are in simple and straightforward English. If another economics-related word or phrase is mentioned in an entry, you can click it to find the entry for that word. (The Economist also has regular articles on Asian economies.)

For videos of lectures on economics, try the economics section of Academic Earth.(Note that watching videos of lectures can also give you lots of hints about academic presentation skills. Here is one example).
Here are some more videos related to Economics, from Annenberg media: Economics U$A (a series which includes "interviews with Nobel Prize-winning economists"), Inside the Global Economy, The Economics Classroom (a series of workshops for high-school teachers of economics), and two examination of business ethics. (Look for the fifth in this series on Ethics in America, and the sixth in Ethics in America II. Senior U.S. business executives are featured!)
Note: You may have to register in order to watch the videos online. (Click "other" in the column for "state" since you are not any state of the U.S. If you cannot work out how to register, please contact me. It is really worth the effort!)

See also this page (from the TED - Technology, Entertainment and Design - Conference website), which has links to videos of famous figures talking on a variety of topics. The left-hand margin allows you to search the videos in various ways. There is no search for "economics", but there is one for "business".
For explanations of the sub-prime loan crisis that caused the financial crisis that began in 2008, see the 2008 US Subprime Crisis Free Video Course from the InformedTrades website. (There is a text for most of this in addition to the video.) For a humorous explanation, see John Bird and John Fortune here, or at greater length, here (part one) and here.


These animated statistics on trends in human development from Gapminder help you to understand what the figures really mean. The short English explanations give you lots of useful vocabulary. The interactive graphics of the Financial Times are also worth looking at.

Jokes about economics