February – a busy month for reading material!

February is a busy month for events which come with a lot of reading material, from the serious to the fanciful. Valentine’s Day (February 14th) is probably the most well-known and commercially celebrated date in February, with numerous articles available online (click  here for one with cloze tests, comprehension and spelling exercises). Chinese New Year’s day…

Happy New Year!

Wishing all our tutors and students a very Happy New Year, and all the very best for 2015. May it be a rewarding and productive year for everyone. For an article on New Year Resolutions – and how hard it is for most of us to keep them! – click here. 

Introducing another tutor resource

With thanks to Google search engine and Ron C. Lee PhD for the website, here is a new resource for tutors to explore! All of the content on Dr Lee’s website is free to download and/or print (courtesy of some fairly annoying, pop-up advertising). In the For Beginners section, you’ll find Super Easy Reading passages,…

Halloween is just around the corner…

All Hallows’ Eve, otherwise known as Halloween, is coming up on October 31. Whether people in Australia choose to celebrate it or not, most have at least heard of the day via a series of horror movies! Now widely celebrated  in the USA, the festival originated in the UK – it has both Celtic and…

Introducing another resource: English Language Partners New Zealand

Introducing a new resource: English Language Partners New Zealand This organisation is the equivalent of the adult migrant home tutor program in Australia and its website is worth exploring. To do so, click here.   You’ll see a red ribbon tab running across the homepage below the organisation’s logo. Click on the first heading, LEARN…

Spotlight on BBC Skillswise

  BBC Skillswise offers a wealth of information, tips and exercises aimed at improving an adult’s literacy skills. It’s one of the links available under Tutor Resources, and it’s well worth a look.   Once you’ve accessed the website via the Tutor Resources link, click on the ‘English’ box to view the headings for all…

Breaking News English

 Breaking News English is one of the biggest resources available to tutors. Once you’ve clicked on the Breaking News English link, via Volunteer Tutors then Tutor Resources on the Literacy Network Homepage, you’ll find over 1,800 lessons and counting on anything and everything. From’Twitter in Turkey Court’ (April 5, 2014) to a ‘Toilet Theme Park in…

Using BBC Learning English

You’ll find the link to BBC Learning English via the drop down menu on the Literacy Network homepage: click on Volunteer Tutor – tutor resources, then scroll down to online resources and click on BBC Learning English. The left hand column menu on the BBC Learning English homepage offers a variety of choices, from General and Business English to…

Anzac Day, April 25

This year marks the 99th anniversary of Anzac Day. There are so many stories about Anzac Day, it makes another great reading, writing and discussion topic. As with April Fools’ Day, you’ll find the link to a Holiday Lesson on it on the Breaking News English homepage. You’ll also find a wealth of stories and…

April Fools’ Day

      April Fools’ Day (sometimes written as April Fool’s Day) is just around the corner and since this day is celebrated in a great many countries around the world, it makes a handy reading, writing and discussion topic. You’ll find the link to an ESL lesson on it under Holiday Lessons (in the…

Using ‘Literacy Face to Face’

Using Literacy Face to Face   Literacy Face to Face is the first online resource listed under ‘Tutor Resources’ (accessed via the drop down tab under ‘Volunteer Tutors’, LN homepage.) After you’ve clicked on the link, scroll down to find the table with titles of the PDFs available for download. While some of these files…