Free General English Course on Youtube (Ongoing)
Title: Instructor at the English Department and Teacher Trainer at the Pedagogy Center
Address: Department of English, College of Basic Education, University of Raparin, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Email: Sardar.a.hussein@uor.edu.krd
Office Hours: Sunday - Thursday from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
I am Sardar Abdalla Hussein. I earned my BA with first-class honors in English from Koya University in 2013 and my MA with matricular de honor in English Language Teaching with Technology from the University of Almeria, Spain, in 2018. I am currently enrolled in a PhD joint program between University of Raparin and Kent State University. I am also a certified pedagogy trainer by Hamk University and IREX American Organization. I have been delivering ICT sessions at the Pedagogy Center of the University of Raparin since 2020 with 11 rounds so far.
I began my tenure at the University of Raparin in 2015, initially at the Language Center. Here, I embraced various roles, serving as an English Instructor, Course Coordinator, and Digital Media Director. Currently, I hold the position of Director at the Quality Assurance and Sustainable Academic Development Department at the University of Raparin.
With over 9 years of experience as a journalist and writer, I've contributed to several technology outlets such as IT Magazine, Byte Magazine, Kurdpro.net, and Kitn.net. Presently, I am the founder and CEO of Kitn.net, the most trusted tech source in the Kurdistan Region. Throughout my career, I have translated and published hundreds of articles and a few books.
I am passionate about learning, seeking new experiences, and embracing challenges. In my leisure time, I enjoy relaxing, watching movies, spending time outdoors, and working on my current and future projects.
Dictionary.com: This site isn’t just for looking up words, although it’s quite useful in that function. Dictionary.com also offers a word of the day, games, quotes, translation, and much more.
Thesaurus.com: Like Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com goes beyond simple reference, bringing inspiration and fun in the form of synonyms, fun word facts, and even search trends.
Common Errors in English Usage: Read Paul Brian’s Common Errors in English Usage on this website, and even get links to the book’s blog, calendar, and entry-a-day Facebook page.
American Heritage Dictionary American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Ed.
Collins Online Dictionary Collins Unabridged English Dictionary; Collins Unabridged Thesaurus; Collins Webster's American English Dictionary
Dictionary.com Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Merriam-Webster OnLine Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Oxford Dictionaries Online Oxford Dictionary of English; New Oxford American Dictionary; Oxford Thesaurus of English; Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Dictionaries Online Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Longman Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Macmillan Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
Linguee free multilingual dictionary and contextual sentences. English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Italian, and Polish, among other languages.
Multitran multilingual Internet-based dictionary centered on Russian, and provides an opportunity of adding your own translation
Ultralingua free and premium multilingual dictionary
Webster's Online Dictionary: The Rosetta Edition: a multilingual online dictionary which compiles different online dictionaries and encyclopedia including Wiktionary and Wikipedia.
Wiktionary collaborative project run by the Wikimedia Foundation
WWWJDIC Japanese–English
Logos Dictionary free online with additional premium content
Pseudodictionary dictionary of user submitted made-up words (humour)
Reference.com word and language tool portal
Urban Dictionary dictionary of slang
WordNet word database
Wordweb free and premium online English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows
Idiom Site: With the help of this site, English language learners can make sense of common idioms.
UsingEnglish.com: On UsingEnglish.com, you’ll find an incredible collection of tools and resources for learning and teaching English as a second language, including a grammar glossary, printables, and teacher handouts.
EverythingESL: EverythingESL is an awesome place to find ESL teaching resources, from lesson plans to teaching tips and resources.
Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon: Check out this lexicon that offers images demonstrating the true meaning of the word, making it easier for English language learners to understand.
ManyThings: On this website, you’ll find quizzes, word games, puzzles, and a random sentence generator to help students better grasp English as a second language.
bab.la: Bab.la is a really fun site for ELL learners, with reference tools like a dictionary and vocabulary, supplemented with quizzes, games, and a community forum.
ESL Basics: On this site, you’ll find free English videos for both students and teachers.
English Pronunciation: Okanagan College’s resource offers 13 different unit lessons for learning and teaching English pronunciation.
BBC Learning English: In this website from the BBC, students can find help with grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, with plenty of references to current events. Plus, you’ll find a special section for ELL teachers.
ESL Gold: ESL Gold is, no joke, golden, with seemingly endless learning resources for English. Students can practice pronunciation, find a book to study, and even talk to someone in English on this site. Plus, teachers can find a job, search for textbooks, discover games, and so much more.
Real English: Check out this free site for learning English, with loads of videos from real English speakers, plus quizzes and community support.
Repeat After Us: In this online library, students can get access to a huge collection of English texts and scripted recordings.
Google Translate: An awesome resource to use for simple translations, Google Translate can help your students see how its done and better understand translations between two or more languages.
ESL Cyber Listening Lab: Direct your students to this ESL cyber listening lab with study guides, quizzes, and even teacher features.
Vocabulix: This online tool is designed to help jumpstart students’ vocabulary skills, with more than 90 vocabulary lessons, and the option to create lessons of your own.
Wordsteps: Wordsteps makes it easy for students to build their own vocabulary collection, and even access their vocabulary through a mobile device for English language learning on the go.
Learning the Language: On Education Week, Lesli Maxwell covers educational policy and social issues relating to English language learning in the US.
Dave’s ESL Cafe: Check out Dave Sperling’s ESL cafe, where ELL teachers and students alike can enjoy a great community of English learning, plus job resources and stuff for teachers.
Englishtown: Join this community of English learners from around the world to gain insight for your ELL students.
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day: Want a regular dose of ELL resources? Check out Larry Ferlazzo’s blog that shares news, learning resources, and other great links for ELL teachers.
ESL Podcast: Follow this podcast to share English language learning opportunities with your students on a regular basis.
ESL Resource Center: The ESL Resource Center is “where English and people connect,” offering live chat rooms and forums for English practice. There are even ideas for drama and role plays, teacher development, and story telling resources.
Teacher Talk: Several ELL teachers contribute to this blog, sharing teaching practices, materials, ideas, and guides.
Pain in the English: This fun blog is a great resource for explaining gray areas of the English language to your students.
TEFLtastic with Alex Case: Follow Alex Case’s blog to find news, views, and reviews for English language teaching.
The English Blog: Visit The English Blog to find resources, reviews, and much more for both learners and teachers of English.
Inspiration Lane: Inspiration Lane is designed to be an interactive reading activity to share with your entire ELL classroom with new learning content each day.
FluentU
FluentU Website | iOS | Android
2. Duolingo
Duolingo Website | iOS | Android
3. Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone Website | iOS | Android
4. MindSnacks
5. Memrise
Memrise Website | iOS | Android
6. Cat Spanish
7. Fluencia
8. Open Language (formerly Spanish Pod)
Open Language Website | iOS | Android
9. MosaLingua
MosaLingua Website | iOS | Android
10. Busuu
Busuu Website | iOS | Android
11. Lingualia
Lingualia Website| iOS | Android
12. SpeakEasy
Speak English with MisterDuncan: The thing that makes these videos great is Mister Duncan’s personality and sense of humour! He’s a very experienced English teacher who loves his job and makes every topic funny and fascinating.
BBC Learning English: The BBC’s official EFL channel is a brilliant resource. It has short lessons about all aspects of English grammar and vocabulary, which are suitable for beginner, intermediate and advanced level learners.
VOA Learn English: This is a really cool idea from the famous news company Voice of America. Each lesson is like a normal TV news report, but they are presented by trained English teachers and they are slower, with subtitles and simpler language. This means you can learn about interesting topics and get used to watching English language news while improving your English skills at the same time!
Rachel’s English: If your priority is pronunciation, this is one of the best places to learn! Rachel trained as a classical singer and she is an expert in showing people how to change the way they move their mouth and tongue to create sounds they are not used to. If you want to speak with a perfect American English accent, watch these videos!
Easy English: This UK channel interviews English speaking people on the street about all different subjects. That means you can hear how everyday English is spoken by real people, outside of the classroom! Each video is around 3-5 minutes long, so they are a quick and easy way to improve your listening skills.
Real English: This is a similar idea to Easy English, but it interviews American people. You can choose to watch the videos with or without subtitles and each one comes with some extra exercises to help you check your understanding and build up new vocabulary, too.
Business English Pod: English used in the workplace or in a business context can be very different to informal English, but it is difficult to practise this by yourself! That’s why Business English Pod is so good. It has in-depth videos about all different situations and types of vocabulary that you might need to learn for your job. It’s a really amazing channel for business English learners!
