ESL001: Elementary English as a Second Language

In this activity, you will practice talking about yourself by stating simple facts.

Read the text and choose the best answer for each question.

In this activity, you will complete a text by inserting the correct verb into each space.

Let's start by first reviewing a list of the parts of speech to know their definition and examples. Next, we will learn about each part of speech in more detail to understand how we can use the correct form of a word to build sentences.

Now that we know what all parts of speech are, let's look at them in more detail to see how they are different from each other and how they are used in sentences. First, let's see what other information we can learn more about nouns, adjectives, and pronouns.

Next, let's see what additional information we can review to learn more about verbs and adverbs.

Now that we know more about using nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, and adverbs, we need to learn how they can be put together to make sentences. Conjunctions and prepositions help us do that. Let's see what other information we can review to learn more about how conjunctions and prepositions are used to make sentences.

Finally, let's see what additional information we can learn about interjections.

The activities here give you the opportunity to find out how well you understand parts of speech. If you have a difficult time identifying the parts of speech, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

Let's start by first reviewing the required parts of a sentence in Standard English. Next, we will look at each sentence part to understand which part of speech can be used to do that job in a sentence.

Now that we know the parts of a sentence and what parts of speech can do those jobs, let's look at them in more detail to see the order in which they must be used. This order is important to communicate clearly in Standard English. Using the correct word order will also help you avoid errors that many new students of Standard English often make when writing.

Now that we know the parts of a sentence and their order in a sentence, let's review why a group of words is called a sentence. We learned in the first part of Unit 1 that we can group parts of speech to create phrases, so it is necessary to understand the difference between a phrase and a sentence to write correctly in English.

The activities below give you the opportunity to find out how well you understand basic word order in Standard English. If you have a difficult time recognizing correct word order, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

We learned that sentences are made of groups of words. We use parts of speech to create phrases and clauses. Clauses can be connected with conjunctions to create different types of sentences. Let's review how these groups of words are different.

We learned that punctuation is important for good sentences. Punctuation is especially important to show when a sentence ends. However, there are different choices to end a sentence: a period or full stop, a question mark (!), or a question mark (?). We make this choice based on the type of sentence.

The activities below give you the opportunity to find out how well you understand types of sentences in Standard English. If you have a difficult time recognizing sentence types, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

Go through the interactive video presentation, which provides a basic overview of what you have learned about the parts of speech and types of sentences. Then, look at the sentences in the second activity and complete the exercise by typing your answer with the correct punctuation and capitalization.

In these activities, you will use parts of speech in the correct word order to create sentences.

Good reading is not simply a matter of taking in information – you need to do more than that. Let's start by looking at what it means to be an active reader.

In this section, you will learn about previewing a text to prepare for reading. This will help you understand the text more clearly and use your time better.

After preparing to read by previewing and predicting, there are other strategies we can use to understand a text passage. In this section, you will learn about skimming and scanning. These strategies will help you find the main idea and details presented in a nonfiction text.

The activities below allow you to find out how well you understand active reading strategies. If you have a difficult time recognizing reading strategies and informational text features, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

In this activity, you will make predictions about a reading.

For these two activities, use active reading strategies to understand the text and answer the questions.

Watch these videos, which provide a basic overview of some of the active reading skills you have learned about in this unit.

In this activity, you will answer questions about a story by reading and identifying important details.

There are several proven benefits in improving your vocabulary, but how should we go about learning new words in the most effective way? By using the following ten vocabulary-building strategies, you are guaranteed to develop a strong vocabulary and keep improving it every day.

Do you know what to do when you come across a word you don't know? Sometimes, you'll find the meaning of a word hidden in the sentence you're reading. Words and phrases that you already understand can act like clues in a puzzle. Using the clues given to you in a sentence to figure out the meaning of a word or phrase is called using context clues.

The meaning of new words can be guessed from their parts, too. If you know what the parts of a word mean, you can often guess the meaning of the word without looking it up in the dictionary.

We learn new words by listening to and reading in English and using it every day. If you don't have many English speakers where you live, try watching videos or reading in English. As you listen and read, pay attention to the new words you find, then use vocabulary-building strategies to find their meaning. In this section, you will learn practical ways to build your vocabulary every day.

The activities below give you the opportunity to find out how well you understand vocabulary-building strategies. If you have a difficult time recognizing these strategies, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

Go through these videos, which provide a basic overview of some of the vocabulary-building skills you have learned about in this unit.

Taking college courses is all about reading and writing. We started this course by looking at word forms (parts of speech) and how we can group them to create phrases and then different types of sentences. Sentences can also be grouped together to create text: paragraphs and essays. Let's look at some basic information about grouping basic sentences to create a simple text or paragraph.

Much of the text and writing you'll do occurs in chronological order. This means that the events in a story happen in order from beginning to end. Writing in chronological order helps the reader follow what is happening in a story. For example, if a student wants to prepare for an exam, she will first go to class, then study, and finally, take the exam. These events all happen in an order the reader knows.

In this section, you will learn how to use context clues, prediction, and prior knowledge to help figure out the chronological order of a text.

The activities below give you the opportunity to find out how well you understand the writing process. If you have a difficult time recognizing these strategies, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

Throughout this course, you have learned some key phrases that are useful in explaining your daily routine to another person. In this section, you will demonstrate your knowledge of key vocabulary by describing a typical day in your life.

You wrote some sentences about your daily routine using the parts of speech we learned in Unit 1. Good work! The next step is to edit your writing so that you can share it with others. Use the checklist below to review each sentence for errors. Correct any errors you find. Be sure to print or download the checklist so that you can save it for future use.

Go through the video presentations, which provide a basic overview of some of the writing strategies you have learned about in this unit.

In this activity, you will organize sentences in a logical manner to create a short paragraph.