Blogs, forums and communities are not only a great way to learn and improve your English – they are also a fantastic way to make new friends from all over the world. You can choose blogs and forums that are specifically related to learning English or you can choose those that are related to areas you are particularly interested in or would like to move into once you’ve completed your study of English with us.
Following Other People’s Blogs
There are some great blogs you can follow, including those that are directly related to learning English and those that are just really well written and hugely entertaining to read. A good place to start for blogs related to learning English is the BBC’s Learning English Blog. There are posts from teachers, students and staff to keep you occupied. And, as a student of English, you are encouraged to offer blog posts of your own for publication. Some other blogs dedicated to learning English are:
http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/
Finding great blogs in other areas of interest is as simple as typing ‘best blogs on …’ into your search engine. If you try to stick to blogs that are considered to be the best by other bloggers you can also be fairly certain that they will be well written too. If the aim of the exercise is to improve your English, there’s no point following blogs that are badly written – you’ll simply pick up bad habits.
When you follow other people’s blogs it’s always helpful to leave feedback if you like the post or find it interesting or useful. If you have a blog of your own – see below – it is a great way to create links and promote your own blog. And, don’t forget to leave comments – good or bad – here too.
Writing a Blog of Your Own
Writing a blog of your own is a great way to practise your written English. You can write as little or as much as you want on whatever subjects you like and, best of all, if you have followers your writing will be read, reviewed and commented on by others. Setting up a blog is easy and there are plenty of free sites you can use. Some of the most popular are:
However, there are some rules to follow if you want to attract and keep readers, which will be essential if you want feedback on your writing. You should have a look here for more about successful blogging:
www.dummies.com/how-to/content/writing-a-good-blog.html
Forums and Communities
These are great places to make new friends, practise your writing and ask questions about English. Some you might like to try are given below.
Forums:
http://forum.wordreference.com/
Communities:
http://linguaphiles.livejournal.com/
http://mylanguageexchange.com/
Next week is the last part of this mini-series and it’ll cover websites that cater specifically to those learning English. You should then have a comprehensive online resource you can refer to again and again.
