Here's a good article from the New York Times newspaper about good language learning apps: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-language-learning-apps/
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Thursday, June 25, 2026
A Short Big 5 Personality Quiz
A Short Big 5 Personality Quiz
Instructions:
Read each sentence carefully. On a piece of paper, write down the number of the question and a score from 1 to 5 based on how much you agree with the statement:
1 = Disagree strongly (This is not like me at all)
2 = Disagree a little
3 = Neither agree nor disagree (Neutral)
4 = Agree a little
5 = Agree strongly (This is exactly like me)
The Questions
I enjoy meeting and talking to new people.
I feel full of energy when I am around other people.
I like being the center of attention in a group.
I am usually a very talkative person.
I try to be kind and helpful to everyone I meet.
I listen carefully when other people talk about their problems.
I care a lot about making other people feel comfortable.
I easily forgive people when they make a mistake.
I always finish my work or homework on time.
I keep my room, desk, and belongings very organized.
I think and plan carefully before I make a decision.
I pay close attention to small details in my work.
I worry about things more than other people do.
I get stressed out or upset quite easily.
My mood changes frequently (often) during the day.
I often feel nervous or anxious about the future.
I love learning about new ideas, hobbies, and cultures.
I have a vivid imagination (it is easy for me to imagine creative stories or pictures).
I enjoy trying new foods and visiting unfamiliar places.
I like to spend time thinking about creative or abstract art and ideas.
How to Score Yourself
To find your score for each personality trait, add up your points for the specific question numbers below.
| Personality Trait | Add the scores for these questions: | Your Total Score |
| Extraversion | Question 1 + Question 2 + Question 3 + Question 4 | ____ / 20 |
| Agreeableness | Question 5 + Question 6 + Question 7 + Question 8 | ____ / 20 |
| Conscientiousness | Question 9 + Question 10 + Question 11 + Question 12 | ____ / 20 |
| Stress Sensitivity (Neuroticism) | Question 13 + Question 14 + Question 15 + Question 16 | ____ / 20 |
| Openness to Experience | Question 17 + Question 18 + Question 19 + Question 20 | ____ / 20 |
Score Guide:
16–20 points: Very High
11–15 points: High/Medium
6–10 points: Low
4–5 points: Very Low
What Your Scores Mean
1. Extraversion (Your energy from others)
High score: You are outgoing, energetic, and love socializing. You feel happy when you are around a crowd of people.
Low score: You are more introverted, quiet, and reserved. You prefer spending time alone or with a few close friends to recharge your energy.
2. Agreeableness (How you treat people)
High score: You are cooperative, polite, and deeply care about others. You try to avoid conflict and enjoy helping people.
Low score: You are competitive, direct, and independent. You say what you think honestly, even if it might cause a disagreement.
3. Conscientiousness (Your organization and work ethic)
High score: You are organized, responsible, and disciplined. You like to follow schedules, make lists, and do your best work.
Low score: You are flexible, spontaneous, and relaxed. You prefer to go with the flow rather than follow strict rules or plans.
4. Stress Sensitivity (How you handle pressure)
High score: You are very sensitive to your emotions. You easily feel stress, worry, or anxiety, but you are also very aware of your feelings.
Low score: You are emotionally stable, calm, and peaceful. It takes a lot to make you feel stressed or upset.
5. Openness to Experience (Your curiosity and creativity)
High score: You are imaginative, curious, and open to change. You love creative arts, big ideas, and trying brand-new things.
Low score: You are practical, realistic, and traditional. You like routines and prefer things that are familiar, safe, and proven to work.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Movies for English Learners to Watch on Halloween
Halloween can be a great opportunity to practice English with films. This guide presents a list of movies connected with the themes of Halloween for English learners from the lower B2 level all the way to advanced levels.
A Note on Age Ratings
Not all of these movies are suitable for children. Here is
the American movie rating system, which explains each rating:
- G
(General Audiences): Suitable for all ages.
- PG
(Parental Guidance Suggested): Suggested to be watched with a parent.
- PG-13
(Parents Strongly Cautioned): Some material may be inappropriate for
children under 13.3
- R
(Restricted): Suggested for adults. Parents should decide if movie is
appropriate for their children.
I. (Lower to Mid B2)
These films have generally clear speech, predictable
dialogue structures, and slower pacing, making them excellent choices for
building confidence and improving basic comprehension.
|
Movie Title (Year) |
Rating |
Approx. English Level |
IMDb Link |
|
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) |
G |
B2 |
|
|
Frankenstein (1931) |
PG |
B2 |
|
|
Dracula (1931) |
PG |
B2 |
|
|
The Wolf Man (1941) |
PG |
B2 |
|
|
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949) |
G |
|
|
|
The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) |
G |
B2 |
- It's
the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
- Summary:
Linus waits in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to appear.
- English
Focus: Excellent for clarity and listening practice for
clear American speech. The pace is slow and deliberate.
- Frankenstein
(1931), Dracula (1931) and The Wolf Man (1941)
- Summary:
Three early classics of the monster genre, which helped to create the
modern image of Frankenstein, Dracula and werewolves.
- English
Focus: Useful for understanding older, formal English with highly
articulate, theatrical delivery. Dialogue is less idiomatic than
modern films, relying more on dramatic sentence structure. Dracula
features the added challenge of Bela Lugosi's (the actor who plays
Dracula) Eastern European accent.
- The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
- Summary:
Disney's cartoon version of the story of the Headless Horseman.
- English
Focus: Highly useful for practicing narration comprehension
and literary vocabulary. Bing Crosby's narration is very clear.
- The
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
- Summary:
Adventure of a geological expedition, which discovers an ancient creature
in the Amazon.
- English
Focus: Clear, informational dialogue typical of 1950s adventure/sci-fi
films. Some scientific and technical vocabulary.
II. Intermediate Challenge (Mid B2 Focus)
These films introduce a higher level of speed, more
contemporary American slang, and complex emotional contexts, requiring the
B2 learner to focus on conversational flow.
|
Movie Title (Year) |
Rating |
Approx. English Level |
IMDb Link |
|
Psycho (1960) |
R |
B2 |
|
|
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) |
PG |
B2 |
|
|
Casper (1995) |
PG |
B2 |
|
|
The Sixth Sense (1999) |
PG-13 |
B2/Upper B2 |
|
|
Hotel Transylvania (2012) |
PG |
B2/Upper B2 |
- Psycho
(1960)
- Summary:
The people who check in to the remote Bates Motel are unaware of the
danger waiting for them.
- English
Focus: Dialogue is very clear, but often spoken in tense, short
speech.
- E.T.
the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Summary:
A boy becomes friends with an alien lost on Earth.
- English
Focus: Clear, American dialogue, especially from children,
providing reliable listening practice without too much speed.
- Casper
(1995)
- Summary:
A friendly young ghost lives in a mansion and meets a girl who moves in.
- English
Focus: Modern, clear American English. Good for practicing informal
idioms and family-friendly humor.
- The
Sixth Sense (1999)
- Summary:
A young boy who can see dead people seeks help from a child psychologist.9
- English
Focus: Focuses on clear, conversations. Good for understanding
mood, tone, and the language of psychology and emotion.
- Hotel
Transylvania (2012)
- Summary:
Dracula's monsters gather for a vacation, but the arrival of a human
causes problems.
- English
Focus: While fast-paced (typical of animation), the articulation
is extremely clear. Useful for vocabulary related to family, travel,
and famous monsters.
III. (Upper B2 to C1 Focus)
These films can help to push B2 learners toward C1
proficiency, with challenges like strong accents, rapid speech, and slang.
|
Movie Title (Year) |
Rating |
Approx. English Level |
IMDb Link |
|
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) |
PG |
Upper B2 |
|
|
Poltergeist (1982) |
PG |
Upper B2 |
|
|
Ghostbusters (1984) |
PG |
Upper B2/C1 |
|
|
The Lost Boys (1987) |
R |
Upper B2/C1 |
|
|
Beetlejuice (1988) |
PG |
Upper B2/C1 |
|
|
The Witches (1990) |
PG |
C1 |
|
|
The Witches of Eastwick (1987) |
R |
C1 |
|
|
Young Frankenstein (1974) |
PG |
C1 |
|
|
The Addams Family (1991) |
PG-13 |
C1 |
|
|
Hocus Pocus (1993) |
PG |
C1 |
|
|
Coraline (2009) |
PG |
C1 |
|
|
It (2017) |
R |
C1 |
|
|
The Others (2001) |
PG-13 |
C1 |
|
|
Little Shop of Horrors (1986) |
PG-13 |
C1 |
|
|
Once Bitten (1985) |
PG-13 |
C1 |
|
|
An American Werewolf in London (1981) |
R |
C1 |
|
|
Dracula (1992) |
R |
C1 |
|
|
The Thing (1982) |
R |
C1 |
|
|
The Shining (1980) |
R |
C1/Advanced |
Enrichment & Accent Challenge Film Details
- The
Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Summary:
Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, grows tired of Halloween and
discovers Christmas Town.
- English
Focus: Great for listening to rhyming, musical lyrics and unique
vocabulary related to the fantasy setting.
- Poltergeist
(1982)
- Summary:
A family is terrorized by ghosts communicating through their television.
- English
Focus: Excellent for practicing real-world dialogue where
characters speak quickly, interrupt, and overlap—a true test of authentic
listening.
- Ghostbusters
(1984)
- Summary:
Three scientists start a ghost-catching business in New York City.
- English
Focus: fast-paced jokes, and scientific/technical jargon. Ideal for
improving listening speed.
- The
Lost Boys (1987)
- Summary:
Teenagers meet a gang of vampires in 1980s America.
- English
Focus: Filled with 1980s American youth slang, idioms, and
high-energy dialogue. Good for cultural and period-specific language
acquisition.
- Beetlejuice
(1988)
- Summary:
A recently deceased couple hires another ghost to scare the new living
owners out of their home.11
- English
Focus: Features eccentric, fast-paced dialogue.
- The
Witches (1990)
- Summary:
A boy and his grandmother discover a convention of evil, real-life
witches.
- English
Focus: High accent challenge due to the stylized, thick
foreign and regional accents, especially from Anjelica Huston.
- The
Witches of Eastwick (1987)
- Summary:
Three bored women in a New England town summon a mysterious, charismatic
man who might be the Devil.
- English
Focus: Sophisticated, fast-paced conversational dialogue often
delivered with great wit and frequent overlapping. Excellent for
practicing rapid-fire, emotionally-charged American wit and
higher-level vocabulary.
- Young Frankenstein (1974)
- Summary:
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, the grandson of the infamous doctor
Frankenstein, tries to distance himself from his family's legacy but
instead continues the work.
- English
Focus: Unique Accent Challenge. The comedy relies greatly on pronunciation
jokes and accents (e.g., "Fronkensteen" vs.
"Frankenstein"). The mix of formal 1930s speech parody with
thick German accents and old American slang is a great challenge for
advance students.
- The
Addams Family (1991)
- Summary:
A bizarre family deals with a long-lost relative trying to scam them out
of their fortune.
- English
Focus: Extremely rich with vocabulary, clever wordplay, and
complex humor. Requires a solid grasp of irony and subtlety.
- Hocus
Pocus (1993)
- Summary:
A curious teenager accidentally resurrects three 17th-century Salem
witches.
- English
Focus: The stylized, theatrical accents and rapid, speech of
the witches are a great vocal challenge for B2 learners.
- Coraline
(2009)
- Summary:
A young girl discovers a threatening alternate reality in her new home.
- English
Focus: A good mix of British and American accents, with a
focus on descriptive and gothic vocabulary.
- It
(2017)
- Summary:
A group of children confronts a demon that takes the form of a clown.
- English
Focus: Very modern, authentic-sounding American teen slang
(often crude and fast-paced). Good for up-to-date conversational English.
- The
Others (2001)
- Summary:
A mother on an isolated estate believes her house is haunted.
- English
Focus: High-quality British accent practice with dialogue
delivered in a formal, measured, and often quiet tone.
- Little
Shop of Horrors (1986)
- Summary:
A black comedy about a meek florist assistant who acquires an unusual
plant that brings a great deal of business, but demands human blood in
order to grow.
- English
Focus: Strong musical focus provides rhythm and repetition.
Dialogue uses casual 80s slang and quick-witted exchanges.
- An
American Werewolf in London (1981)
- Summary:
An American backpacker survives a werewolf attack in the English
countryside.
- English
Focus: Excellent accent clash practice: Fast-paced American
English contrasted with challenging British regional accents and
slang.
- Dracula
(1992)
- Summary:
Francis Ford Coppola's retelling of the classic vampire tale.
- English
Focus: Sophisticated vocabulary and formal, Victorian-era English.
High accent challenge due to stylized European accents.
- The
Thing (1982)
- Summary:
A research team in Antarctica discovers a dangerous, shape-shifting alien
among them.
- English
Focus: Authentic, often overlapping dialogue delivered under
intense stress, including mumbling and low-frequency male voices. A high
test of concentration.
- The
Shining (1980)
- Summary:
A man and his family accepts a job as a winter caretaker at an isolated,
haunted hotel.
- English
Focus: Highest Challenge. Dialogue is often rapid-fire, psychologically
dense, and sometimes intentionally confusing. Requires a high level of
vocabulary and subtextual understanding.
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Reading Strategies and Book Suggestions for English Learners
Reading is a powerful tool for English learners. While there are different types of materials learners can use, reading books are one of the best types of materials. This article gives some advice on how to improve your English by reading books, and also gives a list of some good books for learners of different levels.
- Read what you love:
Motivation is essential for learning. Choose books with topics and stories
that are interesting to you.
- Get the book in your native language: If possible, get the book in your native language as
well. This allows you to more easily check words and parts, which you don’t
understand.
- Listen and read:
Many books have audio versions. Reading the text while listening to the
audiobook is an excellent way to get reading and listening practice
together. Listening as you read also helps with pronunciation, rhythm, and
intonation.
- Shadowing:
You can also get some speaking practice though reading. Practice
"shadowing" – repeating what you hear immediately after the
speaker. This builds fluency and natural speech patterns.
- Discuss what you read: Talk about the book with a teacher or language
partner. This helps your understanding and provides valuable speaking
practice.
- Something is better than nothing: Don't feel the need to read large amounts at one time.
On days with more time, read more. On busy days, even just a page or a
paragraph is better than nothing. The main goal is consistency.
- Free online resources: Remember, many classic books are available for free
online. Most classic books are in the public domain (anyone has the right
to copy and read them), and there are some good online libraries for works
in the public domain. Three of the best are Wikisource, Project Gutenberg and Open Library.
- Prepare
before reading the book: For
some more challenging books, it can be helpful to prepare before reading
the book. You can do this by reading a summary of the story and the main
characters.
- Watch
the movie: After you read the book, you
can watch the movie adaption of the book. This can be good listening
practice and can provide a topic for speaking practice. For example, what are the differences
between the movie and the book? If the book is more challenging, it might
be useful to watch the movie even before you read the book, to help you
get a better idea of the story and characters.
Book Recommendations
To help you get started, here's a
list of suitable books for English learners at different levels, from the easiest
levels (A0-A1) to more difficult and challenging levels (B2 to C2).
This list also highlights excellent graded
reader series specifically designed for English language learners, which
are highly recommended for structured progress.
I. Beginner (A0 - A1):
Dedicated
Graded Reader Series: These are excellent resources for
beginners. They are specifically written with vocabulary and grammar for each
level.
Penguin Readers: Easystarts (A0) & Level 1 (A1)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Starter (A1) & Stage 1 (A1)
Cambridge English Readers: Starter (A1) & Level 1 (A1)
Macmillan Readers: Starter (A1) & Beginner (A1)
Very
Simple Children's Books/Picture Books:
The
Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss) - Simple, repetitive
language, rhyming.
The
Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric
Carle)
Brown
Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
(Bill Martin Jr.)
Aesop's
Fables - Short, clear moral stories (often
adapted for A1).
"I Can
Read" Books (various authors/series) - Leveled readers for native-speaking
children, perfect for ESL beginners.
Simple
Non-Fiction Picture Books (focus on basic concepts).
Simple
Fables from Around the World.
Others:
The
Happy Prince and other stories
(Oscar Wilde - often adapted for A2).
II. Elementary to Low Intermediate
(A2 - B1):
Dedicated
Graded Reader Series:
Penguin Readers: Level 2 (A2) & Level 3 (B1)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Stage 2 (A2) & Stage 3 (B1)
Cambridge English Readers: Level 2 (A2) & Level 3 (B1)
Macmillan Readers: Elementary (A2) & Pre-intermediate/Intermediate
(B1)
Classic
Children's Novels (often adapted for this level):
The
Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Peter
Pan (J.M. Barrie)
Charlotte's
Web (E.B. White)
The
Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
Just
So Stories (Rudyard Kipling)
The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling)
The
Adventures of Pinocchio (Carlo
Collodi)
Winnie
the Pooh (A.A. Milne)
The
Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
James
and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)
Young
Adult Series (generally lighter language):
Goosebumps (R.L. Stine)
The
Giver (Lois Lowry)
The
Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
My
Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George)
A
Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)
Others:
Adapted
short story collections for Learners (Hans Christian Anderson, Anton Chekhov,
Leo Tolstoy, O Henry, Jack London)
Simple Biographies
of Famous People
The Arrival (Shaun Tan)
III. Intermediate to Upper
Intermediate (B1 - B2):
Dedicated
Graded Reader Series: Move up to the more advanced levels
of these series, tackling more complex vocabulary and longer sentences:
Penguin Readers: Level 4 (B2)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Stage 4 (B2) & Stage 5 (B2+)
Cambridge English Readers: Level 4 (B2)
Macmillan Readers: Upper Intermediate (B2)
Popular
Novels with Accessible Language (original versions):
The
Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
Animal
Farm (George Orwell)
The Pearl
(John Steinbeck)
Of Mice and Men
(John Steinbeck)
Jonathan
Livingston Seagull
(Richard Bach)
Selected stories by Anton Chekhov (Joy, The Lottery Ticket, The Boys, Fat and Thin, The Doctor’s Visit, The Bet)
Selected stories by Leo Tolstoy (21 Tales, God Sees the Truth but Waits, What Men Live By, How Much Land does a Man Need?)
Selected stories of O Henry (often adapted)
White Fang (Jack London)
The Call of the Wild (Jack London)
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The
Witches, BFG, and other Roald Dahl
books (original versions) B1 to B2
The
Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
Graphic Novels (e.g., Persepolis, Maus).
IV. Upper Intermediate (B2 - C1):
Dedicated Graded Reader
Series: For those pushing towards advanced
fluency:
Penguin Readers: Level 5 (B2+) & Level 6 (C1)
Oxford Bookworms Library: Stage 6 (C1)
Cambridge English Readers: Level 5 (B2+) & Level 6 (C1)
Macmillan Readers: Advanced (C1)
Classic Novels with more complex
language/themes:
Pride
and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
1984 (George Orwell)
Fahrenheit
451 (Ray Bradbury)
The
Lord of the Rings (JRR
Tolkien)
Works of Ernest Hemingway (In Our Time, The Sun also Rises, For Whom
the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms, Men Without Women,
The Snows of the Kilimanjaro and Other Stories)
Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
Candide (Voltaire)
The
Prophet (Kahlil Gibran)
The
Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The
Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
Lord
of the Flies (William Golding)
The
Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
Black
Boy (Richard
Wright)
Narrative
of the Life of Fredrick Douglass (Fredrick Douglass)
Little
Women (Louisa
May Alcott)
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)
American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang)
House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
Short Stories of Jack London (To Build a Fire, Love of Life)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
The Bible (New International Version)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens - consider adapted version if original is too hard).
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aurelius)
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells)
Dracula (Bram Stoker - often adapted).
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley - often adapted).
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Our
Town (Thornton Wilder)
Other Short stories
"The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin
"The Lottery" Shirley Jackson
"The
Umbrella Man" and "Lamb to the Slaughter" Roald Dahl
More Challenging Short Stories:
Isaac Asimov
(Science Fiction)
Going
to Meet the Man (James Baldwin)
Dubliners (James Joyce)
Short stories of Leo Tolstoy
“The Sound of Thunder” (Ray
Bradbury)
Works of H.P.
Lovecraft "The Cats of Ulthar", "The Music of Erich Zann", "The
Terrible Old Man", "From Beyond"
Works of Edgar
Allan Poe "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Cask of Amontillado, "The
Black Cat"
Works of Philip
K. Dick "Beyond Lies the Wub" "The Defenders" "Second
Variety" “Adjustment Team”
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