The Library
St Andrew’s College

ENGLISH & EFL RESOURCES

Books

Books are arranged by subject, using the Dewey Classification System (DDC). Examples of the classification numbers (or shelf marks) for English are listed below.

809                           History and Criticism

810                  American Literature

811                  Poetry

812                  Drama

813                  Fiction

820                  English Literature

821                  Poetry

822                  Drama

822.3               Shakespeare

823                  Fiction

824                  Speeches & Quotations

Books can be searched for using the school’s online catalogue – Heritage.  To access it, simply log onto the school web site, select ‘Heritage’ and type in your library borrower number (eg R1234).

Newspapers

Metro Eireann – Ireland’s multicultural newspaper – www.metroeireann.com

The Irish Times – www.ireland.com

Please note that we do not subscribe to the online version of these news resources.

Web Resources

Web based resources mean information is available to you 24/7 and you don’t have to be physically present in the library to use them.  The following is a selection of what is available on the internet.

Sometimes the website address will change or the link will be broken.  To re-find the site:

1)       Go to www.google.com

2)       Click on the ‘Advanced Search’ link

3)       In the ‘exact phrase’ box type in the website you are looking for eg ESL Gold

4)       Click on ‘Google Search’ and the new website address should be displayed

American Literature

Willa Cather (The Cather Foundation collects, preserves, and promotes materials related to the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning, twentieth-century author) – www.willacather.org

Willa Cather’s My Antonia (is about the hardy people who risked their lives and fortunes in a harsh new land) - www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/cather_w.html

F Scot Fitzgerald (University of South Carolina website. Includes online texts, biographical and bibliographical information, and much else) - www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/

F Scott Fitzgerald Biography and Works (Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald and a searchable collection of works) - www.online-literature.com/fitzgerald

Timeless Hemingway (an award-winning Web site devoted to the life and works of Ernest Hemingway) – http://www.timelesshemingway.com/

To Kill a Mockingbird Student Survival Guide (this site contains definitions for over 400 words, allusions, and idioms found in Harper Lee’s book) - www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tkm/

Arthur Miller (A summary of Miller's life from PBS) - www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/miller_a.html

Knowing Poe (the literature, life and times of Edgar Allan Poe) - http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org

Pulitzer Prizes (an archive of Pulitzer Prize-winning works. You will find photos, editorial cartoons, music clips, and the full text of all winning articles) – www.pulitzer.org

John Steinbeck – www.steinbeck.org

John Steinbeck’s California Novels (Character lists, plot summaries, maps and other supplementary material) - www.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/

Mark Twain in His Times (This site has been created from the "particular and often rare resources" of the Barrett Collection of American Literature at the University of Virginia Library. It focuses on many different aspects of Mark Twain and his works.) - http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/

Revising Himself: Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass (the Library of Congress explores the life of Walt Whitman and the history of his masterpiece) - http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/whitman-home.html

The Classics

Great Literature Online – www.classicauthors.net

Online Literature Library (full and unabridged texts of classic works of English literature)  – www.literature.org

Debating

British Debate – www.britishdebate.com/schools

Headsup (this site hosts online debates.  It is mainly political in content.  The ‘BackUp’ section provides background facts, figures and statistics to help students) – www.headsup.org.ulk

iDebate (this interactive website contains information to support 417 topics) – www.idebate.org/debatabase

English Literature

Margaret Atwood (the official Margaret Atwood reference website. This website includes samples of Margaret Atwood's writing, poetry, and essays)  - www.owtoad.com/

Jane Austen (a good starting point for those interested in Jane Austen and her works) – www.austen.com

The Brontes (the site contains information on the sisters, their works and the society in which they lived) – www.bronte.org.uk

The Bronte Family (the site explores the life, literature and art of the Victorian writers, Charlotte Emily and Anne) www.brontefamily.org

Peter Carey (Biography, bibliography and excerpts from reviews of his works) - www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/careyp/careyp.html

Tracy Chevalier (official website for Tracy Chevalier, author of the bestselling novel Girl With a Pearl Earring) - www.tchevalier.com

J M Coetzee (biography of the Nobel prizewinner) – www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2003/

Seamus Deane (entry for Seamus Deane at Irish Writers Online) -
www.irishwriters-online.com/seamusdeane.html

Anita Desai - www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/post/india/desai/desaiov.html

Anne Devlin - www.irishplayography.com/search/person.asp?PersonID=6441

Brian Friel - www.britannica.com/eb/article-9035431/Brian-Friel

Lord of the Flies Info Page (descriptions of the main characters, summaries, and themes and symbolism in Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies.) - www.gerenser.com/lotf/index.html

Graham Greene (The British Library has an extensive collection of published works by the writer) - www.bl.uk/collections/britirish/modbrigreene.html

Mark Haddon (Multimedia Flash Player version 7 or higher required for this site) – www.markhaddon.com

Thomas Hardy (biography and works) - www.online-literature.com/hardy/

Thomas Hardy – www.hardysociety.org

Kazuo Ishiguro - www.britannica.com/eb/article-9097166/Kazuo-Ishiguro

Jennifer Johnston (the official web site of Jennifer Johnston.  The site requires multimedia flash player) – www.jenniferjohnston.net

James Joyce (the centre is dedicated to promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce) – www.jamesjoyce.ie

James Joyce (biography and works) – www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/

John B Keane (Sive plot summary) - www.skoool.ie/skoool/examcentre_sc.asp?id=3555

Barbara Kingsolver (Official website of the author includes book descriptions, guides for discussion groups, audio clips, and a discussion forum)  – www.kingsolver.com

Penelope Lively (official web site) – http://penelopelively.net

Luminarium (an anthology of English literature) – www.luminarium.org

V S Naipaul (essays and bibliographies) - www.postcolonialweb.org/caribbean/naipaul/naipaulov.html

Kate Cruise O’Brien (The Homesick Garden) - www.skoool.ie/skoool/examcentre_sc.asp?id=417

Sean O’Casey – www.irish-society.org/Hedgemaster Archives/sean_o'casey.html

Ann Pratchett (Bel Canto, won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award) - www.annpatchett.com

Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet (the site aims to be an annotated guide to the scholarly Shakespeare resources available on the internet and to present unique Shakespeare material unavailable elsewhere on the Internet) – http://shakespeare.palomar.edu

Shakespeare at eNotes (contains thousands of pages of content on the life and work of the world's greatest author, including eNotes to more than 20 titles.) – www.shakespeare.com

Shakespeare Online (Character analysis, plot synopsis, sonnets) www.shakespeare-online.com

Colm Toibin (Official web site for Colm Toibin includes biography, essays, information on his books and a discussion forum.) - www.colmtoibin.com

Anne Tyler - www.britannica.com/eb/article-9073981/Anne-Tyler

Oscar Wilde (The official Web Site of Oscar Wilde includes biography, career highlights, photos and quotes.) - www.cmgworldwide.com/historic/wilde/

Oscar Wilde: An Overview (essays on Wilde's writing techniques, themes, biography, and cultural background.) - www.victorianweb.org/authors/wilde/wildeov.html

EFL

Common Errors in English (lists common errors in word usage in the English language. Each example provides a sample of wrong usage and the correct usage) - http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html

Englishtown (anyone learning English as a second language can learn, practice, and improve his or her speaking skills here. Users can view the pages in at least 12 different languages and take free self-study courses from beginner to advanced levels) - http://www.englishtown.com/

ESL Gold (a ‘virtual’ gold mine of free resources and materials for teaching and learning English. Included are vocabulary pages, explanations, exercises, lesson plans, handouts and other goodies for both teachers and students) - http://www.eslgold.com/

FreeEnglish (instruction in ESL through a free, downloadable, interactive Internet-based program called English Pro Web Edition. The Web site also features interactive quizzes and games.) -

http://www.freeenglish.com/english

Free TOEFL (Anyone getting ready to take the TOEFL Exam will find this an excellent way to prepare) - www.free-toefl.com

Interesting Things for ESL Students (a collection of activities, games, and puzzles for students who study English as a second language) - http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~itesls/

Reading Comprehension Connection (interactive site from Merit Software provides online reading comprehension lessons that can be used in the classroom or by students at home. The lessons come from the software versions that are available for sale at the site but the free lessons offer lots of practice for students) - http://www.readingcomprehensionconnection.com/reading_lesson.php

UsingEnglish.com (The section for students provides English Tests covering beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, more than four hundred ESL grammar and vocabulary quizzes, articles about usage, punctuation, spelling and tips on essay writing and a reference section that includes resources on grammar terms, irregular verbs, phrasal verbs, idioms and links to online dictionaries. More than two hundred free grammar and vocabulary handouts and lesson plans as well as a forum, education and TESOL news, and booklist are available in the teacher section. Free registration gives users access to even more resources) - www.usingenglish.com/

Film Studies

International Movie Database – www.imdb.com

James Ivory (site contains filmography with director’s comments on selected films) – www.merchantivory.com

Baz the great! (fansite dedicated to all of Luhrmann’s works including information about Alexander the Great, Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet.) - www.bazthegreat.co.uk

Michael Radord – www.michaelradford.com

Grammar and Spelling

English Grammar 101 (interactive tutorial instruction in English grammar) - http://englishgrammar101.com/

Guide to Grammar and Writing (online "lessons" explaining various grammar rules and problems) - http://cctc.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar.htm

Merriam-Webster Online (plus a thesaurus, word games, word of the day).  Please note it uses American spelling) - http://www.m-w.com/

Poetry

Poetry Archive (its goal is to help "make poetry accessible, relevant and enjoyable to a wide audience." It contains hundreds of recordings of poets reading their own work as well as resources for teachers and students) - http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/home.do

Poetry Foundation (a comprehensive site about the world of poetry. It includes articles, essays, readings, interviews, etc) - http://www.poetryfoundation.org

Maya Angelou (Official website includes biographical information, lists of the poet's works, recent interviews, books and recordings for sale) - www.mayaangelou.com/

WH Auden (the site includes books, links to selected poems, and a list of recordings of his readings and of musical settings of his poems) – http://audensociety.org/

Eavan Boland (audio files of the poet reading her own work) - www.nortonpoets.com/bolande.htm

John Donne (biography and a searchable collection of works.) - www.online-literature.com/donne

Paul Durcan (biography, bibliography and critical perspective) - www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth01J17P482412620204

TS Eliot (Biography, selected bibliography, literary criticism of some of his works) - www.english.uiuc.edu/Maps/poets/a_f/eliot/eliot.htm

Robert Frost (biography, tutorial, critical essays) – www.frostfriends.org

Seamus Heaney (biography) – http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1995/heaney-bio.html

Patrick Kavanagh (site is dedicated to the work of the poet) - www.tcd.ie/English/patrickkavanagh

Philip Larkin (home of The Philip Larkin Society) - www.philiplarkin.com/

Paul Muldoon (Official Paul Muldoon Website) - www.paulmuldoon.net

Sylvia Plath (biographical information, transcriptions of Daddy, Lady Lazarus and Morning Song, selected bibliography and links to relevant sites) - www.poets.org/splat

Christina Rossetti (online overview of the author and her work, links to historical and critical studies, as well as a selection of texts) - www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/crov.html

Siegfried Sassoon (biography, extract from his diary and  literary criticism) - www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap/tutorials/intro/sassoon/

WB Yeats (The Yeats Society was founded in Sligo in 1958 in order to commemorate and honour the poet and to promote appreciation of his poetry) - www.yeats-sligo.com

WB Yeats (biography) – http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1923/yeats-bio.html

WB Yeats (National Library of Ireland exhibition) - www.nli.ie/yeats

WB Yeats (listen to four BBC interviews with the poet) - www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/yeatsw1.shtml

Reading

Bibliomania (thousands of e-books, poems, articles, short stories and plays which are absolutely free. You can read the world's greatest fiction by authors such as Dickens and Joyce, Sherlock Holmes mysteries, all Shakespeare's plays, or just dip into some short stories by writers such as Mark Twain, Anton Chekov and Edgar Allan Poe.) – www.bibliomania.com

Black writers (the site aims to raise awareness of the breath and depth of black writing with comprehensive reviews and a top 100 books and authors for adults) – www.ebonyreads.com

Book Browse (offers excerpts and reviews of selected current books. "You can browse the book-jacket synopsis and author biography plus, in many cases, a reading guide and interview.") - http://www.bookbrowse.com/

Chick Lit (completely contemporary and a guaranteed to appeal to the 16+ reader) – www.chicklit.co.uk

Crime fiction for fans of crime and mystery stories can be found at www.twbooks.co.uk

Newbery Medal (given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.) – www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html

Reluctant readers should have a look at www.niace.org.uk/quickreads/publicpage_about.html for zippy, bite sized books about football, fantasy, crime, chick lit and humour.

Teenreads (a place to talk about your favourite books and to find the hippest new titles. It includes info and features about authors, books, series and character s.) – www.teenreads.com

What Shall I Read Next? (20,000 reviews of favourite books suggested by ‘real’ readers as suggestions for that next unputdownable read) – www.whatshallireadnext.com

Which Book (allows readers to select books by content, mood, character, plot or setting) – www.whichbook.net

Young Readers Online Collection (    ) – http://etext.virginia.edu/subjects/Young-Readers.html

Teacher Resources

Can I have a Word? (This 2006 Webby Award winner offers teachers “new ideas and resources to inspire creative writing in the classroom” and includes poems by leading poets, video animations, classroom activities and more) - http://www.barbican.org.uk/canihaveaword/

ESL Magazine Online (the companion Web site for the print ESL Magazine) - http://www.eslmag.net

EverythingESL.net (a collection of lesson plans, teaching tips, resource links, and discussions for teachers of ESL) - http://www.everythingesl.net/

The Internet TESL Journal (lesson plans, articles, teaching techniques, and a searchable database of more than 5,000 links of interest. The Activities for ESL Students section includes: self-study quizzes, games, crossword puzzles and treasure hunts. A Daily Page for ESL/EFL Teachers helps teachers keep up with what's new on the Web.) - http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/

Learning Resources (The CNN stories chosen each week are interesting and are often based on a social/cultural studies theme. Each story is offered in the original version and in an abridged format with easier vocabulary and sentence structure for learners with lower skill levels. The stories each have an interactive set of quiz activities, including Word Selection, Multiple Choice, Vocabulary, Sequencing, Questions and Answers, and Your Turn! -- an opportunity to express personal opinions about the story) - http://literacynet.org/cnnsf

NetSurfLearning (a great resource that could be used as a stand-alone learning experience or as a supplement for a classroom curriculum. Each of the ten levels of difficulty features 100 interactive work sheets with easy-to-follow directions. Each work sheet provides a variety of materials from the Web that reinforce grammar, comprehension, reading for pleasure, and writing, as well as adventures, word games, poems, and quizzes. Simple teacher and student guides are provided) - http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/NOVA_SCOTIA/netsurf_learning.htm

Online Directory of ESL Resources (a no-frills, text-based site that is loaded with information for ESL teachers) - http://www.cal.org/ericcll/ncbe/esldirectory/

John Steinbeck (Lesson plans for The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, The Pearl etc) –

www.webenglishteacher.com/steinbeck.html

Mildred Taylor Teacher Resource File (a biography, lesson plans, book reviews, articles and other resources) – http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/taylor.html

Web English Teacher (an online directory of K-12 English/Language arts teaching resources including lesson plans, videos, e-texts and classroom activities) - www.Webenglishteacher.com

Writing

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant (explores the process approach to writing and covers each step from choosing a topic to organizing, revising, editing, and documenting sources.  Each of four different types of essays has a section for exploration: informal, thesis/support, argumentative, and exploratory. This site is a great resource for those who need a little guidance while writing essays.) – www.powa.org

Still can’t find what you’re looking for?

Then speak to Miss Ryan!