LibGuides: English As A Second Language: Home

Basic Resources

The MaagNet catalog will help you find books at YSU. The OhioLINK catalog will help you find books from universities throughout Ohio that are not available at YSU. Finally, the research databases link will connect you to databases for finding articles at YSU.

MaagNET Library Catalog
This is the catalog for items available at Maag Library.

OhioLINK Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
This is the catalog of items available for borrowing from libraries around the state of Ohio. Allow 3-5 business days for delivery.
A combined catalog of over 7.8 million books and other library materials from many of Ohio’s universities, colleges, community colleges and the State Library of Ohio. OhioLINK’s design allows you to transfer a search from your local library catalog to the OhioLINK combined catalog with the touch of a button. The OhioLINK catalog provides immediate access to the library holdings of the whole system, including current availability status. Requested books and other materials are delivered to your library within a few days. Catalog entries for electronic books and journals link directly to those resources.

Research Databases
Use the databases to find indexes and full-text articles.

Article Search

The following databases are great resources for starting your research for articles at YSU.

Academic Search Complete
This is an excellent database to use in order to start your research in a wide variety of subject areas.
Electronic Journal Center
This OhioLINK database includes many journals from different subjects.
JSTOR
This database is an excellent resource for finding older articles on a wide range of subjects.

Help

Here ae some helpful tools to help you. The first document shows you how to create the most effective search statement (or use of your search words) in a database. The second document is a guide to Maag Library. The third document explains how to find books at Maag Library using the letters and numers connected with each item.

Basic Database Searching
This powerpoint contains information about setting up a basic search in the research databases.
Maag Library Building Guide
Reading Call Numbers

General ESL Websites

These free websites can help with your English language skills in the areas of grammar, vocabulary, listening, and reading.

About Education - ESL
This site offers free help with grammar, listening, vocabulary building, and test prep for ESL students at all levels. They also have TOEFL test preparation advice and practice tests.
Dave's ESL Cafe
Under "Stuff for Students," Dave's ESL cafe offers free grammar lessons, idiom lessons, slang lessons and quizzes.
English Lessons Online
This site is focused on British English, but it has useful, free lessons and quizzes in grammar, reading, and listening at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
OWL Purdue University's Writing Lab for ESL Students
This useful site provides links to grammar and writing instruction pages and explores some of the issues that ESL students might face when they attend a university.
Randall's ESL Listening Lab
This site offers students a fun and easy way to practice their listening skills. The "listening quizzes" are divided into Easy, Medium, and Difficult levels.

ESL Adapted Fiction

Students can order any of these books from other Ohio libraries through our website. Just click the book title and select the request button. Then enter your YSU information.

Age of Innocence, Level 5 by Oxford University Press Staff (Editor); Jennifer Bassett (Editor); Edith Wharton
ISBN: 9780194792165
Publication Date: 2008-03-15
This ESL adaptation of the classic 19th century American novel by Edith Wharton documents the constrained social life of wealthy New Yorkers in the 1870s.
America Writes by Judith Kay; Rosemary Gelshenen
ISBN: 0521657717
Publication Date: 1998-07-28
America Writes is an anthology of eighteen American short stories by contemporary and classic authors, including Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, Ray Bradbury, and Shirley Jackson. The stories have universal appeal that will touch students and make them think. Designed for high-intermediate to advanced students, the text provides entire lessons developed around each story. Pre-reading sections include comprehensive author biographies, discussions of literary terms, and reviews of idioms and expressions found in the stories. Accompanying grammar exercises help students overcome such trouble areas as prepositions, articles, and irregular verbs.
Black Beauty, Level 4 by Anna Sewell; Bassett Collection Staff; Jennifer Bassett (Editor)
ISBN: 9780194791663
Publication Date: 2008-03-15
This ESL-adapted classic tale by Anna Sewell from the 1800s tells the story from the point of view of a horse in Victorian England.
Discovering Fiction by Judith Kay; Rosemary Gelshenen
ISBN: 9780521005593
Publication Date: 2001-02-19
Authentic North American short stories enhance students' reading skills, language learning, and enjoyment of literature. The universal appeal of the stories in this book touches students and makes them think. Among the authors included are O. Henry, William Saroyan, Gwendolyn Brooks, Isaac Asimov, and Sandra Cisneros.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
ISBN: 9781405855440
Publication Date: 2009-01-12
The classic horror tale about the vampire Count Dracula by Bram Stoker is adapted for ESL readers. The story was adapted into a movie by Francis Ford Coppola starring Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder.
Forrest Gump by Winston Groom; Pearson Education Staff
ISBN: 9781405876759
Publication Date: 2010-12-10
This is an ESL adapted version of a contemporary American novel by Winston Groom. The book was also adapted into an Academy Award winning movie starring Tom Hanks.
Great American Stories by C. G. Draper
ISBN: 0133643816
Publication Date: 1992-06-01
Consisting of 8 adaptations of famous stories by classic American writers, this book provides ESL students with exercises in reading skills, vocabulary, discussion, word forms, language activity, and writing. The book, which is both graded and progressive with the vocabulary, grammar, and internal structure of the stories increasing in difficulty from the first story to the last, is designed for use either in or out of class -- as a core reading text or simply for pleasure reading. For teachers and students of ESL.
Jane Eyre, Level 6 by Oxford University Press Staff (Editor); Jennifer Bassett (Editor); Charlotte Brontë; Clare West
ISBN: 9780194792622
Publication Date: 2008-03-15
This classic 19th century tale by the English novelist and poet Charlotte Bronte is adapted for ESL students.
The Accidental Tourist by Oxford University Press Staff (Editor); Jennifer Bassett (Editor)
ISBN: 9780194792158
Publication Date: 2009-11-23
This contemporary America novel, which takes place in Baltimore, Maryland, is adapted from the original story by Anne Tyler. The novel was turned into a movie in 1988 starring Kathleen Turner.

Subject Guide

Becky Moore

Email Me

Contact:

1 University Plaza
Youngstown, OH 44555

rkmoore@ysu.edu

330-941-1720

Subjects: Africana Studies, American Studies, English, Ethnic Studies, First Year Experience, Honors College, Journalism, Language & Literature, Women & Gender Studies

YSU's English Language Institute

YSU's English Language Institute

ESL Adapted Nonfiction

The Beatles by Paul Shipton; Pearson Education Staff
ISBN: 9781405881753
Publication Date: 2008-10-14
The year was 1963, and Beatlemania was only just beginning. Soon the Beatles had fans all around the world. For the rest of the 1960s their music led the way and they changed modern music forever. This book tells the story of the greatest band in the world from the early days in Liverpool to the Beatles' music in the world today.