Random Quote
Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
---- H. G. Wells
Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.
---- Gail Godwin
If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.
---- Doug Larson
The voodoo priest and all his powders were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself.
---- Mark Helprin, Memoir from Antproof Case, 1995
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
---- Arnold Lobel
Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.
---- Abigail Adams (1744 - 1818)
We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything.
---- Thomas A. Edison
To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three men, two of whom are absent.
---- Robert Copeland
This may be the most interesting blog theme I've ever seen. http://eflgeek.com/index.php Definitely in my top 5 at least.
---- Steve Dembo
Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
---- Malcom Forbes
Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists?"
---- Kelvin Throop III
I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.
---- Mitch Hedberg
Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man.
---- J. Robert Oppenheimer
Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.
---- Author Unknown
A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.
---- John Ciardi
As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life - so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.
---- M. Cartmill
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
---- George Orwell
As soon as I buy the moose head, I have to go pick up some KY jelly.
---- Mary Roninette Kowal
Arguments over grammar and style are often as fierce as those over IBM versus Mac, and as fruitless as Coke versus Pepsi and boxers versus briefs.
---- Jack Lynch
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.
---- Evan Esar
I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him.
---- Galileo Galilei
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
---- Sheik Abd-al-Kadir
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin
It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
---- Arnold Toynbee
20 Free English Language & Literature Courses
If you are trying to learn or teach the English language, there are a number of free online English Language and literature courses that can help with your quest. Many of these courses are offered through colleges and universities. Here are 20 courses to try today:
Beginning English – This free online course from About U offers eight lessons for beginning English speakers. The course is delivered via email and takes eight weeks to complete.
Beginner’s English Course – Learn English Online offers an 11 unit course that is split into 52 easy-to-cover lessons. The course is aimed at beginners, but intermediate learners may also find it useful.
American English Audio Course – This free 40-unit audio course introduces students to American English. The course focuses on practical conversations and the type of academic language used at U.S. universities.
Online English Course – 1-language.com offers several free English courses, including this 70-unit online course. The course has sections for beginners, elementary speakers, and intermediate students.
Intensive Grammar Workshop – This grammar workshop from About U offers intensive grammar instruction for intermediate/advanced-level speakers. The workshop is delivered via email and takes 13 weeks to complete.
English Pronunciation Course – The English Club provides several free courses for EFL/ESL learners. This online pronunciation course includes several self-study modules and an accompanying forum for discussion and questions.
Basic Grammar Skills – This free Suite 101 seminar offers basic grammar training. Lessons cover parts of speech, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure.
English 1010 – This free online English course from Utah State University introduces students to writing academic prose. The course includes assignments and a free online English handbook.
Multicultural and ESL Education – Dixie State College offers this free course to self-learners who want to learn more about ESL education theory. The course includes faculty notes and other self-guided study materials.
Exploring the English Language – This Open University course explores the English Language from the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century. The course is designed for intermediate level students and takes approximately nine hours to complete.
Literature in English – This free UC Berkeley course is delivered through a series of pre-recorded audio lectures. There are nearly 30 lectures in all.
Literature I and II – This two-part literature course from Western Governor’s University features eight self-study modules. Covered topics include literary terms, literary history, poetry, fiction, drama, and critical reading.
Modern Poetry – Yale University offers several free literature courses, including this online course on modern poetry. The course covers a wide range of authors and encourages critical reading.
Introduction to Shakespeare – The Department of English at the University of Utah introduces students to the works of Shakespeare in this free online course. The course is delivered through Moodle and includes text on almost all of Shakespeare’s plays.
Introduction to Fiction – This introductory course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focuses on both Western and non-Western fiction. The course includes links to free books and other study materials.
Major English Novels – This free course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology introduces students to major English novels. The course encourages reading and essay writing and includes a reading list, assignments, and other study materials.
The American Novel Since 1945 – Students who take this free online course from Yale University study a wide range of novels published after 1945. The reading list includes novels by Flannery O’Connor, Jack Kerouac, J. D. Salinger, Toni Morrison, and other popular authors.
British Literature – This free British literature course from Weber State University focuses on neoclassical and romantic literature. Course materials include readings, discussion topics, and essay assignments.
Introduction to Literary Theory – MIT’s free literary theory course is designed for advanced English speakers who want to learn more about the ways people read. The course includes lectures, assignments, exams, and other study materials.
Guest post from Karen Schweitzer who writes about online college degrees for OnlineColleges.net.
Karen inscribed these words of wisdom on Thursday Jun 18, 2009 at 04:10 AM
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