This Is Just to Say

This Is Just to Say
by William Carlos Williams
I have eaten the plums that were in the ice box
and which you were probably saving for breakfast.
Forgive me. They were delicious. So sweet and so cold.

This poetry has been used widely in poetry classes everywhere and, particularly, elementary schools. This poetry has been imitated and spoofed. It has even become a game among poets, to write a version of "This is just to say." So I tried to come up two.

This is just to say
By Yujin Li 
One
I have messed up your life that was in this unsettling world
and which you were probably expecting for great.
Forgive me. It was messy. So dirty and so hopeless.
Two
I have read the diary that was in the drawer
and which you were probably keeping for yourself.
Forgive me. It was a page-turner. So intriguing and so tempting. 

Here are some other examples. 

This is just to say
by Kenneth Koch 
One
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do.
And its wooden beams were so inviting.
Two
Last evening we went dancing, and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy, and I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor.


This is just to say
By Andrew
Sorry I took your money and burned it.
But it looked like the world falling apart when it crackled and burned.
So I think it was worth it. After all, you can't see the world fall apart every day.


This Is Just to Say
by Sarah Vowell
I carved your name, not mine, into the arm of dad's chair.
Sorry you were punished.
But the wood was so gummy, and my knife was so sharp.


This Is Just to Say
by Jonathan Goldstein
I have eaten the fruit of knowledge, but nothing happened.
Not a word. No lightning or volcanoes, not even a drop of rain.
So I was just wondering, are you there?


This Is Just to Say
by Shalom Auslander
One
I'm sorry you are overweight
and drinking and feeling like everything in your life is doomed to failure.
But this is probably why mom said I was her favorite.
Two
it sucks, little doe, that I hit you with my car,
but at least you weren't alive to watch the hunters shoot your children.
Three
he was a trouble maker, OK?
And didn't know when to shut up.
Still, we never would have killed him if we'd known he was the Lord.


This Is Just to Say
by Heather O'Neill.
Dear Mom, This is just to say I forgive you for eating all the plums, the apples, the pears, and even drinking the last of the orange juice.
I forgive you for emptying Dad's bank account and for painting stars on our station wagon right before you got in and drove away.
I forgive you for leaving us without even saying good-bye.
Your plans were always so sweet, so delicious, and so cold.

Starting my own reading group

To find more, please visit my wiki page for this reading group.

http://eslreadinggroup.wikispaces.com/

American Stories from VOA

Selection of American Stories from VOA by SuccessfulEnglish.com
http://successfulenglish.com/discover/discover-online-intermediate/american-stories-from-voa/

American Stories from VOA
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/search/?c=n&searchphrase=%22AMERICAN%20STORIES%22

听歌曲学英语

http://www.tingroom.com/song/index.html

Clear explaination

http://commoncraft.com/

Lee LeFever had a talent for explaining tough concepts, so he built a company that makes and sells explainer videos. Common Craft, the business he founded and runs with his wife, has been used by companies like Google and Twitter to help potential customers understand their new products.

presentation suggestions

A friend asked me about presentation skills. I give him some suggestions and I would love to share them with all you guys, my friends.

Some suggestions for doing presentation:

1) Speak loudly

2) Try to relax and look naturally

3) Smile when you welcome people to your presentation, make yourself look friendly and nice

4) Face your audience, try to have eye contacts with everyone, not just stare at the front rows

5) Gestures should be above the waist

6) American people like big gestures, try to avoid small gestures

7) Rehearsal before presentation, if you don't have enough time, at lease prepare the introduction part well

8) Try to have more pitch jumps, and the emphasis should be put on new information or important words

9) Use transitions !

10) At the end, summarize your presentation. You may also have some shorter conclusions in the middle of your presentation.

11) Try to eliminate two many "Uh"s "Umm"s between words or sentences

12) If you are nervous, be careful about what you hold in your hand. Otherwise, it may turn out to be annoying.

13) For short conference presentation, you may prefer to finish your presentation without interruptions of questions from the audience. You can tell the audience to ask questions after your presentation.

14) If there are questions, make sure you get the questions. You can repeat the question or summarize the question before you answer it. This can make sure you get the right question and also let other audience know the question.

15) If you don't hear some certain words or some parts of the question clearly, ask that person speak more slowly, or explain in another way, just for the part you missed.

16) If you feel completely lost, firstly  try to find out from which slide the question is (ask the questioner), then ask him/her to repeat his/her question again.

17) If you don't know the answer of a question, or it's too complicated to answer in several minutes, ask the questioner to discuss with you offline.

18) Check the pronunciations of the keywords you will use repeatedly in your presentation, make sure you pronounce the keywords correctly!

19) Do check typos in your slides

20) Stand straightly, move a little bit can make you look more relax (But I am not sure whether it's good or not for conference presentation).

21) Try to avoid grammar mistakes

22) Be confident and show your passion to your work

23) You need pause a lot for in presentation, much more than you normally speak to another person. You have to give the audience time to process all the new informations.
Pause at the right place, i.e. pause when you say something important, when a sentence is over, etc.

24) Repeat a lot, especially some notations in your equations and keywords. You need to repeat at least 3 times before your audience can get it.

25) DO NOT read your slides. It's very weird to speak like reading. Slides are just visual aids for your presentation. DO NOT rely on it!

26) Font size should be at least 22 pts. At most TEN lines per slide.

27) No full sentence in slides ! Try to use short phases.

28) DO NOT flip your slides back and forth! If you need something more that once, put it on the slides again.

29) Every slide should have its own name. Two slides should NOT use the same name.

30) Have some FUN! :)
If you can spend lots of time to do your work very well, then why not spend a little bit more time to prepare for your presentation. Presentation is your Show Time!

I wish this could help you to improve your presentation skills. Welcome to share your experiences with me !

推荐： 小笨霖英语学习笔记

2010-10-08 04:48 (分类:ESL)

记得确定要出国之后 就在网上找学习口语的资料，练习口语， 为来美做准备，那时候看到网上小笨霖英语学习笔记，下载过来看过一些，觉得挺有意思的。 出国前在他的英语学习笔记里面就知道一些在美国生活会遇到的事情，比如超市的cash back 也就省去了像某些人刚开始以为是人家白给钱的尴尬。总体来说比较有意思。以前在国内的时候看过不少，有的后来都忘了，最近又捡起来重新读，还是很有收获。 有兴趣的可以去看看。
http://som.twbbs.org/klee/notebook/
网上貌似有word版的可以下载 在国内的时候下过，现在懒得找了，就在网上看。

俗话说好记性不如烂鼻头，所以最近也在学习他记一些英语学习笔记，自己记的比较乱，学到的生词啦，一些以前自己发音不对的词啦，听广播看电影学到的英语用法啦 给自己备用。

[FW] Bibliography of Academic Writing Guides by Wendy Belcher

Bibliography of Academic Writing Guides

(this list is a bit dated now, many books have newer editions)

Recommended
Boice, Robert. 2000. Advice for New Faculty Members: Nihil Nimus. Allyn & Bacon.
The best work by the best writer on academic writing. "Nihil Nimus" means "nothing in excess." This advice is based on Boice's finding that moderation is the single-most reliable predictor of success in academic life. The book is full of practical rules for combining teaching, socializing, and brief, daily sessions of writing. "It is the first guidebook to move beyond anecdotes and surmises for its directives, based on the author's extensive experience and solid research in the areas of staff and faculty development," says an Amazon.com review.
Robert Boice. 1992. The New Faculty Member: Supporting and Fostering Professional Development. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
An earlier excellent text by the leading authority on academic writing.

Boice, Robert. 1990. Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing. Stillwater, Oklahoma: New Forums Press.
An extremely helpful practical guide by the leading authority on academic writing. Includes an extensive diagnostic questionnaire.
Writing for Publication
Cantor, Jeffrey A. 1994. A Guide to Academic Writing. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Useful focus on publishing strategies rather than writing. Includes chapter on writing for professional journals. Advises on writing conference papers and grants. Deals at length with book publication, including contracts, prospectuses, and textbooks.
Luey, Beth. 1995. Handbook for Academic Authors. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
A comprehensive book on academic publishing. Includes only twenty pages on writing for journals. Includes a useful chapter on revising a dissertation into a book. Discusses at length how to work with publishers. Addresses submission mechanics.
Matkin, Ralph E. and T. F. Riggar. 1991. Persist and Publish: Helpful Hints for Academic Writing and Publishing. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
General methods for increasing "productivity and achievement in the publish-or-perish academic world." Many useful figures and tables. Includes twenty pages on writing for journals.
Day, Robert A. 1998. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. 5th ed. New York: Oryx Press.
Specifically for those in the sciences. Amazon.com says "each edition of this witty and practical guide to writing, organizing, illustrating, and submitting scientific research for publication in a scholarly scientific journal has become an instant bestseller."
Parker, Frank, and Kathryn Riley. 1996. Writing for Academic Publication: A Guide to Getting Started. Superior: Parlay Enterprises.
Broad advice on writing academic reviews, book reviews, abstracts, conference papers, and articles rather than concentrating on journal articles.
Silverman, Franklin H. 1999. Publishing for Tenure and Beyond. New York: Praeger.
"Provides graduate students who intend to pursue a career in academia and tenure-track junior faculty with candid information about developing an adequate publication record … [and how to] maximize the likelihood of having their articles accepted for publication by peer-reviewed professional, scientific, and scholarly journals." For graduate students and junior faculty, it focuses on journal article publication and the large picture-what content is selling today
Moxley, Joseph M., and Todd Taylor. 1997. Writing and Publishing for Academic Authors. 2nd ed. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.
Collected volume of essays by various authors. Broad book on academic publishing. Little on journal article publishing.
Huff, Anne Sigismund. 1998. Writing for Scholarly Publication. Sage Publications.
Not focused on journal articles and devoted largely to prewriting rather than revising.
Germano, William. 2001. Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Written by the publishing director of Routledge, this long-time academic editor details why editors chose some books and decline others, how the publishing process works regarding books, how to read a contract, and other details of publishing a book.
Staying Motivated and Sane
Bolker, Joan. 1998. Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
Excellent and very popular text on the psychological aspects of writing your dissertation. For writing a dissertation, not academic articles. Focuses on the emotional management of graduate school writing. Well written and to the point. She is a clinical psychologist who has spent the past two decades at Harvard exclusively helping blocked dissertation writers, so it is not surprising that she brings real skill to her task.
Becker, Howard S. 1986. Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
This now fifteen-year old book represents an insightful analysis of why most academic writing is so terrible and a personal reflection on the task of writing. More motivational than concrete. For social science only.
Peterson, Karen E. 1996. The Tomorrow Trap: Unlocking the Secrets of the Procrastination-Protection Syndrome. Health Communications.
Good advice on avoiding procrastination.
Zerubavel, Eviatar. 1999. The Clockwork Muse : A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books. Cambridge: Harvard Univ Press.
Focused on time management of long projects.
Caplan, Paula J. 1994. Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide to Surviving in the Academic World. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
A useful book for anyone, male or female, in the academy about its "unwritten rules,"twenty-seven "myths," and fifteen "catch-22s." Gives some general principles for coping with these myths and gives specific suggestions on dealing with specific challenges. Extensive bibliography of guides for non-dominant groups in the academy.
Goldsmith, John A., John Komlos, and Penny Schine Gold. 2001. The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career: A Portable Mentor for Scholars from Graduate School through Tenure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gives advice on how to manage graduate school-working with mentors, writing a dissertation, and landing a job-as well as how to handle being an assitant professor, teaching and doing research, getting tenure, and how to combine work and your personal life. Written as a conversation among the three authors.
Writing Well
Williams, Joseph M. 1997. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 5th ed. New York: Longman.
The famous book on how to write clearly. Now in its fifth edition. His advice is based on the concept that articles, paragraphs, and sentences have a story to tell through "characters" and "actions." Clarity results from "mapping characters and actions onto subjects and verbs" (101). Excellent advice on cohesion as well.
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. 1995. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Largely for undergraduates, but a good refresher on how to pick and pursue a topic.
Strunk, W., Jr., and E. B. White. 1979. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan.
Still the bible of elegant, clear writing.
Nonnative Speakers of English Guides
Feak, Christine B., and John M. Swales. 1997. Academic Writing for Graduate Students : Essential Tasks and Skills : A Course for Nonnative Speakers of English (English for Specific Purposes). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Another useful book for anyone seeking extremely specific advice about how to write graduate-level research papers. Aimed at students for whom English is a second language, this guide is useful for anyone not entirely sure about what is expected in various parts of an academic paper.
Oshima, Alice. 1998. Writing Academic English; A Writing and Sentence Structure Handbook for International Students. 3rd ed.: Reading, Mass.: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Style Manuals
Style manuals give detailed instructions for the preparation and publication of academic materials. Since authors and editors from around the world in various fields have different trainings and therefore present information in widely varied ways, style manuals are attempts to standardize these presentations. By setting rules on matters of taste and choice, style manuals insure that all the articles in a journal or book are presented in a uniform manner. For instance, while everyone agrees that a period should appear at the end of a sentence, should a footnote number preceed the period or follow it? There is no right or wrong answer, but since regular patterns increase readability, it is helpful if the editor can make sure that the number always appears in the same place throughout your article and the others in the volume.
Each style manual represents particular conventions of standarizing punctuation, spelling, foreign languages, capitalization, abbreviations, headings, quotations, numbers, names and terms, math, tables, figures, notes, and reference citations in text and references. Some of the most common manuals are listed below.
American Psychological Association. 2001. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Commonly called the APA, this manual is the standard for those in the social sciences, not just psychology. It focuses on the preparation of journal articles, not books. It provides more advice for authors on writing than some style manuals as it was originally designed for first-time authors. In addition to technical matters of style, it addresses designing and reporting on research, structuring articles, writing clearly, following ethical standards, avoiding bias in language, and converting the dissertation into a journal article.
Gibaldi, Joseph. 2003. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
This manual is the standard for those in the humanities, and particularly for those writing on literature or language. It can be used to prepare either articles or books. Like the APA, it is more addressed to authors than editors. In addition to technical matters of style, it addresses selecting a journal or publisher, wading the minefield of copyright issues, and writing for a particular audience.
University of Chicago Press. 2003. The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Commonly called Chicago, this manual is the standard for the preparation of books. That is, it has a focus on books, rather than journal articles, and is oriented toward editors more than authors. It gives almost no advice on writing, but is much more comprehensive than any other style manual about technical matters. It includes an entire section on printing issues, such as composition and binding.
Hale, Constance. 1999. Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age. Rev. ed. New York: Broadway Books.
Leading guide to the presentation of material related to the internet. Includes dictionary of relevant technical terms.
Connolly, William G., and Allan M. Siegal. 1999. The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper. New York: Crown Publishers.
Not for the preparation of academic articles.

Goldstein, Norm. 1994. The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Not for the preparation of academic articles.

Dictionaries
Schwartz, Marilyn. 1995. Guidelines for Bias-Free Writing. Indiana University Press. Findings of the Task Force on Bias-Free Language of the Association of American University Presses.
Gives clear advice on how to avoid disparaging, exclusive, or otherwise incorrect usage.
Maggio, Rosalie. 1991. The Dictionary of Bias-Free Usage: A Guide to Nondiscriminatory Language. Phoenix: Oryx Press.
Now out of print, but still useful advice on writing without discriminating.
Merriam-Webster. 1993. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster.
Some dictionaries are more equal than others. Webster's is the standard dictionary for academic writing and is particularly recommended for use with the Chicago Manual of Style.
Writing for a Particular Discipline
General
Kirszne. 1994. The Handbook on Writing in Disciplines. 3rd ed. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Art/Music/Film
Barnet, Sylvan. 1989. A Short Guide to Writing About Art. 3rd ed. New York: HarperCollins.
The Short guides are specifically aimed at undergraduate students and address a largely undergraduate problem: coming up with a good idea.

Wingell, Richard J. 1990. Writing About Music: An Introductory Guide. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Psychology/Education/Behavioral Sciences
Kupfersmid, Joel. 1996. An Author's Guide to Publishing Better Articles in Better Journals in Behavioral Sciences. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Silverman, Robert J. 1982. Getting Published in Education Journals. Springfield, Ill.: Thomas. Social Science/Sociology/Social Work
Becker, Howard S. 1986. Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Cuba, Lee. 1993. A Short Guide to Writing About Social Science. 2nd ed. New York: HarperCollins.
Johnson, William A. 1997. The Sociology Student Writer's Manual. New York: Prentice Hall.
Political Science
Martin, Fenton. 1997. Getting Published in Political Science Journals; A Guide for Authors, Editors and Librarians. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Political Science Association.
Scott, Gregory M. 1997. The Political Science Student Writer's Manual. 2nd ed. New York: Prentice Hall.
History
Hellstern, Mark E. 1997. The History Student Writers' Manual. New York: Prentice Hall.
Marius, Richard. 1989. A Short Guide to Writing about History. 3rd ed. Reading: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers.
Philosophy and Religion
Graybosch, Anthony. 1997. The Philosophy Student Writer's Manual. New York: Prentice Hall.
Watson, Richard A. 1992. Writing Philosophy: A Guide to Professional Writing and Publishing. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
Other
Gannon, Robert. 1996. Best Science Writing : Readings and Insights. Oryx Press.

Adding Books to This Bibliography
If you have a book that you would like to recommend be added to this list, please contact me.

Common Errors in English Usage

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors

Reading materials: Best of 2010

From Longform.org
http://bestof2010.longform.org/#next10

Great Children Books

Reading English at the intermediate level  By Dr. Lucy Tse

Finding books for intermediate readers  By Successful English

Others (Most of them are children books) 
Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present 
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal.cfm
Where the Red Fern Grows By Wilson Rawls
The Adventures of Ulysses By Bernard Evslin
Out of the Dust By Karen Hesse
The Winged Watchman, The Borrowed House, Mitchells series,  Bantry Bay series By Hilda Van Stockum
Books by Andrew Clements
Ann of Green Gables
Tom's Midnight Garden
The Book Of Lost Things
The Book Thief
Coraline
The Dark Is Rising

Finished:
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary 1984 Newbery Medal Winner

Acquiring English by reading and listening understandable English

不是有语言天赋的人，所以才有了这些感叹！
感慨嚷嚷着好好学英语这么多年，痛苦的考试也考了不少，英语却始终不能达到自己期望的水平。
来美国时间也不短了，痛苦的意识到提高英语的困难。周围中国人居多，不刻意去学英语，英语根本无法提高，千万不要相信什么到了英语的环境里英语自然会好的谬论。
知道英语的重要性，更为了自己一直执着着的梦想做准备，自己是下了不少功夫学英语的。学习的过程不能说痛苦，但确实花了很多时间。
在必修课和reserach的双重压力下，上了两门英语课，虽然这两门课都是我很喜欢的课，也觉得学到了不少的rules，可是结果却不尽满意。
ESL Podcast 听了也不少，American Pronunciation Podcast，有时间就会用Amazon的Kindle看书，镜子上贴了一些自己发音不准的单词，洗漱的时候都会读一读。
为了创造机会说英语，有空就去参加 SIT (Saturday International Together)的活动，其中的一个美国女孩非常nice，我们偶尔会一起吃饭或者喝咖啡。主要就是给自己找机会多说。
写 作始终找不到很好的提高途径，目前主要是读一些写作的书，例如 The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., Style: Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams.

提高很缓慢, 开始有些灰心丧气。。。

偶然看到 Successful English (http://successfulenglish.com/ )的几篇文章，感觉对英语学习的认识更深了。扪心自问，从初中开始学习英语，十几年的时间，为什么英语始终不能随心所欲？或许“学”英语就是不对的， 因为 “Most of our fluency (language ability) comes from acquired language, not from learned language”。


Successful English上有很多很不错的文章。我主要读了 Most Popular Articles (http://successfulenglish.com/learn/learn-most-popular/).
先从The Basics-Introduction (http://successfulenglish.com/2009/10/the-basics-introduction/) 开始读的，中间引用的5篇文章都写的很不错，关于 the process of developing language ability 给出了解释。

1. Two ways to know a language
2. What comes first?
3. Quality control
4. Only one way
5. Don’t worry, be happy!

这五篇文章首先解释了Acquire a language 和 learn a language 的不同，并指出 “Most of our fluency (language ability) comes from acquired language, not from learned language” (语言能力来自于Acquired language)。当然language learn也是有用的，只是它不能帮助我们改进我们的fluency，它更主要的作用在于帮助我们更加准确，尤其在写作上。 那么如何Acquire English呢？"how do we acquire more English? There is only one way: by reading and listening to understandable English." 多读多听有趣的你能理解的英语是关键！（不能一味追求高难度）

后来还读了Successful English的其他几篇文章。
The power of reading and listening
http://successfulenglish.com/2010/01/the-power-of-reading-and-listening/
Use popular fiction to improve your English
http://successfulenglish.com/2010/01/using-popular-fiction-to-improve-your-english/
More reading, less looking
http://successfulenglish.com/2010/12/more-reading-less-looking/
Finding books for intermediate readers
http://successfulenglish.com/2010/09/finding-books-for-intermediate-readers/
Thoughts from a successful English learner
http://successfulenglish.com/2010/10/thoughts-from-a-successful-english-learner/

看了ESL Podcast Blog上 Dr. Lucy Tse推荐读的书( Reading English at the intermediate level) 以及 Successful English对于这个书单的补充 (Finding books for intermediate readers). 决定接下来挑一本他们推荐的书来读。 继续努力！
欢迎志于提高英语的xdjm们一起交流。

books for intermediate readers

From ESL Podcast Blog

1) Reading English at the Intermediate Level

http://www.eslpod.com/eslpod_blog/2010/09/28/reading-english-at-the-intermediate-level/

 

From Successful English

2) Finding books for intermediate readers

http://successfulenglish.com/2010/09/finding-books-for-intermediate-readers/

3) Popular fiction writers

http://successfulenglish.com/discover/discover-popular-fiction/popular-fiction-writers/

4) More reading, less looking

http://successfulenglish.com/2010/12/more-reading-less-looking/

Excellent ESL Websites

My favorites:
Successful English
http://successfulenglish.com/
Practical suggestions about learning English
ESL Podcast
http://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html 
podcast on extensive topics and great explanation


American English Pronunciation
http://www.pronuncian.com/
Podcast, minimal pairs, and pronunciation lessons
English Central
http://www.englishcentral.com/
Practice English while watching videos, provide feedback!
VOA American History
http://www.manythings.org/voa/history/
Collection of VOA American History series.

Others:
Connect With English Videos
http://www.learner.org/resources/series71.html
Get extra practice watching the Connect with English video series here
Activities for ESL Students
http://a4esl.org
Play games, take quizzes, read grammar, and practice vocabulary
Dave's ESL Cafe
http://www.eslcafe.com
Easy to use, lots of activities, including games, quizzes, pronunciation practice, and stories
Karin's ESL Partyland
http://www.eslpartyland.com
Lots of great ESL activities
About.com ESL Guide
http://esl.about.com/homework/esl/
Quizzes and tests for different levels; employment opportunities for nonnative speakers
ESLAmerica.US
http://www.eslamerica.us/
An English language website to practice conversation, vocabulary, grammar, reading, and more AND all of it has sound so you can listen while you practice
English Page
http://www.englishpage.com/
For all skills, lots of activities, exchange messages with other students, and ask questions
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab
http://www.esl-lab.com
Excellent listening practice
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
A great place to learn more about writing and grammar

French words in English

From Seattle Learning Academy's American English pronunciation podcast 124th episode

cafe
cliche
entree

niche
champaign
chef

ballet
bouquet
filet
depot

faux pas
a la carte
deja vu
rendezvous