Welcome to the English Language Learners Research Guide!
This guide is to help you get a jumpstart on your ELL studies by giving an overview of what ELL Resources are available in the library, along with some quick tips on how to find and use them.
Sherratt Library provides access to a number of databases on a wide range of subjects. Below is a list of databases with content that is at a reading level accessible for ELL Students:
Quickly access articles from a database of scholarly journals and other trusted periodicals. Best for academic research.
Access general interest magazines and key serials in a single resource. Best for general research.
This link opens in a new windowIncludes nearly 2000 news sources including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post and USA Today.
Although many of the journals we have in Sherratt Library are available in electronic form, there are times when a print copy is the way to go. Below is a list of journals we have in print and electronic formats. (Note: Print copies of journals are housed on the first floor of Sherratt Library, organized alphabetically by title.)
Here at Sherratt Library, we use the Library of Congress classification system (call numbers) to organize most of our items, including print books and e-books. Below is a general list of call numbers that relate to learning the English language (they can help you find items faster).
PE 1-3729 English Language
PE 1001-1693 Modern English
PE 1700-3602 Dialects
PE 3701-3729 Slang
PN 6700-6790 Graphic Novels and Comic Books
PZ 1-90 Fiction and Graded Readers
Juvenile Collection 3rd Floor
Books for ages and interests from Kindergarten to High School
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Kodansha Basic English-Japanese Dictionary by 
Merriam-Webster's Word-For-Word Spanish-English Dictionary
A new title that offers word-for-word equivalents for each term in Spanish and English. Designed especially for Spanish speakers preparing for standardized tests in English. 50,000 bidirectional, bilingual entries (English to Spanish and Spanish to English) cover core vocabulary. User-friendly format for easy word search.
Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary
Acclaimed by language professionals the world over, the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary has long been the market leader. Using the statistical evidence provided by vast electronic databanks of language currently being written and spoken, our expert editors have made it the most comprehensive, reliable, and up-to-date dictionary of French and English available today. This fully updated fourth edition has even better coverage of the language than ever before, with improved treatment of acronyms and EU terminology, as well as thousands of new words in both English and French. A must for anyone studying the French language, this dictionary has been tailored to the needs of students in consultation with key academic advisors. This edition contains even more of the useful information for language students or part-time residents abroad, including sample bills and rental agreements. By far the most up-to-date and complete French dictionary of its size, it will provide one-stop shopping for all your language needs. #65533; NEW thousands of new words spanning everything from technology and medicine to colloquial slang #65533; NEW headwords in color and changes to layout to further improve accessibility #65533; Increased coverage of acronyms and EU terminology #65533; More material for students on their year abroad or anyone living in the French speaking world e.g. sample utility bills, bank statements, rent agreements #65533; NEW and updated cultural notes--grasp the essence of the language #65533; A 'numbers' page at the start of the dictionary covers the increasing frequency of numeric abbreviations, such as '0800 number' and '24/7' Discover more on oxforddictionaries.com, Oxford's hub for dictionaries and language reference.
Oxford Chinese Dictionary
By far the largest, most authoritative and up-to-date single-volume Chinese-English and English-Chinese dictionary in print, the Oxford Chinese Dictionary is the result of a remarkable collaboration of scholars working in Oxford, Hong Kong, and mainland China. It has been produced using the latest lexicographic methods and is based on research in both the Oxford English Corpus and the LIVAC corpus from the City University of Hong Kong. The result is truly a definitive dictionary, with over 300,000 words and phrases and 370,000 translations, including the latest vocabulary from computing, business, the media, and the arts, as well as tens of thousands of example phrases illustrating key points of construction and usage. There are over 300 cultural notes giving essential information about many aspects of life and culture in the Chinese- and English-speaking worlds. Extensive supplementary material includes sample letters and emails, guides to telephoning and text messaging in both Chinese and English, chronologies of Chinese history and culture, and features on particularly difficult aspects of the Chinese language. There are also over 50 pages of lexical and usage notes which contain helpful information about the Chinese and English languages. All the Chinese headwords are shown with Pinyin and tones, so that the learner of Chinese can pronounce each one correctly. Chinese headwords are given in simplified Chinese characters but traditional Chinese character versions are also given in brackets when they differ from the simplified form. All other characters in the dictionary, such as compounds and examples, are shown in simplified characters. The Chinese-English section of the dictionary is organized alphabetically by Pinyin and there is also a radical index which allows you to look up a character without knowing its Pinyin form. Authoritative and comprehensive, and packed with helpful features, this ground-breaking dictionary is an indispensable reference for any serious student of Mandarin Chinese or English as well as professionals and translators. Discover more on oxforddictionaries.com, Oxford's hub for dictionaries and language reference.
The Oxford ESL Dictionary
Helps students learning American or Canadian English make the breakthrough from basic survival vocabulary to greater fluency and confidence with the written word.
Oxford Essential Arabic Dictionary by
The Arab-speaking nations are becoming more and more important in American and world affairs, but there are few reliable language resources to help bridge the gap between languages and culture. The Oxford Essential Arabic Dictionary is a brand-new, compact Arabic-English and English-Arabic dictionary that offers up-to-date coverage of all the essential day-to-day vocabulary of both languages, with over 16,000 words, phrases, and translations. This compact paperback is easy to use and authoritative, making it ideal for students, travelers, and anyone else who needs a portable and reliable resource on English and Arabic. The vocabulary is completely up to date and includes high-profile words and phrases not found in most of the completing dictionaries of this size and larger, including such words as broadband, browser, cell phone, DVD recorder, and flight attendant. Designed with both native English and Arabic speakers in mind, the Dictionarys supplementary sections offer guidance on Arabic verbs and irregular verbs. The book provides phonetic transcriptions for each English entry as well as phonetic respelling for irregular Arabic pronunciations. Arabic entries are also listed according to alphabetical order, not by root, in order to make word searches more user-friendly. Additional supplements give help with tricky language areas such as numerals and expressions of time. Compact and affordable, the Oxford Essential Arabic Dictionary is the ideal companion for anyone needing a reliable and portable Arabic-English and English-Arabic dictionary for study, work or travel.
