In our fast-paced world, it isn’t always easy to find time to practice another language. But technology is making things easier all the time!
If you’re a kinetic learner—someone who remembers things best when they see, hear, and interact in the learning process—then some of the best language learning resources are available on YouTube. Even better, aside from a few commercial interruptions, the videos are free!
To help you find the best resources, and to promote our own YouTube channel, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best English Learning Videos and resources for English learning on YouTube!
Note: Most of these resources are for intermediate to advanced learners.
Magoosh English Speaking Channel
If you’re looking for a challenge, then the Magoosh English Speaking YouTube Channel will be right up your alley—suited for someone’s taste or ability.
The channel features authentic English conversations and features fresh content from TV shows, movies, and music so you can engage in the modern world and learn a little pop culture at the same time. But it isn’t all just pop culture!
Magoosh also presents a whole host of English learning videos to help you learn difficult words or specific pronunciations known to be difficult for non-native speakers. Even better, the channel purposefully sticks to a normal speaking speed and uses idioms, sayings, and other common phrases—they define/explain them as much as possible.
The best part is that their lessons are all scenario-based, so you don’t just learn words and phrases, you learn them and understand how to use them in real life. That not only helps you learn it, but reinforces it in your mind for recall later on.
Go Natural English
Go Natural English aims to provide practical American English tips on usage.
Many other channels out there focus on specific grammar concepts and a lot of things that you’ll find in textbooks. But like the Magoosh English Speaking Channel, Go Natural takes a different path and teaches many of the textbook concepts through more practical means.
Take for example, their video on alternative words to avoid the -th sound. This sound is difficult for many ESL students. But the video is brilliant because instead of forcibly teaching the sound, it teaches alternative words you can use instead of ‘thank you’, ‘father/mother’, ‘think’, etc.
Also, there’s a lot of great American cultural information in the videos. If you want to learn how to have a real American English conversation, then Go Natural English is a solid choice.
Speak English with Tiffani
At nearly a million subscribers, Speak English with Tiffani is a channel that’s grown a lot over the past five years. Tiffani has been an English teacher since 2009 and has taught thousands of people to speak English. She actually lived in South Korea for over 10 years teaching and was a web designer for NASA at one point.
So, with her skills in digital marketing and English teaching, she now has one of the best channels on YouTube for English learning videos. Tiffani presents English tips and tricks in a straightforward and easy-to-understand way.
She also has some great videos regarding motivation in language learning and techniques on building confidence in your speaking as a foreigner. Just remember that this is another channel more fit for intermediate to advanced learners who want to take their speaking skills to the next level.
Speak English with Vanessa
The beauty of Speak English with Vanessa is that she releases a new lesson every Friday, so you’ll always get fresh new content and concepts to learn. Her lessons are a little more interactive than some other channels as she gives you opportunities to practice speaking even though it isn’t a live video.
Vanessa speaks slowly and clearly in her videos, so with subtitles, there’s no chance you’ll get lost or confused during a lesson. The best part is that she’s been producing these videos every Friday since 2014, so if there’s an English topic you want to know about, it’s very likely she did a lesson on it already.
English Class 101
YouTube began in 2005, and English Class 101 channel began in 2007. The amount of English learning material they have available is astounding. Alisha is the host and she always presents information in a clear and concise way, so it’s fairly easy to understand, though some might think she speaks a little fast.
Regardless, the channel is very comprehensive and offers a lot of pdf downloads so learners can follow along as they’re learning. They offer a wide range of English learning videos, including quick 5-10 minute concepts and 1-2 hour comprehensive studies and reviews of complex English topics.
They even do live lessons on occasion, so you can ask questions in the comment section for more clarification.
Learn English with TV Series
Naturally, Learn English with TV Series is a go-to channel for millions of English learners. The channel uses TV shows, movies, and talk shows to help learners understand English.
However, their lessons aren’t just a simple breakdown of what’s happening in a scene. They teach you how to understand everything that’s going on so you don’t get lost or miss a joke, and it’s really helpful that you can do the lessons with or without subtitles.
The best part is that they point out all of the cultural tips and important vocabulary in their chosen scenes so that you can understand native level concepts. And if you want to learn English by following along with your favorite actor or musical group, they have a lot of lessons to choose from!
Plus, they offer transcripts and pdfs for the lessons if you need some visual help to follow along.
JamesESL
JamesESL is an awesome channel to learn English because James is a professional teacher above all else. With over 12 years of experience in the classroom, he didn’t start teaching ESL until a little later in his career.
While less experience may seem like a negative, he turns it into a positive in his channel because he isn’t stuck to a specific method of teaching. James knows how to be informative and also let students figure out their own way of learning the language.
Therefore, many of his English learning videos focus on improving vocabulary so people become well-rounded speakers. Then, he lets students figure out the rest. If you like this approach, JamesESL is the perfect channel to help you increase your vocabulary and speaking skills.
Pronunciation Pro
While the Pronunciation Pro channel is more for beginners, it’s the perfect channel for remembering or mastering various pronunciation concepts. Annie drops a new video every Monday and takes you step-by-step through American pronunciation issues for non-native speakers.
Each explanation is given slowly and in a clear voice, so you learn how to correctly stress and make different sounds with your palette. She even corrects a lot of common mistakes and has videos focusing on common pronunciation topics.
If you need to go back to some of the basics or re-train yourself to make particular sounds in American English, this is the perfect channel!
Conclusion
Learning English Online with videos on YouTube is a great idea to help with your learning process, and these resources should serve as an excellent guide. However, if you really want to take your English skills to the next level, you’ll need to practice with live speakers.
With SpeakUp by Magoosh, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss current and practical English topics with other learners and get feedback from native English speakers. SpeakUp goes beyond reading theory and lets you practice what you’ve learned in friendly and encouraging community.
