Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD)
www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com
This is the best monolingual learner’s dictionary of English. A learner’s dictionary gives special help with the things language learners need—irregular forms, dependent prepositions, formal/informal language, particular grammar, etc.

Bilingual Dictionaries

Use a monolingual dictionary to understand how to use new vocabulary (for example when you want to write). Use a bilingual dictionary when you need to quickly check the meaning of a specific term.

IL RAGAZZINI 2012, Dizionario Inglese-Italiano, Italian-English, Zanichelli (print)

Corriera della Sera
http://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_inglese/
Collins Reverso
http://dictionary.reverso.net/italian-english/
Word Reference
http://www.wordreference.com/

Oxford Paravia
http://oxfordparavia.it/

Other dictionaries
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/italian_1
http://www.stars21.com/dictionary/English-Italian_dictionary.html
Diplomacy Dictionary

Dizionario di diplomazia e relazioni internazionali-

Dictionary of diplomacy and international relations.

Inglese-italiano, english-italian di

Buri M. Rosaria, Editore Argo, collana Quaderni Isufi, currently out of print, but maybe on Amazon or from IR students selling their books or in a library

http://www.amazon.it/Dizionario-internazionali-Dictionary-international-Inglese-italiano-english-italian/dp/8882343510/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372593589&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Buri+M.+Rosaria+Editore+Argo+%28collana+Quaderni+Isufi%29
British National Corpus
http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/
A corpus is the raw material of dictionaries. Look up any word or expression to see examples of how it combines with other words in native-speaker English.
Grammar Exercise Books
Essential Grammar in Use – Raymond Murphy, Cambridge University Press
English Grammar in Use – Raymond Murphy, Cambridge University Press

Advanced Grammar in Use – Martin Hewings, Cambridge University Press

Grammar Reference Book
Practical English Usage – Michael Swan, Oxford University Press

Sites where you can study English

Here is a site where you can check and practice grammar structures:
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar
(from here you can also access reading and other resources)
There is also:
http://vivquarry.com/wkshts/
e.g. http://vivquarry.com/wkshts/linkwd2.html
and
http://esl.about.com/od/writingadvanced/a/wc_addition.htm
but the best sites are:

Exam English ✓Free Practice Tests for learners of English

http://examenglish.com/cambridge_esol.php
for lots of free practice material at different levels (about this more later)
and BBC Learning English
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish new address
and http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/ old address (but still active)
you should explore the site. For example:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/

is for listening practice and dictation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/

is for grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation

Other sites where you can practice English

iTunes U (via iTunes , which you must install)
http://www.apple.com/it/education/itunes-u/
video and audio podcasts of university lectures and courses. See how your subject is taught in English.
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design)
http://www.ted.com/
Fantastic presentations from some of the most innovative people in the world. Watching presentations is a really good way to practice comprehension.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Online distance courses (MOOCs – Massive open online course)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course
http://www.bdpa-detroit.org/portal/index.php?Itemid=20&catid=29:education&id=57:moocs-top-10-sites-for-free-education-with-elite-universities&option=com_content&view=article
http://www.moocs.co/
http://www.mooc-list.com/

TV Channels

The aim here is to listen and improve your comprehension, stay up to date (so you should also follow the telegiornale in Italian) and absorb some of the language.

BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

France 24 in English

http://www.france24.com/en/

Aljazeera in English

http://www.aljazeera.com/

You can also get a wide range of live TV channels on:

http://www.filmon.com

and shows on:

http://allnewepisodes.com/tvshows/

A little light translation

Don’t forget, if you need to expand your knowledge of basic vocabulary, go to the EU site where you will find the new 2014 General Report (download the pdf format in both Italian and English). This will give you more than 200 pages of Italian to translate into English! To check your translation just look at the English version (top right of the page to choose the language) and take notes on regular differences. So just click here to start:

http://europa.eu/generalreport/index_it.htm

or if you prefer, go straight to the English version of the General Report 2014 or other texts on the EU site or UN site and simply start taking notes on common expressions used in diplomatic English.

See my next post about the UN website for more information.

English for Diplomacy

venerdì 4 settembre 2015

Some Useful Sources and Resources

http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Home.htm?LANG=EN

http://www.italyun.esteri.it/rappresentanza_onu

Basic course book on IR in English (good for both language and content)

International Relations – Joshua S. Goldstein, Jon C. Pevehouse, Pearson Longman 2012-13 edition, or latest update(2013-14)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/International-Relations-2012-2013-Joshua-Goldstein/dp/0205909507/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372593446&sr=8-1&keywords=International+Relations+%E2%80%93+Joshua+S.+Goldstein

IR magazine in English (del Ministero degli Affari Esteri in inglese)

Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice, Geoffrey Robertson, Penguin Books

Dictionaries

Monolingual Dictionary