English as a Foreign Language Free Resources Review - Mr Duncan on YouTube

The internet is awash with free resources to learn English as a foreign language. Some are astonishingly good, whereas others are downright dreadful. Here is my personal take on some of the best.

Mister Duncan on YouTube

I discovered Mister Duncan's videos early on and he remains a classroom favourite. He used to teach English in China but is now back in the UK pumping out video lessons - 51 of them so far. Rather than focussing on points of English grammar or a dry list of vocabulary, Duncan does mini-lectures on some broad theme, such as the wide diversity of English greetings, how to express your feelings and how to make a complaint. To us native speakers, English is a rich and diverse language but for the poor learner it just seems like chaos! Why have 20 ways to say 'hello' when just one would suffice?!

On the face of it, the level of English used is intermediate (sometimes slipping into advanced mode) but the subtitles and the highlighting of key words and phrases mean that even my weaker students take away with them half a dozen new expressions; and that counts as a success!

Mr Duncan is quirky, he is funny but above all he is clear. One problem on YouTube is that so many English language videos are just so poorly produced: annoying background noises, low level hum, voice distortions and incomprehensible accents all scare away my students who are trying their best to understand this foreign tongue. I don't know what equipment he is using but Duncan's videos are crystal clear and anything my students don't understand is down to me to put right.

So, five stars to Mr Duncan and if you're learning English then worth subscribing to his YouTube channel.