MULTIMEDIA ENGLISH CLASSROOM is a free online classroom to learn English, designed for students from all around the world. It uses authentic material and is targeted at students of English who already have a basic knowledge of the language, but there's also a complete section for beginners. If you can read this and understand it (at least the general idea), then this virtual classroom is for you!
Everyone can have access to this website and all its sections for free, but if you register (also for free) you will have extra features and become an active part of the site. You will be able to access the Premium Club videos, post comments, rate videos, dedicate songs and create your own video pages (to be shown in the Open Section) [see more info]. Additionaly, you can also get into our facebook account or enter the external chat to talk to other students of English (no matter what your level is), but again, you will need to register there, since those are different modules using different software.
When people go to an English-speaking country to learn, they are surrounded by real English and they slowly pick it up. This website provides you with a natural environment to do just so, pick the language up slowly and naturally, preparing you for what you are going to find when you meet English speaking people. The multimedia medium makes the material more real, more accessible and more fun. This is not a place to study, it is a place to relax, enjoy and let the language slowly get into you.
Most of the language used here is authentic English not adapted to any specific level and taken from real sources. Though my language is British English, so that is the variety I use myself, the material on this site comes from different countries, especially the UK and the USA; there are even some non-native speakers too. That way, you train yourself to use and understand English as it is, the English used by natives (not the simplified, artificial language nobody uses in real life).
The activities and videos are usually loaded with lots of help and explanations in case you need it. If your level is low, understanding the general idea is more than enough, or sometimes trying to understand a few things here and there will help you progress. If your level is advanced, then you should be able to focus on more difficult aims.
And remember, the more you listen and read, the more you will understand.
There are also three sections for beginners:
1- Scratch Course 
Designed for self-study. 365 videos that will help you progress from scratch (zero) to a basic command of the language in one year. Additional comments in English and in Spanish are optional.
2- Basic Real English Course This course will help you learn real English in context, so everything you learn, you can then see used in real life, just the way it is. It can also be used by teachers as an online "textbook". This course is also good for higher levels. See more information about it.
3- Kids Zone A section for children. This section is not designed to teach them English (though there's a lot of help on that too) but to let them pick up the language by watching the things they enjoy: cartoons, songs, etc. Children don't need much help to learn a new language, providing the right context, it's natural for them. This section can also be used by primary school teachers as a resource for their classes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Angel Castaño has been teaching Spanish and English in Poole, Dorset (UK), and teaching English in Mexico, Peru and Spain. He's also been living in Ohio (USA). At present, he lives in Salamanca and he is a teacher trainer and a full-time teacher of English at the Official School of Languages in Zamora, Castile (Spain).
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