Subject Guides: English for Language Learners: Articles/Databases

Finding Journal Articles

There are three main ways to find the articles you need:

Search Ara Library databases for articles on your subject. (Use this method to find your own articles for an assignment).
- Find an article in a database [PDF] [Video]

Look for a particular article from a recommended reading list. (Use this method if you have a reading list with the details of an article, e.g. author, article/journal title).
- Find an article in my reading list [PDF] [Video]

Use Google Scholar to find articles in Ara databases. (Use this method to find open access scholarly articles as well as articles in some Ara databases).
- Using Google Scholar to find articles in Ara databases [PDF] [Video]

Resource Focus

P ress Reader is a great resource. You can read almost any newspaper from around the world. You can read the newspapers from your own country that are in English, which will help you improve your reading!

Recommended Databases

We have some collections of articles that are very useful for English learners- they can be used for your assignments in most cases, and should be easy to read.

All Library Databases
This link will bring you to a page with ALL of Ara's subscribed databases. Ask a librarian for help with choosing one if you need guidance!

Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
The online version of the famous and trustworthy encyclopedia. Contains articles, images, videos, biographies, statistics, and an interactive atlas. Great source of primary sources.
eTV This link opens in a new window
You can watch TV online using ETV- this includes some English learners' programmes.
Gale in Context: Global Issues This link opens in a new window
If you are writing about a world issue like climate change, world conflicts or health, you can probably find information here.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
If you have to write about an issue where there are different opinions, like capital punishment, same-sex marriage, or politics, you can probably find a good summary of both points of view here.
MAS Ultra - School Edition (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
A full-text reference database of popular magazines and eBooks covering many subjects, including history, science and health. It also includes full-text biographies, primary source documents, and an image collection of photos, maps, flags and color PDFs.
Oxford English Dictionary (OUP) This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language.
Press Reader This link opens in a new window
You can read today's newspapers from around the world- it's a good way to find very recent information or to keep in touch with what's happening at home!