In this section there are 2,124 articles that cover essential ESL topics such as how to teach grammar, use realia, and teach young learners. There are also a lot of lesson ideas and fun activities included in the articles. This ESL article, for example, is about teaching grammar and describes five great activities. It has been given five stars by other busy teachers so it obviously has useful content. Check it out for yourself or take a look at other articles that relate better to your questions or teaching situation.
There are a lot of dos and donts and tips and tricks that many teachers learn through teaching.
Our ESL Essentials section will help you master the basics of teaching English and will help you start teaching like a 'pro'. Every ESL Essentials article provides clear, to-the-point instructions that can be used with the students right away.
At the moment we have 2,124 ESL Essentials.
Sometimes that is the best way to learn but the experiences of others can also help you develop your teaching skills without having to make the same mistakes. If you have a great story or activity, feel free to submit your own article so that you can share your knowledge with others. We would love to hear from you!
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ESL Articles
View our latest knowledgebase articles that will help you become a better English teacher. Learn from professional teachers and put a bit of your own creativity into it!
For many instructors, studying the writings of Martin Luther King is confined to the month of January, perhaps to the week leading up to his birthday. In a way, this is good—at least Martin ...
Many teachers, especially those new to WIDA and/or ESL teaching, are often overwhelmed and intimidated by the WIDA standards and ACCESS testing. In this article, we attempt to break down the mai ...
Qualities of a good teacher - what are they? This article attempts to look into the practical side of being a good teacher by reviewing the various aspects of a 'successful teacher' strategy that ...
Are you a coin collector? Are you fascinated with stamps? Do you like video games or cooking or tennis? We all have something we like to do with our free time, our hobbies.
January is nati ...
This is a guest article by Sarah Fudin. Sarah Fudin currently works in community relations for the University of Southern California's Master of Arts in Teaching program, which recently launched ...
With a new year comes the opportunity to switch things up in your ESL classroom.
When it’s time to change the calendars in your classroom, try one of the following January themed activitie ...
January is generally kind of a low point in the year for students because it follows a long school holiday. It is important to get students involved in fun activities and really engage them in le ...
Christmas is a holiday that adults enjoy as much as children.
The preparations, the shopping for gifts, the cooking, and the singing is not hard for a grown-up to get into the spirit of Christma ...
December is in full force and your students are starting to get lost among dreams of sugarplums dancing in their heads.
It is also a time when teachers may need to think about creative craft pr ...
The year is nearing its close, but it’s not over yet.
December is full of fun, and it’s the last chance to end the year strong in your ESL class. These language building activities d ...
When the crisp fall mornings make us think of turkey and mashed potatoes, our thoughts also turn to giving thanks. Being thankful for what we have is a healthy and beneficial attitude, so why is ...
It’s always nice to theme a class.
This is especially true if you are teaching a particular type of English, such as business English. By working on a specific theme, the students can get ...
If your classes are anything like mine have been, Halloween is an unfamiliar yet intriguing holiday.
Most ESL students know very little about the spooky holiday at the end of October, and even ...
“Comparisons are odious” says the old proverb, but in an ESL class they are also very necessary. And as there is not set rule for all adjectives, we must make sure students learn ever ...
When other teachers, even other ESL teachers, hear I’m teaching an ESL conversation class, they often say it sounds “relaxing,” or “fun” or “easy.” Most ...
This article deals with teaching grammar, the tense forms in particular, from the point of view of of their contrast in meaning with the native tense forms. It concentrates on the differences of ...
The verb “to be” is the first verb students learn in their English studies.
It is used extensively in the English language and will allow students to create simple sentences with the ...
Learning a second language is challenging.
You need to learn new sound patterns, new rules of grammar, and sometimes you even have to learn a new alphabet to boot. Of all of my ESL students over ...
On the first day of class, the halls buzz with excitement.
Teachers get ready to greet their students, anxious to get started, and our young, or not-so-young, learners are nervous, wondering wha ...
Amused by the misplaced modifiers in your students’ writing? Frustrated that your students omit commas in direct address? Tired of explaining the difference between your and you’re to ...
In many schools, phonics instruction is limited to flash cards and circling pictures on worksheets. While this type of phonics instruction can be beneficial to students, it can also be boring. In ...
If you teach a student over 10, chances are they have a cell phone. At the very least. Some may show up to class with an assortment of gadgets, including iPods, PSPs, or iPhones just to name a fe ...
Online EFL teachers love their jobs and the flexibility it allows them. For a short period of time, they get to talk to people from all around the world. Yet, the limited timeframe and distan ...
I walked into an empty classroom.
A teacher desk sat at the front of the room with twelve student desks before it. The walls were blank, intimidating white canvases, the bulletin boards brown on ...
Whether you have a class full of antsy five-year-olds, shy teens, or busy adult learners, they all have one thing in common: they will be together for the duration of the ESL course, and they wil ...
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![A Touch of December Magic: Ready To Use Holiday Crafts for the ESL Classroom [Part One]](https://busyteacher.org/uploads/posts/2019-12/1575412482_screen-shot-2019-12-03-at-5.33.10-pm.png)
