2,124 FREE ESL Essentials - What Every English Teacher Needs To Know!
BusyTeacher Home » ESL Essentials

FREE ESL Essentials

ESL Essentials – Important Teaching Tips

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 don’ts 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!

Dramatically improve the way you teach:




Make A Word Search:

Create awesome-looking custom word searches in seconds!

Make A Word Scramble:

Instantly create custom word/sentence scrambles for your class!

Make A Double Puzzle:

Generate double puzzles your students will love - hours of fun!

ESL Articles
Rate this Category
4.7 out of 5, rated by 26 teachers




Sort by: Most Recent | Most Viewed | Rating
How You Can Be a Teaching Team without Even Trying: 5 Free Sources Your Students Should Be Learning from Outside of Class

How You Can Be a Teaching Team without Even Trying: 5 Free Sources Your Students Should Be Learning from Outside of Class

•ESL Essentials
It has been a great pleasure of mine to teach students from all over the world, from five different continents. And while I have at least been out of my time zone, my travels aren’t extensi ...
Views 8,951 All
I Hate to Have to Say This but: 9 Ways to Help Students Say What They Really Mean

I Hate to Have to Say This but: 9 Ways to Help Students Say What They Really Mean

•ESL Essentials
Saying just what you mean can be tough when you are speaking a second language. But when you have to have a tough conversation, tell someone something you don’t want to have to say, be the ...
Views 10,966 All
Champions of the World: a Print and Go ESL Lesson Inspired by the World Cup

Champions of the World: a Print and Go ESL Lesson Inspired by the World Cup

•ESL Essentials
Are you a soccer fan? I’ll admit I’m not a big follower of professional sports. I know especially little about professional soccer, and perhaps it’s to my shame I’d never ...
Views 14,084 All
Habit-tual Fun: 11 Simple Go-to Activities for Teaching Adverbs of Frequency

Habit-tual Fun: 11 Simple Go-to Activities for Teaching Adverbs of Frequency

•ESL Essentials
Would you say you brush your teeth often or seldom? Do you do your homework frequently or rarely? The frequency with which we do things is important. In fact, it can make all the difference in ho ...
Views 174,695 All
Teacher Training 103: Training ESL Teachers in Good Practice Methods

Teacher Training 103: Training ESL Teachers in Good Practice Methods

•ESL Essentials
Imagine that we could take a tour of the world’s classrooms, and drop into an Asian, African, European and American ESL lesson for a few minutes. I’ve always been fascinated by how di ...
Views 11,204 All
Put BusyTeacher in your inbox

Sign up for the BusyTeacher Weekly and be the first to get direct links to our latest teaching articles, worksheets and lesson plans. Goes out to 323,134 subscribers every Wednesday.
See last week's issue.

Podium Power: 9 Tips for Great Student Presentations

Podium Power: 9 Tips for Great Student Presentations

•ESL Essentials
I don’t know about you, but I love having students talk from the front of the classroom. The knowledge and experience they share are fascinating, and they get speaking practice to boot. But ...
Views 17,796 All
Polishing the Diamond: 7 Steps to Needs Assessment for Advanced Learners

Polishing the Diamond: 7 Steps to Needs Assessment for Advanced Learners

•ESL Essentials
How much choice do you have over the types of classes that you teach? A lot of experienced teachers find themselves pigeon-holed as best suited for the upper-intermediate and advanced classes, an ...
Views 8,626 All
Are You Ready to Teach Overseas? 6 Locations You Should Consider

Are You Ready to Teach Overseas? 6 Locations You Should Consider

•ESL Essentials
If you are ready for the adventure of a lifetime, you might be ready to travel overseas to teach English as a second language. If you have just graduated and are looking for a job teaching Englis ...
Views 17,370 All
Everybody Take Your Turn: Everything ESL Students Need to Know about Turn Taking in Discourse

Everybody Take Your Turn: Everything ESL Students Need to Know about Turn Taking in Discourse

•ESL Essentials
ESL teachers are good at what they do. They teach grammar, vocabulary, reading…the pieces of language students need to know. But what can get laid by the wayside, even for the best of teac ...
Views 24,170 All
Target Acquired: Training New Teachers about Language Acquisition

Target Acquired: Training New Teachers about Language Acquisition

•ESL Essentials
As a brand new teacher, I remember feeling that my main objective was simply to get through the class without forgetting anything or upsetting anyone. The nuances of the language environment, int ...
Views 7,908 All
Is This Yours? 5 Fun and Funky Games for Practicing Possessive Adjectives

Is This Yours? 5 Fun and Funky Games for Practicing Possessive Adjectives

•ESL Essentials
Adjectives are one of the most basic building blocks of the English language. We can sort adjectives into several different categories one of them being possessive adjectives - ones that show own ...
Views 243,212 All
Teacher Training 102: The Uncomfortable Truth and 5 Must-Have Habits for Every New Teacher

Teacher Training 102: The Uncomfortable Truth and 5 Must-Have Habits for Every New Teacher

•ESL Essentials
The last few days before your first ever class were probably a pretty anxious time. I’m sure there was excitement, too, and hopefully the sense that this was a very worthwhile challenge. I& ...
Views 13,877 All
Don't Give Up On The Newspaper Just Yet: 6 Addictive Activities Using Today’s News Headlines

Don't Give Up On The Newspaper Just Yet: 6 Addictive Activities Using Today’s News Headlines

•ESL Essentials
Don’t give up on newspapers just yet. Even if you are like me and never read the newspaper, you can still put it to good use in your ESL classroom. Here I’ve put together six great ac ...
Views 32,539 All
Teacher Training 101: How to Teach Good ESL Classroom Presentation Skills

Teacher Training 101: How to Teach Good ESL Classroom Presentation Skills

•ESL Essentials
Let’s try an experiment. I’m going to give you four words, and your task is to figure out how to communicate their meaning to a space alien who speaks only fifty words of English. You ...
Views 14,140 All
The Culture Behind The Language: 5 Amazing Ways to Help Your ESL Students Incorporate It

The Culture Behind The Language: 5 Amazing Ways to Help Your ESL Students Incorporate It

•ESL Essentials
Have you ever asked yourself how important it is for students to get to know the culture behind the language? In other words, how important is it for them to learn about of the culture from which ...
Views 14,623 All
The Fine Art of Course Planning: 8 Expert Tips to Plan an Advanced ESL Course That Works

The Fine Art of Course Planning: 8 Expert Tips to Plan an Advanced ESL Course That Works

•ESL Essentials
Course planning is something of an art, and one which most teaching professionals regard as essential. It provides, in the clearest format, all of the aims, content and timings of a course, so th ...
Views 11,964 All
No Teleprompters Here: 5 Reasons Your Students Should Present From Up Front (And How You Can Help Them)

No Teleprompters Here: 5 Reasons Your Students Should Present From Up Front (And How You Can Help Them)

•ESL Essentials
How often do your students do presentations in class? Some teachers shy away from them. After all, many ESL students panic just as the thought of standing up front. And students in a panic aren&r ...
Views 16,563 All
How To Make A Listening Lesson From Nothing: 7 Steps You Need To Know Before You Press 'Play'

How To Make A Listening Lesson From Nothing: 7 Steps You Need To Know Before You Press 'Play'

•ESL Essentials
Are you ready to press play? Don’t say yes until you’ve read and readied these seven steps for the perfect listening lesson. No matter what recording you have for your students, a pre ...
Views 16,084 All
Dyslexic Students in the ESL Classroom: Simple Things You Can Do To Help

Dyslexic Students in the ESL Classroom: Simple Things You Can Do To Help

•ESL Essentials
Perhaps it is because a friend’s son was recently diagnosed with dyslexia, but I’ve seen a lot on the condition lately. When it comes to dyslexia, the biggest challenge is for the per ...
Views 36,569 All
6 Absolutely Powerful Discussion Topics: How To Keep Your Advanced ESL Students Talking For Hours

6 Absolutely Powerful Discussion Topics: How To Keep Your Advanced ESL Students Talking For Hours

•ESL Essentials
Some aspects of working with advanced ESL students require a little extra thought. Experienced learners have probably covered many of the ‘classic’ ESL topics, so they’ll be con ...
Views 156,360 All
Don't Rest On Your Laurels Just Yet: 9 Types of Challenging Content Every Advanced ESL Student Needs

Don't Rest On Your Laurels Just Yet: 9 Types of Challenging Content Every Advanced ESL Student Needs

•ESL Essentials
Keeping your most advanced students busy can be a real challenge. As they reach a higher level, and gain more confidence, there’s a tendency for there to be an ‘end of semester’ ...
Views 10,594 All
The Empire Chills Out: 6 Perils of Cultural Imperialism in ESL Teaching

The Empire Chills Out: 6 Perils of Cultural Imperialism in ESL Teaching

•ESL Essentials
I’d like to begin, if I may, with a controversial multiple-choice question: Which is the best country in the world? Would your answer be: The country I’m from The United States ...
Views 13,500 All
Why I Declared War On One-Word Sentences: Expressive Question Forms and How to Teach Them To Your Students

Why I Declared War On One-Word Sentences: Expressive Question Forms and How to Teach Them To Your Students

•ESL Essentials
I try my best to be hip and up-to-date. I really do. I’ve been paying attention to the teenage lingo, and I’m not completely lost when around it. I encourage my students to copy what ...
Views 9,877 All
Raindrops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens: 3 Simple Activities to Get Your ESL Students Talking

Raindrops on Roses, Whiskers on Kittens: 3 Simple Activities to Get Your ESL Students Talking

•ESL Essentials
Everyone likes to talk about the things that they like, and your students are no exceptions. When we like something we are passionate about it, and we want others to share that passion. That&rsqu ...
Views 15,978 All
Three Ring Classroom: 6 Tips for Classroom Management with Young Learners

Three Ring Classroom: 6 Tips for Classroom Management with Young Learners

•ESL Essentials
How would you describe your classroom? Is it lively? Sedate? Serious? Free? There is no perfect way to set up an ESL classroom, especially when kids are involved. Much of making your classroom a ...
Views 38,285 All

Got a great worksheet on ESL Essentials? Tell us about it and become a BusyTeacher contributor!

Submit a Worksheet