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!
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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!
How can ghoti spell fish?
The sometimes crazy rules of English phonics make it possible. This classic example combines gh as in enough, o as in women, and ti as in nation to creatively spell the ...
If you don’t use podcasts in your ESL lessons, you don’t know what you’re missing.
Here is what you need to know to get started with this great resource for ESL teachers and stu ...
Teaching children can be wonderfully rewarding.
They learn by leaps and bounds, and we are often very proud of our young ESL learners’ achievements. But just as rewarding is to be able to s ...
Culture.
It is a huge part of who we are, but how much can we really articulate about what culture means to us? And if we as adults struggle to explain our cultures, how much more so do young Eng ...
We are all busy, and we work hard to plan our classes just right.
The right amount of instruction. The right amount of discussion. The right amount of homework. But try as we might, there are sti ...
Music may not make the world go round, but it certainly makes it a more pleasant place. All sorts of people listen to all sorts of music, and anyone can find tunes they like with just a little sea ...
Many of our ESL Business students are heading into the world of advertising.
Learning some good methods for analyzing and creating fantastic advertising slogans is an important step, and deserves ...
Many of our ESL students are teenagers and young adults, people who are still finding their way in the world and learning to navigate society’s most contentious issues.
Some come from cultu ...
ESL teachers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and so do our teaching environments.
Most ESL teachers may have classes in classrooms and schools, but some of us get to teach in more challeng ...
Everybody likes to have a high score when it comes to playing games (except, perhaps, golfers).
Maybe that’s why this simple motivator works so well with most ESL classes. Points. Something ...
If you are looking for a way to shake things up a bit in pronunciation class, try one of these simple games that focus on accurate pronunciation and listening closely.
8 Fun Games for Teaching ...
Memory, also called pelmanism, is a versatile and useful tool for ESL teachers.
In this simple game, players lay cards face down in a grid and take turns flipping over two cards at a time looking ...
Few things are as illustrative of life in the modern US and UK than the way we handle our elections.
Idolized by some, demonized by others, mystifying to many, they embody our most lofty principl ...
I invite you to try something the next time you’re in a classroom full of ESL students, especially those of intermediate level or higher.: count and note down how many times your students sa ...
I’m a great believer in teaching our ESL students to speak politely.
This might be a result of having my roots in Britain, where we thank and apologize for everything, but it’s a grea ...
Kids are simply incredible.
Each age offers an incredible variety of surprises. As children grow, what they are able to do increases and becomes more and more sophisticated. That's why, as a teac ...
I'm sure most would agree that where language learning is concerned, exposure is vital.
However, what happens very often is that our students are only able to dedicate 2 – 3 hours a week to ...
Any grammar teacher knows that continuous tenses, also known as progressive tenses, describe an action in progress at a certain point in time.
If the point in time in question is in the past, the ...
If you have four walls, you have what you need to play this game that gets your students up and moving and also gets them listening for whatever language aspect you are targeting.
How to Play
...
Maybe everyone doesn’t have a smart phone these days, but more do than don’t.
You’ll find that true in your ESL class, too, if you teach internationals in the U.S. And even if y ...
If you are looking for some fun reviews of count and noncount nouns with your ESL students, try these simple games.
You can count on your students having a great time and learning, too.
11 ...
Exam preparation, though important, can be extremely boring for your students.
Here are some tips you can use when preparing for standardized tests that make activities fun for you and your stude ...
I have always found it fascinating how different language structures are valued in different cultures.
Take something as simple as how to write well. In English, we value a variety of sentence le ...
The days of isolating grammar from speaking from reading in ESL classes are waning.
Language learning does not happen so compartmentalized, and teachers who realize this and teach multiple aspect ...
Teaching pronunciation can be intimidating, especially if you are technically teaching other areas of the English language.
But every ESL teacher should make pronunciation instruction a part of t ...
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