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

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ESL Articles
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Treat Me Right: 13 Clever Ways to Reward Your Students

Treat Me Right: 13 Clever Ways to Reward Your Students

ESL Essentials
After a tough week of grappling with the conditional forms, or the intricacies of the past perfect progressive, it’s always nice to reward your students for their hard work and diligence. I ...
Views 25,143 All
7 Steps to Creating Awesome Error Correction Sheets

7 Steps to Creating Awesome Error Correction Sheets

ESL Essentials
There are a host of ways to correct your students’ mistakes, and you probably have your preferred methods. We’re always aiming not to disrupt fluency too much, nor to single out indiv ...
Views 21,070 All
Where Are You From? 10 Fantastic Activities for Talking about the World

Where Are You From? 10 Fantastic Activities for Talking about the World

ESL Essentials
One of the most exciting parts of teaching a class of internationals is that you get to touch the entire world without leaving your classroom. It’s easy to learn about places all over the wo ...
Views 83,174 All
A Tall, Dark Stranger: Using Palm Reading in Your ESL Classroom

A Tall, Dark Stranger: Using Palm Reading in Your ESL Classroom

ESL Essentials
Palm reading is a terrific ESL exercise. It’s familiar to almost all of our students and offers practice of the grammar of future forms, conditionals and modals, all at once. The prediction ...
Views 60,095 All
The Enlightened Classroom: Why Every Teacher Should Meditate

The Enlightened Classroom: Why Every Teacher Should Meditate

ESL Essentials
There’s a lot of buzz about meditation at the moment. I’m sure you’ve noticed the torrent of articles, documentaries, medical studies and guide books which have flooded the Inter ...
Views 34,406 All
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Rinse and Repeat: 4 Ways to Establish Great ESL Classroom Routines

Rinse and Repeat: 4 Ways to Establish Great ESL Classroom Routines

ESL Essentials
I’ve always found that my students learn better when they know what’s coming up next. The establishing of classroom routines helps speed things along and provides a familiar structure ...
Views 44,723 All
Staying on Track: How to Monitor Your Students’ Practice Time

Staying on Track: How to Monitor Your Students’ Practice Time

ESL Essentials
Once you’ve set your students going on an exercise, what do you normally do next? Some teachers prefer to take this time to grade assignments, catch up on paperwork, read the news or check ...
Views 8,539 All
There Is, There Are, There Was, There Were…6 Fabulous Activities for Getting Your Verb Right

There Is, There Are, There Was, There Were…6 Fabulous Activities for Getting Your Verb Right

ESL Essentials
Whether you are introducing verb tenses to your students for the first time or you are reviewing them at the end of your English program, these activities will give your students a chance to use m ...
Views 45,844 All
Taking It to the Max: 5 Methods of Exploiting ESL Material

Taking It to the Max: 5 Methods of Exploiting ESL Material

ESL Essentials
Most exercises that we do in the ESL classroom seem to have a fixed longevity; they begin, they help create practice opportunities, and they end. I’ve been trying, in recent years, to maxim ...
Views 15,537 All
Putting the Pieces Together: a Puzzle Solving Lesson Plan on Thinking and Speaking Clearly

Putting the Pieces Together: a Puzzle Solving Lesson Plan on Thinking and Speaking Clearly

ESL Essentials
I remember being a freshman in college, sitting around the dorms throwing mental puzzles at my floormates. Some would call them riddles. They weren’t scientific or academic. They were just ...
Views 16,816 All
ADDicted to Distraction: How to Deal with Attention Issues in ESL

ADDicted to Distraction: How to Deal with Attention Issues in ESL

ESL Essentials
If you teach in the 21 century, you will inevitably encounter the challenges which stem from distractibility and Attention Deficit Disorder. As a society, we’re finding ways to cope with th ...
Views 15,246 All
Observations Regarding English Language Teaching in Russia

Observations Regarding English Language Teaching in Russia

ESL Essentials
For those Native English teachers who live and work abroad, I feel that it is important to illustrate the cultural context of the classroom, as well as focus on instilling excellence in our teachi ...
Views 9,503 All
A Good First Day: 13 Steps to Ensuring a Great Start with a New ESL Class

A Good First Day: 13 Steps to Ensuring a Great Start with a New ESL Class

ESL Essentials
First days can be scary. There are many unknowns and we must be ready to be adaptable and roll with the punches. Some simple steps can make this nerve-wracking day much more manageable, and less ...
Views 9,336 All
Furry Friends Welcome: 6 Language Areas You Can Teach with Animals

Furry Friends Welcome: 6 Language Areas You Can Teach with Animals

ESL Essentials
Animals are great, and kids love to learn about them no matter what language they are speaking. And while spending some time teaching about animals in an ESL class is good, there is only so much ...
Views 13,461 All
9 Must-Have Valentine’s Day Activities for the ESL Classroom

9 Must-Have Valentine’s Day Activities for the ESL Classroom

ESL Essentials
Valentine’s Day comes around and “love is in the air”, as the famous song says. But the holiday has gone far beyond the celebration of romantic love and is now a considered a ...
Views 439,066 All
For Their Own Good: Discussing Censorship in the ESL Classroom

For Their Own Good: Discussing Censorship in the ESL Classroom

ESL Essentials
The issues of censorship and media freedom are complex and instructive. Studying them in an ESL context can be very rewarding and, if handled with sensitivity and balance, such discussions can en ...
Views 32,134 All
Be Bold & Talk: 5 Simple Strategies to Practice Talking to Strangers

Be Bold & Talk: 5 Simple Strategies to Practice Talking to Strangers

ESL Essentials
Talking to strangers is hard for almost anyone. It doesn’t matter if English is your first language or not. Walking up to a person you have never met before is intimidating. But it’s ...
Views 21,322 All
Let’s Get Started…15 Strategies for Getting Your Classes Started

Let’s Get Started…15 Strategies for Getting Your Classes Started

ESL Essentials
Getting class started is sometimes the toughest part of the day. Here are some ideas you can use with your adult (and kid) classes to get things started today. Try Movement Activities 1 ...
Views 45,104 All
You’re Like Family to Me! 6 Simple Activities about Families

You’re Like Family to Me! 6 Simple Activities about Families

ESL Essentials
Family! We have one. Some are big and loud; others are small and reserved. And family is one of the most basic vocabulary units most ESL students study. But what are some easy, go to activities t ...
Views 52,502 All
In, At, or On? 6 Simple Activities for Practicing Prepositions of Time

In, At, or On? 6 Simple Activities for Practicing Prepositions of Time

ESL Essentials
Prepositions, prepositions everywhere! Simply teaching your students all of the prepositions in English is overwhelming for everyone involved and not usually a good idea. I suppose that is why we ...
Views 57,126 All
Press Here To Send: 13 Ways To Use Email in Your ESL classroom

Press Here To Send: 13 Ways To Use Email in Your ESL classroom

ESL Essentials
I don’t know how old you are, but when I was in school we didn’t use email. Perhaps the technology was too new for teachers and students to put to practical use. Perhaps it was for ot ...
Views 11,593 All
Which Present Is It? 10 Simple Activities for Practicing the Simple Present and the Present Continuous

Which Present Is It? 10 Simple Activities for Practicing the Simple Present and the Present Continuous

ESL Essentials
If you are teaching beginning level students, try these ten activities that require the use of the simple present and the present continuous. Try These 6 Simple Activities About Families 1 ...
Views 49,474 All
8 Steps to Creating Awesome ESL Reading Tasks

8 Steps to Creating Awesome ESL Reading Tasks

ESL Essentials
Have you ever had this experience when preparing for a class? You open the textbook and glance through the material, only to find that the reading exercise is just not up to scratch. Maybe it&rsq ...
Views 12,231 All
Mixing It Up The Right Way: 3 Strategies You Should Know If You Teach A Mixed Level Class

Mixing It Up The Right Way: 3 Strategies You Should Know If You Teach A Mixed Level Class

ESL Essentials
Ah, the dreaded mixed level class. What can an ESL teacher do with a room full of students who are just starting their language studies sitting next to others who could probably teach the class f ...
Views 16,286 All
Don’t Just Sit There. Read! 8 Active-ities You Can Do In Reading Class

Don’t Just Sit There. Read! 8 Active-ities You Can Do In Reading Class

ESL Essentials
Teaching reading is fun and creative, but is can be a challenge, particularly if you are a teacher who likes to get students up and moving. Movement is important, especially for kinesthetic learn ...
Views 15,960 All

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