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!
Some games have the most curious origin.
Legend has it that, back in the school days of the BBC radio quiz show creator Ian Messiter, he was caught daydreaming in class by a particularly stern te ...
ESL classes are often at their most talkative when faced with a moral dilemma.
Whether the class is monolingual or multi-national, exercises which pose ethical quandaries tend to give accessible ...
The Chinese have a saying:
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
Without control of our emotions, it is said, we are apt to behave in ways which ha ...
If you teach ESL in Britain or the United States, the chances are you’ve already encountered a big increase in the number of students arriving from China, and especially from the increasingl ...
“I have a group of students who do quite well in class, except when it comes to asking questions. This is when they make most of their mistakes. How can I help them ask questions more accura ...
One of the first questions a composition teacher gets when assigning a new essay, one that causes the teeth to grind, is “How long does it have to be?”
I usually answer “Until y ...
Outlining is an often a step in writing that students feel they can skip.
After all, they have their notes and their research; why not just jump without further delay into the essay introduction ...
Numbers!
They are one of the first things children learn, and we use them every day. Why then are they so difficult for ESL students to master? Perhaps using numbers correctly and fluently is a s ...
As a teacher, I am always looking for creative and memorable ways to teach language concepts to my students.
Every year I try to include at least one large scale language lesson. It might be the ...
Not every student performs best with a traditional paper and pencil test.
How can you get those low-performing students to show what they really know? Here are five alternative assessments that y ...
We all have opinions about things, and some of our opinions and feelings are stronger than others.
That’s why teaching about intensity is good for your ESL students. When your students can ...
Television gets a bad rap in a lot of educational settings these days.
It’s a brain drain, intellectual rot, a waste of time, and the source of all corruption in young people today, some sa ...
“This has been a very rough year for me. I started the school year full of excitement and anticipation, but now I’m ending it totally burned out. Lesson plans, report cards, staff meet ...
Conditional sentences can be confusing for ESL students.
After all, these sentences are talking about imaginary situations and imaginary outcomes. How does a person get tangible lessons into the ...
“I can tell when I’ve taught a particularly good lesson or if a class was a complete disaster, in general terms. But is there a more specific way to evaluate the success of a les ...
Modals, modals everywhere, and how do I keep them straight?
This might just be what your ESL students are asking themselves. With so many modals with small nuances of meaning, things can get conf ...
I am sometimes, while reading student essays, moving along fairly smoothly, and then I’ll be hit with something like “He was all like…And then I was all like…” (to ...
Conditionals can be confusing for ESL students.
Since they talk about real and unreal pasts, presents, and futures, sentences get complicated quickly. If you are ready to introduce your students ...
“Most of my students come to class because they ‘have to’. They ‘have to’ study English because their parents make them or because they need it for work. They see lea ...
In school, most of us were instructed to avoid the passive voice whenever possible.
We were told that active sentences are more descriptive, more interesting, better choices for our writing. And ...
When you walk into your ESL classroom, do you see a bunch of cherubic little faces staring back at you?
Teaching ESL is a calling, and teaching ESL to young children is a calling even fewer answe ...
Do you like to include games in your ESL classes?
No doubt your students love playing them. The following ten games are the top voted print and go games by busy teachers like yourself. They cover ...
“I teach everything I’m supposed to teach in class, but I’d like to make my classes more dynamic. Do you have any tips or advice?” *
This question brings up a great point. ...
Do you ever feel like you are running dry on creative ideas?
That happens to all of us from time to time, and it certainly is a shame when it does. After all, great lessons thrive on creative ide ...
“I’m a non-native ESL teacher, and I’m afraid I’m at a disadvantage when compared to native English speakers. Do you think native English speakers are better teachers than ...
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