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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ESL Teachers Ask: How Can I Get Adult Students to Do Their Homework?

ESL Teachers Ask: How Can I Get Adult Students to Do Their Homework?

ESL Essentials
“I have a group of adult learners, and while they’re good students generally speaking, they never do the homework I assign. There’s a good reason I give them homework; I believe ...
Views 28,387 All
Tired Of Page Turning? 4 Racing Reading Games You Probably Haven’t Tried Before (But You Should)

Tired Of Page Turning? 4 Racing Reading Games You Probably Haven’t Tried Before (But You Should)

ESL Essentials
Reading class can be so much more than just opening a book and turning pages. The more fun your students have with written English, the more exited they will be to read. And excitement is a great ...
Views 21,355 All
ESL Teachers Ask: Should I Play Games with Adult Learners?

ESL Teachers Ask: Should I Play Games with Adult Learners?

ESL Essentials
“I’ll be teaching adult learners after years of experience teaching only kids. Games were the backbone of my classes with young learners, so my main question is: should I play games wi ...
Views 44,947 All
The Tomb of Megahotep: Mini Adventures For Your Classroom

The Tomb of Megahotep: Mini Adventures For Your Classroom

ESL Essentials
In this article you’re going to read about story-driven English language teaching, and as this term is quite jargon-like, I’ll refer to it as ‘AdventurEnglish’ instead. It ...
Views 9,776 All
Are Your Students Struggling With Irregular Verbs? Try Plastic Eggs (And 5 Other Simple Manipulatives!)

Are Your Students Struggling With Irregular Verbs? Try Plastic Eggs (And 5 Other Simple Manipulatives!)

ESL Essentials
The first step in learning a language, and English is no exception, is getting to know the rules and patterns that it follows. Once a person has that down, it’s time to learn all the expecta ...
Views 27,181 All
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No Extra Work Required: 10 Short & Sweet Activities For Reviewing The Simple Past

No Extra Work Required: 10 Short & Sweet Activities For Reviewing The Simple Past

ESL Essentials
If you are a busy teacher, and aren’t we all, the words quick and easy are like music to the ear. That’s true for just about anything, and class activities are no exception. The follo ...
Views 29,138 All
You’re a Star!: 3 Approaches to Movie Making Camp

You’re a Star!: 3 Approaches to Movie Making Camp

ESL Essentials
Kids these days love their technology. In my school we have to take away their cell phones at the beginning of the day or they will never listen to a word we say. While you can debate the merits ...
Views 14,876 All
5 Great Tips to Master the TOEIC Listening

5 Great Tips to Master the TOEIC Listening

ESL Essentials
TOEIC is a common test that many workplaces require in order to test their current and potential employees’ knowledge of English. Unlike other language based exams it only consists of readi ...
Views 31,088 All
ESL Teachers Ask: Where Can I Find ESL Videos I Can Use in Class?

ESL Teachers Ask: Where Can I Find ESL Videos I Can Use in Class?

ESL Essentials
“Where can I find videos for ESL learners I can use in class? I mean the kind that is specifically developed for students, not original American or British series, TV shows or movies.” ...
Views 52,758 All
Are They Ready for the Worst? 5 Great ESL Tips on Preparing Your Students for Disasters

Are They Ready for the Worst? 5 Great ESL Tips on Preparing Your Students for Disasters

ESL Essentials
Extreme weather events are everywhere. Who hasn't been affected by one in one form or another? Whether it's extremely cold or hot, wet or dry, our weather conditions are changing drastically and ...
Views 10,100 All
No Time To Plan? Try These 5 Low Prep & No Prep Activities for Reviewing Modals

No Time To Plan? Try These 5 Low Prep & No Prep Activities for Reviewing Modals

ESL Essentials
You’re a busy teacher. Your to-do list is running off the page, and you’re running off to class. Sometimes a grab and go activity is just what you need. That’s why these activit ...
Views 39,496 All
35 Print And Go Discussion Starters For ESL Students: The Secret Weapon Every Teacher Needs

35 Print And Go Discussion Starters For ESL Students: The Secret Weapon Every Teacher Needs

ESL Essentials
Quick! You have no time to prepare but need to fill a few minutes in class… You want your students to get some speaking practice in, but you just don’t know where to start… Yo ...
Views 80,719 All
Hitting the Books: 5 Ways to Teach the Day to Day College Experience

Hitting the Books: 5 Ways to Teach the Day to Day College Experience

ESL Essentials
Your ESL college students may be ready to hit the books, but there are other ways that they may need to get prepared. What about eating in the dining halls, taking notes and hanging out in the do ...
Views 9,314 All
Warning: 5 Activities To Teach About Household Dangers

Warning: 5 Activities To Teach About Household Dangers

ESL Essentials
No matter what the age or level of your ESL students, they must be able to talk about household dangers for safety reasons. For some of these activities, you will need to think about the age of y ...
Views 30,654 All
6 Cool Ways to Help Learners in the FCE for Schools Listening

6 Cool Ways to Help Learners in the FCE for Schools Listening

ESL Essentials
Monologues, information lines, phone messages, announcements and radio documentaries are just a few of the things that learners taking FCE for schools may have to listen to. Teachers always have ...
Views 13,417 All
Use It Or Lose It: 9 Awesome ESL Activities To Encourage Student Initiative

Use It Or Lose It: 9 Awesome ESL Activities To Encourage Student Initiative

ESL Essentials
Managing student participation is a big deal in the ESL classroom, and maximizing it is no easy task. Many of our ESL students are even reluctant to participate. They are perfectly content with a ...
Views 18,879 All
How To Design A Rubric That Teachers Can Use And Students Can Understand

How To Design A Rubric That Teachers Can Use And Students Can Understand

ESL Essentials
Most writing classes today come with a standard writing rubric. A “rubric” is a grading standard which breaks down the grade into several categories: “excellent,” “g ...
Views 28,540 All
10 May Themed Language Building Activities

10 May Themed Language Building Activities

ESL Essentials
Flowers are blooming, and summer is just around the corner. It must be May. Here are some language building activities that celebrate this sunny month and also build language skills in your ESL s ...
Views 12,770 All
From Distance To Sharing To Critique To Feedback: How To Create An Effective Learning Community

From Distance To Sharing To Critique To Feedback: How To Create An Effective Learning Community

ESL Essentials
A lot has been written about diverse classrooms and their advantages. From many years of experience as an instructor in diverse classrooms, I can attest to this: there is nothing quite as energiz ...
Views 8,033 All
'Billy, the Dragon' and 2 Other Fantastic Communicative Activities

'Billy, the Dragon' and 2 Other Fantastic Communicative Activities

ESL Essentials
nHave you ever wondered about the extent to which your beliefs about teaching ESL influence your day to day work? The truth is that self-reflection is one of the most powerful tools en route to b ...
Views 15,077 All
ESL Teachers Ask: What Should I Know About My ESL Students?

ESL Teachers Ask: What Should I Know About My ESL Students?

ESL Essentials
“I’ll be teaching my first ESL class soon, and I’m eager to get started on my planning, but several other teachers have told me it’s important to “get to know” ...
Views 31,158 All
5 Super Simple Reading Games for Beginning ESL Students

5 Super Simple Reading Games for Beginning ESL Students

ESL Essentials
If you are teaching beginning ESL students, you might struggle to find reading activities that are fun and level appropriate. These games are perfect for the younger or inexperienced English stud ...
Views 99,957 All
How to Plan a 2-Day ESL Adventure Camp in 9 Simple Steps

How to Plan a 2-Day ESL Adventure Camp in 9 Simple Steps

ESL Essentials
You know your students should practice their English over their vacation or break from class, but you have little time to coordinate vacation activities, and students seem to lack interest. A 2-D ...
Views 12,023 All
Lights, Camera, Action: 10 Activities to Teach about Going to the Movies

Lights, Camera, Action: 10 Activities to Teach about Going to the Movies

ESL Essentials
Going to the movies is fun for everyone. You can use these fun activities as an opportunity to teach your students more English, as well as teach them about typical routines and conversations abo ...
Views 45,298 All
Formality, Yea or Nay? Help Your ESL Students Know When to Be Formal with These Useful Tips

Formality, Yea or Nay? Help Your ESL Students Know When to Be Formal with These Useful Tips

ESL Essentials
There is a lot about social interactions that can make quite a few of us anxious. Moreover, when those interactions are with people from other countries. Now put yourself in your students' shoes. ...
Views 11,938 All

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