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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The Prediction Was Predictably Predicted: Teaching Word Formation and Parts of Speech

The Prediction Was Predictably Predicted: Teaching Word Formation and Parts of Speech

•ESL Essentials
For your vocabulary lesson, you need to teach students the word “prediction.” You have 9 other words to teach along with prediction, and thus you have introduced 10 new words to the s ...
Views 113,781 All
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 3 Tips for Practicing Adjective Order

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 3 Tips for Practicing Adjective Order

•ESL Essentials
Establishing a wealth of descriptive vocabulary leads learners to the puzzle of how to order them. Take the guesswork out of adjective order by practicing these three tips to establish what comes ...
Views 66,820 All
How Long is the Flight: 3 Timely Activities for Teaching Adverbs of Time

How Long is the Flight: 3 Timely Activities for Teaching Adverbs of Time

•ESL Essentials
Adverbs of time are useful and come up many times during a learner's course of study. Utilize these three activities to keep students in line with time.   The topic of time includes adverb ...
Views 69,051 All
Nouns, Adjectives, Oh My: 3 Creative Ways to Reinforce Parts of Speech

Nouns, Adjectives, Oh My: 3 Creative Ways to Reinforce Parts of Speech

•ESL Essentials
Creating opportunities to describe and discuss various parts of speech will reinforce just how important each part of speech really is; after all our language wouldn't be the same if just one of t ...
Views 32,929 All
Frankly My Dear: Opening Up Viewpoints for Advanced Learners

Frankly My Dear: Opening Up Viewpoints for Advanced Learners

•ESL Essentials
Advanced language learners need to be able to provide opinions and describe the reasoning for their viewpoints. It is a wonderful way to develop vocabulary, utilize complex grammatical structures ...
Views 18,920 All
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6 Steps to Design Your Very Own ESL Listening Quiz

6 Steps to Design Your Very Own ESL Listening Quiz

•ESL Essentials
There comes a time in any ESL class when the teacher realizes students are bored with the listening material offered with the coursebook. So, the ESL teacher decides to give the class some extra ...
Views 66,099 All
I've Had Enough: 3 Very Active Exercises for Describing Degrees

I've Had Enough: 3 Very Active Exercises for Describing Degrees

•ESL Essentials
Adverbs of degree can be difficult to approach because they have so many different uses, and the words themselves can be somewhat challenging to define. You can teach some of them early on, and t ...
Views 51,361 All
Move Your Classroom to the Cloud: Pros and Cons of Teaching ESL Online

Move Your Classroom to the Cloud: Pros and Cons of Teaching ESL Online

•ESL Essentials
Is teaching ESL online right for you? There is a lot to consider when making the leap from traditional classroom settings into an online forum. Assess the pros and cons below and make the best, m ...
Views 13,867 All
English Only? Embracing L1 while Teaching L2

English Only? Embracing L1 while Teaching L2

•ESL Essentials
I am currently teaching an ESL of almost all native Spanish speakers. While this may seem nothing remarkable for an ESL instructor in California, it is a somewhat strange experience for me as I l ...
Views 20,668 All
7 Tips for Teaching Clear Pronunciation

7 Tips for Teaching Clear Pronunciation

•ESL Essentials
In the test-based school environment that surrounds our classrooms, the skills of reading, writing, and grammar are increasingly important to our EFL students and to us as teachers. Whether prepa ...
Views 87,720 All
Are You New? This is My Last Day: Addressing the Flow of Students In and Out of Class

Are You New? This is My Last Day: Addressing the Flow of Students In and Out of Class

•ESL Essentials
Adult-level, noncredit ESL classes offered at adult school and community college campuses are often designated “open-entry/open-exit,” which means that students can come and go as they ...
Views 10,599 All
Reaching the Highest Level: 3 Spectacular Speaking Activities for Advanced Learners

Reaching the Highest Level: 3 Spectacular Speaking Activities for Advanced Learners

•ESL Essentials
Teaching advanced learners is incredibly fun and rewarding, but sometimes it can feel like they have mastered everything you could possibly teach them. When it comes to communicating, there is al ...
Views 101,781 All
Plug In: 3 Ways to Increase Communication in Your Online Classroom

Plug In: 3 Ways to Increase Communication in Your Online Classroom

•ESL Essentials
Teaching ESL online can be both rewarding and challenging. Get used to a different way of teaching, and utilize these three strategies to produce increased communication in your online classroom. ...
Views 7,852 All
The Real World: Authentic Listening Opportunities for the ESL learner

The Real World: Authentic Listening Opportunities for the ESL learner

•ESL Essentials
In order to develop students' adept listening skills, it is essential to provide varied, interesting practice with an emphasis on authentic speech. Watch how excitedly your learners will respond ...
Views 15,669 All
Right On, Man: 3 Strategies for Interpreting Slang for Advanced Learners

Right On, Man: 3 Strategies for Interpreting Slang for Advanced Learners

•ESL Essentials
Advanced learners are always anxious to study and master idiomatic and street-wise language. Using slang is one primary way for students to test the waters of fluency and begin communicating in e ...
Views 21,991 All
Culturally Correct: 5 Tips for Managing Classrooms Abroad

Culturally Correct: 5 Tips for Managing Classrooms Abroad

•ESL Essentials
ESL teachers who live overseas enjoy an exciting world of change and differences. To be successful, it is essential to manage your classrooms with the local culture at the forefront of your decis ...
Views 8,148 All
Talk, Talk: 3 Determined Discussion Strategies for Intermediate Students

Talk, Talk: 3 Determined Discussion Strategies for Intermediate Students

•ESL Essentials
Intermediate students have a lot of skills to learn and develop. One key ingredient to their success is receiving constructive discussion opportunities. Employ these 3 determined discussion strat ...
Views 13,151 All
7 Excellent Exercises to Improve ESL Intonation and Stress

7 Excellent Exercises to Improve ESL Intonation and Stress

•ESL Essentials
You ask a student, “What did you do last weekend?” And the reply is, “I went to the park?” No, your student is not hesitating about what he/she did. They are making an int ...
Views 389,117 All
Start Them Up: Achieving Natural Language at the Intermediate Level

Start Them Up: Achieving Natural Language at the Intermediate Level

•ESL Essentials
Once students evolve into intermediate level speakers, they are ready for a lot more natural language practice. It might seem daunting to veer students away from the safety of scripted or very pr ...
Views 16,016 IntAdvExam
Keeping Teens in Check: Effective Classroom Management for Young Adults

Keeping Teens in Check: Effective Classroom Management for Young Adults

•ESL Essentials
Young adults have a lot going on in their bodies and minds, so it is essential to structure classroom management around the needs and development of your teens. Keep them in check by catering to ...
Views 49,640 All
Giving Learners Everything They Need: 9 Items that Make a Perfect ESL Self Study Center

Giving Learners Everything They Need: 9 Items that Make a Perfect ESL Self Study Center

•ESL Essentials
Do you want to give your students the freedom and independence to take charge of their own language learning but don’t know where to start? Have you thought about setting up a self study ce ...
Views 15,715 All
But I’m Just a Student: How to Help Students Improve Self-Esteem

But I’m Just a Student: How to Help Students Improve Self-Esteem

•ESL Essentials
The current generation of college students has been accused of suffering from not, as in generations prior, a lack of self-esteem but rather of too much, evidenced in their entitled attitudes, dem ...
Views 11,560 All
The Golden Rules: 10 Tips for Expert ESL Classroom Management

The Golden Rules: 10 Tips for Expert ESL Classroom Management

•ESL Essentials
Heightened classroom management skills are essential for anyone wishing to be successful as a teacher and a language instructor. Apply these 10 tips for expert ESL classroom management and you wi ...
Views 79,062 All
Beyond the Coursebook Audio: 5 Ways to Hone Your Students' Listening Skills

Beyond the Coursebook Audio: 5 Ways to Hone Your Students' Listening Skills

•ESL Essentials
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the coursebook or the audio component that comes with it. In fact, I use it quite often. But it’s so predictable. Students are familiar with ...
Views 16,524 All
10 Creative Ways to Check for Student Comprehension

10 Creative Ways to Check for Student Comprehension

•ESL Essentials
Quizzes. Tests. Projects. We’re all familiar with the formal ways to assess student learning at the end of a unit, but what about at the end of a class? When is it a good time to move on? W ...
Views 94,895 All

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