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 donts 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!
Let’s be honest. Group work can be scary.
It involves relinquishing control of a uniform classroom as a teacher and suddenly having multiple micro-classrooms that you feel you need to run a ...
Test: a set of questions, problems, or the like, used as a means of evaluating the abilities, aptitudes, skills, or performance of an individual or group; examination. – from Dictionary.com ...
Having an arsenal of effective and engaging listening exercises is a must for all ESL teachers.
Once you organize listening exercises, it is beneficial to be able to reshape exercises for all lev ...
When you tell your ESL students that there’s a test coming up, they won’t be surprised. Tell them that the “grade” is not important, and they just might be a little bewilde ...
Teaching English online is a method of connecting many types of students from all over the world, and challenges in an online classroom present differently than in a traditional classroom format. ...
Stress and intonation come so naturally to native speakers, sometimes we forget the importance of devising its structured practice with natural examples.
In order to gain fluency though, students ...
“I am from Rome. Rome is very nice. People eat spaghetti in Rome. I like it a lot.” Any teacher who has ever encountered writing like this knows that students like to write in short si ...
Pronunciation practice should be a natural part of every ESL lesson.
Speaking correctly is such a huge part of learning English, varied and interesting pronunciation practice should include commu ...
I have a confession to make. While a passably good writer, I am a mediocre at best proofreader.
I’m always a little shocked whenever I see something of mine in print (“Really? How cou ...
“Mom, what’s a semi-colon for?” my daughter asked me recently. She was working on a school essay.
“Well, can you show me where you’d like to use it?” I asked. ...
Any English speaker who has ever tried to perfect the trilled ‘r’ in Spanish knows that learning individual sounds can be a frustrating experience.
What’s even more frustrating? ...
In order to gain regular and varied pronunciation practice, students should be exposed to a range of accents, speech patterns, and ideas to polish their own accents in and out of the classroom.
D ...
Possessives can be confusing for students, and unfortunately it is a topic that can be a bit dry.
Since students really need to master all forms of possessives, it is important to practice them o ...
Listening has always been a fun subject for me and my ESL students. Today’s age of information offers so many creative and interesting sources for listening material.
But what should your s ...
Listening comprehension can be, for ESL students, one of the most difficult aspects of language fluency. Words written on a page are one thing, but a set of sounds thrown out into the air can be f ...
Lesson planning should be an outlet for both inventive and pragmatic teaching solutions. Using the five point lesson plan takes the guess work out of planning, and leads you straight to that magic ...
It’s probably happened to most teachers. You look around your class one day, in the middle of a lecture or reading aloud, and you realize no one is paying attention.
Joe and buddies are in ...
Do your students know the following expression? ‘It’s easier to attract bees with honey than with vinegar.’
Write this proverb on the board and talk about what they think it mea ...
Lesson planning can sometimes be a source of stress and insecurity among teachers of all stages, but it doesn't have to be a struggle.
The following tips will give you an opportunity to look at p ...
I remember my reaction the last time I was assigned an intermediate ESL grammar class: “Oh, no! Not again.”
Not another semester of faithfully following the course syllabus and distin ...
Reading classes are often very…quiet.
Of course, people are reading, and we generally don’t hold conversations and read at the same time. And we teachers usually like quiet classroom ...
ESL education is unique in that many ESL students are adults. They might be pursuing English for business reasons or because they want to further their educations.
They might even be studying lan ...
The New Year has arrived and with it comes feeling of a fresh start, motivation for the future and forward drive.
This is the case for teachers anyway. Many students dread the thought of going ba ...
There are many different websites to help you bring adventurous and unique listening exercises into your classroom.
You can find just about anything you might need for every level language learne ...
While words may be our main focus as ESL teachers, for the student who truly wishes to communicate with ease, we have to go deeper. Body language and nonverbal clues are extremely important in com ...
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