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!
Prepositions of place is one of those topics that can really open up a new world to learners.
It is also a topic with lots of details and possibilities for practice and implementation. Below are ...
Pronunciation is an immense issue for every language learner no matter their age or their level.
It is a constant issue that students struggle with, and it is imperative to have focused practice ...
It’s the first day of your ESL class. Your students, some of them in jeans and others in traditional religious clothing, eye each other suspiciously.
They talk only to you and then only in ...
Teaching Adverbs of Frequency is typically a lesson that is taught early on in beginner level class.
There are many ways in which you can approach bringing the topic to light. Through a lot of tr ...
Well, that went fast: that fifteen-week semester just flew by.
It seems as if you were just taking attendance of this class for the first time and learning students’ names; now it’s t ...
If you are lucky enough to have a multi-cultural classroom, one of the biggest benefits available to you is built-in cultural lessons.
If you are in a uni-cultural class, there is still a lot you ...
An essential part of being a great teacher is first understanding that students learn in different ways and then varying our teaching style to meet each of those of learners’ needs.
Any cla ...
As teachers, we know possibly better than anyone else that when things go wrong, they can really go wrong.
Being able to solve problems on your feet is one of the most valuable skills a teacher c ...
The middle of the semester is the calm after the storm. You now know all of your students’ names, and they know the routine: what to do when they come into the class, what activities they wi ...
Every semester beginning, in the frantic pace of adding and dropping students, of attending faculty meetings, administering and marking student placement exams, ordering materials, and all of the ...
Is your class excited about the 2012 Summer Olympic Games that will be hosted by London in just a matter of days?
You can take advantage of that excitement by holding your own Olympics, a Linguis ...
ESL students, if they are studying in the United States, almost all have experience with travel.
Whether for that reason or because travel is a hobby for many, travel units are very common among ...
Though many ESL curriculums make distinctions between areas of language instruction, speaking, reading, writing, listening, grammar, they are really all different facets of one gem.
Therefore, th ...
Every class is suited to different reading material.
As your students progress in their English language skills, the readings you give them should be more authentic, more difficult and have vocab ...
For the ESL student, rhyme has great value. Learning about rhyme will increase the awareness your students have of English phonology, which is essential for pronunciation and phonics.
Speakers of ...
Learning any language in an immersion situation by its very nature offers endless opportunities to pick up new vocabulary.
In fact, sometimes the volumes of new vocabulary can be utterly overwhel ...
What do you want to be when you grow up? We hear this question many times throughout our lives, and sometimes even as adults we do not know the answer. Because or in spite of this, careers often c ...
One of the best things about second language learners is that they eat up grammar and often enjoy learning about the nuances of practical usage. One area that students seem quite baffled about is ...
Putting a blank piece of paper before someone and asking her to write can be intimidating, and the clean white page can actually hinder the words from coming.
No one is more susceptible to this f ...
Learning past tense structures is important for students, and being able to create questions in the past tense is just as important.
Since past tense is often taught very early on, question-makin ...
Teachers are the head of a classroom, and with that responsibility comes a certain amount of authority. Remember that all teachers have bad days and make mistakes.
This list of 10 things never to ...
Mastering the art of assembling your own language skills testing will be a valuable asset throughout your teaching career.
There are lots of resources out there to help you and depending on where ...
Vocabulary instruction is a part of every ESL class. Whether you are teaching reading, speaking or listening, your students will encounter unfamiliar words.
As an ESL teacher, part of your job is ...
Adult English as a second language learners are a unique collection of students.
They do not take English simply to meet an institutional requirement or check something off their transcripts. The ...
Family is a nearly universal topic among ESL classes.
Beginning students study family related vocabulary. Intermediate students may discuss family roles. Advanced students can tackle controversia ...
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