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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As I Was Saying: How and Why to Teach Discourse Markers

As I Was Saying: How and Why to Teach Discourse Markers

ESL Essentials
Discourse markers are those parts of the language that connect one piece of discourse, or extended speech/writing to another, such as an introductory phrase or one that raises a new point or count ...
Views 127,424 All
8 Simple Tips to Encourage Student Participation During Group Discussions

8 Simple Tips to Encourage Student Participation During Group Discussions

ESL Essentials
Getting ESL students to participate during group discussions can be one of the most difficult things an English teacher has to do. For some students, nothing will give them the push they need to ...
Views 206,376 All
It’s a Small World: Language Activities to Bring Together Nations

It’s a Small World: Language Activities to Bring Together Nations

ESL Essentials
If you are teaching English as a second language, the odds are that your students have done some international travelling. Many students, though they have studied English in their early education ...
Views 22,658 All
Inventive Language Ideas for the ESL Classroom

Inventive Language Ideas for the ESL Classroom

ESL Essentials
Imagination is one of the most remarkable qualities that the human race possesses. Over time, humans have seen needs in all areas of life and have taken the steps necessary to meet those needs th ...
Views 11,246 All
5 Steps to Integrate Tech into the Classroom

5 Steps to Integrate Tech into the Classroom

ESL Essentials
In many K-12 schools, technology has become an integral part of the classroom. The days of treating technology as a separate subject and relegating it to weekly sessions in a computer lab are ove ...
Views 21,626 All
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Yes, We Do This in the Real World: Inspiring Students to Write through Audience Awareness

Yes, We Do This in the Real World: Inspiring Students to Write through Audience Awareness

ESL Essentials
Often students are reluctant to write because they don’t perceive the value of writing: they think their papers are only read by the teacher for a grade. In general, there is in most modern ...
Views 10,567 All
Survival Time: Working Together to Overcome

Survival Time: Working Together to Overcome

ESL Essentials
For years, 'Survivor' has been one of the most popular programs on television.  It redefined, and some might say created, reality television giving us a perfect blend of action and drama. Yo ...
Views 8,560 All
Newest Strategies For ESL Instruction

Newest Strategies For ESL Instruction

ESL Essentials
For some time it was unknown to what extent technology would be beneficial to ESL teaching methods, but recent studies have painted an overall good picture of the newest techniques being used in E ...
Views 32,432 All
Communicative Ideas for Puzzles in the ESL Classroom

Communicative Ideas for Puzzles in the ESL Classroom

ESL Essentials
Does it seem strange that an activity that is as visually based as a puzzle can be used for communicative activities in the ESL classroom? With some preparation, you can use puzzles for a series ...
Views 35,019 All
Teacher, I’m Bored; Teacher I’m Lost - Teaching Multi-Level Classes

Teacher, I’m Bored; Teacher I’m Lost - Teaching Multi-Level Classes

ESL Essentials
One of the biggest challenges of the ESL educator is teaching the multi-level class. And all ESL classes are multi-level, even those not officially designated as such: for example, one student ma ...
Views 84,635 All
An Issue for Society: Getting More Specificity Out of Writing

An Issue for Society: Getting More Specificity Out of Writing

ESL Essentials
Sometimes when reading the essays of beginning composition students, I’ll read an entire page and then realize I didn’t really process any of it because it’s filled with vague, a ...
Views 11,673 All
Grabbing their Interest and Holding It: Innovative Uses of Technology

Grabbing their Interest and Holding It: Innovative Uses of Technology

ESL Essentials
I admit it: I’ve taught in classrooms where the Smart board sat to one side while I wrote everything out on the whiteboard - not because I don’t know how to use a smart board but becau ...
Views 20,801 All
What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part Four: Types of Essays

What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part Four: Types of Essays

ESL Essentials
Have you ever longed for a tool that you could use in your ESL class that would add a spark of interest to any area of your curriculum? Something you could use for speaking, listening, reading an ...
Views 41,270 All
Cash and Carry: Money Fun for the ESL Classroom

Cash and Carry: Money Fun for the ESL Classroom

ESL Essentials
Some people have got to have it. Some people really need it. Some people love it, and some people hate it. It is lost and gained and wasted and earned every single day. It is money, and it is a p ...
Views 24,545 All
What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part Three: The Parts of an Essay

What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part Three: The Parts of an Essay

ESL Essentials
This is the third part of the series. Part One: What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part One: Idea Generating Part Two: What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part Two: The Writing Process H ...
Views 48,429 All
Take a Musical Trip Around the World With These ESL Activities

Take a Musical Trip Around the World With These ESL Activities

ESL Essentials
Music is one of the magical things that can bring together nations. People all over the world find pleasure and enjoyment in listening to music. Because music is something to which you and your s ...
Views 39,660 All
ESL Activities to Spice Up Your Lesson Plans

ESL Activities to Spice Up Your Lesson Plans

ESL Essentials
Nothing speaks to a region’s food like the spices used in its cuisine. From cinnamon to cumin, the world’s nations have a lot to share when it comes to the spices. Though you probably ...
Views 28,618 All
Beyond Naptime: Incorporate Movies in the Classroom and Keep them Riveted

Beyond Naptime: Incorporate Movies in the Classroom and Keep them Riveted

ESL Essentials
Once or twice a semester, teachers will sometimes get the idea of “Let’s watch a movie!” Often the movie happens to be a personal favorite of the teacher. (I’m a big fan o ...
Views 22,143 All
✰ Star Light, Star Bright, Seeing Stars in Class Tonight

✰ Star Light, Star Bright, Seeing Stars in Class Tonight

ESL Essentials
How many people on how many nights have gazed up into the endless night sky and been taken in by the stars? We humans are fascinated by the gaseous wonders whose light may take years to travel fr ...
Views 15,130 All
What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part Two: The Writing Process

What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part Two: The Writing Process

ESL Essentials
This is the second part of the series. View Part One here: What You Can Do With Writing Prompts Part One: Idea Generating. How to Proceed 1 The Writing Process No matter what writing c ...
Views 22,071 All
Twittering in Class: Feather Friendly Activities for the ESL Classroom

Twittering in Class: Feather Friendly Activities for the ESL Classroom

ESL Essentials
The word ‘twitter’ has not always been associated with status updates and social media. Although it was not that long ago, it feels like an eon has passed since twittering had to do w ...
Views 9,423 All
Facts, Opinions, and Theories: How to Talk about Them to Students

Facts, Opinions, and Theories: How to Talk about Them to Students

ESL Essentials
With students - undergraduate and graduate level alike - there is a basic confusion of what is a fact, what is an opinion, when they should be used. A young student approached me recently, for ex ...
Views 50,889 All
Should We be Talking about This? Addressing the Topic of Racial Identity in the U.S.

Should We be Talking about This? Addressing the Topic of Racial Identity in the U.S.

ESL Essentials
It doesn’t take long for the issue of race to come up in the American classroom, especially the ESL classroom. Delve very far into U.S. history, and you come up against segregation, slaver ...
Views 13,463 All
Super Effective Means of Incorporating Reading in a Composition Classroom

Super Effective Means of Incorporating Reading in a Composition Classroom

ESL Essentials
Sometimes nearing the half-way mark of a composition course (and an ESL composition course goes by very quickly), I’ll slap myself on the forehead and say, “Oh, no! We’ve been so ...
Views 16,136 All
From “Shooting an Elephant” to the Occupy Movement: Academic Discussions on the Use of Force

From “Shooting an Elephant” to the Occupy Movement: Academic Discussions on the Use of Force

ESL Essentials
This year saw uprisings around the world, from my own local “Occupy Sacramento” movement to the overthrow of the president of Egypt. Indeed, “The Anonymous Protester” was ...
Views 12,947 All

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