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!
Create awesome-looking custom word searches in seconds!
Make A Word Scramble:
Instantly create custom word/sentence scrambles for your class!
Make A Double Puzzle:
Generate double puzzles your students will love - hours of fun!
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!
Since the 1980’s when video games first entered youth culture, things have not been the same.
The simple equation of joystick plus imagination forever changed entertainment and how young pe ...
On a Tuesday last October, a young Kuwaiti student in my morning writing class emailed me and apologized for missing class on Monday. She claimed she had been there, but the classroom was empty wh ...
There is a tendency to think of creative, fiction writing as wholly different from nonfiction, academic writing.
And indeed they are different forms, that utilize different grammar - creative wri ...
One of the problems of student writing is its lack of variety in sentence structure.
Students seem to learn one basic pattern of subject, verb, and object and stick to that without fail. Reasons ...
There is a general belief in our culture that assumptions are bad, that we should assume nothing, and many people, including students, pride themselves on assuming nothing.
However, in reality, m ...
Sometime during the semester, having read too many sentences in ESL student compositions like “My brother is very success,” it occurs to the ESL instructor that banging her head agains ...
At some point mid-semester, in my intermediate and advanced classes in ESL writing, it occurs to me that students really need to be taught the logical fallacy and how to avoid it.
This is after l ...
Every ESL teacher wants his or her students to be strong writers in the English language.
Because of that, we give them many opportunities to write in class and for homework. We stress parts of a ...
Each year with the lead up to Valentine’s Day comes the influx of hearts – on our candy, in our cards, in decorations and nearly every other place you might look.
Of course, February ...
Sometimes during the course of a semester, I spend a couple of days in my ESL class holding a “class election,” in which students nominate candidates, campaign for, and finally vote fo ...
What would it take to get you or your students to jump from an airplane? To put your life in the hands of a bungee cord? To risk concussion for the sake of a game?
Some sports and popular past ti ...
Whether your students are preparing to take standardized tests or you are walking them through how to write an essay, the Persuasive or Argument Essay is a standard strategy to cover.
When the pu ...
In every institution of learning, there is the explicit, stated curriculum: it may even be part of the institution’s mission statement of student handbook: for example, “to teach the E ...
Giving your students realistic materials for listening practice is a challenge for everyone involved.
As teachers, sometimes we do not know where to start when it comes to listening materials, an ...
As language teachers, we know that it is important for our students to practice their listening skills.
In fact, it is often the most important aspect of language study for international students ...
Animals have a near universal appeal to young children. Whether it is dinosaurs or horses, there is something with our furry friends that connects directly with our hearts.
For that reason, if yo ...
You spill coffee on your shirt getting ready in the morning. You miss your bus and then realize you have forgotten your lesson plans when you finally get to school. Not only that, it is class pict ...
Often in staff meetings for composition classes I have taught, instructors will decry a possible composition topic as “too narrative”: that is, by its nature of asking students to tell ...
One of the harder things to teach in vocabulary instruction is connotation, or the underlying meaning and associations of a word.
This was driven home for me as a teacher one day last semester wh ...
With the onset of the new year comes a reminder that winter is just beginning.
Whether there is snow on the ground or just a chill in the air, it is time to pack on some layers and snuggle up wit ...
Making mistakes is no foreign idea to anyone who examines his or her life. We all make mistakes.
Sometimes they come as a result of a well thought out plan that just does not work, and other time ...
Once on the first or second day of class, a young man—nice, polite, first-generation American---in trying to get my attention, called out, “Yo, Dude!” and then was confused when ...
We’ve all experienced it in the classroom: you turn your back to write on the board. When you turn back, you find the majority of the class has whipped out their laptops, smart phones, and i ...
Often, when I tell other teachers what I do, teach ESL students at the college level, they exclaim, “Oh, that must be great! You don’t have any classroom management issues. Because you ...
One of the problems of a reading class is the tendency for students to be passive.
Face it, sitting by yourself and reading silently can be really boring, no matter how interesting the piece. And ...
20,538All
Got a great worksheet on
ESL Essentials?
Tell us about it and become a BusyTeacher contributor!
21,256
