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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Why Read Aloud? Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension and Language Skills

Why Read Aloud? Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension and Language Skills

ESL Essentials
Is reading a loud currently part of your classroom routine? If not, it should be. Reading aloud involves the oral reading of a text by a teacher or a student. In the classroom, it takes many forms ...
Views 42,639 All
No Prep Grammar: 7 Past Simple Exercises

No Prep Grammar: 7 Past Simple Exercises

ESL Essentials
You’ve looked at the big list of irregular verbs and done all the worksheets, but your students still say,"I go yesterday." Here are ten, fun ways to practise the past simple and help your ...
Views 22,228
Pronunciation of Long and Short Vowel Sounds and Minimal Pairs

Pronunciation of Long and Short Vowel Sounds and Minimal Pairs

ESL Essentials
All vowels have at least two main sounds that they make depending on surrounding letters and sounds. These are usually referred to as the long and short sound of a vowel. This article shows some c ...
Views 49,922 BegElem
Ways to Bring the Royal Wedding into the English Language Classroom

Ways to Bring the Royal Wedding into the English Language Classroom

ESL Essentials
Recently Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said "I will" becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Thanks to technology, they said their vows in front of millions of people around the world. The Royal ...
Views 10,972 All
How to Use Quotes and Sayings in the English Language Classroom

How to Use Quotes and Sayings in the English Language Classroom

ESL Essentials
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."   "It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light."   "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never t ...
Views 19,468 All
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25 Reasons Why We Love English Language Teachers

25 Reasons Why We Love English Language Teachers

ESL Essentials
Every year in the United States, Teacher Appreciation Week is held during the second week of May. It's a time to stop and recognize teacher for all of the hard work they do. In honor of Teacher Ap ...
Views 19,712 All
No Prep Grammar: The Difference Between Present Simple and Present Continuous

No Prep Grammar: The Difference Between Present Simple and Present Continuous

ESL Essentials
English has two main present tenses: the present simple and the present continuous. The present simple expresses something that happens all the time or is always true. For example, I speak Japanes ...
Views 25,288 BegElemPre-IntInt
How to Use E-Learning and Educational Innovation Effectively

How to Use E-Learning and Educational Innovation Effectively

Mark Delarika
ESL Essentials
 Teachers are not only expected to teach. They must be lifelong learners, who always have a timely response to the constant changes in the educational system. The requirements of students are ...
Views 9,813 All
Building an ESL Classroom Library

Building an ESL Classroom Library

ESL Essentials
A key component of ESL instruction is getting students to read and comprehend texts in English. In the classroom, students encounter texts in the form of articles and stories and textbook and hand ...
Views 13,912 All
How to Use Online Lessons in the Classroom

How to Use Online Lessons in the Classroom

ESL Essentials
A simple YouTube search will reveal thousands, if not millions, of free online video lessons for language users. These lessons are designed to help students learn English on their own, but they al ...
Views 12,518
3 Ways to Reinforce Speaking Skills in the Classroom

3 Ways to Reinforce Speaking Skills in the Classroom

Mohamed Naseb
ESL Essentials
For English language learners, the ability to speak English confidently is a must. It's the desired output of all students have learned and the information they have acquired in the classro ...
Views 29,865 All
8 Ways to Remember Vocab: Classroom Activities and Tips to Help Students Retain the Words They Learn

8 Ways to Remember Vocab: Classroom Activities and Tips to Help Students Retain the Words They Learn

ESL Essentials
The cornerstone of learning a language is knowing more words. The more vocabulary items your students know, the better their English will be, but committing words to memory is not always easy. Th ...
Views 60,906
Saint Patrick's Day Idioms and Phrases

Saint Patrick's Day Idioms and Phrases

ESL Essentials
In the spirit of Saint Patrick’s Day, here are some idioms to work on with your students for the month of March! Green with envy. To be jealous wishing that you could have something that s ...
Views 36,037 All
Teaching the -ed Endings for Past Simple (From Grammar and Spelling to Pronunciation)

Teaching the -ed Endings for Past Simple (From Grammar and Spelling to Pronunciation)

ESL Essentials
There are so many layers to teaching English that it can be overwhelming for both the student and the teacher. English has many “if this, then that” rules and so many special circ ...
Views 53,150 BegElemPre-IntInt
Using Cloze Activities in the ESL and ELL Classroom

Using Cloze Activities in the ESL and ELL Classroom

ESL Essentials
Whether you're testing reading comprehension, helping students learn new vocabulary words, or improving listening skills, cloze activities may help. These fill-in-the-blank passages work for stude ...
Views 48,782 BegElemPre-Int
5 Ways to Use Picture Books to Teach Grammar and Vocabulary

5 Ways to Use Picture Books to Teach Grammar and Vocabulary

ESL Essentials
When it comes to teaching grammar and vocabulary, it's important to have models for students to follow. Unfortunately, finding models can be difficult. Sentences taken from standard worksheet ofte ...
Views 34,402 All
Diagramming Sentences with English Language Learners

Diagramming Sentences with English Language Learners

ESL Essentials
To many, diagramming sentences is an outdated practice that offers few benefits for students. To others, however, diagramming sentences is a way to help improve students' understanding of the Engl ...
Views 26,253 All
Ways To Say “I Love You” (With Valentine’s Day Activities)

Ways To Say “I Love You” (With Valentine’s Day Activities)

ESL Essentials
 With Valentine’s day coming, why not get your students thinking about how they can express themselves to the ones they love. Keep reading to get some fun ideas on how to incorporate ...
Views 18,081 BegElemPre-IntInt
From Americans to Zimbabweans: How to Form Nationalities

From Americans to Zimbabweans: How to Form Nationalities

ESL Essentials
One question your students are likely to answer many times throughout their lives is "Where are you from?" Another might be, "What is your nationality?" Knowing how to answer this question in Engl ...
Views 10,666 All
How To Be A Better Teacher In 2018

How To Be A Better Teacher In 2018

ESL Essentials
Goodbye 2017. It’s time to start a new year fresh! If you’ve been stuck in a teaching slump because of the busyness of the holidays, read on to learn how to become a better teacher in ...
Views 22,031 All
Looking into a Crystal Ball: Strategies for Teaching Future Tense

Looking into a Crystal Ball: Strategies for Teaching Future Tense

ESL Essentials
Whether your students celebrate the new year on January 1 or during the Lunar New Year, the new year is a great time to talk to students about the future tense. When using the future tense, studen ...
Views 15,887 ElemInt
Teaching the Difference Between Dependent and Independent Clauses

Teaching the Difference Between Dependent and Independent Clauses

ESL Essentials
A clause is a group of related words that contains a subject and a verb, but it does not necessarily contain a complete thought. When it comes to teaching students about clauses, most teachers beg ...
Views 54,265 Int
New Year's Resolutions For ELLs

New Year's Resolutions For ELLs

ESL Essentials
We’re in our last month of 2017 and about to enter 2018. With this transition into the new year, a lot of people begin to think about setting resolutions. Most resolutions are goals to impro ...
Views 22,942 All
17 Best Articles and Resources for Language Teachers and Learners in 2017

17 Best Articles and Resources for Language Teachers and Learners in 2017

ESL Essentials
This year, we at Busy Teacher have had the opportunity to bring you a wealth of articles, worksheets, and other resources to help make make your experience as a language teacher or learner much mo ...
Views 19,733
4 Christmas Activities to Use with Your ELL Students

4 Christmas Activities to Use with Your ELL Students

ESL Essentials
Christmas is a perfect topic to use when teaching your students English in December. Even if they don’t celebrate Christmas, most of your students will find it fascinating to learn about a n ...
Views 29,094

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