7 Useful ESL Websites Every Professional ESL Teacher Should Have Bookmarked

#01: ISLCOLLECTIVE.COM

This is a one-stop shop for teachers looking for lessons that are print & teach
ISLCollective.com, a site financed by donation only, offers a huge user-fed database of ready-to-rock lesson plans with colorful pictures and illustrations. Free registration and a fast search interface make it a great site to frequent when you need supplemental material or a last-minute lesson.

useful esl websites 1 - islcollective

#02: BREAKINGNEWSENGLISH.COM

Perfect for bringing fresh, current events into your classroom activities
Breaking News English features a new lesson every two days on – you guessed it – a breaking news story. A story scales a variety of difficulties (word counts) with a staggering 26-page PDF version or a two-page mini lesson version. You can also find listening (various speeds and accents), vocabulary and spelling quizzes.

useful esl websites 2 - breakingnewsenglish

#03: ITESLJ.ORG

Discussion questions out the ying-yang for conversation classes
This site has other lessons but the true jackpot is the bonanza of general discussion questions for conversation classes here. Each topic has well over 15 questions to burn up any one-hour conversation class without a problem. Copy, paste, print, ask, discuss, correct, class finished.

useful esl websites 3 - itesljorg

#04: YOURENGLISHSOURCE.COM

We have put together a great team to help teachers and students with all things ESL.
We have a great email course on how to really effectively use YouTube videos to center a great lesson plan around. We have 4 super unique ways to use the video as a speaking activity students will love. Learning these 4 techniques is worth it alone, but we also throw in 3 full YouTube lesson plans! The lessons focus on speaking but also touch on listening, discussion and writing practice too. Just one of many great courses we are offering for free this year.

useful esl websites 4 - YourEnglishSource.com

#05: BUSYTEACHER.ORG

Another community-contributing powerhouse
Another mind-blowing compilation of print & teach lesson plans. Look in their “More” menu for some unique things like a word search maker, flash card builder and other ESL website reviews. They advertise their own premium content a lot but still there is so much for free, Who cares?

useful esl websites 5 - BusyTeacher

#06: USINGENGLISH.COM

Perfect for bringing fresh current events into your classroom activities
Beggars can’t be choosers. Well, here they can! Every idiom under the sun is cataloged for search with a simple regular English definition for students. Teachers can compile handouts like idioms used in Australia or idioms about animals. Plus you can use the site’s keyword search to access what you like.

usefule esl websites 6 - usingenglish

#07: ESLVIDEO.COM

Listening practice made fun and interesting for students of all levels
This site plays a YouTube video and provides a multiple choice quiz right beside the video. Submit answers and the site returns a score instantly. Register and create your own quizzes with online video content. Your students can email you their results right from the website also.

usefule esl websites 7 - eslvideo

PET Reading: Practice reading exercises for the PET

PET exam Reading section is formatted in 5 parts; in each one you’ll read a passage and answer related questions. Questions could be multiple-choice, true/false, or short-answer with space for one or two words in English. The Writing and Reading sections last 90 minutes altogether.

Exam English
Practice PET reading test

Flo-Joe
Exercises for the 5 types of questions in the PET

ESL Bits
19 groups of PET Reading questions

English Online
Questions for each of the 5 parts of the PET Reading section: Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5

PET Reading
Exercises provided by Abu Dhabi Women’s College: Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5

Using English
Various reading exercises at PET level

On-line Lessons

In spite of the lockout, we continue to have lessons with our kids – ON-LINE 🙂 What seemed to be quite challenging at the beginning, tuned out to be lots of fun! Here are some photos of our on-line lessons. Engaging, educational and fun 😍👍📚🍎😁👀😜😎🏡⏰

CORONAVIRUS 🩺

Some useful information about the CORONAVIRUS. Stay healthy 🙂

Lesson ideas:

  • Listening activity – https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2001/200124-coronavirus-q.htm
  • Video – https://en.islcollective.com/video-lessons/what-is-coronavirus
  • Reading activity – https://esl-voices.com/teaching-exercises-from-news-blog/overflow-answer-keys-from-the-blogs/answer-key-the-coronavirus/
  • Worksheet – https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-worksheets/vocabulary/health-and-going-doctor/coronavirus/122061

TED: What Makes a Good Life?

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? A psychiatrist Robert Waldinger shares three important lessons learned from the 75-year-old study on how to build a fulfilling, long life. .

***📌This can be a great listening activity for B2 level students. You can have a follow-up discussion on happiness, life values, etc. I would highly recommend it 📌