Best ESL Websites

Trying to come up with activities and resources for all your lessons can be time-consuming even for experienced teachers. Thankfully we have the internet these days, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel every Monday morning.

Over time you will collect a library of resources and you will get to know which activities suit which grammar points and eventually you’ll even know exactly where to find them in your pile of worksheets. Even then, though, our materials can become old and dated, we can get bored of them, or we realise there is probably something better out there. In these cases the internet can be our new best friend, if you know where to look. If you rely on Google to find resources for you, you’re bound to disappear into a black hole of average lesson activities. Instead, find websites you know you can rely on and which are updated regularly.

Here are some tried-and-tested favourites:

www.TeflTastic.wordpress.com
Alex Case is old hat at TEFL and seems to have been doing it since the beginning of time. He has written for numerous coursebooks and websites and luckily for us, he’s not shy to share his ideas and activities. His website is well-organised and extensive; you can find activities for most TEFL lessons.

www.onestopenglish.com
Onestopenglish.com is a website you should encourage your school to join. If they are not a member, you can join as an individual or there are free resources too. Onestopenglish has a wide range of activities and lesson plans for your TEFL lessons and they include access to some great lessons based on current events, and also Business English and English for exams. 

Esldiscussions.com
Talking and discussions are the basis for a lot of our TEFL lessons and sometimes we just need a few discussion questions to get things rolling. Instead of wracking your brain for ten minutes before your class, have a look at esldiscussions.com. Here you’ll find discussion questions on topics ranging from adoption to pollution to zoos; anything really.

Coursebook websites:

If you are using a coursebook in your classes, have a look online for its dedicated website. Publishers these days put up worksheets and materials related to units in the coursebooks for teachers to use as supplementary materials. 
So, if you find you are struggling to fill your 45-minute class, relax, and look online. Don’t spend all night digging through a Google search; use trusted websites like these to easily find what you are looking for. Just bear in mind copyright and crediting your sources and you’re good to go.