Hey guys! With the start of our new fall semester, we have been on the look out for more ESL websites that could help us out with our new lessons. Even though we work at a hagwon that is owned by a major corporation with strict guide lines for us to follow with complete lesson plans, there are still times that we find the lessons to be a little sparse so we are always needing more fillers.
Get Epic
Get Epic is a great collection of children's books for both parents and teachers. Non-teachers are required to pay $4.99 per month to use this site, but teachers can gain access for free. Filled with stories for young readers, this is a great tool for us educators who also don't have many books for their students. You can easily use this in the classroom by simply finding a book, and projecting it onto your screen for the whole class to see.
ESL Games World
Mostly focused on younger students, this website offers hundreds of games for PowerPoint as well as printable games and worksheets. Having a wide variety of options for various language ability levels, this site is a go-to when last minute preparation or a change of schedule occurs. For the occasional ESL teacher required to go beyond English and teach other subjects, there is also a math section for games and activities. Much of this site if geared toward younger students, but older students often enjoy the simplicity of a "refresher game."
English Club
For students as well as teachers, English Club is a great resource for games that reinforce spelling, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. The added benefit of this site is its compatibility with mobile devices. As more and more people become reliant on mobile device use, this site allows games and resources to be used from phone, iPad, or tablet as well as your computer. Homework becomes a mobile possibility with this site, as does speaking practice from anywhere. Still a great resource aside from the mobile possibilities, this site is certainly worth a look.
Waygook
Waygook has its pros and cons like no other suggestion on this page. The word "waygook" is an English spelling of the Korean word for foreigner, so there is a tongue-in-cheek tone from the beginning from its users. Requiring a membership to use Waygook's resources, this site has a Massively huge library of resources from English teachers in Korea from years and years of sharing between all of us "waygooks" lost and nervous about creating our own lessons and materials. While not the best design, taking the time to learn its method of navigation is absolutely worth the effort. Since so many contributors from so many backgrounds have contributed so diligently, you can imagine that the quality of resources varies wildly...BUT we highly suggest this site for beginning teachers and anyone looking for inspiration. We often browse for ideas that other teachers have had success with, and we commonly take the PowerPoint files we find on topics that interest us and re-engineer and retool it to our liking. BE WARNED, some ESL teachers, like people from all walks of life, are not happy and Waygook is often a forum for discussing experiences both good and bad. Stick to the "Lessons" sections to avoid negative people. Separated by levels from Elementary to University and private tutoring adults, this site can be a lifesaver with its games and lesson ideas and templates. Some seriously dedicated and talented ESL teachers have offered their resources for others to enjoy, so we'd like to share this secret resource with you!
Lantern Fish ESL
This website is made by ESL teachers who live and teach in Asia and North America. They heard your desperate cries for free teaching materials and have answered! Stumped on what to do for class? They have entire lesson plans for you to use. You can find word searches, worksheets, and there is even a job board with several job postings for ESL positions. However, my favorite is their ESL games section. They have many different board games that build different skills such as reading, listening, speaking, and so on.
Bonus: Free Rice
For extra quiz practice in a variety of subject, Free Rice is a website that donates 10 grains of rice to the World Food Program for every answer its users get correct. You can play for free and make a huge difference in the lives of victims of hunger around the world. In the classroom, this site can be used to not only reinforce vocabulary, but also create a fun competition. By creating free accounts, teams can compete against each other and donate even more food while having fun.
Did we miss any? Do you have a favorite go to website for free ESL games and lessons? We love hearing from you in the comment section below!
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I’d like to share my own website here as a resource center for ESL teachers. photocopiables.com offers sound and tested supplementary materials bundled together listed according to their grammar subjects. There are also online resources for your students as well.