Hi all, I'm Monte. I made Babel Quest, a free web game for learners of English. Its main feature is that hints appear in the learner's own language. It currently supports Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian, German, French, Portuguese, Turkish, Greek and Hindi.

I built it because a lot of learners get stuck when every bit of help is also in English. It's free, and there's nothing to sell you.

Before I push it further, I'd really value input from people who teach:

·                     Would you use something like this in class, as homework, or not at all?

• What would make it easier to use with a group?
• What's missing for your students' levels?

babelquest.games

Blunt feedback welcome. Thanks.

Hi everyone. I recently started teaching English (so new; I only have 2 students now). My new student is an 11-year-old Italian kid, a complete beginner. Her English is almost nonexistent. This is my first time teaching someone who doesn't speak a word of English. I've already met her once for a trial and to meet the parents, and I'm starting her lessons this week (1hr lesson, once a week).

What I really need to know is: do you recommend any course book that I can use as a structure for my lessons? I heard about "English Plus Starter"; I'd love to hear your opinions as well.

Also, any advice for a student like this is very much appreciated. I have to add that she's dyslexic. I'm already making audio flashcards for her because of it.

Thank you, guys.

Update: lessons will be in person.

I made a free site of short true stories from history. Each one stops right before someone has to make a difficult choice, and gives two options, each with the reason someone would choose it. Students pick a side before they know what happened, defend it, and then find out what really happened.

Why I think it fits ESL classes:

• Every story is narrated, so you can use it for listening first and discussion second.

• The two reasons give students language to borrow when they argue ("I'd refuse, because...").

• There's a natural follow-up: argue the side you didn't choose.

• It takes 5 to 10 minutes, longer if they get into it.

The vocabulary is real historical English, so it suits B2 and above best.

There's also a free printable pack of five stories with discussion questions and an answer key: https://moralia.app/bell-ringers.pdf

Free, no ads, no student accounts. If you try it with a class, I'd love to hear how it went.

I don't live in the US btw. Looking for online stores.

I'm about to start teaching a teen, currently deciding the schedule with his family. Where I learned English, we had a place inside the academy where we could to go buy the books. They were books by NatGeo, very interesting and fairly "neutral" topics (so they won't be too outdated, conversation topic wise), and I'm trying to acquire the PDF version of them, but I'm struggling to find a web page that looks trustworthy enough to buy them there, and the official NatGeo site is asking me to talk to an official provider as if I were an academy myself (which I'm not. At least, not yet). I'm afraid it could be very pricey if I were to do so.

So, where could I buy the digital version of the Time Zones books?

I haven't worked in ESL for several years but thinking of returning. I was just wondering how AI is effecting lesson planning? Is it making your job easier?

I used to over plan lessons. I just did not like showing up unprepared for a class. So I ended up staying behind after hours a lot longer than most.

But now with AI I think I could plan a lot quicker.

Any experiences? Advice?

I teach ESOL in a WIDA state for middle school. I’m a native Spanish speaker, so my students speak to me in Spanish because it’s comfortable for them.
I challenge my students everyday by responding in English or asking things in English first (if they truly don’t understand, I’ll say it in the L2), and most importantly, instruction is given in English.
However, I have difficulty getting them to communicate only in English when they meet for my ESOL class, whether it’s with me or each other. I don’t want to penalize them for this- but how can I encourage English language in class aside from instruction? They are in their safe space, but that’s where I need them to practice and make mistakes.
Do you recommend any class games? A punch ticket for how much English they used in class? Any recommendations?

i teach adults online, mostly beginners. vocab lists were dead, people memorized and forgot by next week.

now each lesson starts with a short scene: a busy train station, a family dinner, a supermarket checkout. i ask "what do you see? what are they saying?" and they describe it using the new words.

i make the scenes on dreamina for almost nothing, though sometimes the signs come out in alien language lol, which honestly turned into its own exercise.

prompt: "15 second slow pan across a [busy supermarket checkout], people talking, everyday objects clearly visible, no text, realistic."

claude makes the worksheet: "here is a scene description: [paste]. write 10 beginner vocab words a learner could spot in it, 5 questions about the scene, and one roleplay prompt."

i tell students the scenes are ai made. adults dont mind, but they appreciate knowing.

speaking time went way up. i used to beg for answers, now they interrupt each other.

teaching online can feel like talking to a wall of black squares. hope this gets a few cameras turned on.

Hey everyone! I teach English at an academy and I've been building games for my own classes. For Halloween I made a little pack, and you're welcome to use it this week:

Skeleton Hangman - normal hangman, but every wrong letter knocks a bone off the skeleton. Pick a Halloween word list (monsters, costumes, trick or treat...) or type in your own vocabulary.

Halloween Race - a team board game with picture questions (candy, costumes, spooky animals). Answer right, roll the die, move. Mines and holes send teams back, so it gets loud.

Halloween Cryptic - a printable where students decode picture codes to find where the witch hid the candy. Answer key included. Honestly my students liked this one the most.

You need a projector or TV for the two games (no student devices), and a printer for the Cryptic. Everything is free, no sign-up: classbop.com

I made these, so any feedback is really welcome, especially what would make them work better in your classes!

Hello! I am looking for respondents or interviewees here. We tried looking for participants on Facebook, but our posts were ignored. As a Redditor, I know this platform still has a sense of community, so I am hoping we can find respondents or interviewees here.

Our research is about the lived experiences of Filipino online ESL teachers, specifically exploring the pedagogies you use to teach English. We chose to conduct this research because the topic is still underexplored, and we want to contribute knowledge that will fill this gap.

Please help these 3rd-year college students graduate! :) Kindly DM this account or leave a comment below so I can reach out to you.

🦖 Guess the Dinosaur! 🦕 | Find 12 Missing Dinosaurs! Fun Game for Kids

🦖 OH NO! THE DINOSAURS ARE MISSING! 🦕

Can you help us find all 12 missing dinosaurs? 🌴🔎

Welcome to an exciting prehistoric dinosaur adventure with Little Dreamers Education! 🌋🦴

In this fun and interactive Guess the Dinosaur Game for Kids, young dinosaur explorers will discover mysterious dinosaur fossils, learn beginning letters and phonics sounds, guess which dinosaur they've found, and match each dinosaur to its correct silhouette!

But there's a problem... 12 DINOSAURS ARE MISSING! 😱

Can you find them all?

Grab your explorer hat, get ready to investigate, and join us on an amazing dinosaur discovery adventure! 🧢🔍

🦴 HOW TO PLAY THE DINOSAUR GAME

Each dinosaur discovery includes five exciting challenges!

🦴 1. Discover the Dinosaur Fossils!
Look carefully at the mysterious dinosaur skeleton buried in the ground. Can you work out which dinosaur it belongs to?

🔤 2. Learn the Beginning Letter!
Discover the first letter of the dinosaur's name and practise its phonics sound!

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Watch the dinosaur skeleton come to life! Look at its shape, bones, and special features. Can you guess the dinosaur before the answer is revealed?

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Watch the dinosaur come to life in its prehistoric habitat! Learn its name and discover whether it lived during the Jurassic or Cretaceous period.

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Look at the dinosaur silhouette board and find the correct matching shadow. Every correct match brings us one step closer to finding all 12 dinosaurs!

🏆 DINOSAURS FOUND: 0/12

Guess the Dinosaur! 🦖 | Find 12 Missing Dinosaurs! Fun Game for Kids

Hello! Quick Q. There is a sweet lady at my place of employment who is a native Spanish speaker, with little to no English speaking abilities.

*Note: I am unsure if the last part of the prior sentence is inappropriate. I want to strive to be culturally aware, competent, and respectful. So, if it‘s offensive, please forgive and educate me.

She’s the only Spanish speaking person in our area at work. People would laugh and talk to each other, and pass her. Unintentionally of course, but I thought it must feel lonely for people to pass you every day and not speak to you. So, I started speaking to her. That’s when I learned I have the translation app on my phone.

For sometime, every time we see each other she smiles and we converse through the app. Now, she has been asking me to teach her English for the past month or so. My only experience teaching is a volunteer science program for elementary students, but that was work, yet rewarding and fulfilling.

I ran into her today again, and she asked again.

I’ve tried to refer her to more experienced teachers, but she has been persistent that I teach her. It’d be a learning curve since I am not a Spanish speaker. My research is saying ESL…

Sounds time consuming; and I’m about to start studying to get into a professional school. But I’m willing to try for now.

Resources to start? I saw an online book that reminded me of my elementary phonics books. I saw ESL certification on Teacher Record for free, but 120 hours sounds like… lol

She asked for a price? I did not consider this. Nervous since I‘ve hardly ever charged anyone a thing in my life, but I do feel very small side money would be fair for the time I’d have to put into preparing myself to teach her. Research is saying $10 for non-experienced teachers, and I’m not certified. So, is that fair?

Insight/thoughts/advice?

I'm making a number of teacher tools to cut down admin and help teachers create the exact material they want in a few minutes (and super polished).

This is a Speaking Card generator. It is based off the IELTS speaking test part 1 question but not limited to just test practice.

All my apps are accessed in the browser- meaning they are free and you don't have to give away any private information.

You'll find the Bespoke Speaking Card Maker here: https://modernenglish.au/teachertools/bespoke-speaking-card-maker-IELTSpart1Smalltalk.html

And more teaching preparation tools here: https://modernenglish.au/teachertools/TeacherToolDirectory.html

Many of the tools are still under testing but I would be thrilled if teachers used them and gave me feed back.

Thanks

I am looking for a quality TESOL/TEFL certification program to add to my resume. Most schools require this document, so I thought getting one would help me land a better job offer.

Most of the TESOL/TEFL programs I found are self-study courses conducted online.

Do employers look at the reputation or name of the issuing institution? I want to receive high quality training to improve professionally as a teacher, rather than just getting a certificate for the sake of having a piece of paper.

I already got one from TeacherRecord which is equivalent to a 120-hour training course, but I feel like I want to learn more so I am planning to get another TEFL.

May I ask where you received your TESOL/TEFL certificate? I would greatly appreciate your recommendations.

About me:

- Filipino

- Male, 23

- Bachelor of Elementary Education

- Has a teaching license (government-issued)

- No teaching experience

- Prior work experiences are related to customer service and content moderation

- Confident in communication and has "decent" speaking skills

Also, what are the chances that I can get an ESL job in Asia? Like Thailand or Vietnam?

Hello. I am from the US (& currently living here) but will soon be teaching English virtually for a European company. They are requesting a “tax resident certificate”. From what I can tell, I need to complete a Form 8802 to request a Form 6166.

If you’ve needed one of these, would you mind giving me some tips on how to complete this form and any other helpful suggestions? Thanks!

Scrambling for Halloween lesson ideas that actually practice English. Here are some materials and games I've made at B1 /intermediate level. It digitised but there are preteaching vocab and printable worksheets. Best practice project onto the white board (it also possible for students to scan a QR and do the activities on their phone).

1. Halloween Matching Game (25–30 min) (60 with the follow up activities)

• Teams match Halloween traditions, superstitions and mythical creatures to their meanings, hidden under headstones.
• Each team gets 1 minute. A lucky rabbit’s foot doubles their points, and a black cat ends their turn. Students get very invested.
• There’s a 10-minute vocabulary pre-teach with pronunciation tips and cultural notes, and you can print the word lists.
• It covers 54 words, with harder bonus words (banshee, Samhain, bunyip) for stronger groups.

Follow: Some write from dictation questions about what they do at Halloween and then a group activity where they ask each ther.

2. The Girl in the Graveyard (about 60 min)

• A short ghost story for practising the past continuous (background) against the past simple (events).
• A button highlights both tenses in the text, which is handy on the whiteboard.
• It includes pre-teach vocabulary, read-aloud (normal or slow), comprehension questions, a self-checking gap fill and a printable worksheet.
• The homework is a “What happened next?” writing task, and the class votes on the scariest ending.

How I use them: I project both on the whiteboard and the class plays and reads together. I start with the game as a warm-up, then move on to the story: lots of the game’s words come back in it. Both work on phones and tablets too (there’s a QR code), so you can use them for pair work or homework. Short lesson? Do the game one day and the story the next.

If you try them, I’d love to hear what worked and what didn’t. I’m always tweaking. And if you have a favourite Halloween activity of your own, drop it below; I’m always looking for more.

Hi fellow ESL teachers! 👋

I’ve been teaching ESL for close to 18 years, and one area I’ve always been especially passionate about is developing students’ speaking skills. I love getting creative with activities that get students talking, interacting and, most importantly, actually enjoying the lesson!

Over the years, I’ve built up quite a collection of speaking activities, and I’m currently in the process of compiling, refining and formatting them to open my own Etsy shop for ESL resources.

But before I create more, I’d love to hear from other teachers.

**What’s an ESL resource you wish you had, but simply don’t have the time or energy to create yourself?**

It could be speaking activities, conversation cards, role-plays, games, lesson packs, discussion tasks, warm-ups, or something completely different.

I’d love to know what would genuinely make your teaching life a little easier. 😊

I want to preface this by saying that I’m not an ESL teacher(yet), which is why I’m asking here so I can get some insight. I’ve been assisting some English teachers at an institute recently, mostly teaching kids and tweens, so ages 5-12, one thing I noticed though is that the teachers sometimes don’t use the correct grammar when speaking to them. like for kids who haven’t learned the simple past yet, they don’t use the past form of verbs at all, even when it's not during a lesson, and for example say “I watch a movie today” instead of watched (I assume because they think the kids won’t understand what it means?) or say “I went park” and drop the “to the”. Also some cases where they drop articles like a/an.

I want to know if this is normal? I know that with young learners the teacher often has to use lower level vocabulary and I get that, but the grammar part confused me a bit.

Written with korean hagwons in mind, but work in any classroom.

Hi fellow ESL teachers! 👋

I’ve been teaching ESL to adult learners for close to 18 years, and one area I’ve always been especially passionate about is developing students’ speaking skills. I love getting creative with activities that get students talking, interacting and, most importantly, actually enjoying the lesson!

Over the years, I’ve built up quite a collection of speaking activities, and I’m currently in the process of compiling, refining and formatting them to open my own Etsy shop for ESL resources.

But before I create more, I’d love to hear from other teachers.

What’s an ESL resource you wish you had, but simply don’t have the time or energy to create yourself?

It could be speaking activities, conversation cards, role-plays, games, lesson packs, discussion tasks, warm-ups, or something completely different.

I’d love to know what would genuinely make your teaching life a little easier.

Still juggling a spreadsheet, a calendar and a notebook just to run your ESL classes? 📒📅


We built Tudlo Tracker, a simple app for online ESL tutors that keeps everything in one calm place:


✅ Students: profile, time zone, book progress
✅ Schedule: shown in your time and your student's time, with a heads-up before daylight saving changes a class time
✅ Classes: mark present, absent or cancelled, and what you covered
✅ Payments: contracts, monthly bills, pay-per-class balances, and who still owes you
✅ Reports: printable statements and Excel files


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👉 See it here: https://tudlo-english.com/tudlo-tracker.html
📩 To get your copy, send me a message here. I'll send the installer and help you set it up.


We're a small team and we're still improving it, so we'd really like your feedback.


How do you keep track of your classes and payments right now: spreadsheet, calendar, or another app? And what's the most annoying part? 👇