30 Resources Teaching The English Language [Updated]

by TeachThought Staff

Teaching a new language to non-native speakers may be one of the most challenging educational jobs out there, so ELL teachers can use all of the help they can get!

Thankfully, many excellent resources for ELL and ESL exist online, from full-service websites to reference tools and communities, all designed to make the task of educating ELL students just a little bit easier and more effective. We’ve scoured the Internet to share 30 of the best of these resources, and we hope you’ll find lots of valuable content and tools through these incredibly useful links for ELL educators.

Best Teaching Resources & Platforms for English Teachers

British Council TeachingEnglish: A trusted global hub offering free lesson plans, professional development webinars, and teacher training resources.
Onestopenglish: Features a vast library of lesson plans, multimedia content, and skills-based materials for all levels of English learners.
BusyTeacher: Contains over 17,000 free, printable ESL worksheets and lesson plans organized by topic and skill area.
ISLCollective: A teacher-sharing platform with downloadable resources, video lessons, and interactive student activities.
ESL Brains: Offers ready-made, video-based lesson plans for adults with topics like technology, work culture, and global issues.
CommonLit: Provides a complete, standards-aligned ELA curriculum for grades 6–12 with built-in assessment and data tools.
ESL Pals: Offers structured, downloadable lesson plans for general, business, and kids’ English courses.

Articles & Expert Advice

British Council Voices Magazine: Features thought leadership and research on topics like AI in education and evolving ESL practices.
BridgeUniverse: A TEFL/TESOL blog with global teaching insights, certification guidance, and classroom strategy tips.

Professional Organizations

Cambridge English: Delivers teaching materials, qualification prep resources, and practice assessments aligned with official exams.
TOEFL: The official TOEFL site includes test guides, teaching resources, and classroom strategies for academic English instruction.

Learning Tools for Students

BBC Learning English: Offers free grammar, vocabulary, and listening lessons with real-world audio content.
Elllo (English Listening Lesson Library Online): Contains 2,500+ audio and video lessons with transcripts and comprehension quizzes.
News in Levels: Publishes daily news articles rewritten for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners.
Duolingo: A gamified language-learning app for building vocabulary and grammar fluency.
Quizlet: Enables teachers and students to create study sets, flashcards, and review games for any topic.
Breaking News English: Provides multi-level ESL lessons based on current global events with comprehension and discussion activities.

Teaching Tools & Emerging Trends

Kahoot!: Turns review sessions into engaging quiz games and interactive learning experiences.
AI-Powered Tools (e.g., ChatGPT): Use AI to generate differentiated lesson plans, grammar exercises, and student feedback instantly.
Grammarly: Supports student writing with automated grammar and clarity suggestions.
Microsoft Teams: Enables virtual teaching with whiteboards, breakout rooms, and assignment sharing.
Padlet: A digital bulletin board for collaborative brainstorming, sharing ideas, and curating class projects.
Wordwall: Lets teachers design interactive vocabulary games, matching activities, and quizzes.
Google Drive: Organize, share, and co-edit classroom materials using Docs, Slides, and Sheets.

Communities & Teaching Job Platforms

Dave’s ESL Cafe: A long-running online hub featuring forums, teaching tips, and global ESL job listings.
iTalki & Preply: Marketplaces where teachers can build private tutoring profiles and attract students worldwide.
Cambly: A platform offering flexible online teaching opportunities focused on conversational English.