ESL teachers can find a wide range of free resources for the classroom on the web. Here is a list of 20 useful resources to explore today:

 

ESL Sites and Blogs

 

Dave's ESL Cafe- Dave's ESL Cafe is open to students and teachers around the world.The site hosts grammar lessons and quizzes for students in addition toforums, lesson plans, and job boards for teachers.

 

ESL Base- This websites offers a wide range of resources for ESL teachers. Someof the most popular resources include free courses, teacher advice,discussion forums, printable worksheets, and listings of worldwide jobopenings.

 

About ESL - The About.comGuide to ESL provides a blog, articles, tutorials, free email courses,lesson plans, discussion forums, and other resources that would beuseful to ESL teachers.

 

Larry Ferlazzo's Website of the Day- A favorite among ESL and EFL teachers, Larry Ferlazzo's blog is awonderful place to find new websites and resources. A new site isshowcased each day along with tips to implement it in the classroom.

 

Randall's ESL Blog - This students/teacher blog offers information about learning, teaching, and cultural understanding.

 

Web Apps

 

VerbaLearn- VerbaLearn is an excellent place for students to practice and learnEnglish vocabulary. This fully-customizable web app uses severaldifferent learning methods, including mp3 lessons, video-basedinstruction, crossword puzzles, and web-based flashcards.

 

italki- italki has combined social networking with language learning toprovide a unique site for students to practice and learn a language.Students can ask questions, participate in group discussions, andutilize italki's many free learning resources.

 

Popling- With Popling, students can avoid marathon study sessions and learnwhile they do other things on the computer. Popling displays smallquestions periodically. Students can ignore the question until it goesaway or click on the flashcard to answer.

 

FlashcardExchange- This web-based flashcard program is a great way for students topractice English vocabulary. Teachers can create their own ESLflashcards or use cards that have been made by other educators andstudents.

 

ProProfs- ProProfs is a unique website that is growing in popularity amongteachers. It can be used to create free online quizzes, surveys, polls,and flashcards. The site also offers a number of other resources forstudents and teachers.

 

Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Activities

 

ESL Flow - ESL Flow is a good place to find pre-made lesson plans that cover a wide range of classroom topics.

 

ESL Galaxy - This website offers more than 2,000 free worksheets that can be used in an ESL classroom. New worksheets are added each day.

 

ESL Mania- ESL Mania is the perfect place for educators to find new ideas forteaching ESL. The site provides tips, games, classroom materials,quizzes, and much more.

 

ESL Worksheet Generator- Teachers can use the ESL Worksheet Generator to create their ownworksheets (complete with answer sheets) for use in the classroom.

 

ESL Fast- This site features 365 stories for intermediate learners to listen toand read. ESL Fast also provides writing practice, interactive robots,and educational resources and activities.

 

Miscellaneous

 

Free ESL Theory Course- This free online course from Dixie State College of Utah exploresmulticultural education and ESL theory. The self-guided course can betaken by anyone with an Internet connection.

 

ESL Podcast- The ESL Podcast was designed for students who want to learnvocabulary for various situations, but it can also be a useful tool forteachers who are looking for lesson plan ideas and resources tosupplement classroom learning.

 

ELT Career Portal- Educators can use the ELT Career Portal to search for ESL teachingjobs in countries all over the world. The Career Portal offers a jobsearch board, a help center, and many other career resources forteachers.

 

ESL Daily - ESL Daily is one of the best resources on the web to find news and information about teaching ESL and EFL students.

 

WorldLingo - WorldLingo is a free online translator that can be used to covert text from English into another language or vice versa.

 

Guest post from Karen Schweitzer, the About.com Guide to Business School. Karen also writes about online colleges for OnlineColleges.net.