Apr 24 2008
What Do You Think Are The Best Resource Sites For ESL/EFL Teachers?
I’ve appreciated the suggestions people have made about what should be in my upcoming list, The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For Learning English. Please keep them coming…
I’m also compiling a list of The Best Resource Sites For ESL/EFL Teachers. Feel free to offer recommendations in the comments section of this post.
4 responses so far
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Hi Larry,
I find myself coming back to the same sites again and again, either because they have so many resources to gather ideas from, or the resources work really well as is. Here’s a few off the top of my head:
Your site: I’ve only recently discovered it, and have been going through all the information.
ESL HQ: This site has a very active forum, so questions get answered very quickly and I can bounce ideas off of other teachers.
Breaking News English: A good site for up-to-date news topics.
ESL Teacher Talk: A new podcast on teaching techniques and ideas every few weeks. Something to listen to on the train.
Heads Up English: This is my site, with news articles adapted for ESL learners. I’ve posted speaking, listening, and grammar activities, too.
Chris
I would push two sites as great for EFL:
Vocabulary Building Fun at http://www.vocabulary.co.il
SpellingCity.com at http://www.SpellingCity.com
I’m affiliated with both of them. And if they aren’t amongst the best sites after all my work, I’m going for a long walk on a short pier.
There are hundreds. What exactly are we talking about? Maybe we could categorize into different areas:
- a site to share ideas: http://www.onestopenglish.com/
- downloadable material and worksheets: http://bogglesworldesl.com/
- discussion sites for teachers
- news in the teaching world
- technology for teachers: http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/
- miscellaneous resources for teachers: your own blog, Larry, is a great source of inspiration for me.
Thanks again.
Larry,
As Laura mentioned, it all depends on the needs. Our own site is meant to be everything and with a focus on REAL web 2.0 resources for teachers.
That’s the point I want to make here. So many sites try to ’sell the world” by offering up the same trite rehash of old ideas. Just vocab / matching / fill in the blanks stuff. I really tire of this and if I had my way, the first commandment of English teaching would be to rid these from the teaching universe. Same goes with trite hangman and wordsearch stuff.
My second “peeve” about resource sites is that many use the above model and then actually have the gall to charge! yes, the hide in in so many ways, membership fees, library plans etc…..but it is still the same. Making hard working teachers pay for nothing truly special — but many do because they are new to teaching and just don’t know what to do….
I don’t mind paying for really creative stuff. Real work and really innovative materials using recent technology. But all the old stuff parading around as “teaching resources” should be thrown into the dustbin of ELT history.
David
http://eflclassroom.ning.com