ESL Websites for English Teachers: Top 25 Resources

If you’re looking for some of the best ESL websites for teachers as well as English learners, then you’re certainly in the right place. We’re going to give you the rundown on the best ESL websites for lesson planning, jobs and forums, along with websites for learning English for kids as well as adults.

Top 25 Websites for English Teachers

Let’s get into the best websites for ESL teachers.

Lesson Planning, Worksheets, and Activities

ESL Speaking 

If you’re looking for some activities, games or resources for teaching English speaking, then you’ll certainly want to check out ESL Speaking. There is a wealth of these things, along with lesson plans, worksheets and more.

ITESLJ

Okay, let’s be honest here. ITESLJ does certainly need an overhaul to take it out of the 1990’s but it’s certainly worth a look, especially if you’re looking for ESL worksheets. In terms of the sheer amount of content, this site rules them all and with a bit of searching, you should be able to find what you’re looking for easily enough.

Breaking News English

If you teach teenagers or adults conversational English, this may be the only website you ever need. There are some excellent lesson plans based on what’s in the news lately. There’s a variety of levels and activities that target various skills (reading, listening, writing, vocabulary, etc.).

English Listening Lesson Library

A few years ago, I taught a class focused exclusively on ESL listening and to be honest, I was a bit nervous. That’s when I found out about the ESL teaching awesome of ELLO. They have some excellent audio and video lessons that are detailed, interesting, and engaging. Just about everything you need to teach ESL listening.

ESL Writing

If you teach writing, either formal (academic) or informal, then the ultimate website for that is ESL Writing. There are lesson plans, activities and a whole bunch of other resources to help students write more interestingly and creatively. The results? Excellent, if my students are any indication!

ESL Video 

I love to use different kinds of media in my classes whenever possible and ESL video makes this super easy. Not only are there curated videos but you can find accompanying lesson plans, quizzes, etc to go along with them. This makes it super easy to plan some interesting ESL lessons.

ESL Job Resources

Profs Abroad

This ESL website is the first and only site dedicated exclusively to university ESL teaching jobs around the world. It’s paid, but totally worth the low fee is you’re serious about landing one of these sweet gigs that don’t involve teaching little kids! New jobs are added frequently so consider subscribing again, even if you have in the past.

ESL Cafe

Out of all the ESL teaching job websites, ESL Cafe stands a cut above the rest. Not in terms of usability, although it’s a lot better since a recent site overhaul, but just in terms of sheer numbers of jobs. They are divided up into China, Korea, and international ones and this should certainly be your first stop when starting a job search.

TEFL.com

Along with ESL Cafe, TEFL.com is a go-to resource for job seekers. It’s been around for years and certainly has a good base of schools that advertise there. It’s less focused on China and Korea than ESL Cafe and can be a good place to find jobs off the beaten track like Puerto Rico, Sweden, or Finland.

Teach Away

I generally don’t recommend recruiters to find ESL teaching jobs with only one exception, Teach Away. They are super-s0lid, totally above board and filter out all the crappy jobs that you don’t want anyway. If you’re a certified teacher in your home country, Teach Away should also be able to land a solid job in a public school or international school.

The Jet Program

One of the most interesting options for ESL teaching jobs in Japan is the Jet Program. Basically, it places native English speakers in public schools throughout Japan, with the focus on it being a language and cultural exchange. The pay is quite good too but it’s very competitive to get this job. It’s one of the only ways to get teaching English in Okinawa jobs.

EF English First

English First is one of the biggest employers when it comes to ESL teaching around the world. They are currently hiring for China, Indonesia and Russa and one of the best things about this company is that it’s often possible to advance into management or transfer.

HESS

This is another big company that has branches in various countries around the world. Hess has locations in South Korea, Vietnam, China, Singapore and Taiwan. Currently, Taiwan has the most available jobs.

Country-Specific ESL teaching Resources

My Life! Teaching in a Korean University

Korean university jobs are some of the most coveted ones in the ESL teaching world. Who doesn’t like 5 months of paid vacation and lucrative overtime opportunities, right? Your first stop for all the information you need to know about how to get this job and what to do once you have it is My Life! Teaching in a Korean University, run by a vet of 10 years teaching in Korean unis.

Waygook.org

If you’re teaching in South Korea, or are considering heading there, head over to Waygook. The forums are filled with helpful people ready to answer just about any question you might have. And, if you’re teaching in a public school and need some lesson planning resources? They’re very well-known for that as well.

Go Overseas

If you’re looking for specific information about teaching in a certain country, Go Overseas should be one of your first stops. They have this general information but also a ton of informative articles about certain jobs to consider, salaries, tips for living and more.

Gaijin Pot

If you’re looking for all things teaching ESL in Japan, including jobs in an Eikaiwa, apartments, studying Japanese, forums, etc., then Gaijin Pot should be your first stop. It’s far and away the best site for English teachers in Japan.

Forumosa

If you’re looking for a forum to get all your questions answered about teaching English in Taiwan, Forumosa should be your first stop. It’s a very active site with lots of people willing to answer any and all questions bout teaching ESL in Taiwan.

International TEFL Academy

I don’t love to recommend websites that sell TEFL courses with one exception, International TEFL Academy. They have a ton of great information about various countries to consider teaching in, particularly the Middle East. There isn’t a ton of information about this but this website is one of the best.

Transitions Abroad

A nice source for general information about teaching ESL in a certain county is Transitions Abroad. Plus, they have jobs, detailed country guides, and specific information like how to travel around a certain place.

Best Websites for ESL Students

Using English

If I’m going to recommend a single, general resource to my students for practicing their English skills, it’s Using English. This website is designed for ESL students specifically and has idioms, English grammar, quizzes, vocabulary and all the other things in abundance.

ESL Games World

One of the best sources for all things kids practicing English online is ESL Games World. There are a ton of interactive and engaging ESL games for kids here along with lots of things teachers can use like PowerPoint and printable games.

Business English Pod

If you have students who are serious about business English, then you’ll definitely want to recommend Business English Pod to them. It’s a paid site but there is also a lot of free resources to check out. Teachers can use it too when teaching business English! It’s my go-to source for this kind of class.

Learn English Kids

The British Council certainly does some great work when it comes to websites for English learners. Learn English Kids has a ton of resources that are interactive and fun. I always like to recommend it to parents and kids who want to get some extra practice for English when not in my class!

Learn English

This is the adult version from the British Council of their kids’ site. It has a ton of excellent resources for learning English and you could literally spend a lifetime cruising around this site, learning new things! This is also the source for all things technical ESL teaching, including examples of discourse.

Did you like this list of the Best ESL Websites? 

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book over on Amazon: 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults. The key to better TEFL classes is a wide variety of games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

You can find the book in a variety of different formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide when planning your ESL lessons. Or, take the digital version with you to your favourite coffee shop for some lesson planning on the go. Finally, consider listening to the audio version on your commute for some ESL teaching inspiration.

Whatever the case, get ready for some serious ESL teaching awesome in your life. Check it out here:

Have your Say about ESL Websites

What’s your top pick for an ESL website for teachers or an ESL website for students? Is there one that you’d like to include on this list? Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2021-01-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API