TEFL Site Awards

A popular ELT site that was first published in 2001 and disappeared from the Internet without a trace has returned to cyberspace! The English Droid, written by Simon Barne, is full of satirical articles related to teaching English as a foreign language. Fans of the site claimed that the English Droid was the ultimate stress reliever, providing laughter and reflection during break time or while engaging in teacher training. (more…)

Known by many as the best TESL site without any of the bells and whistles, The Internet TESL Journal offers a regularly updated digest of new articles and research about the industry. The site is “Optimized for Speed” and states “No Advertising, No Images, Minimal HTML, No Nonsense.” (more…)

This site is extremely well organized and very easy on the eyes. While it offers many of the typical sections you will find on a TEFL site, one of the most useful resources is the Advice directory. This resource is divided geographically with dated teacher testimonials about working conditions, job placement, and cost of living in countries around the world, including remote areas you may not have considered teaching in. (more…)

Jason Renshaw’s blog could be classified as the dessert of the TEFL blogs. Not only does the English Raven share tips and musings about teaching English, he adds delicious stories that are real, and aren’t always from the classroom. As Jason recently pointed out, almost any experience in life (such as a trip to the movies or life as a new parent) can apply to teaching. (more…)

Are you using music in the classroom? Songs for Teaching offers lyrics and music to teach various grammar, spelling and usage rules. After you listen to a sample, you can download the music for a fee or purchase a CD with related songs. (more…)

Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto, an author and English teacher in Japan, has used the blog platform to develop a rich community of English teachers from around the world. The Teaching Village motto “We’re better when we work together” reflects the content you will find when you visit. As well as writing her own heartfelt posts, Barbara encourages guest authors to contribute to sections such as “Stuff all EFL Teachers should know” and “Lessons Learned from Students”. If you don’t have time to keep your own blog but like to share your experiences once in a while, consider writing a guest post for a series in The Teaching Village.
http://www.teachingvillage.org/

Rob Waring is an author and speaker who works out of Japan and specializes in extensive reading and graded readers. His website provides important articles and research on the topic of extensive reading and listening, skills which are often left out in the language classroom. (more…)

The official website for Global, Macmillan’s new multimedia English learning course, is full of useful resources for modern teachers, including elessons, videos, teaching tips and international blogs. Global is an interactive course designed for adult learners interested in engaging with the English language in an authentic, often unscripted, way. (more…)

This EFL Ning, created by David Deubelbeiss in 2007, connects over 11,000 English teachers from around the world. Teachers can create their own web page and build a large online network of support. The site becomes more useful each day as new members join and add their own lessons, links, videos, and stories. As the site’s motto suggests “When one teaches, two learn.” (more…)

This resource site for teachers, developed by Sean Banville (Breaking News English), offers dozens of English lesson plans on a variety of holiday themes. Each month the featured lessons are placed at the top of the site, making it easy for teachers to plan supplementary activities ahead of time. The holiday lessons are popular with students because they extend beyond the usual Christmas and Halloween themes. (more…)