ESL Resources
How to Become an ESL Teacher
In many areas of the United States, particularly in the southern and western portions of the country, a growing number of K-12 teachers are becoming English as a Second Language (ESL) certified.
This site lists - for each state - the education and training requirements to become an ESL teacher as well as available certification programs.
ESL Lesson Plans
Master's in ESL has a list of websites offering free lesson plans and resources for ESL, EFL and Sheltered English teachers.
The Little Prince in 251 languages
This site takes a few lines of The Little Prince and shows it translated from French into 251 different languages. For many languages, multiple translations are displayed, showing how different people can translate the same source text differently, coloring its meaning.
ESL Games Plus
ESL Games Plus offers free, interactive online games for learning and teaching English as a Second Language. The games are suitable for teaching ESL kids and teenagers. There are activities for teaching and practicing English grammar, vocabulary, sentences, listening and pronunciation skills. In addition to the on-line games, the site provides videos and items you can print out.
EFL Playhouse
EFL Playhouse is a wonderful resource for the very young English language learners. The activities include crafts, games, phonemic awareness, songs. This site has won many awards.
Google Translator for Firefox
This is an example of a simple-to-use add-on for Firefox lets your students select a word or sentence of interest, and get an immediate translation.
Useful when viewing foreign web sites, but also when your ESL students are viewing English web sites. They can quickly get a translation of the text back to their first language. Just adjust the Target Language setting under options.
Similar add-ons are available for all web browsers that support add-ons.
Transitioning to English is very important in today's schools, and sometimes youngsters new to the U.S. will feel less judged when a computer is used as a learning aide.
The ESLoop
The ESLoop's list of sites is organized as a ring and encourages submissions of other relevant sites by viewers. (The ring structure assures that all links will be accessible, even if a URL is changed.).
The ABC Song with a funky beat
There are many A/V resources available on the Internet to help ESL students. This one is memorable in that it takes the ABC song and adds a contemporary beat. A good introduction resource for older (grades 2-5) students.
- YouTube URL
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKfCyoNCUkM
Study.com
Resources for learning English as a second language online are provided at Study.com. The target group is older or adult learners, primarily, but this may be an option for some students ... or their parents.
Center for Applied Linguistics
The Center for Applied Linguistics provides a comprehensive range of research-based language and cultural education resources. Their focus is developing practical resources related to language teaching and learning, cultural orientation, linguistics, and more.
yourDictionary
At yourDictionary are links to dictionaries in 50 foreign languages and dialects -- almost all of which are in the category of less commonly taught.
Best Spanish Websites
Best Spanish Websites is a place for teachers, students, librarians and others are interested in locating good Spanish language resources.
The Language Museum
The Language Museum is a curiosity more than an in-depth tool. It includes vocabulary in several hundred languages and dialects. Students will be amazed by the number and complexity of human languages. A major emphases has been placed upon less commonly taught languages, like the many varieties of Arabic and Galcha.
Digital History
Digital History contains primary source documents in both English and Spanish for Hispanic history.
Estrellita
Estrellita is a beginning Spanish reading program for students in Bilingual and Dual Language classrooms. Estrellita serves as a bridge to English, they say, by laying a strong foundation in Spanish literacy that later leads to a more successful transition to English.
Finding resources for linguistically diverse classrooms can be difficult. In many school districts, one will find upwards of 50 different languages or dialects.
