Have you ever seen an ESL student freeze after hearing someone say, “break a leg” or “spill the beans”? Idioms and slang add color and culture to the English language, but for many learners, they’re confusing—and often completely unintelligible. That’s

Feeling drained after back-to-back online lessons?If you’re an online ESL teacher, you’re not alone. The flexibility of teaching from home comes with its own set of challenges—screen fatigue, blurred work-life boundaries, and the constant pressure to deliver engaging lessons. But

Starting your class with warm-up activities sets the tone for engaging and productive classes and gets students speaking right away.

This morning I was teaching a new trial lesson to a 5-year-old student who had limited English. The lesson introduced four jungle animals—monkey, tiger, snake, and parrot. It had a catchy song, followed by letter sound practice, and introduced the

Phonological awareness in ESL classrooms is one of the most important—yet most overlooked—skills for building confident readers and spellers. If your student is struggling to decode simple words or can’t hear the difference between “bat” and “pat,” the root issue

Gamification is one of the most effective ways to boost student engagement and motivation. By turning lessons into interactive games, you can transform even the most challenging topics—like grammar or vocabulary—into exciting learning experiences. Whether you’re teaching online or in-person,

Let’s face it—grammar isn’t usually the topic that gets students excited. Whether you’re teaching irregular verbs or sentence structure, grammar can feel repetitive and uninspiring. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if you could deliver

Time-saving lesson planning tips can make all the difference in creating engaging and organized ESL classes without the stress. Lesson planning is often time-consuming, but with the right strategies, it doesn’t have to be! Whether you’re teaching online or in

Videos are one of the easiest and most powerful tools you can use in your ESL classroom—especially online! Whether you’re teaching one-on-one or in small groups, adding video to your lessons can instantly boost student engagement, provide real-life listening practice,