O’zbekiston respublikasi oliy va o’rta maxsus ta’lim vazirligi shahrisabz davlat Pedagogika instituti

Best Free Language Learning Websites

Learning a new language doesn’t have to cost a fortune or even a single dime. These free language learning websites bridge the gap between traditional language learning and E-learning. They offer some of the best audio, video, and text exercises. While some may have paid versions of their free counterparts, there are pretty much to benefit from their free trials and courses. Strap-in and learn just how much you can achieve as we look at the best websites to learn languages for free.

Encore!!!

Encore!!! packs the most value in their free and paid content as far as language learning websites go. The platform offers 15 language pairs, which are English, Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, and Spanish. You get access to all 15 pairs for absolutely no cost whatsoever.
What is CALL?
According to Egbert (2005), CALL is defined as "using computers to support language teaching and learning in some way" (p. 3). 

Drill and Practice Program

Drill and practice programs increase student learning through repetition and memorization. Content area vocabulary is one of the most challenging obstacles preventing ELL students from finding success. Drill and practice programs provide greater opportunities for ELL students to master content area vocabulary.

Examples of Drill and Practice Programs

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  MathBlaster: a math focused program to increase student knowledge of math facts.
  
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  Starfall Reading: a language arts focused website to increase student knowledge of academic vocabulary, phonics, and basic reading.
  
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  ABCYa: a multi-subject area with drill and practice programs across a wide variety of skill levels.
  

Virtual Learning Environment

Virtual learning environments (VLE) model conventional real-world education by integrating virtual concepts for tests, homework, classes, and classrooms. VLE's have become more popular with the advent of Web 2.0. Teachers use VLE's to provide extra support for ELL's through supplemental text and virtual concepts. An ELL student may misunderstand the simplest oral instruction but fully comprehend textual or virtual representations of the instruction. VLE's provide additional opportunities for ELL to succeed.
Effective VLE's typically include the following:

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  A course syllabus
  
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  Administrative information about the course: prerequisites, credits, registration, payments, physical sessions, and contact information for the instructor.
  
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  A notice board for current information about the ongoing course
  
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  The basic content of some or all of the course; the complete course for distance learning applications, or some part of it, when used as a portion of a conventional course. This normally includes material such as copies of lecture in the form of text, audio, or video presentations, and the supporting visual presentations
  
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  Additional resources, either integrated or as links to outside resources. This typically consists of supplementary reading, or innovative equivalents for it.
  
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  Self-assessment quizzes or analogous devices, normally scored automatically
  
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  Formal assessment functions, such as examinations, essay submission, or presentation of projects. this now frequently includes components to support peer assesment
  
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  Support for communications, including e-mail, threaded discussions, chat rooms, twitter and other media, sometimes with the instructor or an assistant acting as moderator. Additional elements include wikis, blogs, RSS and 3D virtual learning spaces.
  
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  Management of access rights for instructors, their assistants, course support staff, and students
  
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  Documentation and statistics as required for institutional administration and quality control
  
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  Authoring tools for creating the necessary documents by the instructor, and, usually, submissions by the students
  
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  Provision for the necessary hyperlinks to create a unified presentation to the students.
  

Related Terms

Learning Management System (LME): a synonym or alternative term for VLE.
Content Management System (CME): specifically refers to the organization of educational materials (curriculum, etc) while VLE refers to the environment ANDE the organization of educational materials.

Examples of Virtual Learning Environments and Learning Management Systems

There are many free and non-free VLE systems available. Here are a few examples:
Paid:

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  Blackboard: A family of virtual learning software
  
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  WebCT: (Now integrated into Blackboard) Software applications designed to enhance teaching and learning
  

Free:

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  Moodle
  
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  Sakai
  

Teaching English Through Games
Vocabulary.co.il: An excellent website full of flash based games focused on practicing, and increasing, vocabulary. The games are suitable to all age and skill levels.
ABCTeach.com: An excellent website for elementary age, or elementary level skill, ESL learners.
ToolsForEducators.com: This website provides handout templates which incorporate images and text. Educators who use images with text increase ESL learning and understanding.
PBSKids.org: The PBSKids.org website provides many engaging vocabulary games to increase and practice vocabulary.
ReadingResource.net: This website provides activities and games which focus on sight reading and vocabulary.
FryWords: This website focuses on Fry Words, the most commonly used words in the English language. Visitors are treated to activities to increase common word literacy.
Internet4Classrooms.com: Internet4Classrooms is one of the largest online resources for differentiated online activities across all age and skill levels.
Free iPad Apps for ELLs

App Name	Description	Grade Level	Price
Talking Tom	Cat that repeats what is said by the user. Helps the student practice pronunciation in a fun way.	All	Free
Roby	A cute robot that says what is typed into the app. Helps the student compose language and listen to pronunciation of words.	All	Free
Word Joust	For grade levels K-5 and 6-8^th, this app concentrates on vocabulary development through a game application.	K-5 6-8	Free
Iwritewords	Students can practice writing with the touch of their finger by tracing the letters of words while learning how to spell and say the word.	Pk-1	Lite version is Free   Full version without ads is
Popplet	Popplet: mindmap tool that includes the ability to use the finger to write/draw within sticky note screens, connect sticky, and import photos/images.	All	Popplet Lite-Free
irewards	A goal setting app that can be used with students to encourage them to set language acquisition/level, academic, short- and long-term goals.	All	Lite version is free   $4.99
itranslate	An app that translates from one language to another in a user-friendly window. Includes speaking through recording and listening through audio features [requires internet connection.]	All	Free
Indexcards	A flashcard app that helps with study skills and building vocabulary.	All	Free
InClass	Create virtual course/content notebooks that include: · Calendar · Instructor information · Notes · Tasks	All	Free for version with Ads
Evernote	A tool for creating virtual notebooks that can be used for: · capturing ideas · writing notes · personal vocabulary notebooks · emailing thoughts and ideas · Collaboration through sharing of notebooks	All	Free
Dragon dictation	Speech to text application that is a great tool to use with Students with Interrupted Formal Education [SIFE]. process.	All	Free
Verbally	An application that helps students formulate sentences from a virtual word bank. Also can listen to what is written.	All	Free for the limited version   $99.99 for full version
Other tools and uses of an iPad · Google apps · Google Search · Discovery education · YouTube · Record audio, video · Blogging · Digital storytelling use audio video etc · Use paint w video · epals.com · skype

Free iPad Reading Games

Grade	Game	Content	Price	Developer
k	Little Speller Sight Words	Spelling 220 sight words	free	Grasshopper Apps
k	Alphabet Tracing	Letter writing	free	Oncilla Technologies Inc
K	PhotoTouch ABC	Letter recognition	free	Grasshopper Apps
k	First Words Sampler	Letter-sound association, multi-anguages	free	Learning Touch
k	Preschool Memory Match	Memory match of imagaes	free	Darren Murtha
k-1	Skill Builder Spelling	Words spelling	free	Ben Kaiser
k-3	ABC Magic 2	To learn the sounds of the letters of the alphabet	free	Preschool University LLC

All teachers enjoy reading and gaining access to more resources for lesson ideas or developing material for classes and I thought I would share the ten websites that I like to refer to when I am seeking for lesson ideas or material to use in possible lessons. These ten websites below are my favourite websites that I like to refer to when preparing lessons, reading up on methodology or creating material. So without any further delay, these are my ten must visit ELT-related websites.

1. British Council Teaching English

For me the British Council Teaching English website is such a wonderful resource with many videos and blog posts that you can find a lot of information about teaching in particular contexts. I do enjoy the regular updates that this website offer for those in English Language Teaching (ELT) from lesson plans and materials to interesting blog postings about language learning. I use this website a lot with their videos for in-house Teaching Training sessions, particularly related to young learners. This website is now also offering webinars which you could register and watch either live or at a later date. To add to the already abundant resources which you could gain, there are also the annual seminars which you could attend at the British Council or watch streamed via the internet.

2. ISL Collective

There are not many free websites around for lesson material but ISL Collective really is a gem and would highly recommend teachers to consider using this website to seek for lesson ideas or materials. You can search for material based upon grammar focus, skill, level of student or age. Naturally, you have to consider the appropriacy of materials and edit them where necessary but the best thing about this website is that you can download the material in Word format and edit them where you see fit. If you visit other EFL-related websites, much of their material is in PDF format and non-editable. And unless you enjoy the unhappy task of recreating the worksheets, you will not be able to edit the texts.

3. ELTChat

One of the first websites that I was introduced via Twitter was actually ELTChat. The aim of the website is to create a “freely available social network for ELT professionals” in order to assist CPD. ELTChat host weekly chats on Twitter on a range of topics ranging from blended learning to dealing with mixed ability classes. Their chats on Twitter are usually every Wednesday in the afternoon at 12pm or evening 9pm (GMT) and the chat is followed through the use of a hashtag (actually #ELTChat). Despite the chats remaining on Twitter, the transcript is then downloaded, analysed by us bloggers and then written about. It is a wonderful resource and you can find various blog posts about the discussions on all the various topics that ELTChat has incorporated in their weekly chats. Summaries of discussions can be seen here.

4. Designer Lessons

If you are quite keen to incorporate Dogme into your lessons but don’t know where to start, worry not as there is a wonderful website which offers teachers a wonderful selection of Dogme-esque teaching ideas which you could incorporate into your lessons. Designer Lessons is a wonderful resource full of teaching ideas for those teachers which are keen to experiment with Dogme ELT and I would highly recommend teachers to consider using this resource to develop their repertoire of lessons and ideas for developing lessons for a range of levels. As well as Dogme style lessons, there is also a range of lessons catered for exam preparation lessons as well as more traditional lessons organised into levels.

5. Wordle

If you have seen other teachers create words clouds (essentially text generated in an easy to read and quite artistic manner) but do not know how to create such works of vocabulary art, then I would recommend Wordle. I usually use Wordle on a weekly basis to create word clouds and I usually create key vocabulary or a review of vocabulary from the previous day this style of word cloud. It is incredibly easy to create and it generates student interest straight away, as it is usually different to the standard “Do you know this word?” or “Let me explain this word that I have just written up on the board!”. You can create an interesting and engaging introduction to key vocabulary by printing out the word cloud and doing the following:

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  Students look up words in a dictionary and then write out the definition in their notebook.
  
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  Students try to create groups of lexis – usually quite useful if you have a range of vocabulary with different groups (i.e. jobs, verbs, etc).
  
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  Look for the words in the text (if it is a reading).
  
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  Guess the topic or story.
  

6. One Stop English

You are searching on the internet for a lesson related to Thanks Giving but most lessons which you have found seem rather boring as well as a bit teacher centred. Worry not, as One Stop English is offering a variety of engaging and motivating activities to suit a range of levels as well as ages. If you want to develop the students’ awareness of American culture, then there are a range of engaging activities to achieve this ranging from webquests to listening. Yes you have to pay for becoming a member of this website but the range of lessons offered really will benefit teachers and there are numerous activities and blog posts which support newly certified teachers. I do pay for membership of this website and would continue to do so in the future as the activities involved with listening lessons are wonderful and it is such a relief to steer away from the coursebook from time to time. Finally, this website is a great resource for those young learner teachers who are keen to develop their CLIL-related material as there are lessons and activities for teachers to incorporate in class.
7. BBC Learning English
This was one of the first websites which I started using and referring to back in 2005 in my first year of teaching in order to gain an understanding with teaching. I remember being asked why I used this website in my CELTA interview and how I use it. I essentially mentioned that the BBC Learning English was a wonderful website and I prepared lessons using some of the ideas posted on the website, which was mainly geared for self study language learners. However, I do enjoy browsing the activities and lessons for students as well as incorporating some of these ideas in the classroom. There is a wonderful podcast which is updated on a regular basis which offers a grammar focus for students. I usually enjoy preparing lessons involving the listening from the podcast to supplement a grammar point and some of the practice activities are great. I really enjoy browsing this website and looking at some of the lesson ideas which are recommended. Although this website is aimed for self-study, it is a free resource and with a little bit of work, the lessons developed could be adapted for a range of classes.

8. Cambridge English Online

If you are looking for a website to develop flashcards related to the phonological chart or phonemes, then Cambridge English Online is an invaluable website. You can create your own flashcards using their stock of images or uploading your own images, inserting phonetics for words. It is a great website and I have used the applications on their website with my young learner and adult lessons. There are other applications which focus on idiomatic language or the phonemic chart and you could use these within a classroom should you have an IWB or projector and computer in your classroom. You could get students to create their own flashcards and print these out and then laminate them for possible flashcard games. For more ideas for games involving flashcards, read my previous post here.

9. Lesson Stream

A few years ago I was looking for lesson ideas related to images and fortunately I came across a wonderful website which contained loads of suggested lessons. I remember that I prepared a lesson related to the Mr Men series with the help from Lesson Stream. Jamie Keddie has a lot of suggested lessons graded by level which teachers could incorporate in their lessons. There are teacher notes and material all available on Jamie’s website and much of the material could be incorporated into adolescent classrooms with the correct amount of adjustment. It is a wonderful resource and would supplement any coursebook. Furthermore, this great website is free of charge for any teacher and all material can be downloaded for use with potential classes. Personally, I used lesson ideas with both adolescent and adult learners and is a refreshing change to the coursebook.
The final website which I would recommend any professional English language teacher to view is Scott Thornbury’s A-Z of ELT blog. It is a wonderful website stocked full of rich and engaging content in relation to the theory of language learning, acquisition and teaching. It supplements the ELT dictionary, published in 2006, which is also called “An A-Z of ELT” and is a must read itself. Nevertheless, there is a lot of content which is not included in the original edition of the book published on this blog. Unfortunately, it is now no longer a live website but Scott has kindly allowed access for readers to view – “Thanks Scott!” – and if you are curious about the methodology of language teaching, learning and acquisition then this blog will assist you delve dipper into the profession and become more knowledgeable. It has always been a useful ‘go to’ website, especially when studying a post-graduate or diploma in ELT as it has been invaluable for teachers looking at developing professionally.
So these are my ten favourite and must visit websites which I would recommend other teachers to visit. I hope this helps you develop as a teacher and also support you when creating engaging and motivating lessons for your students. Anyhow, what are your favourite ELT related websites? What websites would you recommend that I visit?
Expectation: If you’re a native English speaker, then teaching English abroad must be a cinch, right? Reality: Not necessarily! One of the worst misconceptions about teaching ESL is that if you can speak the language, then you can definitely teach it. Teaching English to foreigners is more than just pulling songs out of your back pocket or playing Pictionary. In fact, many countries take English language learning very seriously, so if you want to teach English abroad, you should too!

These ESL teacher resources will put you on the road to an awesome classroom.
No two ESL classrooms are alike so there’s hardly ever a one-size-fits-all lesson that will reach all your students. An ESL teacher has to be prepared to face anything on any given day: some really smart students, some sleepy students, some bored students, students with learning difficulties, classrooms with only a blackboard, outdoor classrooms, or classrooms with so much technology it makes your head spin!
So what do you do? If you create a tried and true collection of ESL teaching resources that you can access anytime, you won’t have to pull your hair out making lesson plans and resources from scratch every day. However, in your search for ESL resources, you know there are a ton of websites out there in cyberspace. How do you know which ones are legit and which ones are downright terrible? Which ones work and which ones don’t?
Well, here are 10 kick-a$% ESL resources for teachers. You’re welcome!

ESL resources for your classroom

Keep your classroom fresh with ideas from any of these fah-bulous resources for ESL teachers! (Honorable mention? A TEFL certificate—get yours from International TEFL Academy!)

1. Busy Teacher

Busy Teacher is a lifesaver when it comes to preparing for almost any ESL topic under the sun. With over 16,000 printable worksheets and lesson plans, the stuff you see on the site are written by teachers for teachers and are absolutely free of charge, unlike other sites where you have to pay a subscription to access ready-made resources.

With an arsenal of totally kick-a$% ESL resources, teaching abroad is a cinch.

2. ESL Galaxy

ESL Galaxy is a comprehensive, one-stop, completely free ESL resource site. Go crazy and download printable flashcards, worksheets, board games, lesson plan packs, and PowerPoint slides for the more high-tech classroom. There’s also many resources if you’re teaching ESL to adults, including materials on survival English and Business English.

3. TEFL Tunes

TEFL Tunes is an awesome ESL resource for teachers because it categorizes songs to help you teach certain grammatical concepts. If you loved Sesame Street as a kid, then you know that learning is way easier if you can sing about it. Songs are especially effective with kids and students who possess Gardner’s musical intelligence (i.e. learners who are music smart). The site also classifies songs according to learning level, theme, task, and artist. Although there are some free lesson plans, to access all the site’s resources, you have to subscribe.

4. Make Belief Comix

If you’re not a great artist but still want to use comic strips in the classrooms to make teaching and learning English more authentic and fun, this site will make life much easier for you. Make Belief Comix offers a more creative way to engage your students, including creative writing prompts, story ideas, and free printable comic strips. Topics include contemporary student issues like bullying, peer pressure, and identity formation.

ESL classrooms aren’t one-size-fits-all, so your lessons shouldn’t be either.

5. ESL Video

Can’t access YouTube in the classroom and need free ESL video resources for teachers? ESL Video is the perfect, distraction-free alternative. It provides a ton of videos with quizzes and lessons already made by teachers. Use video to engage learners to improve their listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary skills. You can also create your own quizzes and embed them on the site!

6. ESL Games World

Looking for a fun game to perk up those yawning students? ESL Games World has interactive, online, and PowerPoint games based on popular TV game shows like Jeopardy to test vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. No computer? No problem! There are also printable games available for download if you’re teaching ESL in a low-tech classroom.

ESL resources for your students (and their parents!)

As an ESL teacher, you only have so many minutes in each lesson and sometimes, you can’t review or test all the material you want to or help all the students who are struggling. Here are a few ESL resources that can help motivate your students toward self-learning:

Whether it’s worksheets, handouts, or videos to show in class (if you’re living that hi-tech life), these ESL resource will come in handy.

7. Class Dojo

Looking for great ESL resources for teachers and students? Class Dojo is a great app that can help you manage your classroom and make your students smile. If you think handing out stickers is boring, share a digital high-five with a student who got the answer right! Give virtual points for teamwork and for helping to clean up the classroom. Also, forget boring PTA meetings and connect with parents online to share news about their kids’ results.The app works on any device and is free for teachers. Score!

8. StoryPlace

StoryPlace is there to encourage your ESL students to read in their free time. Although the digital stories are suitable for elementary school native English speakers, they’re also massively helpful to students learning English for the first time. The colorful videos and graphics also make the stories really attractive to younger learners.

9. Memrise

If your students are finding it hard to remember tough vocabulary words or grammatical concepts, introduce them to Memrise. The app offers high-quality pre-made lessons in more than 200 languages, including English. If your students are feeling more adventurous, they can also make their own flashcards to focus on their individual weak points and compete with their friends online! Memrise is really effective because it uses technology that adapts to each learner’s personal learning style and performance. Memrise also encourages students to learn on the go because it can be downloaded on any iOS or Android smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device.

These ESL teaching resources are great no matter the age of your students.

ESL resources for YOU!

Are you feeling overwhelmed or burnt out by your ESL teaching experience? Don’t worry, here’s a free resource to help you cope and boost your teaching morale. Plus, it offers expert advice on professional development opportunities.

10. British Council/BBC Teaching English

Often regarded as the authority on English in certain parts of the world, particularly Asia, British Council/BBC Teaching English offers a lot of resources, including many that focus on teacher development. Access an ELT research database, read research papers on teaching English, explore training courses to up your teaching game, and connect with teacher networks around the world to exchange ideas and to get answers to all your pertinent ESL teaching questions.

11. IELTS Podcast

If you are preparing older students for official exams, then they will probably need academic vocabulary. IELTSPodcast not only have some great tutorials about the IELTS writing section but an extensive vocabulary guide.