Mentor Resources: Teaching English

General Resources for Teaching English

• English Tutoring 101 Resources collected by a former RefugeeOne ELT instructor.
• ESL for Equality Lesson plans, activities, workbooks, and blog posts about how to teach English to refugees.
• ESL Cafe Online activities, lesson plans, games and FAQs for English teachers.
• Literacy Works Resource Hub Lesson plans, activities, and worksheets for adult English tutors.
• LINCS Learner Center Resources for English Language and adult learners.
• Engoo Online English school offering free materials, activities, and lesson plans beginner to advanced.
• UsingEnglish.com Library of resources, quizzes, activities, vocabulary, and more.
• Chicago Public Library Online resources or visit your local branch and ask a librarian for assistance.
• Multilingual Minnesota An extensive collection of teaching and tutoring resources.
• The Internet TESL Journal Published articles and lesson plans; links to an article about using authentic materials from real life to teach English.

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Materials for Beginner English Language Learners

• Survival English Make sure your mentee knows these important skills.
• Get to Know You Use these questions to get to know each other and practice English vocabulary.
• Beginner English Workbook Created by ESL for Equality.
• English Language Flashcard Book Created by ESL for Equality.
• More Flashcards Printable pictures for everyday vocabulary words.
• ESL Story Bank Stories and accompanying lesson plans for beginning readers.
• News in Levels Real news broken down into simple English at different levels, highlights vocabulary.
• Hopelink An extensive collection of resources specifically for tutors.
• Multi-Cultural Educational Services Resources for those working with pre-literate adults.
• Beginner Grammar Worksheets/Quizzes
• Beginner Vocabulary Worksheets/Quizzes
• Beginner Crossword Puzzles

Materials for Intermediate/Advanced English Language Learners

• ​ESL Literacy Readers Readers, audio recordings, and accompanying teaching guides.
• Engoo Intermediate/Advanced Materials
• English Media Lab High Level students
• Learn American English Online Links to intermediate lessons.
• Simple English Wikipedia Real encyclopedia articles using plain English.
• The Times in Plain English Real news stories using simple English.
• News for You A news source for adult ELL learners. They offer online and paper subscriptions and some free resources.
• Tim's Free English Lesson Plans
• Intermediate Grammar Worksheets/Quizzes
• Intermediate Vocabulary Worksheets/Quizzes

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English Videos and Online Activities

• We Speak NYC English videos geared towards immigrants, includes accompanying lesson plans and activities.
• Mango Languages Online conversational English practice for speakers of many languages. Sign up free with a Chicago Public Library card.
• GCFLearnFree Interactive online language lessons.
• BBC Learning English Short video lesson on English speaking and grammar. There are hundreds of similar YouTube channels dedicated to teaching English.
• LaBonte's Conversation Patterns YouTube and podcast series on conversational English.

Tips for English Teachers and Tutors

• Lesson Plan Guide Template and sample English lesson plan.
• Literacy in Life Handbook for volunteer literacy tutors.
• Teaching New Vocabulary Tips for teaching vocab.
• Teaching Refugees with Limited Former Schooling
• How to Teach... Guides on how to teach English topics.
• Improving Adult Literacy Instruction Free downloadable e-book.
• Working in Adult Literacy Blog posts and articles.
• Larry Ferlazzo Education Blog List of resources for
  teachers and tutors of beginning older readers.

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