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16 Resources ESL Teachers Use to Help Students Learn

A teacher high-fiving a student


Schools nationwide have experienced rapid growth in English Language Learners (ELL)  in recent years. The National Education Association (NEA) projects that by the year 2025, one out of every four children in classrooms across the nation will be an English Language Learner student. 

Consequently, teachers must ensure their preparedness for helping English Language Learners thrive in their classrooms. While ESL teachers specialize in supporting English Language Learners, teachers of all content areas share the responsibility for the success of ELLs. That's why New Jersey ESL teachers enrolled with Rutgers Alternate Route are sharing their go-to resources to plan great lessons and enhance their teaching for ELLs.


BrainPop ELL 
Brainpop created an entire curriculum for ESL students! It's amazing and full of so many useful free resources -- videos, vocab, writing prompts, etc. (Margaret S., K-5)

Cambridge English  
Cambridge English is the most essential company for English Language Learning and Examinations. This website is useful not only for teacher development options, but also for free activities, lesson plans, and leveled materials for ESL teachers. (Gul C., 6-8)

Colorin Colorado!  
Colorín Colorado is the national website serving educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in Grades PreK-12. (Marekhi S., K-5) Brittany W. agrees this site is an invaluable resource for bilingual teachers and teachers of emergent bilingual students.  According to her, there are amazing articles, strategies, printables, research-based information and a multimedia resource library for educators and families.   

Google Docs  
This isn't a teaching resource, per se. But I've found it invaluable as a tool for teaching writing. Students are able to have control over their documents, but are then able to collaborate (also on presentations). I've found it helps with classroom management, because I see exactly what a student is working on from my own computer, and offer suggestions within the document. (Edward F., 6-8)

ISL COLLECTIVE
In this site the ESL teachers can obtain English ESL worksheets, activities, and video lessons. They can print, students can learn online or in class learning. (Thelma H., K-5)

IXL 
Its a site that aligns with the State Standards, it includes text books and activities that can be assessed later to check students knowledge acquired so far, here the students can learn in a personalized way, there is immerse learning, the activities are from Pre-K up to 12th grade. Teachers can introduce the parents to this site also, because they can use it help their child to improve and receive the support in the target language.   (Thelma H., K-5)

This site provides hundreds of skills for your students to practice. You are able to keep track of their progress. It is personalized for each student and links students to the skills that will help them remediate any gaps in understanding. (Mayra Z., K-5)

Leading ELLs  
Leading ELLs was created for ELL teachers to ask questions, share ideas, and be inspired by other fellow educators. It is nice to see other ELL teachers, just like you, sharing successful teaching practices or issues they might face. This is one of the spaces where everyone tries to help each other out. (Brittany W., K-5)

Quill 
Quill is a great resource to measure that provides you with assessments, lesson plans and interactive ELA activities (even ELL lessons). (Mayra Z., K-5)

Reading A-Z 
Leveled books and quizzes - great for independent reading and progress. Also, various lesson plans can be utilized for teachers. (Gul C., 6-8)

ReWordify 
Rewordify helps you to simplify documents for your ELL students. (Lilia M., K-5, 6-8)

TeachersPayTeachers 
Teachers Pay Teachers has so many great resources from decorations to worksheets and entire lesson plans! It is amazing how much people will put on there. There are lots of things that require money, but still tons of free resources! Even if you do find something that costs money, it goes back to the teachers for their hard work! (Margaret S., K-5)

This website has been a lifesaver for me.  There are endless amounts of resources created by educators and resources for specific populations as well (i.e. ESL, Special Ed., Socio-emotional learning).  I can also find book companion activities and materials that target specific academic skills. (Margaret S., K-5)

Twinkl
This site is good for finding things like worksheets and handouts on specific things I want to reinforce with students.  I've used it for compound/complex sentence writing, getting started with 5 paragraph essays.  (Edward F., 6-8)

Valentina's ESL  
I found a multitude of different ELL topics addressed on this website. As well as multiple graphics and resources that I use frequently. (Lilia M., K-5, 6-8)


If you’re considering following your dream of teaching, Rutgers Alternate Route can offer you the support and training you need to succeed. Be sure to follow Rutgers Alternate Route on Twitter or sign up for Alternate Route’s monthly newsletter for more information and stories from the field of education.
 

Comments

Paola Aguirre

Fri, 06/07/2024 - 18:28

Email
paolaguirre99@gmail.com

Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) is an exceptional resource for educators, providing a wide array of teacher-created materials. Using the Educational App Review Rubric, TPT scores high in content quality and relevance, offering diverse resources aligned with educational standards. The platform's user-friendly, easy navigation and efficient resource search. Additionally, TPT supports differentiated instruction with materials catering to various learning styles and needs. However, some resources may vary in quality, making it essential to review materials carefully before use. Overall, TPT is a valuable tool for enhancing classroom instruction and promoting teacher collaboration.

Robert Gilinsky

Sat, 06/08/2024 - 13:51

Email
Bobgilinsky@hotmail.com

Having just this year started teaching High School, it was only recently that I discovered the magic of Google Docs. Having exclusively used MS Office through college and 25 years in the business world, I needed guidance from my 12 year old daughter in order to get started, but I was soon hooked! As an ESL teacher, there are so many bells and whistles which you can use for scaffolding in translating, adding options other plugins to complement Google docs. It is an essential application of the modern educational field.

Elisa Rivera-Wong

Sat, 06/08/2024 - 18:12

Email
womenwer@yahoo.com

I especially liked the resource "ColorinColorado". It has a strong focus on resources for bilingual students. It has resources for teachers, parents and students. although it is not student friendly it offers reading and writing resources for families. So parents can read to their children and use the strategies to help their kids with these topics.

Joanna Nunez

Sat, 06/08/2024 - 21:53

Email
joannanunez627@gmail.com

Brain pop is an amazing resource because students can launch and operate the app independently. The app encourages for students to use higher order thinking skills where they evaluate and analyze if they have acquired the skill by whether they go on to the next level in the game. Students are highly motivated to use the app because it is fun for them. Play is the best way for students to learn new skills. The app's focus is appropriate for ELL students and has a connection to the focus of learning English as a second language. 

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Heather Ngoma

Heather Ngoma has over 25 years of experience collaborating with educators across New Jersey to drive education innovation. She currently serves as the Director of the Rutgers-GSE Alternate Route Program in the Department of Learning and Teaching, a program which helps career changers, recent college graduates, and other aspiring education professionals become licensed teachers in New Jersey. Follow her on Twitter @heatherngoma.