ESL Worksheets Overview
Comprehension worksheets are a fantastic way of ensuring that a student is developing a greater understanding of the language. They can work for in-classroom teaching and for teach from home jobs.
Ranging from simple ‘true or false’ questions to more intricate scenarios and role-play, comprehension worksheets serve as an informal test of ability and understanding.
Below you will find a collection of websites hosting thousands of ESL comprehension worksheets, all of which will serve to enhance your understanding of English.
Before we get to the list, you can rest assured that ALL of the websites cited below provide their resources completely free of charge. Free ESL worksheets are readily available, and the following list provides you with a one-stop-shop for the best of them.
Also, here is a great free tool for turning any web page into a printable PDF – perfect for ESL worksheets:
ESL Comprehension Worksheets
ISL Collective
ISL Collective provides hundreds upon hundreds of user-submitted worksheets, many with downloads in the tens of thousands.
They vary in skill and ability, so this site is ideal for learners and teachers of any stage.
GrammarBank
Much like ISL Collective above, GrammarBank has an emphasis on providing resources that are relevant to learners of varying skills and ability levels. Could be great for Cambly Kids students.
GrammarBank sacrifices a user-friendly aesthetic for a more grounded ‘straight to the point’ approach, meaning that more mature students might gravitate to this site over ISL Collective; but younger students may require some assistance in navigating the website.
BusyTeacher
As the name suggests. BusyTeacher is more oriented towards providing resources to teachers, who then print them off and provide them to the students.
They allow the user to filter by ability level, and this feature is clearly displayed on the home page of the website. This gives the eponymous busy teacher a distinct advantage over the other websites included in this list.
It’s worth keeping in mind that even the ‘complete beginner’ worksheets will still be rather intimidating to novices at the language, given that many of them are large paragraphs of text which may well prove to be a daunting prospect.
ESL Flow
While distinctly lacking in user-friendliness, ESL Flow is a valuable database for ESL Comprehension Worksheets.
While the worksheets they provide are significantly fewer in number than other entries on this list, they are also of a substantially greater difficulty; perfect for those of a higher skill level. So this one could be good to keep in mind for older students in PalFish classes.
TES
TES provides 4 ‘bundles’ of worksheets, giving you 12 sheets all together.
It has a larger focus on the advanced learner, meaning that novice students are unlikely to find any benefit in this website.
But those students who are looking to progress towards the higher levels of learning should definitely be provided with resources from TES.
Check out the post below all about reading comprehension strategies:
ESL Conversation Worksheets
Once a student has a basic understanding of a language, there is perhaps no better way to enhance their understanding than by encouraging them to USE it. These conversation worksheets will allow them to do just that.
ISL Collective
Much like with their Comprehension Worksheets, ISL Collective has gone above and beyond the call of duty.
With thousands of user-submitted worksheets available, this is a must-visit website for any Cambly teacher or student.
English Club
English Club prides itself on its ability to provide students with what they call ‘Talking Point conversation worksheets’.
They include topics such as ‘crime’, ‘society’, and ‘people’; day-to-day things for day-to-day conversation.
They prioritise learning for beginners, but do offer a few services for those students looking to move into the intermediate and advanced stages.
Busy Teacher
As with their Comprehension Worksheets, Busy Teacher provides a wealth of worksheets that will prove enjoyable and educational to students of all levels.
They encourage students to learn ‘icebreakers’ for natural conversations, as well as teaching them how to express their daily routines and their favourite foods.
Handouts Online
Handouts Online offer a somewhat more reduced selection than we can expect from the like of ISL Collective, for instance; but the ones they offer are of a high quality.
Particularly useful to beginners, the focus on expressive colour and clear, user-friendly layouts takes away the unnecessary headache of trawling through endless paragraphs of text.
That’s not to suggest that they just look the part – the content within will prove useful to learners of each level.
My English Images
My English Images provides a plethora of high quality conversation worksheets for teachers and students, allowing you access to 50 topic sheets.
It has a greater focus on beginner-level students, encouraging the student to focus on the basics – how to express what they like, and what they dislike, for instance.
But, unique to the websites discussed so far, My English Images allows the student to a section on idioms – those strange little turns of phrase that you’re unlikely to find in a text book. Phrases liked ‘dropped the ball’ or ‘to jump ship’ are explored in detail, helping an Allschool student grapple with the nuances that come readily to a native.
ESL Grammar Worksheets
Crammer often proves to be one of the more tricky aspects of learning a language. Even to a native speaker, exactly WHY we speak as we do can often be a mystery.
These websites provide students with simple worksheets to help internalise those tricky dos-and-don’ts. Soon enough, they’ll be able to speak with as much authority as a native.
Learn English Feel Good
Learn English Feel Good provides a student with hundreds of grammar worksheets of varying ability and difficulty. Some are simple enough for children, whereas others would likely confound a native speaker.
The website has a clear, and easy to understand aesthetic – as well as prioritising clarity and understanding within their exercises.
Sticky Ball
A slightly more haphazard aesthetic might lead to confusion among non-native speakers of English, so this is a website for the teachers.
It’s an excellent database of resources, splitting worksheets up by whether they focus on nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc.
The worksheets are nice and simple, as well as proving versatile and thorough.
Using English
Using English is a very clear and comfortable website to use. The aspects of the language are very clearly laid out, with complimentary worksheets readily available.
Boasting an impressive collection of worksheets, Using English would prove a boon to any ESL teacher’s arsenal, especially when teaching on the Preply platform.
ESL Tower
ESL Tower looks like a website from the late nineties. Flashing arrows and little widgets are everywhere. But if you can look past the outdated aesthetic, you’ll find a whole host of resources.
They offer worksheets from beginner-level ability right through to concepts of grammar unlikely to be encountered before University-level education. This website would be ideal for any student who has moved beyond the basics, into the intermediate or advanced levels.
Agenda Web
Agenda Web has a strict, no-nonsense style to its design. This more clinical, streamlined approach will likely prove encouraging for students.
Will also find a wealth of material, as the website provides hundreds upon hundreds of worksheets, with a particular focus on early development of understanding. Which isn’t to say there’s nothing here for more advanced learners – the many hundreds of worksheets DO have plenty of examples of ‘higher ability’ worksheets.
ESL Writing Worksheets
Other than speaking, the most common way of expressing yourself in a language is by WRITING it. A lot of focus in classes will move on to writing as your student progresses through the levels of difficulty.
These free worksheets will allow your student to practice using the English alphabet to make words, and then turning these words into sentences. Beginning right down on the sentence-level, these worksheets wil have your student writing in no time.
ESL Galaxy
ESL Galaxy appears to be in some affiliation with ESL Tower, meaning their aesthetic suffers from the same element of confusion that is likely to alienate non-native speakers.
But if you can see past this, you will find a healthy collection of worksheets readily available, and for students of all levels of ability.
Fluentu
Fluentu functions as more of a blog, but provides access to excellent ESL writing worksheets as well as their own opinions and experiences in teaching.
The worksheets are comprehensive in nature, with more of a focus on the entry-level requirements for ESL. More advanced students would likely benefit greater from some of the other websites discussed; but newer students might find this to be a worthwhile point of entry.
English for Everyone
English for Everyone has a nice, simple style and easy to follow lay out. This will likely prove encouraging to ESL students or those teachers short on time.
They divide their worksheets into beginner and advanced, so while lacking in nuance they do provide for different levels of ability.
There are a great number of worksheets readily available, and this website would prove a useful resource to teachers and students alike.
Writing Wizard
Writing Wizard is definitely oriented towards younger students. With an emphasis on not just beginner level learners but on CHILDREN in particular, this website will not prove to be of use to advanced level students.
However, if you’re teaching to younger students then Writing Wizard is a nice little place to start. Rather than try to appeal to a broad range of markets, it knows its audience. It’s not particularly difficult or engaging – it serves as the ESL equivalent of dipping your toe into the shallow end of the pool. It’s bright, it’s colourful, it’s cheerful – it’s for children.
Teaching English
Teaching English offers a nicevariety when it comes to their worksheets. Where Writing Wizard has a focus on children, Teaching English is similarly confident in their audience.
With a focus on more advanced learners, their worksheets tend to be more intensive than others on this list.
ESL Lesson Plans for Adults
The lesson plan is the backbone of a class. Without a plan, a teacher can’t be expected to hit all the right notes.
There was a time where ESL teachers would be expected to come up with their own plans, and just hope that they were doing the right thing. But since the popularising of the internet ESL has taken off tenfold – as have the resources available for it.
Lesson plans are freely available online in a variety of places, and a few have been included below. These adult lesson plans will come in handy when teaching on the Amazing Talker platform.
Fluentu
Similar to their writing worksheets, Fluentu focuses on providing access to lesson plans for early-stages learners. Plans for more advanced classes can be found in other places.
Fluentu is a simple website to use, and their resources are easy to track down and use. This is a great addition to the arsenal of a teacher with little time to spare.
The Internet TESL Journal
The Internet TESL Journal is about as approachable as wikipedia. Which is a good thing and a bad thing.
There is a wealth of information available, and its relatively easy to find and navigate; but it is essentially large walls of text which will unquestionably prove intimidating to students.
This being said, the lesson plans provided are thorough and exhaustive. With a little tweaking from a proactive teacher, these plans would prove a real benefit to a classroom and the students in it.
ESL Authority
ESL Authority provides access to a limited number of lesson plans. With 64 lessons planned, an ESL teacher would do well not to RELY on this website; but it certainly provides you with high quality plans and exercises with very little effort from you.
Its design is comfortable and approachable, being easy to navigate and find the desired resources. It more than compensates for its limited number with the quality of the resources provided.
ESL Galaxy
ESL Galaxy makes its return to the list, but this time because of its excellent lesson plans.
Again, much like ESL Authority, ESL Galaxy has only a limited number of plans available. A discerning teacher would benefit from using this website ALONGSIDE other resources.
One Stop English
One Stop English is a wonderful little website, providing a teacher with a veritable bounty of lesson plans to choose from.
Not only are there a great number of plans available, but they’re each of a distinctly high quality. Proving they live up to their name, One Stop English is the best website for lesson plans on this list.
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