About 277 articles on almost every aspect of teaching English. These are also all arranged by subject on my articles by topic pages. If you like anything here and want more, please support TEFLtastic.
Formal and informal language games – NEW
How to thank people in presentations
How to introduce yourself in presentations
100 teaching IELTS Speaking tips
100 IELTS speaking tips (for students)
The 100 most useful phrases for IELTS Writing Task 1 map tasks
100 IELTS Writing Task 2 teaching tips
The 100 most useful phrases for IELTS Writing Task 1 pie chart tasks
100 IELTS Writing Task 2 tips (for students)
The 100 most useful phrases for IELTS Writing Task 1 line graph tasks
100 IELTS Writing Task 1 tips (for students)
The 100 most useful phrases for IELTS Writing Task 1 tables tasks
The 100 most useful phrases for IELTS Writing Task 1 flowchart tasks
100 Writing Task 1 teaching tips
How to teach senses vocabulary
How to teach like as a preposition
How to teach copula verbs/ link verbs
How to teach like, be like and look like
How to teach consonant clusters
How to teach defining relative clauses
How to teach reduced relative clauses
How to teach non-defining relative clauses
How to teach a, an, the and no article
How to teach defining and non-defining relative clauses
How to teach relative pronouns
How to teach much, many, a lot, etc
How to teach indefinite articles (including a and an games)
How to teach used to, be used to and get used to
How to teach be used to and get used to
How to make a personal connection in presentations
How to be friendly on the phone in English
100 common mistakes with starting and ending emails
Cultural differences in emailing
How to deal with difficult questions in a presentation
100 polite telephoning dos and don’ts
100 common telephoning mistakes
How to teach English greetings
35 ways to say hello in English
41 ways to say goodbye in English
How to teach question formation (with games and other practice activities)
How to teach verb plus gerund and infinitive
How to teach conversational reactions (including conversational reactions games)
How to teach starting and ending conversations
How to teach subject questions (with game ideas)
How to teach indirect questions
How to teach restaurant language
How to teach positive and negative connotations
Aptis Speaking Part Two preparation tips
How to teach advice, suggestions and recommendations
How to teaching making and responding to invitations
How to teach small talk questions for how
CPE Use of English Part Three tips
CPE Use of English Part One tips
Aptis speaking part one preparation tips
How to use body language and gestures in EFL classes
How to teach international body language and gestures
A guide to rude, insulting, offensive and taboo gestures
Using body language and gestures to teach pronunciation
Using body language and gestures to teach grammar
The top six grammar points for IELTS
How to teach British and American English (summary of the articles below, with activities that work with a mix of grammar, vocab, functions, etc)
How to teach British and American times, dates and numbers
How to teach British and American vocabulary
How to teach British and American spelling and punctuation
How to teach British and American grammar
How to teach British and American functional language (with differences in requests, small talk, etc)
How to teach TOEIC listening part two question response
How to teach present time expressions
How to teach feelings vocabulary
How to teach past time expressions
How to teach future time expressions
How to teach prepositions of time
How to teach the time in English
How to teach irregular plurals
Teaching ordinal numbers to EFL learners (with ordinal number communication games)
How to teach days of the week in English
Blocks games for different language points
How to teach Yes/ No questions
How to teach country and nationality words
How to teach comparative and superlative
How to teach Latin abbreviations
The most effective error correction games
How to teach colour vocabulary in ESL classes
Classroom activities for colour vocabulary
How to teach colour word recognition
How to use colouring-in in EFL classes
The best picture books for EFL young learners (and what to do with them)
The bluffer’s guide to level checking
Classroom activities for teaching opposites (with many game ideas)
How to teach gradable and extreme adjectives
How to teach ed and ing adjectives
How to teach shopping language
British and American phone calls
Cultural differences in telephoning
50 ways to answer the telephone (in English and other languages)
Offensive, insulting and aggressive gestures in the UK
Differences between British and American emails
How to complain and deal with complaints on the phone
25 stupid things about Cambridge First
How to leave and take telephone messages
How to end phone calls smoothly and politely
20 things wrong with most self-study materials
How to start phone calls in English
The most useful can/ can’t for ability activities
How to teach can/ can’t for ability
How to teach FCE sentence transformations
How to teach possessive adjectives
How to teach English syllables
How to teach Cambridge First Certificate Listening Part Four
Fitting learner training into your syllabus
Why does my teacher not speak more slowly?
How to teach FCE Listening Part Two
How to teach like and would like
How to teach frequency expressions
How to teach FCE Writing Part One essays
How to teach There is/ There are
36 fun classroom activities for Present Simple and Present Continuous
35 fun classroom activities for Present Continuous
Games for IELTS Speaking Parts One, Two and Three (on their own or together)
56 fun classroom activities for the Present Simple
21 negotiating in English games
19 simple, fun and effective ESL board games
15 ways to teach English with blocks and stacking games
57 ways to improve your fluency
Using ball games to teach English
How to teach the language of trends
How to teach FCE Use of English Part Two open cloze
How to teach comparing and contrasting
How to teach hedging and generalising
How to teach advantages and disadvantages/ looking at both sides
How to teach supporting your arguments
How to teach FCE Speaking Part Three
First lessons for Academic Writing classes
How to test and teach detailed comprehension
How to teach the language of likes and dislikes
Sharing personal experiences in EFL classes
How to teach FCE Listening Part One
How to teach FCE Speaking Part Two
How to teach FCE Speaking Part One
The ESP approach – theory and reality
The three keys to doing well in speaking exams (article for students and teachers)
How to teach transport vocabulary to young learners
How to teach and use the language of newspaper headlines
How to teach checking/ clarifying
30 ways to get ahead in ELT publishing
Getting published in TEFL – why, what, where and how
Getting writing work from publishers
How to write and publish TEFL articles
70 easy articles that every TEFLer could write at least one of
How to teach the Past Simple tense
How to use the topic of inventions in EFL classes
How to teach English for engineers
Advantages and disadvantages of authentic texts in class (with how to use the advantages and avoid the disadvantages)
Stimulating practice for chunks of language
Stimulating practice for comparatives
Problems with brainstorming in EFL (with solutions)
Teaching and talking about free time with kids
Boosting students’ confidence in the teacher
Olympics Ideas 2: Beyond sports
Teaching English for and through sport
Dealing with students who don’t ask questions
Different ways of doing a listening
How to teach IELTS Speaking Part Two
Teaching countable and uncountable nouns
63 ways to improve your BULATS writing score
Why does my teacher make me correct my own answers?
Why does my teacher stop me using my dictionary?
A good balance of stand up and sit down activities
A well balanced use of warmers and fillers
When the demands of people who are studying and paying clash
The advantages and disadvantages of blind observations
A well-balanced use of pairwork
Planning a kindergarten first class
Preparing for your first preschool English class
Preparing for your first Business English/ ESP class
First lessons for IELTS classes
How to learn English with your young child
How to improve your pronunciation outside class
Activities for conversation exchanges
How to correct yourself outside class
How to choose English classes for your young kids
Video tasks for practice past tenses
Video tasks for present simple and continuous
Video tasks for specific language points and skills
An A to Z guide to Cambridge Delta Module 2
Cambridge Delta Module 2 by numbers
Classroom language for teaching pronunciation
Video tasks for future and conditionals
Glossary of football words and expressions
Football and World Cup EFL teaching ideas
Classroom language for arts and crafts
The big list of discipline classroom language
Setting up a Self-Access Centre
Classroom language- Phraselist for praising, encouraging and consoling
Useful classroom language for moving around
The big list of ending the lesson language
The big list of language for playing games
Language for talking about lessons
Classroom language when using texts
Activities and topics about history for ESL classes
Classroom language for finishing classes
Prehistory and ancient history for ESL classes
Combing history topics and English grammar
History-themed art, craft and project ideas for English through history
The advantages and disadvantages of eliciting in the EFL classroom
Why did my foolproof activity just fail with that class?
Classroom language when doing listenings
Classroom language when using the board
Classroom language for starting lessons
Preparing to teach your first EFL exam class
A well balanced use of L1 in class
A well balanced use of error correction
Why does my teacher make us work in pairs?
Why does my teacher use games in an adult class?
Why does my teacher make us read difficult authentic texts?
Why does my teacher skip exercises in the textbook?
Why does my teacher make me use an English-English dictionary?
Why does my teacher make me learn English grammar words?
Why does my teacher make me read silently?
Why your students overuse their dictionaries
Why doesn’t my teacher correct all my mistakes when I am speaking?
70 characteristics of a good grammar presentation
Why your students don’t want to do pairwork
Why does my teacher make me learn the phonemic script
Why your students still make mistakes with grammar they know well
Advantages and disadvantages of peer observations
Things to put in a Self- Access Centre or Student Library
Why do my students question me?
Why your students have problems with listening comprehension
Why your students speak L1 in class and ideas on how to use that and/ or stop it
Why your students don’t do their homework, and how to respond
Setting up a TEFL certificate course- Advantages and disadvantages
How to set up a TEFL certificate course
How to break into teacher training
The perfect job reference for a teacher trainer
The perfect CV and cover letter for an EFL exam teacher
The perfect CV and cover letter for TEFL young learners teacher
The perfect CV and cover letter for an EFL manager
The perfect CV and cover letter for a teacher trainer– tips for TEFL job applications, career planning and career development
The perfect CV and cover letter for a Business English teacher
Present Perfect Games and Activities
70 ways to improve your English– self-study and motivation tips for students (also useful for teachers advising students on improving their English outside the classroom)
IELTS Academic reading locating information task tips for teachers– game ideas, tips to give students etc.
TOEIC FAQ- for teachers and students, including updated exam
Choosing a good TOEIC class and good TOEIC teacher– tips for students, but could help you write your CV or ad if you are a good TOEIC teacher, or interview teachers if you are a DoS
100 ways to improve your TOEIC listening– advice on how to approach the exam and self-study for students, but also useful for teachers
The 24 hours before your TOEIC exam– advice for students on last minute preparation, relaxation etc. that you might want to pass onto them in class
21 ways to get more out of your TOEIC class– tips for students on how to make the most of class time
Making textbook listenings manageable and fun
The perfect CV and cover letter for a TEFL teacher– in terms of clicks, one of my most popular articles!
TOEIC exam problems and solutions– focused advice on typical particular student questions and difficulties
Fun for all the family 3- A few fun ways to practice articles and determiners– games for all ages and learning styles
Putting the grammar back into Xmas– lots of fun ideas on how to combine a Xmas lesson with your textbook syllabus
Doing something with Xmas songs– making Xmas songs in adult classes useful for grammar and vocabulary points and skills development
Fun for all the family 2- 26 alphabet and spelling games– reading, writing and spelling games for ESL learners of all ages
100 ways to improve your TOEIC score for students
Combining Xmas with a young learner syllabus– mainly for very young learner (pre-school) classes
Christmas vocabulary you can mime– making Xmas vocabulary fun, interactive and easy to remember for small and very small kids
Tips for the IELTS Academic Reading- Locating information task
Getting published in TEFL Part One- Choosing a route
Career Paths in ELT Publishing Part Two– The Workshops man
Testing and Reviewing New EFL Materials– writing reviews on TEFL websites and in TEFL magazines, and discussing new materials and choosing the best ones for your school
Tips for the Automated Teacher– How to keep your motivation up as the years go by
Career Paths in ELT Publishing– The Articles Man
Why and how to use songs with young learners
Fun for all the family 1- 22 games for teaching numbers for young learners, adults, business English and technical English students all in one- “Fun for all the family!”
IELTS Academic Reading Tips- Matching Headings to Paragraphs Task- Tips for Students and Tips for Teachers
TOEIC Listening Part One Photos Task- Tips for Students and Tips for Teachers
Updated 6 June 2023
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