BBC Learning English is a department of the BBC World Service devoted to English language teaching. The service provides free resources and activities for teachers and students, primarily through its website.
Health and Wellbeing
An easy to navigate website is good for independent practice and can be used with children. Contains grammar, listening and reading activities from very easy to intermediate levels.
ESL-Galaxy: Free ESL Worksheets, English Teaching Materials, ESL Lesson Plans (esl-galaxy.com)
The ESL legal conversation examples on this page will let you see how legal words are used in natural conversation. By studying them you will be better prepared for if you ever need to talk about this topic.
Free Rice is an easy, online, multiple-choice game that will expand the vocabulary of intermediate and advanced learners of English. As the game was created by the United Nations World Food Program, every question answered correctly raises 10 grains of rice for the World Food Programme. Aside from helping students learn new words in a fun and engaging manner, educators may want to use the website where the game resides as a springboard to conversations about food security worldwide. Using this website is free.
Last reviewed July 2023
This online game is sponsored by the United Nations World Health Organization. Learners can choose from 60 levels of vocabulary. By selecting the correct meaning for the selected word, 10 grains of rice are donated to a country in need.
There is built-in audio to hear the correct pronunciation of the word as well. If a learner makes an error, the word is added back into rotation. Learners can play individually or teams can be set up for competition. It is a free log-in system.
A children's K-8 website containing word games, spelling and vocabulary practice, online books, and a superhero video series. It's divided by grade level; English learners will enjoy the colourful and easy to navigate site with engaging practice materials that are suitable for their level.
Free access:
This is a fast-paced and challenging vocabulary-building game, suitable for intermediate and higher level learners. There are a range of categories from food, Vikings, and astronomy. A commercial version is available.
This site is an online picture dictionary with images, audio and text and activities.
Topics: the body, food, the house, numbers, etc.
Free access:
http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/
The Learning English with CBC website is a project between CBC Edmonton and the Alberta government. The website contains interactive tools - a podcast, video news stories and interactive quizzes at CBL levels 4 and 6, which may be adapted for other levels. New content is posted weekly. The focus is on soft skills to support real world interactions, using local stories from Alberta with broad appeal. Learners can use the site with mobile devices or in school settings.
The TESL Journal Archives contain a treasure trove of links to a wide variety of resources. The links are separated into groups for students and teachers. You'll find games, podcasts, quizzes, pronunciation guides, speaking, spelling, and professional development materials. (Be aware that there are several broken links.)
Free access:
These HTML-only "self-study" quizzes should work on any computer that is able to access the Web. These quizzes DO NOT require JavaScript, Java or a special plugin such as Flash.
There are about 1,000 of these "HTML-only quizzes" on our Activities for ESL Students website. All of these quizzes are also linked from our "grammar" and "vocabulary" menus.
For a limited time, teachers and students will have free access to Spelling City. (Use code: VSCFree90. ) This website provides interactive vocabulary and spelling activities for English learners and mainstream students. Spelling City allows teachers to create and customize their own spelling/vocabulary lists for classes, which are turned into enjoyable learning activities for student practice. The activities were designed to meet the needs of all learners, including those with learning challenges. The website also has pre-set lists and games that students can also access. Premium accounts can be purchased schools. Free basic memberships with limited access are also available.
This site helps students and teachers polish their skills.
