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Tutor and Teacher Resources
Connect with other tutors and teachers on the Project Literacy Facebook group! Find resources, ask questions, and share success stories with your colleagues. (Joining requires a Facebook account.)
- Lesson Planning & Printable Worksheets
- Multimedia Tools
- News & Current Events
- Training
- Tutor Newsletter
- Additional Resources
- Meeting Spaces
Project Literacy Beginner Manual: Written by Project Literacy teacher Erin, this is a step-by-step textbook, manual and resource goldmine all rolled into one.
A4ESL: Exercises, puzzles and bilingual quizzes in over forty languages.
Breaking News English: Over 3,000 English lessons in seven levels. Lesson plans include stories, quizzes, conversation prompts and games.
Dave’s ESL Cafe: Includes sections on grammar, idioms, phrasal verbs and more.
EL Civics: English, U.S. History, Government
English Club: For anyone teaching English. It's a site where learners come to improve their English through online lessons, quizzes, games, forums, blogs, videos, photos etc.
English for Everyone: English printable worksheets. Particularly good are the photo worksheets for question-asking practice
English Grammar Online: Great worksheets for all levels of learners on grammar, writing and reading.
Englishpage.com: Free grammar lessons and interactive exercises. Lots of practice with verb tenses and prepositions.
ESL Flow: Endless free material, including worksheets, on many topics for all levels.
Internet TESL Journal: A monthly Web journal for teachers of English as a second language that provides lesson plans, classroom handouts, activities and projects, and articles on teaching techniques.
Lantern Fish: A great resource for lesson planning with word searches, flash cards, worksheets and more.
Many Things: Downloadable and printable read-alongs, word games word puzzles and more.
Minnesota Literacy: Comprehensive literacy resource offers free lesson plans, support kits and teaching videos as well as teacher trainings. Find resources under Volunteer and Educator Resources tabs.
New York Times Learning Network: Ideas for using the NYT as a resource with English language learners. Includes vocabulary, quizzes and writing prompts.
Purdue OWL: Great source for Grammar information and practice. Especially helpful for tutors, if they’re struggling to explain English language concepts.
Listening
Better@English: For intermediate and advanced learners. Real conversations on podcast about interesting topics. On web-site, full transcripts are available, as well as links to related articles and videos, and English learning and grammar tips for every level.
English Speeches with Subtitles: Speeches by leaders, entertainers, artists and activists with extra-large subtitles.
Story Corps: Authentic conversations on a myriad of compelling topics, with transcripts and photos
TED Talks: Chart of TED Talks organized according to English learner level.
Visual
BBC: English video lessons on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation with quizzes and printable takeaways organized by level.
ELT-Resourceful: A well-curated collection of short videos, mostly from YouTube. Questions and activities accompany each video. Pick and choose among these for those most appropriate for your learner.
ESL Video: Short videos about high interest topics at five different levels. Short comprehension quizzes accompany most of the videos.
Starting with Pictures: New York Times, What’s Going On in This Picture? Photos from the Times, without captions. Engage learners in discussions using three simple questions: (1) What’s going on in this picture? (2) What do you see that makes you say that? (3) What more can you say about the picture? Picture changes every Sunday.
Ted Videos: Helpful features of these videos: speed can be adjusted to ELL learner; subtitles in English and in other languages; there are transcripts; attractive graphics.
We Speak NYC: Video series about immigrants and the issues they face. 25-minute episodes, scripts and practice activities provided.
Newsela: High-interest current events articles with corresponding images and questions that are offered in up to five different levels. To support distance learning during COVID-19, the entire site is currently free—usually most of the content is available only with a paid subscription.
News for You Online: (password: AC9C89) This website offers easy-to-read news stories that can help you learn to read, write, speak, and understand the English language. Seven new stories are posted each Wednesday, along with audio, exercises, vocabulary, a crossword puzzle, a word search, and a poll.
News in Levels: Short story videos that allow students to read, listen and write responses based on level.
The Times in Plain English: Up to date news articles in simplified English. Great free news source that can offers translation in over two dozen languages.
Voice of America: Articles at lower reading level than News for You and The Times in Plain English. The website also features short English lessons about daily speech and idioms, excellent photographs about world events, and a slowed-down newscast.
Common ESL Grammar Issues for Adult Learners
View the current and past tutor newsletters!
Dream Reader: Reading passages of high interest for all levels. Includes audio, comprehension questions, and key vocabulary lists.
Easy World of English: User-friendly website that includes grammar, pronunciation, reading and listening practice.
Idiom Connection: Who doesn’t love idiom quizzes? Large collection of idioms organized by theme and in alphabetical order.
Learning Chocolate: Vocabulary exercises organized by theme.
Reading and Literacy Resources for Families: This collection of games, read-alongs, and writing prompts can be used to help families gain literacy skills together.
Reading Skills 4 Today: Short articles written for adult learners at a wide range of reading levels. Particularly good for lower-level learners, for whom there aren’t as many relevant and age-appropriate online materials.
Study Room Reservations - Study rooms in the library can be booked for up to two hours per day and can be booked up to four weeks in advance. No library card required; reserve a room online or at the Reference Desk.
Other spaces within the library:
- Red Leaf Café
- Meeting rooms (as available, cannot be booked)
- Tables and chairs on the second floor (excluding periodicals room)
- Project Literacy study room (ask about availability)