ESL Recommended Resources

Main 'curriculum' resources:

• Word by Word Picture Dictionary - by far my favorite resource!  The teacher's guide costs a little more than others, but with the guide you also get a second resource book and a CD that includes all those resources ready to print.  The communication practice activities are ranked by level (1 star - lower level, 3 star - high beginner/intermediate).  The reproduceable activities are great!  The student dictionaries include a CD of songs that they can play at home to reinforce what they're learning in class.  There are a LOT of vocabulary words/page, so you need to be careful not to introduce too much material in one sitting, but the first couple pages cover survival information that some other resources skip (what's your name, what's your address, etc.)  This is a resource that could be used with novice through intermediate levels.

• Side by Side Series - Very good resource!  At first, I wasn't all that thrilled with it.  I didn't think it would work for us because I thought it wasn't flexible enough.  I was mistaken!  It's published by Pearson Longman ESL (as is Word by Word), so many of the features I like with Word by Word are available in this series.  Communication Activities are ranked by level.  There are a lot of activities for each lesson.  The reproduceables are great.  My recommendation would be for a student to purchase both the student textbook and the workbook.  I try to provide homework for students to reinforce what they've learned in class.  The workbook does the work for me.  The workbooks also include grammar raps (we refer to these as jazz chants in the workshop) related to each unit.  A teacher's copy of the workbook will include a CD to play the grammar raps and other listening exercises included in the workbook.

• Oxford Basic Picture Dictionary (ideal for the novice level student) - not a bad picture dictionary.  We used this for the first 2 years in Sun Prairie.  I found the teacher's guide to be limited in ideas however.  And the reproduceable resources tended to cover an entire unit, not one specific lesson.  With inconsistent attendance from some students, it's very difficult to have them do an activity that would require attendance the previous 4 or 5 weeks to understand what's going on.  Our intermediate students have used the Oxford Picture Dictionary (the black book) and have been quite content with that, as has our intermediate teacher.

• Chicken Soup for the Soul Conversation Cards - I've been told these are no longer in print.  Check amazon.com.  These are 'non-religious' cards about moral issues that open the door to spiritual conversations.  A MUST have!
  
  
• Something to Talk About - I wish I'd had this book when I was teaching an advanced student, but I'm confident I'll get to use it some this summer!  There are 13 major lessons/topics that really delve into cultural topics.  I prepared a lesson from this book at the Literacy Missions Leadership Workshop and absolutely loved it!

Web Resources - there are literally hundreds of these.  Wading through them can be very time consuming.  I spent a lot more time doing this when I first started teaching because I needed to supplement activities with the Oxford Basic Picture Dictionary.  I have a lot more material to work with now using the other resources, but there are some outstanding resources that are FREE and I highly recommend checking them out!

• Pronunciation - save the expense of purchasing a minimal pairs book and add this pronunciation website to your favorites.  I recommend downloading the PDF version for each sound.  There are a variety of minimal pair activities and this can be used for novices through advanced.  There are tongue twisters for advanced students.  Warning:  this is a secular website and they do use a few words that I have edited out when I teach.  My students may pick up foul language outside of the classroom but they aren't going to learn it from me!!  Otherwise a very good resource.
  
  
• Conversation Questions by Subject - there are books you could purchase on this as well (a couple listed in the TELL manual).  But this site lists hundreds of conversation starters by topic.  Great resource!
  
  
• Blogs and other great info - Kenneth Beare has a great site that I've enjoyed plugging into the last couple years.  I signed up to receive weekly emails and sometimes there will be a topic that catches my eye.  Initially, I used his 20 lessons for absolute beginners.  Very helpful!  There's a lot here, so you may want to just sign up to receive those weekly emails to start, and explore the site as you have time.
  
  
• Youtube and Tangle - They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Then a video must be worth a million!  From time to time, I've used clips of TV shows and other videos in the classroom.  They can be great conversation starters.  Oftentimes, an idea can be clearly expressed through video even when the language is not easily understood.  For example, we showed a clip from the pilot episode of the Cosby Show (the one where Cliff is teaching young Theo about money using Monopoly money).  This led to discussions about all the expenses we have.  Groups listed all of their monthly expenses and ranked them in order of importance (yes, tithing came up!)  A couple weeks later, one of our students came back and told me she'd used this same demonstration with her son who wasn't doing well in school and wasn't trying very hard.  Tangle is like Christian Youtube.  There's a lot of junk on Youtube, so you need to be careful.  I've never run across anything questionable on Tangle.
  
  
• Spelling poems - want to really challenge an advanced student, or perhaps just gain a greater appreciation for the complexity of the English language?  Check out these fun, and challenging poems!

Online Bible Translations - when providing Scripture for my students, I like to share in both English and in their heart language.  These two sites (BibleGateway and UnBoundBible) will probably meet most of your needs in finding Scripture in other languages.   The Hmong Bible, as far as I know, is not available online.  Contact me if you have a need for this particular translation.

ESL Lessons based on Scripture - one of the best resources I've seen is The Hope ESL Curriculum on CD.  Once you get your copy, look around and I think you'll find you can use this with most levels of English language students.  It provides several ways to teach English based on the Bible from Creation through Christ.  This program is high-quality and inexpensive (only a few dollars, or free if you attend one of my ESL workshops).  Roofbreakers allows you to copy the CD as long as you don't alter it in any way. 

Culture and World Religions - one of the best books I've read on understanding Culture, and how to deal with cultural misunderstandings is Patty Lane's A Beginner's Guide to Crossing Cultures.  Other resources for studying various cultures and religions are listed here:

• CultureGrams - Learn about the cultures of your students' native countries.  Can be purchased individually (by country) or as a world bundle.
  
  
• World Religions - Search 4Truth's site for information on the major world religions. 
  

There is a lot more out there.  These are just my favorites!  Please email me and share the materials you've had success with (or what you didn't have success with, and why).  Remember, there are no perfect textbooks, but they're a great place to start!