YL (Children and Teenagers) Weblinks
The weblink pages are constantly being refreshed, renewed, relinked ... lots of new sources, lots of new ideas! If you have any comments, suggestions, links ... write to Hans and let us know.
NEW LINKS ON DRAMA IN THE EFL/ESL CLASSROOM FOLLOWING OUR RECENT ONLINE DISCUSSION FIELDED BY SUSAN HILLYARD.
These pages are maintained by Hans Mol at Southern Cross Connexxions (www.connexxions.com.au). The key to your search
 All ages  Primary (3-7)
 Primary (7-12)  Secondary (12-16)
YL SIG Calendar CATS Discussions IATEFL Young Learners (Children and Teenagers) Special Interest Group does not endorse the content of any of the web sites in this collection. Users are responsible for the use of these sites. Acronyms Galore! Clip Art Collection for Foreign Language Instruction: collection of clip art (simple line-drawings) to be used by foreign language instructors. Drawings are designed to be as culturally and linguistically neutral as possible. You can use these drawings freely so long as they are used for not-for-profit educational purposes. Learn English with Pictures is a free, online, resource to learn English words in a fun way. The site has over 400 words and photographs ranging from animals to kitchen appliances.
The interface is simple and both kids and adults who are learning English will find this educational website entertaining and useful. Names of Animals, Babies and their Groups: you''ll also find animal print-outs, quizzes, basic information, rhymes and colouring if you follow the links at the bottom of their page. American and British EnglishSites on which you can find information about differences between American and British English. Michigan Proficiency Exams The very best of British ArticlesAre We Making Teaching Too Difficult? P.S.Westwood 2002. See also related discussion list summary on Differentiation in the members'' area. Developing Thinking Skills in Primary Students, by Maria Susana Obiglio. See also discussion summary on ''Learning Strategies'' in the members'' area . Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language? Should my child learn a second language? What are the benefits? Is it best for my child to learn a language in Elementary school? How are languages taught to children? The Place of Storytelling in Language Teaching, by Peter Falvey and P. Kennedy. Teaching Japanese-English Bilingual Children to Read English at Home: by Craig Smith of Kyoto University Classroom ResearchResearch database - list of ongoing research by YL
members Research Moodle for ongoing research Recommended YL books CLIL: Content and Language Integrated LearningLanguage Across the Curriculum: resources for developing and administering CLIL programmes. Dragonfly: excellent resource describing various nature project activities. CPL Kids: Useful site with general info on other countries. Info varies in terms of ''child friendliness� depending on country. Educación Bilingüe en E.S: A meeting place where CLIL and Bilingual education teachers "can share material, experiences, ideas, etc. in order to take shelter and where" you "can meet friends and [...] can help others who are working on a similar project in bilingual education or CLIL." Collaborative learningGlobal SchoolNet Foundation: The original resource for global project-based learning, problem-based learning, and online collaborative learning.maps; to increase awareness of geographical and cultural diversity. Global Schoolhouse: Joint Global SchoolNet / Microsoft venture aiming to bring educational resources to students, educators, parents and the extended learning community. IMUNA: not-for-profit NGO dedicated to furthering global issues education at the secondary school level. Model United Nations: Participants learn about other people, cultures and international relationships while developing a global perspective on real issues in the world community today. The Elementary and Middle School version of this United Nations simulation can be found here. UNICEF Voices of Youth Home Page: educational meeting and learning place - some useful ideas pitched primarily to students at the primary and secondary school level; includes a fairly age-graded set of materials for each topic. English Through the Internet and the Internet through English: virtual course aiming to teach the Internet and improve the reading and writing skills of the participants, including young learners. Not updated but still useful. Commercial publishersCambridge ELT : info and extension activities for Cambridge ELT Young Learner courses.
Creative Resources : educational materials for young learners. English Gateway: online vocabulary topics for intermediate and advanced ESL learners. Exercises on idioms, phrasal verbs and collocations. FunSongs is a small, independent ELT (English Language Teaching) publishing company that provides English teachers and young learners with original action songs and study material based on the FunSongs method of language learning. Grandma''s Stories: Grandma''s Stories Ltd. Bilingual books, fun educational programme and audio CD. These fictional stories, firmly based on archaeology, progress from the Ice Age to The Roman Empire. While learning English children learn history and geography. There are language skills projects, topics for discussion, suggestions for activities, art, drama and encouragement to use the internet. The bilingual books are designed so that adults can improve their English while reading, in their mother tongue, to children. Instant Lessons from English to Go: hundreds of English Language lessons, warmers and grammar tips at various levels. A free weekly sample lesson is offered: the rest are available by subscription. Kidsreads.com: site for children 6-12. The site''s mascot, Booker T. Worm, guides readers through titles that include series books, new titles and author features. Reading lists and reviews are grouped by reader ability. Letterland: commercial reading system used in many primary schools and useful for very young learners of the English alphabet. Longman ELT: materials for young learners and and YL teachers. L2 designs and publishes language learning solutions using new learning technologies. WORDREADY is a multimedia online resource designed to support vocabulary learning and teaching for 7-12 year-olds (Cambridge YLE Starters, Movers & Flyers). The L2 site has a collection of free interactive word revision and learning games to help lower levels develop and expand their vocabulary. Ideal for setting as homework during the holidays. McGraw-Hill School Division: Teaching Resources - various web-linked language activities for US grades 1 - 8. Oxford ELT: a useful source of material. As well as catalogues and special offers, there are resources for students and teachers. The teachers'' club offers classroom resources, tips, articles and forums. Also check out the fun interactive student game and activity pages they have, such as "I spy", "Happy House", "Happy Street", "Happy Earth", "Adventures" and "New Hotline". Questique: a strategy crossword board game with a handicapping system that allows mixed ability players to compete as equals. Teenreads.com: combines pop culture books with new young adult titles and the best adult books suited for teens. The result: a site where teens sound off about the books and issues they care about. CommunitiesEnglish language Teachers' Forum: ELT Forum is designed for anyone involved in ELT, whether they are teachers, teacher trainers, teacher trainees or material developers. and offers live discussion forums, downloadable development packs (with articles, extracts from published books and tasks), bibliographies and message boards. Teaching English is the British Council's web site with ideas on teaching, feedback and communities, tips and lesson plans for EFL teachers. Longman.com is Longman's teacher site, parts of which you need to subscribe to, with many resources and useful ELT links. Onestopenglish is Macmillan's teacher site, parts of which you can subscribe to (Staff Room). Dave's ESL Cafe: The Internet's Meeting place for ESL and EFL teachers and students from around the World. Yuki's EFL-ESL Bulletin Board: dedicated to teaching English at secondary schools around the world. Contains a useful overview of the TEFL situation in many different countries around the world. ELTlinkup: This site isn't only about contacting people. There is a Message Board where you can discuss any issues you wish to raise. There is a Job Vacancies section where you can place an ad or find a job. There is an area where you can produce a professional looking CV/R�sum� and save it on the site and there are links to Special Interest Groups and a calendar of ELT related events. The Resources section, which is still under development, includes links to courses, new publications and special interest groups. Shambles: This website is designed to support the international school communities (teachers, support staff, administrators, students and families) in 17 countries in South East Asia. Sites for teachers: links to hundreds of sites with free materials. ESL Teachers' Board. myETP.com: This new site was created for TEFL teachers and gives you all the tools you need to set up your own page, create a network, share teaching ideas, ask for advice, tell people your favourite tips and keep up to date with friends current and past colleagues in schools around the world. ComputersBagettaWare: prolific site with many simple downloadable programs for making teachers'' lives easier, with many literature links. Children's Software Revue: selected articles about educational software for children. Owl and Mouse Educational software� partly free resources: plans to build a castle, town, village or farm; active learning projects and free software.
Creating wikis: how to create one. Using wikis with your students.
How to use wikis for teacher development. A wiki aimed at
helping teachers to learn IT related terminology and ask questions about technology. A wiki experiment in collaborative writing. It's based on the Cinderella story and aims to explore the story from different perspectives. Listen-and-write.com: dictation goes web- this website offers online dictation activities.
Discussion list summariesDiscussion list summaries are compiled from online discussions between language learning professionals like yourself on the IATEFL Young Learners SIG discussion list between 2001 and the present. They reflect the views of YL practitioners and experts from around the world on a range of current issues. They are available in the members'' area of this web site. If you are a member and have forgotten your username and password, or if you wish to become a member of the Young Learners Special Interest Group, please see here. ELT organisationsALTE: The Association of Language Testers in Europe. For more research background to the CEFR. British Council. The British Council''s pages with activities and advice for children and teenagers. European Language Portfolio The European Language Portfolio was developed and piloted by the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, from 1998 until 2000. It was launched on a pan-European level during the European Year of Languages as a tool to support the development of pluri-lingualism and pluri-culturalism. The National Centre for Languages : Several interesting articles on young learners and language learning. ESOLESOL Online: part of the Online Learning Centre ESOL Online is New Zealand''s bilingual education portal and is an initiative of the Ministry of Education Games, songs, craftsCops n Robbers: just one of many games and resources for children at Kenneth Bear''s excellent ESL section of the About.com site. EFL Playhouse: Chants, crafts, games, recipes, songs, teaching tips, etc, for primary learners of English. ESL KidStuff: Lots of resources (some free, some require a paid membership): flashcards, worksheets, games, ESL jobs, discussion forum. Games & Activities for the ESL Classroom: a project of the Internet TESL Journal, not specifically for young learners, but very useful. Guess the Object, Tic-Tac-Toe, Question & Answer Game, Kim''s Game on Video, Video Scavenger Hunt, etc. LearnEnglish: The Kids Zone of the British Council LearnEnglish website. With games, quizzes, stories, poems, songs, and a new theme added each week. Musical Activities for Young Learners of EFL: see also song activities at various levels here. Onestopenglish.com: Macmillan's resources website has a Young Learners section with lots of activities eg for Arts and Crafts. Staff Room offers extra content (subscription). Supersimplesongs: a site full of music, teaching ideas, worksheets, flashcards and videoclips showing you How To. Teaching English to Young Children: cards, board games, puppets, masks, etc, for very young learners. The Bus Stop: games, songs, ideas for using flashcards and other resources for the primary classroom designed to complement MiniBus and SuperBus coursebook series, which can also be used independently. The Holiday Zone: an educational site which provides seasonal games, songs, arts and crafts activities, reading comprehension exercises and more for English language learners.
Tiddleywinks: ESL games and teaching activities for primary children.
Neuroscience for Kids -Brain Games : Games to learn about the nervous system and brain.
ORIGAMI - great site for everything to do with Origami paper folding.
Games and quizzes
Sheppard software: a collection of quizzes and games, useful for CLIL curricula. World-English: English language activities, exercises and tests. An apple 4 the teacher: A Fun Educational Website for Teachers and Kids, also for other languages and subjects. Skillswise: a BBC website with vocabulary and grammar games. English Vocabulary Games with Pictures. Primary Resources: word, sentence and text level exercises. The problem site: free online educational word games. Integrated skills
WritingDEN is designed for students Grades 6 through 12 seeking to improve their English reading, comprehension, and writing skills. WritingDEN is divided into three levels of difficulty: Words, Sentences and Paragraphs.
Language travel
Loecsen Orizon is a web site providing basic conversational English (and other languages) for travellers and beginners. Sentences are accompanied by sound and pictures to illustrate the situation where conversation happens.
Language Studies Abroad are language schools abroad for junior and adult students. You can study abroad 10 languages in over 40 countries. ESL provides programmes such as language courses abroad, internships, paid jobs and voluntary working experience.
EF: EF Education First - The World Leader in International Education. Language Learning Programs, Academic and University preparation programs and Cultural Exchange Programs for young learners, teenagers, young adults and adults.
Frisby�s Home of English: Learn a foreign language in the native country. Placements at the worlds best language schools. Visit our site to order a free brochure.
Lesson plans
ESLFlow.com: links to many web resources under topic headings such as education, travel, complaints, etc, organised under 3 levels: Elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate.
English-to-go: Free full instant reading lesson of the week (incl. pre, in and post-reading activities), based on current news stories from Reuters. Pre-Intermediate+. The (paid) subscription gives you access to warmers & grammar activities banks (also pre-intermediate+), lesson library and message board.
University of Alberta Libraries Lesson Plan Page - a series of links by Alberta University to various EFL / ESL lesson plan sites on the Internet.
MES English - free downloadable board games and card games for teachers of young learners.
Nellie''s English Projects - WebQuest projects on a variety of subjects for students aged 5 - 15. Basic procedure: introduce, research, present, evaluate. Excellent site.
Onestopenglish : Lots of resources for teachers of young learners. Methodology articles with linked lesson plans.
Puffin resources: detailed lesson notes and various activities based on Puffin books.
Teach children ESL: free worksheets, games, songs, and flash cards. Teachers can download the files to print without registration.
EFL Resources: The EFL / ESL / ESOL Resources site contains a large collection of freely available PowerPoint presentations and worksheets that can be used in teaching and learning English as a foreign language. You can also find a collection of useful books related to teaching and learning English as a foreign language in the Books section.
CALL 4 All - World CALL Directory. A Virtual Encyclopedia of all major language learning links, Web dictionaries and Computer-Assisted Language Learning organizations in the world.
Hot Links by Subject ( incl. Connections+) : lesson plans, activities, curriculum resources, etc., from McRell. Language Arts section contains activities on Shakespeare, folk tales, myths and legends, creative writing, spelling practice, poetry, etc. See also Educator resources.
FRET: free resources, lesson ideas and Schemes of Work for teachers of English Language and Literature at secondary level.
Teachit.co.uk: Introduction to poetry, ballads, NEAB anthology, war poetry, Carol Ann Duffy, Tony Harrison, Dickens, A Christmas Carol, The Machine Gunners, I am David, The Diary of Anne Frank, Of Mice and Men, wide reading assignments, The Withered Arm, Beloved, The Handmaid''s Tale, The Child in Time, A View from the Bridge, Introduction to Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, An Inspector Calls, Measure for Measure, Investigating Magazines, Soap Operas, Advertising project, Newspapers, Gothic genre, Mystery genre, reading skills, writing skills, speaking and listening skills, Media terms, Seven, film genre, film narrative, Drama warm ups and cool downs ... phew!
Lyrics
Get Lyrics: not ESL, but very useful - find the lyrics to lots of different songs.
Listening
Learnenglishkids Ideal for younger learners, here you can listen to (and read) short (and longer) stories in simple English. Great fun!
Randall''s ESL Cyber Listening Lab. Lots of quizzes in English for General Purposes, and English for Academic Purposes, Videos and a lot more! (classified by level and topic) (also by Randall: http://www.dailyesl.com/ - which integrates listening into lesson plans!) Further research on: http://learningwithcomputers07.pbwiki.com/Teachinglistening.
Lists and newsgroups
IATEFL Young Learners discussion list: Yahoo! Group for the general discussion of issues relating to the teaching of English to Young Learners 3 - 17.
TESL-L: one of the oldest TEFL lists in existence is still running, Anthea Tillyer''s TESL-L (and sub lists).
The Learningwithcomputers list produce and collect resources rather than just discuss issues� learningwithcomputers@yahoogroups.com. A high proportion of the members are teachers of younger children, and many from South America. They set assignments - "Recommend at least one grammar site", gather them all into a wiki and then go on to the next topic.
Scott Thornbury''s dogme list at dogme@yahoogroups.com does not specifically discuss "young learners" but can be good as discussing general psychological and pedagogical issues as they apply to the learning of languages.
TTEdSIG: for those who are involved in teacher education/training with reference to the teaching of young learners.
Sites Neteachers Thought Were Cool!: sites submitted monthly at Neteach-L, many relevant to young learners.
NETEACH-L: international discussion group for EFL/ESL teachers interested in using the Internet as an educational tool.
Teaching English: questions and answers, feedback and communities on a cluster of BBC British Council sites.
Literacy
NALD The Canadian literacy website with links to literacy organizations and information.
The Literacy Site: The Literacy Site was founded to help promote literacy among children from low-income families nationwide. Partnering with First Book and Room to Read, the site makes books available to children around the world, giving many children their very first book.
Methodology
ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics: digests, bibliographies, newsletters, etc. on Second (not only English) language learning- eg.
SEAL: UK ''Society for Effective Affective Learning''. Conflict resolution, self esteem, non-violent communication, etc. for your classroom.
Research
CAL has earned a national and international reputation for its contributions to the fields of bilingual education, English as a second language, literacy, foreign language education, dialect studies, language policy, refugee orientation, and the education of linguistically and culturally diverse adults and children.
Newsroom
Breakingnewsenglish.com: Ready-to-use ESL/EFL current affairs lessons and plans. Graded news articles, listenings and communicative activities uploaded daily.
One World: brilliant site regularly updated with current information on global issues. First stop for secondary students who want to find out what''s going on in the world.
Newspapers
The number of newspapers useful to the English language classroom seems to be endless. These are a few of the more obvious ones to look for resources in.
EducationGuardian.co.uk
Times
Telegraph
Sydney Morning Herald
Online Newspapers: they claim to be the largest collections of (links to) online newspapers in the world. A valuable resource if you are looking for that latest article on anything. Online teaching magazines
Open2.net: Open2.net is the online learning portal from the Open University and the BBC.
BBC Learning English: you can find links to and information about resources for teachers. There is also an area for teachers to share their ideas on a range of teaching topics.
English Teaching Forum: you can find a large collection of back issues here for the US Department of State's magazine English Teaching Forum.
Other resources sites
Links of Interest to Students & Teachers of English as a Second Language.
ITESLJ
ASL Gold
Englishclub.com
TESOL Max
TEFL Net
ESL Directory
TeacherXpress
Pen pals: connecting kids around the world
Global SchoolNet: how and why to go about collaborating.
InterLink project: description of a 1997 British Council project bringing together school in New Zealand and Britain across the World Wide Web. Useful for other teachers who''d like to do the same.
ePALS Classroom Exchange: connecting classrooms around the world.
Kids Com ''Make Friends'' section and Kidworld Keypals: collection of Internet sites where children can find keypals and teachers can find key pals or email collaboration projects for their students.
Teddy Bear Project: looks into the idea of sending a soft toy on a cultural exchange! The teddy represents the country of origin in name and dress, the host class sends postcards or email reports home, telling what the teddy has experienced.
Windows on the World: a database for schools and colleges (5 - 19 age range) looking for partner schools anywhere on the planet to develop international education projects.
Projects
The Toymaker.com: free paper toys that you can make yourself. Just print them out, cut, glue and enjoy. Lovely tool for the YL classroom.
The Holiday Zone: a site with interesting information about (American and international) holidays.
Running a student EFL magazine as a mini business: how to set up and run a self-financing student magazine.
Making Science Fun! A site presenting fun experiments for the age range 4 to 120 …
Reference sites and online dictionaries
Thesaurus: always looking for another word? This site helps you out in a second.
Ask Oxford: OUP’s reference site with answers to most of your questions.
ALTE: the website of the Association of Language Testers in Europe, giving you insight into Can do statements underlying CEFR.
BBC H2G2: a site full of materials, your “guide to Life, the Universe and, well, Everything.”
Teacher’s TV is an Education Guardian service, a channel for everyone who works in education. Offering programmes that take you inside classrooms and schools across the UK to see how good teachers are bringing the curriculum to life and improving schools.
Stories, poems and drama
PIZZAZ!: excellent resource 'for People Interested in Zippy and ZAny Zsribblings'. For use with EFL/ESL students of all ages, high beginner upwards. Poetry, fiction, 'Bag of Tricks', creating tongue twisters, etc.
Real Books - "Written to entertain and delight children. Although they are enriching they are not text books for learning English." Includes a list of suitable real books for beginners, how to use them; and a downloadable newsletter.
News form the Net 5: A wonderful wide selection of story telling links.
ChildrenOnlyESL: commercial site with many freely available short plays for very young learners.
Grandma's Stories: Bilingual books, fun educational programme and audio CD. These fictional stories, firmly based on archaeology, progress from the Ice Age to The Roman Empire. While learning English children learn history and geography. There are language skills projects, topics for discussion, suggestions for activities, art, drama and encouragement to use the internet. The bilingual books are designed so that adults can improve their English while reading, in their mother tongue, to children.
Sebastian Swan (also knows as Infant Explorer): This site contains interactive books and encourages young children to send e-mails and have their opinions published on the site. There's also a section for teachers with suggested activities and printable materials (cards, stickers, worksheets, etc.) to accompany the books.
StoryArts: Concise folktale and fable plots, ideas for the classroom and for collecting family stories, articles on storytelling, a free newsletter, reasons for storytelling, guidelines for retelling, using stories for assessment.
CNN Stories Archive - Each module includes the full text of each story and interactive activities to test comprehension. Your can choose to read the text, listen to the text, and view a short video clip of the story.
Creative Resources hands-on multi-sensory learning for 4-7 year olds. The Performers Educational Plays is an international theatre company which produces plays in English, to serve the educational needs of English language teaching institutions everywhere.
Improvisation: lots of basic ideas for drama improvisation
A core booklist on drama with the best names like Boal, Bolton, Heathcote, O'Neil and Neelands and Morgan and Saxton: Teaching Drama, A Mind of Many Wonders.
A site with lots of plain speaking and examples for teachers new to drama.
BBC site with lots of stagecraft techniques for Ts to use in the classroom.
British National Curriculum on-line. I've just selected the listening and speaking but you can go to all the skills to see the components.
Drama syllabus for Primary Schools
A whole library for the drama enthusiast. I only recently found this so cannot tell you more.
A paper on how role play and simulations facilitate L2 acquisition. Lots of papers on all aspects of Drama in ELT.
Gary Carkin's ESL/EFL blog which allows you to contribute to research and his website.
Publish your students’ work
Kidpub: authentic publishing of stories and poems for individual kids and whole classes.
Children's Writings: a listing of sites that allow young learners to publish their own work.
Stone Soup: a bimonthly magazine that publishes young (8-13) writers' and artists' work -stories, poems, book reviews, artwork. It appears in print but there's an online sample issue and also highlights from past issues.
Diary Project: designed to open up a dialogue - electronic or paper - between children around the world. Encourages children to write freely and often on a variety of subjects: relationships, tolerance, who am I?, friends, violence, etc.
Teacher development
Edinburgh University: summer courses in teaching English to Young Learners
Embassy CES: courses in teaching English to Young Learners, in Hastings and New York.
Leeds University: M.ED in TESOL for Young Learners.
NILE (Norwich Institute for Language Education): courses for teachers, some specific to teaching YLs. The MA also has a YL optional module.
Strathclyde University: Courses for teachers.
University of York: MA (distance) in teaching English to young learners.
Warwick University: MA in English Language Teaching to Young Learners.
Open Learning International: distance learning course in teaching English to Young Learners.
TEFL Professional Network - Teacher training courses: links to many (not just Young Learner) teacher training courses in the UK.
Tests and external exams
English-test.net: a web site offering information about and exercises for external exams and tests. Not specifically for young learners, but could be useful.
Learning English Online: a website packed with grammar, vocabulary, games and tests. You can learn English words, practise grammar, look at some basic rules, prepare for exams, do tests or just have fun playing games. Enjoy yourself with more than 550 exercises online.
Tools
Puzzlemaker: Create and print your own word search, crossword and math puzzles. you can also build your own mazes or print ready made ones.
See also Brain Boosters
TIMESAVERS for TEACHERS specializes in printable, often-used classroom forms, report card comments, practical teacher tools, worksheets and downloadable teaching materials designed to save teachers valuable time. Be a well organized, better prepared and more efficient teacher by using these 8 popular books and... have more time for other things in life as well!
Policies and government
UNESCO: selected education documents: relating to the state of children's education in various parts of the world - Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia & the Pacific Region, Arab States, etc. Click on the abstract to get the full text.
Web quests
Nellie's English Projects - WebQuest projects on a variety of subjects for students aged 5 - 15. Basic procedure: introduce, research, present, evaluate. Excellent site.
The Webteach pages provide info, links and examples of web quests.
Using the computer and Internet in your classroom: an online lesson for teachers.
Writing
The Writing Wizard: this site automatically makes handwriting practice worksheets for children. The one-word and multi-word wizards give you flexibility in editing your worksheets to suit your students needs - and it's all for free! Just type in the words you want and click the create worksheet button - easy!
Startwrite: this "handwriting worksheet wizard" helps you to create your own worksheets using various fonts in various styles (dotted, dashed, solid), and optional clipart.
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