Sean Banville's Blog

People Who Save Teachers Time and Help Students – For Free

Of all the English teaching materials in the world, the ones I like best are those that are online and free. Not that I mind paying for good materials, mind you – it’s just that online materials are better (imho) than those you pay for – both those online and in textbooks.

Why is this?

The guys providing lesson plans for free…

1. are doing it because they love writing and creating materials. They aren’t doing it because it’s their job.
2. have a clear vision of what they want to do and then get it done.
3. are not constrained by editors who require materials to fit within a global, generic textbook mould.
4. are dedicated and talented materials writers.
5. know what motivates students.
6. appreciate what busy teachers need.
7. can create materials publishers are too afraid to touch.
8. are in the classroom day in, day out.
9. have a good sense of what works and what doesn’t with today’s learners.
10. can and do very regularly produce materials based on what happened one hour ago (almost) or on that day.

I am writing this post to congratulate some of my favourite materials writers for the valuable work they do in providing millions of teachers and students around the world with top quality, free and very regular lesson plans. They do so despite having full-time jobs. I know at least one has a full-time and several part-time jobs and a side job or three.

I make a few lessons myself and receive a few e-mails from busy teachers and happy students thanking me for them. I guess the good people below also receive similar mail:

Sue Lyon-Jones

I would love to produce the visually appealing and pedagogically well-thought-out materials Sue produces at http://www.esolcourses.com/. She has built a beautifully laid out site that is easy to navigate. Her links entice us to click on them. When doing so, we are constantly rewarded with some of the best materials available anywhere in the world. Sue hits the spot ever time with her grading of language, ability to arouse interest and her use of multi-media. She currently has me in a panic that I’m not using video   Sue also has a lovely blog (http://the-pln-staff-lounge.blogspot.com/)and is an enthusiastic, sharing and ever-supportive tweeter (http://twitter.com/esolcourses)

Chris Cotter

A quick skim through Chris’ site (http://www.headsupenglish.com) leaves one in no doubt Chris is a man dedicated to the cause of providing high quality materials on topics that will motivate learners every time. Chris creates weekly all-skills, X-page lessons on current news for high-intermediate and advanced learners. He also has mini-lessons on extremely original and stimulating topics. Another facet of Chris’ site is his weekly newsletter in which he provides tips and ideas for teachers. Chris has also written a book full of practical and reproducible ideas for the classroom: http://www.betterlanguageteaching.com. Chris also tweets: http://twitter.com/cotterHUE.

Todd Beuckens

Todd’s incredible http://www.elllo.org is my favourite site for listening. It is simply unbeatable. There are over 1,000 excellent listenings on all manner of topics. Each listening is accompanied by lovely flash activities and games that engage students with the transcript. It includes dialogues read by voices from all over the world. Todd also has a blog ELLLO-ology (http://ellloblog.blogspot.com/)

David Deubelbeiss

A visit to the Site Map of David’s ning (http://eflclassroom.ning.com/directory.html) is a jaw-dropping experience. It is unbelievable how someone with a full-time job can create something so incredibly all-encompassing. It is the candy store (of Willy Wonka-esque vision) of EFL teaching – everything you want is here. David has obviously worked tirelessly to create a learning and teaching community based around high quality materials, discussions and everything web 2.0. When I grow up I want a site like David’s. Catch up with David on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ddeubel.

Sandy and Thomas Peters

Sandy and Thomas are behind the excellent Topics Online Magazine (http://www.topics-mag.com), which started way back in 1997. It is a wonderful resource for reading. The couple have amassed a wonderful wealth of inspiring readings written by students from all over the world. My students love it. I love it for its cosmopolitan nature and the fact my students can peek into other cultures via very accessible readings. The striking photos on the site enhances its attractiveness.

It is my hope these people continue to create and be happy with what they do each and every day.

It is also my hope they get suitably rewarded one day, perhaps commensurate with their considerable efforts day in, day out over many years. J They don’t charge $29.95 or more to subscribe to or access their lessons, nor do they earn commissions, speaking fees and royalties from the big publishers.

Follow them. Bookmark/Favourite them. Use their resources. Recommend them.