eslHQ Makeover

eslHQ has a new look. Check out my original review of the site for the basics – and a summary of some of the reasons I think it’s cool – and read on right here for the latest.

One change is that the best discussions from the forums are now featured on the main page, so you don’t have to search through the forums if you want to jump right in with advice or questions of your own. You still have to register, of course, as you do to post on nearly any forum, but this is just a matter of sharing your email and creating a user name and password.

A selection of ESL jobs are featured in a box on the right, and a number of already-made worksheets are easily accessible via a page you can get to via one of the new tabs up top. The board games on offer can come in handy if you need something student-centered to fill ten or fifteen minutes, especially with a lower level.

Many which are already made practice vocabulary common to elementary and pre-intermediate levels (in my experience, anyway) – classroom language, weather, animals, etc. – but if you can’t find what you need, you can make your own. I must admit I haven’t done much as far as making my own worksheets online, but eslHQ provides a simple way to do it for registered members.

As far as job ads, the most action takes place in the Asia forums, which is probably quite normal in the world of EFL. And of course the founders are based in Asia, and I believe currently teaching, so suitably qualified experts are on hand!

Finally, this time around I spotted a list of books, several of which I have come across and used in my own teaching with good results…which I take as an indication that their book-selecting judgment is sound. Included is an excerpt of an Amazon.com review and a link to the appropriate Amazon.com page.

The next time you’ve had enough of EFL forum bickering at one well-known ESL forum…find your way over to eslHQ for a more civil crowd and some practical and constructive teaching tips.