OnTESOL

10/01/2026

💻 Looking for an online English teaching job? The highest advertised hourly rate is only part of the picture.

Unpaid preparation, platform fees, cancellations and inconsistent bookings can all affect what you actually earn.

The latest OnTESOL blog explains how to choose an online ESL teaching company that fits your qualifications, schedule and career goals. Learn what to check before applying:

✅ Real earnings after preparation time and fees
✅ Reliable bookings and suitable teaching hours
✅ Provided curriculum versus creating your own lessons
✅ Payment terms and cancellation policies
✅ Opportunities to specialize and grow

Whether you’re starting your TEFL career or looking for a better opportunity, make your next move with confidence.

👉 Read the full guide https://ontesol.com/blog/teaching-english-online/online-english-teaching-company/

The highest hourly rate isn't always the best deal. Learn how to choose an online English teaching company by comparing pay, bookings and contracts

09/26/2026

In the Activate stage of an ESA lesson, students need a meaningful goal and the freedom to choose their own language. They might solve a problem, negotiate a decision, plan an event or respond to a realistic scenario.

The latest OnTESOL article shares 15 Activate stage activities, with examples you can adapt for your next ESL lesson.

Read the article: https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/lesson-planning/15-activate-stage-activities-for-esa-lessons/

Which Activate activity works best with your students?

15 Activate stage activities for ESA lessons — role-plays, ranking tasks, negotiations and a test for whether a task is truly Activate.

09/19/2026

The Study stage of an Engage-Study-Activate (ESA) lesson should be more than a grammar explanation followed by a worksheet.

Effective Study stages progress from controlled exercises that develop accuracy to less-controlled activities that prepare learners for the Activate stage, where they use English more independently to complete a communicative task.

Explore 15 practical Study-stage activities that help learners improve accuracy, build confidence, and prepare for the Activate stage.

✅ Gap-fill exercises
✅ Substitution and transformation drills
✅ Error-correction activities
✅ Controlled dialogues
✅ Information gaps
✅ Class surveys—and more!

Read the full OnTESOL article:
https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/lesson-planning/15-study-stage-activities-and-drills-for-esa-lessons/

09/03/2026

Can you tell the difference between Study and Activate stage of an ESA lesson plan?

A communicative activity is not automatically an Activate activity. The key question is how much control students have over the language they use.

In the Study stage, learners focus on specific target language and progress from controlled practice to more communicative practice. In the Activate stage, they use English more freely to complete a genuine task.

This OnTESOL guide explains:

✅ What separates Study from Activate
✅ Why some speaking activities are still Study tasks
✅ How to move from controlled practice to genuine communication
✅ How to design clearer, more effective ESA lesson plans

Learn how to create a smooth progression from accuracy to fluency:

🔗 https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/lesson-planning/study-vs-activate-esa/

Pair work doesn't make an activity Activate. Learn how teacher control separates Study from Activate in ESA — and how to bridge the gap.

08/12/2026

No experience? You can still build a strong ESL resume!

Getting your first English teaching job can feel difficult when you don't know what to write on your resume about previous ESL teaching experience.

The good news is that schools hiring newly certified ESL teachers aren’t necessarily expecting years of classroom experience.

A strong entry-level ESL resume should highlight what you do bring:

✅ Your TESOL/TEFL training
✅ Lesson planning skills
✅ Transferable skills from hospitality, customer service, sales, administration, coaching, and other jobs
✅ Volunteer, tutoring, mentoring, or leadership experience
✅ Technology skills such as Zoom, Google Classroom, Canva, and Microsoft Teams
✅ Communication, organization, and classroom-ready skills

The key is to stop presenting yourself as someone who “doesn’t have experience” and start showing employers how your training and previous experience have prepared you to teach.

Read the latest OnTESOL blog to Learn how to turn your teacher training, previous jobs, and transferable skills into a professional ESL resume that can help you land your first teaching position.

👉 https://ontesol.com/esl-resources/how-to-write-an-esl-resume-when-you-dont-have-teaching-experience/

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08/05/2026

🚀 Do Your ESL Lessons Start With Energy... or Silence?

The first few minutes of your lesson can make the difference between students who are eager to participate and students who spend the rest of the class holding back.

In the ESA lesson planning framework, strong Engage Stage activities do more than break the ice. They activate background knowledge, spark curiosity, build confidence, and prepare learners for the language they'll use throughout the lesson.

In this guide, you'll discover:
✅ Practical Engage Stage activities for different ages and levels
✅ Ways to connect ESA lessons to students' real lives
✅ Tips to boost participation from the very beginning

Whether you're teaching English abroad, online, or in your local classroom, having a variety of engaging lesson starters will help create more communicative, student-centered lessons.

Find 15 Engage Stage activities in the OnTESOL blog
https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/lesson-planning/esl-engage-activities/

07/28/2026

Ready to move beyond the basic Engage → Study → Activate lesson?

Many ESL teachers learn the ESA framework but don't realize there are three different lesson patterns, each designed for different teaching situations.

In this new guide, you'll discover:

✅ Straight Arrow ESA – the ideal structure for introducing new grammar and vocabulary.

✅ Boomerang ESA – let students communicate first, identify language gaps, then teach what they actually need.

✅ Patchwork ESA – a flexible approach that allows you to move naturally between engaging, studying, and communicating based on your students' needs.

Understanding when to use each pattern will help you create more communicative, student-centred lessons and become a more confident lesson planner.

This OnTESOL guide will help you choose the right ESA lesson structure for every classroom.

📖 Read the full article here:
https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/esa-lesson-patterns-exp

Learn to do ESA lesson plans with an accredited OnTESOL course: https://ontesol.com/tesol-certificate-online/

07/14/2026

The PPP lesson planning framework—Presentation, Practice, and Production—provides a clear structure for ESL lessons, but using it effectively is not always easy.

Common challenges include:

✅ Lessons becoming too teacher-centered
✅ Students freezing during the Production stage
✅ Activities being too controlled or too difficult
✅ Accuracy taking priority over fluency
✅ Mixed-level students progressing at different speeds
✅ Presentation and Practice leaving too little time for communication

PPP remains a valuable lesson-planning framework, especially for beginner teachers and lower-level learners. The key is learning how to make each stage more communicative, engaging, and responsive to students’ needs.

Discover the most common PPP challenges and how ESL teachers can adapt for better results.

👉 Read the full article on the OnTESOL Graduate blog https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/ppp-lesson-planning-framework-pain-points/

07/09/2026

Why do so many IELTS students get stuck at Band 6?

The answer isn't usually grammar. Many candidates already know the language they need. What often prevents them from reaching Band 7 is weak task achievement, underdeveloped ideas, poor cohesion, limited range of discourse markers, and ineffective exam strategies.

As IELTS teachers, it's easy to spend too much time correcting language errors and not enough time teaching students how Band 7 responses are built.

In our latest blog, you'll discover:

✅ Why students plateau at Band 6
✅ The key differences between Band 6 and Band 7 performance
✅ What examiners look for in higher-band responses
✅ Practical teaching strategies for IELTS classes
✅ Ways to help students reach Band 7

If you're teaching IELTS Academic preparation courses, this guide can help you identify the skills that make the biggest difference in student results.

📚 Read the full article on the OnTESOL Graduate blog:
https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/ielts-band-6-to-band-7/

Stuck at Band 6? Learn 7 proven strategies IELTS teachers use to push students to Band 7+ through precision, structure, and targeted skill development.

06/30/2026

Do you need fun activities to get your young learners speaking?

Task-Based Learning (TBL) helps children learn English by doing, not just memorizing. When students solve problems, create projects, and work together to achieve a goal, language becomes more memorable, meaningful, and fun.

Young learners thrive when they're active, engaged, and working toward a real outcome. If you're teaching English to young learners abroad, online, or in K-12 classrooms, Task-based activities can help transform your lessons.

📖 Read the OnTESOL Graduate blog to find 8 fun activities for your TEYL class
https://ontesol.com/blog/how-to-teach-english/fun-task-based-learning-activities-for-young-learners/

Discover 10 fun task-based learning activities for young learners that get kids speaking English through play, role-play, and group tasks