Teachers should continue developing their knowledge beyond the coursebook. Online resources can be useful for teacher development, lesson preparation, authentic materials, classroom activities and exam preparation.

Not all online ELT content has the same reliability. For methodology and assessment, prioritise established organisations and recognised ELT professionals rather than relying exclusively on social media accounts or unverified teaching blogs.

1. Teacher Development and Methodology

These resources are recommended for developing teachers’ methodological knowledge. 

Cambridge English – Teaching English
Teacher-development resources related to language teaching, assessment, Cambridge qualifications and classroom practice.

British Council – TeachingEnglish
One of the most useful free resources for ELT teachers. It includes articles, lesson plans, webinars, professional-development courses and materials covering areas such as classroom management, speaking, grammar, pronunciation and Young Learners.

Cambridge English Webinars
Webinars and training sessions delivered by teacher trainers and assessment specialists. Particularly useful for Cambridge exam preparation and understanding assessment criteria.

ELT Journal – Oxford Academic
A more academic resource for teachers who want to explore research in English Language Teaching. Particularly useful for distinguishing between practices supported by research and methodological trends with weaker evidence.

IATEFL – International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language
Professional-development resources, talks, conferences and Special Interest Groups covering different areas of ELT.

2. Recommended Books for Teachers

Teachers who want to develop their methodology further should become familiar with established ELT literature. Most of them are actually aviable to download the pdf from our shared folder.

Recommended authors and books include:

Jim Scrivener – Learning Teaching
A practical introduction to classroom methodology, classroom management, instructions, interaction and lesson planning.

Jeremy Harmer – The Practice of English Language Teaching
A broad reference work covering the major areas of English language teaching.

Scott Thornbury – How to Teach Grammar / How to Teach Speaking
Practical and accessible books connecting methodological principles with classroom practice.

Penny Ur – A Course in Language Teaching
A useful general reference covering lesson planning, classroom interaction, activities and assessment.

Paul Nation – Learning Vocabulary in Another Language
A more specialised reference for understanding vocabulary learning and effective vocabulary instruction.

These books should be used to understand the principles behind teaching techniques, rather than simply collecting classroom activities.

3. Cambridge Exam Preparation

For Cambridge preparation groups, teachers should regularly consult official resources.

Cambridge English
Use the official website for:

• exam formats;

• sample papers;

• assessment scales;

• speaking test videos;

• handbooks for teachers;

• writing assessment criteria;

• exam preparation resources.

Teachers preparing students for Cambridge examinations should know the relevant Handbook for Teachers and assessment criteria for the level they teach.

Do not rely exclusively on what a coursebook says about the exam. Official Cambridge documentation should be the primary reference.

4. Websites to Use Directly with Students

British Council LearnEnglish
Listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary, video and pronunciation activities organised by level.

LearnEnglish Kids
Songs, stories, videos, games, vocabulary and activities designed specifically for children.

LearnEnglish Teens
Resources designed around teenage learners, including skills practice, grammar, vocabulary and video.

Cambridge English – Activities for Learners
Short activities organised according to level and skill.

BBC Learning English
Useful videos, listening materials, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation resources. Particularly useful from intermediate levels upwards.

News in Levels
News stories presented at different levels. Useful for reading, vocabulary and discussion.

Breaking News English
News-based lessons with reading, listening, vocabulary and discussion activities. Teachers should select exercises carefully rather than necessarily completing the entire worksheet.

5. Pronunciation Resources

YouGlish
Allows students and teachers to search for a word or expression and hear it being used in authentic video clips. Particularly useful for pronunciation, connected speech and seeing vocabulary in context.

Cambridge Dictionary
Useful for checking meaning, pronunciation, phonemic transcription and British/American pronunciation.

Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries
Another reliable learner dictionary with definitions, examples, pronunciation and grammatical information.

Forvo
Provides recordings of words pronounced by speakers from different countries. Useful for exploring pronunciation variation, although it should not replace established learner dictionaries as the primary pronunciation reference.

6. Authentic Materials

Teachers should gradually expose students to English that exists outside ELT coursebooks.

Useful sources include:

BBC – news, interviews, documentaries and short videos.

TED / TED-Ed – talks and educational videos, particularly useful for B2–C1 learners.

National Geographic – articles, photographs and videos that can generate reading, vocabulary and speaking activities.

YouTube – an enormous source of authentic English, provided that teachers carefully select content according to level, age, length and learning objective.

Authentic does not automatically mean appropriate. A resource may be interesting but linguistically far beyond the students’ level.

Teachers should therefore consider:

Level + Length + Language + Content + Learning objective

7. Creating Classroom Materials

Canva
Useful for creating worksheets, flashcards, posters, visual prompts and classroom materials.

Genially
Useful for interactive presentations, games, quizzes and escape-room-style activities.

Wordwall
Useful for quickly transforming vocabulary or grammar content into different interactive activities.

Baamboozle
Particularly convenient for whole-class team games.

Quizlet
Useful for creating vocabulary sets and retrieval activities.

Kahoot! / Quizizz / Blooket
Useful for review, formative assessment and gamified retrieval practice.

These tools should make lesson preparation or learning more effective, not unnecessarily complicated.

8. Using AI as a Teaching Resource

Generative AI can help teachers:

• generate additional examples;

• adapt texts to different levels;

• create discussion questions;

• generate controlled practice;

• create personalised contexts;

• produce initial drafts of activities;

• generate alternative explanations;

• create error-correction exercises.

However, AI-generated teaching materials must be checked by the teacher before being used.

AI can produce:

• unnatural English;

• incorrect answer keys;

• inappropriate CEFR classifications;

• factual errors;

• ambiguous questions;

• activities that look convincing but have poor pedagogical design.

AI should therefore be treated as a material-development assistant, not as an unquestionable methodological authority.

For important questions about Cambridge examinations, assessment or methodology, verify information against official or established ELT sources.

9. Social Media and Teacher Communities

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook groups and teacher blogs can provide useful activity ideas and inspiration.

However:

Popularity is not evidence of pedagogical effectiveness.

An activity may look impressive in a 30-second video but provide very little meaningful language practice.

When finding an activity online, ask:

What is the learning objective?

How much English will each student actually use?

Does it correspond to their level?

Will students retrieve or produce language, or mainly watch the teacher?

Could the same objective be achieved more efficiently another way?

Use social media for ideas, but use reliable ELT sources for methodological decisions.

10. A Recommended Resource Hierarchy

When teachers need information, use the most appropriate source:

Cambridge exam question → Cambridge English

General ELT methodology → British Council TeachingEnglish / established ELT literature

Meaning, usage and pronunciation → Cambridge Dictionary / Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

Classroom materials → British Council / Cambridge / trusted ELT publishers

Authentic English → BBC / TED / carefully selected authentic sources

Activity inspiration → Wordwall / Genially / teacher communities / AI

The important distinction is between resources that provide reliable information and resources that provide ideas.

Both are useful, but they should not be treated as equivalent.