Where to Find Top Quality ESL Teaching Resources

This week I ‘sat down with’ Thomas Gueguen, creator of ESLmaterials.org to learn about his fantastic curated list of top ESL resources. Check out the details of our chat:

Thomas’s Background and Vision

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey into the world of ESL?

Sure, my name’s Thomas, I’m French, I’m 37, I’m a bit of geek, and I love mother nature. My free time is mostly spent hiking in the mountains or in the forest with my 5 year old son and my wife. I’ve been a passionate teacher of English as a second language for 12 years now. I obtained my CELTA in 2013 and that’s the one of the achievements in my life I’m the proudest of. My journey is quite peculiar. After getting a Masters in Science of Management, I started working for big multinational companies as a marketing manager. I worked in China, Australia, Singapore and a few other countries. After a while I got tired of that job because – let’s be honest – being a marketer doesn’t bring anything valuable to the world. Quite the opposite. So, I left my job, went back to France and bought a ticket to NZ. Needless to say, I fell in love with the country!! One of my friends was learning English in a language school at the time and I got quite intrigued as to how to become a teacher in that school. Did some research and boom, there it was. I had to take the CELTA course and then I’d be able to teach English. That’s what I did, and started teaching in Queenstown afterwards.

What inspired you to create ESLmaterials.org? Was there a particular gap in the market you were trying to fill?

Absolutely, as a teacher, and because I’m always trying to make things fun and engaging for my students I’m always trying to find great ESL resources already made by fellow teachers because, let’s be honest, I lack time and reinventing the wheel is absurd. So, like everyone else I use Google to find resources, but unless you spend time digging through the humongous number of pages you’ll always end up with the recommendations on page 1, and use the same materials over and over again. There are gems all over the web, but they don’t appear on the right keyword or don’t respond to Google statndards so you never see them but by chance. So, to avoid spending countless hours in order to find resources I thought about creating a directory that teachers could browse or directly search for specific language points like speaking, writing, worksheets, lesson plan, AI… anything!

About Thomas’s Platform

What types of resources can teachers find on ESLmaterials.org?

Many! It goes from AI content generator tools, to worksheet generators, to ESL lesson plan websites, to kids ESL resources and so on and so forth.

Are your materials designed for a particular methodology, age group, or CEFR level?

The materials I curate are for all levels from kids to adults. No methodology in particular.

What do you look for in a resource or platform you recommend on your site?

It needs to be qualitative, that’s important. If it’s not, teachers will lose time trying to find something else or repurpose what they found. It needs to be user friendly. Some websites feel clustered and it’s quite difficult to navigate through them. So that’s definitely a selection criteria.

Thomas’s Pedagogical Approach

Do any educational principles or theories underpin the resources you recommend?

I think many educational principles are covered on my site. There’s such a big variety of ESL resources that you’ll always find what you’re looking for. Quite frankly, theories and educational principles are interesting, but not all students are equal and I try not to pay too much attention to this. What matters is how you create a connection with your student, how you pique their interest and get them to speak and enjoy learning English, and some resources are well designed for that matter.

Thomas’s Community & Growth

What kind of feedback have you received from teachers so far?

I’ve had great feedback and the idea was well received among the ESL teachers community. Some schools have even started recommending the directory to their staff, which is absolutely fantastic. But it has also been well received by the creators of the resources I selected because it gives good visibility to the “smallest” ones.

Are there any collaborations or partnerships you’re excited about or looking for in the future?

Haha, that’s a great question. I’ve met Crystal from Crystal Clear and she’s got such a positive attitude that I’m very much looking forward to working with her. That’s really what I’m looking for in a partner. Energy, positivity and passion! Also, I’d love to collaborate with Quizizz as well, their platform is mint!

Looking Ahead

What new features, ESL materials, or ideas are you currently working on?

For now I’m trying to add more ESL materials. You know what we say: “The more, the merrier” 😂 but if the project really takes off, which I sincerely hope, I might just add the possibility for teachers to create an account and bookmark their favourite resource.

How do you see ESLmaterials.org evolving in the next year or two?

I can feel it’s going to grow very quickly ! I’m going to put my heart and soul into the project to make it happen. But when I see how everybody likes the project, I’m confident it’s going to be good 😊.

Finally, how can new users get started—and do you have any tips for making the most out of your recommendations?

It’s pretty easy. If you want top notch resources right off the bat just check out the “Top Picks” ribbon at the top of the website, these are my best recommendations because I tested the tools and I know they’re of great value! There’s also the “Featured” section, which displays excellent resources. And then, you can just scroll down a bit and get to the “Discover More” section where you can find a “resource type” filter and a “pricing” filter. That’s all there is to it really 😊

Looking for MORE?

Check out Thomas’s site for some great ESL materials recommendations, and learn more about Crystal Clear ESL’s gamified, sequential lessons such as our newly launched American English core curriculum (almost 800 lessons spanning 8 levels) and our dynamic Levelled Readers!