Top 5 English Teaching Resources

There are so many English resources that can help aid you in your classroom! There are endless videos, songs, chants, procedures, routines, and other teachers who have been through the same thing that you are currently going through NOW! Never be scared or ashamed to ask a fellow Language Assistant, teacher, mentor, or friend for help or advice. Chances are that they understand and have something that can help you! There are so many resources that I use within my classroom, but here are the top 5 English teaching resources that I use as a Meddeas Language Assistant!

1. English Teaching Resources from AprendiendoconAK

These are resources that a fellow English teacher and I started creating, utilizing the Foreign Language Curriculum for Spain, and sharing these resources with other teachers through websites such as Instagram, Pinterest, and especially Teachers Pay Teachers.

So, we started creating our own resources in October of 2020. We were discussing what kind of resources to use within our classes that were engaging and fun for us and the students, and finally, we decided to create something that we could use!

We used the curriculum for the content and researched ideas on the internet, admiring resources already created, but finally wanted to create something that was our own. For now, we have reached different English teachers across the world with our materials and I hope they can help you, too! Visit AprendiendoconAK on Instagram.

2. Videos from Jack Hartmann Music Channel

Jack Hartmann is a musician who specializes in youtube videos to help children learn. He has a wide arrangement of videos that you can find for absolutely any topic. In the United States, I utilized Jack Hartmann’s videos with my students and found that my students here enjoy them, too.

He has a unique way of approaching teaching students and does so through song, video, and dances. He is incredibly engaging and his videos never fail to engage and help encourage my students to continue to learn English. Jack Hartmann is my go-to video music channel.

3. Classroom Props My Thirty-One: Zip-Top Organizing Utility Tote

I have found it incredibly useful, for all of the ages, but especially the younger students, to have a bag full of materials, props, toys, and anything that could be utilized during your class to encourage and engage the students in learning. Learning a foreign language is difficult and some of the students are nervous to speak or participate. Therefore, I have found that if I have a wide assortment of items in my school bag that can be used with the students, they are more relaxed and they better understand the content.

For example, I always have vocabulary cards with me related to the current topic I am teaching about. It could be on colors, numbers, shapes, emotions, animals, parts of the body, food, or family, etc. Also, I always have Play-Doh for the students who need to fidget during class.

Moreover, I always have a “secret bag” where I put items related to the topic and have the students close their eyes and pull something out. I always have stickers for the students who behave well, who set a good example, and for the class sticker chart.

In my school bag, I always have an abundance of manipulatives, stickers, and learning aids to help improve my teaching and the students’ learning.

4. The 4 P’s → patience, perseverance, positivity, and a little extra patience

This is not exactly an “English” teaching resource, but more a “reminder” for all teachers for themselves and their students. For me, this started out as a reminder to myself to be patient through university and through everything that started happening with Covid-19.

However, as I started teaching years ago, I realized that it aligned perfectly with teaching, too. For all teachers, these 3 qualities are necessary within any classroom setting. I have found these qualities to be good reminders to myself that my students are children, that they are learning a foreign language, that I don’t know what their home lives are like, and that all I know is what I see at school. If a student has a behavior that is not correct or is constantly talking, I always try to focus myself first so then I can focus that student.

Patience

We all know what patience is, how to show it, and what it feels like to be patient or receive patience from someone else, yet we also are constantly being impatient with others. This is a reminder to remain patient with yourself, coworkers, and especially your students. Take a moment to breathe and focus yourself, mentally and physically, before every class.

This is a reminder to be patient with the students who walk through your door and to encourage them through their learning process. This is a reminder that all of the students learn at different speeds and in different ways. Be patient with yourself. Be patient with the students.

Perseverance

This is a word I heard growing up while studying and participating in sports. I always heard, “Keep going”, “You can do it”, and “You’re almost there”. In simple terms, perseverance is to keep going, to not give up, to finish until the end.

It is incredibly important for you, as a teacher, to have perseverance. Without this, you won’t succeed in the classroom,
professionally or personally, with yourself, your students, or your coworkers. Have perseverance, continue to strive for success, continue to try to exceed the expectations of your students and self, continue to show up, every day, with a smile on your face and a positive attitude, no matter how you feel.

This is also important to teach your students. The power of perseverance is often relayed to students, but sometimes gets lost along the years. Teach them that no matter how hard life is, school is, or learning a foreign language, to not give up and to continue to try and try until they have successfully reached the end. Teaching students this will not only make them better students and better people, it will make their English learning easier.

Positivity

We all have had teachers who were “Negative Nelly’s” who left a bad impression on us, whose class we hated going to, and who we tried to avoid in the hallway. Don’t be that teacher.

Instead, be a positive teacher. Be the teacher who is encouraging to all students, who wants and helps all students to succeed. Be the teacher who students look forward to seeing, to having in class, and learning from. Yes, be the teacher who always has a smile on their face and arms to hug.

The students feed from the attitudes and actions that you possess. Therefore, if you’re a positive teacher, students will be more positive, too.

A little EXTRA Patience

We all think that we are patient, but sometimes our patience runs thin. This extra patience is just a reminder to have a little extra patience with yourself and your students, even if you think you’re being patient. 😉

5. Children’s Books

Any book that you can get your hands on that can be used to teach information to children in a relatable way, do it! Children’s books are an incredible aspect to each English teacher’s classroom. While they may look different between cultures, stories and books are a universal tool that are used to teach lessons.

Before coming to Spain, I looked for used children’s books, bought some new books, and was given others. Each book helps tell a story or teach a lesson, which is normally relatable to all children. Books help children learn through pictures, words, songs, chants, and rhythms. They are very memorable and will help aid your English teaching!

Some of my favorite books, series, and authors are:
(I could list so many more, but here are a few!)

The Box Car Children Series
Pete the Cat Series
The Pigeon Series
Junie B. Jones
The Ramona Series
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Series
Eric Carle

So, these are my favorite English teaching resources. Would you like to add some of yours? I’d love to know about them!