43 Free ESL Worksheets for English Teachers

Free ESL Worksheets to Engage Students

Today, we’re going to share with you 43 free ESL worksheets.

They’re free to use, easy to get started, and help engage your students.

No permission is required to use any of them in your classrooms.

Let’s get started.

1. Emotions in Emoticons

Emotions are a key theme in ESL worksheets due to students’ difficulty expressing themselves.

This activity has students match emotions with emoticons.

It’s a simple and effective way to practice emotional vocabulary and expression.

2. Pronunciation Pyramid

This pyramid activity starts at the top and progresses downward.

The teacher says a word, and students circle it on their sheet.

Students follow the path created by their choices to see where they end up at the bottom of the pyramid.

3. Sounds of English

This ESL worksheet focuses on precise pronunciation and the sounds of English.

It shows students exactly where to place their tongue for challenging sounds.

The activity emphasizes proper articulation for improved speaking skills.

4. Top 10 Jobs

Students guess the top 10 jobs desired by North American students.

The results might surprise them and start discussions about career aspirations.

This Family Feud-style worksheet helps kids reflect on future careers.

5. Occupations Match

This worksheet explores students’ future by having them associate jobs with pictures.

Make sure their focus is on English and don’t get off track.

It’s a visual way to learn and discuss various occupations. Level is easy to moderate.

6. Minimal Pairs

As an ESL teacher, clear pronunciation should be your main focus.

This activity has students circle words you say aloud with common minimal pairs.

It also reinforces listening skills and sound recognition. This one is perfect for a warm up to the topic of minimal pairs.

7. Rhyme Time

This timed group activity challenges students to think of as many rhymes as possible.

How many rhyming words can you think of? The group with the most rhymes wins.

Once finished, try to think of any rhymes that you might have missed in the worksheet.

8. Picture Rhymes

This fun ESL worksheet combines pronunciation practice with rhyming skills.

Students identify rhymes based on pictures. Some are hard so don’t be afraid to give some hints.

I find that some can be challenging but it enhances both their vocabulary and phonetic awareness.

9. What is Halloween?

Our October-themed worksheet teaches students about Halloween.

It’s an opportunity to introduce cultural vocabulary and customs associated with this holiday.

Plus, you can remember some of your best childhood memories.

10. Halloween Emotions

This Halloween-themed worksheet uses jack-o-lantern faces to teach emotions.

It helps students understand and express the mix of scary and fun feelings associated with Halloween.

Try this ESL activity out for your youngest students because it’s not that challenging.

11. Christmas Crossword

Crosswords are valuable ESL activities, contrary to some opinions.

They improve vocabulary and spelling skills, particularly with holiday-themed words.

You’ll be and to see how this activity combines language learning with cultural awareness.

12. Christmas Untangle

This activity requires students to decipher words from a jumble of letters.

Answers are provided at the bottom of the worksheet for reference.

Even with my top students, this one can be challenging. Especially, the Christmas vocabulary!

13. Jingle Bells Order

Students listen to the classic Christmas song “Jingle Bells”.

As they listen to it, they order sentences when they hear them. You might have to replay it once or twice.

Get a bit festive while sequencing a song about the holidays.

14. What’s the Question?

Question formation is key in any classroom.

In this ESL worksheet, students create questions for each word in a given list.

You should encourage them to think creatively and generate additional questions.

15. Einstein’s Riddle

This worksheet presents Albert Einstein’s childhood riddle.

Students must use logic to solve the puzzle, enhancing critical thinking skills.

Give them hints if they can’t figure it out. It can be challenging so come prepared before class.

16. Your Dream Dog

Our memory-style game involves asking questions about something the student is thinking of.

It features cute dog pictures as prompts. Students get to practice question formation and descriptive language.

What dog would you pick in the group? And why would you pick it as your pet?

17. Spot the Differences

Students must find 10 differences between two almost identical pictures.

This activity can help with observation skills. Plus, they can build vocabulary for describing scenes.

Make sure to find all the differences before class because they can be tough to see.

18. Similar Sentences

This listening exercise tests students’ attention to detail.

The teacher reads a sentence, and students must circle the correct one from similar options.

It’s more challenging than it initially appears. May the force be with you. Or “May the Fourth be with you”?

19. Maze Directions

This maze activity involves pair work. One student gives directions and the other follows them blindfolded.

It’s challenging but effective for practicing giving and following directions.

It’s rare to see anyone finish this perfectly. In fact, I’ve never seen it happen!

20. Compound Words

Compound words are a fun way to improve vocabulary.

In this worksheet, students identify compound words from the pictures.

Once they’ve completed the worksheet, they create their own and must be creative.

21. Preposition Practice

This ESL worksheet focuses on prepositions through a visual exercise.

Students identify and write down the apple’s location in various scenes.

Students practice spatial vocabulary with a focus on location.

22. Comic Book Creation

Our comic strip activity combines visual storytelling with creative writing.

Students fill in empty speech bubbles in a comic strip (in English, of course).

They use their imagination while practicing dialogue writing.

23. Charades for Kids

This worksheet adapts charades for pairs, making it less intimidating for shy students.

The worksheet provides a list of words for acting out in charades.

The activity enhances vocabulary and non-verbal communication skills.

24. Emotions Spin

Ready for an emotion vocabulary worksheet that expands students’ emotional lexicon?

It helps students better express their feelings in English with a wider range of emotions.

Look at all the emotions in the wheel. The activity triples their emotional vocabulary arsenal.

25. Word Chain

This pair activity connects words by their last and first letters.

It’s similar to the Japanese game “Karuta”. It improves vocabulary and quick-thinking skills.

The game also encourages friendly competition and word association.

26. Teacher Quiz

Get ready for a scavenger hunt activity that gets students moving around the classroom.

Students find clues and match them with answers. It’s an engaging icebreaker for the first class.

I find it’s always nice to combine physical activity with language practice.

27. How’s the Weather?

This ESL activity focuses on weather vocabulary and recent memory.

Students recall and discuss the weather from the past few days. Doesn’t everyone agree on the weather?

You can do this exercise in pairs or as a large group discussion.

28. Why Learn English?

This worksheet explores the benefits of learning English as a global language.

Students discuss how English proficiency can help their future prospects.

It encourages critical thinking about language and career opportunities.

29. Your Superhero

Combining art with language learning, this activity is ideal for classes with artistic students.

It focuses on describing superheroes using superlatives like “strongest”, “fastest”, etc.

Students design and describe their ideal superhero, practicing descriptive language.

30. Text Message Translations

For this one, students translate text messages from the students’ native language to English.

Alternatively, students can create fictional messages.

Learn casual English and modern communication styles in one simple worksheet.

31. Pizza Recipe

This activity centers on pizza-making instructions.

Students use imperatives and transition words to explain their pizza creation process.

It enhances vocabulary related to cooking and practices giving step-by-step instructions.

32. Valentine’s Day Cards

I love Valentine’s Day, especially in the classroom.

Students complete the classic “Roses are red, violets are blue” poem.

It’s a holiday theme worksheet that gets your students rhyming in no time.

33. Phone Emoticons

This activity explores the meaning of emoticons in text messages.

Students associate emoticons with emotions. There are 50 in the worksheet!

Finally, they use them in written conversations, which is something they can make up.

34. Birthday Match

Scavenger hunts combine physical movement with English learning.

Students search for clues about historical figures’ birthdays around the classroom.

Encourage teamwork and memorization to complete this ESL worksheet.

35. The Obstacle Course

A classroom obstacle course can really improve direction-giving skills.

One blindfolded student is guided by another through the course.

Students provide real-time practice in giving and following directions. Remember, safety first!

36. Cultural Differences

Students identify and discuss key cultural distinctions that exist despite globalization.

The focus is to enhance cultural awareness and critical thinking.

This worksheet is good for exploring cultural differences in a globalized world.

37. Country Outlines

This geography-focused activity involves matching countries to their outlines.

Students also attempt to draw country shapes from memory.

You’ll find this one combines visual recognition with geographical knowledge.

38. Your Satisfaction Level

Are you ready to learn about emotional self-awareness?

Students explore what makes them happy or sad on a spectrum of emotions.

They can also practice self-expression. This is not an easy task for some.

39. Connect the Dots

Looking for a quick time-filler for the end of class?

While light on educational value, you can use it in emergencies to keep students engaged.

It’s similar in value to tic-tac-toe. But this worksheet is here to save the day.

40. Minimal Pairs Listening Test

Minimal pairs test students’ ability to distinguish similar English sounds.

The teacher mixes up each minimal pair five times. Students identify the correct sound, and the teacher corrects their papers.

Sharpen your students’ ears to subtle phonetic differences in English.

41. Alphabet Story

This creative writing activity challenges students to create a story using words that start with consecutive letters from A to Z.

Some letters will prove more challenging than others, like the last ones in the alphabet.

The exercise definitely stretches vocabulary and sentence construction skills. It’s one that I even did in elementary school.

42. Halloween Bingo

Our Halloween-themed Bingo game combines vocabulary practice with listening skills.

Students arrange Halloween words on their Bingo sheets.

As the teacher reads words, students cross them off. The first to complete a line wins.

43. Simon Says

Practice imperatives through the classic game “Simon Says”.

Students follow instructions only when prefaced with “Simon says”.

For an added challenge, a student familiar with the game can lead, giving instructions to the class.

What’s in your free ESL Worksheet arsenal?

We’ve shared our ESL resources.

They’re 100% free to use when you teach English abroad.

Now, it’s time for you to put on your thinking caps.

Which ESL activities work in your classes? Is it a wide range of ESL discussion topics?

Let us know with a comment below.

Here’s more from us:

• 67 Free ESL Games to Teach English Like an All-Star
• 13 Free ESL Lesson Plans to Master Your ESL Classes
• 101 ESL Conversation Topics to Break the Silence

Here are some external websites with great worksheets:

• British Council (BBC) – Short activities for secondary classrooms
• Easy ESL Games YouTube Channel – A page devoted to ESL and EFL teachers abroad.