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 common theme in these ESL worksheets because students have a hard time expressing themselves! This simple ESL activity gets students to match emotions with emoticons.

2. Pronunciation Pyramid

Start at the top of the pyramid and work your way down. The teacher says a word and the students circle it. Where do you end up at the bottom of the pyramid?

3. Sounds of English

Of all ESL worksheets, this one gets most surgical for pronunciation showing students exactly where to place their tongue. Place emphasis on each challenging sound.

4. Top 10 Jobs

A Family Feud-style ESL worksheet that helps kids reflect on their future jobs. Let them guess the top 10 jobs students in North America want to be. They might be surprised.

5. Occupations Match

In the same theme of exploring students future, they associate jobs with pictures in this one.

6. Minimal Pairs

As an ESL teacher, your biggest asset is how well you can pronounce the sounds of English. On this note, have them circle the words you say aloud.

7. Rhyme Time

Bring out your stopwatch. In groups, get your students to think of as many rhymes as possible. The group with the most rhymes wins.

8. Picture Rhymes

This is one of the most fun ESL worksheets in here. Not only does it help students practice pronunciation, but they also learn to rhyme. Each picture is a rhyme, what is it?

9. What is Halloween?

It’s October, which means it’s Halloween. Teach your students what Halloween is all about with this ESL worksheet.

10. Halloween Emotions

Halloween is a scary, yet fun time. These are two contradicting emotions and there’s no better way to teach them with emotional jack-o-lanterns.

11. Christmas Crossword

Some say crosswords are non-educational ESL activities. But I disagree. Not only do students learn to improve their vocabulary, they learn to spell holiday words.

12. Christmas Untangle

A surprisingly difficult activity where students get to decipher words from a bunch of letters. Luckily, we provide answers at the bottom of the ESL activity.

13. Jingle Bells Order

Students listen to the classic Christmas song “Jingle Bells” and order sentences when they hear them.

14. What’s the Question?

Moving out of the holiday theme, we get into asking questions. For each word in the list, make a question. Get creative and think of more.

15. Einstein’s Riddle

THIS is the most difficult of all ESL worksheets. Students have to use logic to solve a riddle that Albert Einstein made at his young age.

16. Your Dream Dog

It’s the memory type of game, where students have to ask questions about something they are thinking of. Who wouldn’t want one of these cute dogs?

17. Spot the Differences

Two pictures look identical, but they’re not. Students have to find 10 differences in both scenes.

18. Similar Sentences

How much do your students pay attention to detail? You read one of the sentences and your students circle the one you said. Sounds easy? Not so much for your class.

19. Maze Directions

The blind following the blind? Let’s hope not. A twist on the maze game, where one student closes his or her eyes and the other tells the way using directions. I’d be surprised if anyone got it perfectly, but that’s why this activity is so good. It’s challenging.

20. Compound Words

A two-word combo in one (compound words) gets students thinking of the origin of English words. Figure out each compound word and then draw one of your own.

21. Preposition Practice

Where is the apple? In this ESL worksheet, students practice prepositions by writing down the location of the apple in each scene.

22. Comic Book Creation

Every kid loves comic books. But what if they didn’t have any words in them? Let’s fill in these speech bubbles with an interesting story.

23. Charades for Kids

Charades only work when you have outgoing students. But in groups of two, they feel a bit more comfortable and less stressed out. Go through the worksheet with more words to act out.

24. Emotions Spin

Of all ESL worksheets, this is the most in-depth vocabulary for emotions. Because students always need help explaining how they feel, their arsenal of emotions will at least triple with this ESL activity.

25. Word Chain

In pairs, connect the last letter of a word by thinking of a word that starts with that letter. It’s the English version of Karuta – a popular Japanese game.

26. Teacher Quiz

If you want to get your students out of their chairs in your first class, then this should be your go-to activity. Find clues around the class and match answers with the clues.

27. How’s the Weather?

In this ESL activity, students remember the weather for the past couple of days. You can pair them up to talk as a large group.

28. Why Learn English?

There are tons of benefits to learn English. As the true language of globalization, how can English help them in the future?

29. Your Superhero

If you’re in Asia, it’s almost like every one of your students has a hidden talent as an incredible artist. This activity is good for superlatives and classes with mostly boys, what would be your ideal superhero?

30. Text Message Translations

From their native tongue to English, translate a typical text message they would send with their friends. Or better yet, make it up if you don’t feel comfortable sharing.

31. Pizza Recipe

Have you ever made a pizza? Which ingredients would you add? Practice imperatives and transition words as they explain step-by-step their pizza creation.

32. Valentine’s Day Cards

Who knew rhymes could be so much fun? Finish the rhyme of the classic poem “Roses are red, violets are blue…”. I love Valentine’s day and so will your kids with this ESL activity sheet.

33. Phone Emoticons

Kids use a ridiculous amount of emoticons in phone conversations nowadays. What do they all mean? How do you associate an emoticon with an emotion? Cut out a select few, and use them in a written conversation.

34. Birthday Match

Get your students off their feet to search for clues around the classroom. The detectives pass the information to the secretary and match birthdays with some of the most prolific figures in history.

35. The Obstacle Course

One blindfolded student gets directed where to go in a classroom obstacle course. The blind leading the blind? I don’t think so, as they improve directions in real-time.

36. Cultural Differences

The fine line between cultures across the globe is thinning because of globalization. However, some key cultural differences still remain. What are they?

37. Country Outlines

I love geography. Who doesn’t? Match the country with its outline, then draw a country. How close are you to the real thing? One of my brightest students always loved drawing country outlines for fun so I dedicate this one to him.

38. Your Satisfaction Level

Explore your innermost satisfaction. What makes you happy and sad? A lot of ESL worksheets focus on feelings. And this one registers at all levels extreme happiness to sadness.

39. Connect the Dots

If you are empty-handed with 5 minutes to spare, this is a time filler for the end of a kids’ class, Admittedly, not much value here for English, it’s your desperation move that runs parallel to tic-tac-toe in terms of beneficial value.

40. Minimal Pairs Listening Test

Test your students listening skills with these minimal pairs. Can they differentiate some of the sounds unique to English? Mix up the minimal pairs five times each and correct their papers.

41. Alphabet Story

Create your own story with consecutive letters from A to Z. For some of these letters, this will challenge their ability to formulate sentences… But that’s OK.

42. Halloween Bingo

Get your students to put the Halloween vocabulary anywhere in the Bingo sheet. As you read any word in the sheet, they cross it off. The first one who gets a line wins.

43. Simon Says

Practice imperatives with “Simon says”. Or better yet, get one of your students to lead giving instructions to the class if they are familiar.

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.