How to Get Started
Ellii is a subscription-based library full of ready-made lessons, resources, and flashcards. The library currently has 2,000+ lessons and resources, and we add new materials each month. Most material is available in print or digital formats.
If you teach a certain level, you can filter by that level to find materials that you need. If you need a lesson on a particular target or topic, you can find all relevant materials using the search tool.
Some of our sections also have a Recommended Teaching Order. You can also use our placement test or placement quiz to help determine what level of lessons is appropriate for your students. Grammar Tests 1–4 may also be useful. One of the best ways to search for content is by using our curated collections, which filter content by theme, subject, and other useful categories.
Many new subscribers find that Ellii has so much content that they don't know where to begin. Our ready-made Ellii Folders are a great place to start. They include materials in a suggested teaching order for specific levels, ages, themes, or targets. The ready-made folders include lessons, resources, and flashcard sets from a variety of sections in the library. Teachers can copy the Ellii Folders to their own My Folders area, which allows them to edit the curriculum and make it their own. Teachers can also take inspiration from Ellii Folders to create their own program from scratch. Watch for new folders throughout the year!
Here are some recommended sections to look at based on the type of class or learner(s) you teach. Where applicable, the suggested sections are listed from lower to higher levels. To find the levels available in each section, click on the link. Visit Ellii's Scope & Sequence: FAQ for more information on suggested curriculum and teaching order.
I Teach Absolute Beginners
- Phonics
- Pronunciation
- Phonics Stories
- Flashcards
- English Basics (includes numeracy lessons)
- Word Bank (for vocabulary building)
- Super Simple Grammar
- Language Scenes (Resources)
- Young Learner Activities
- Visual Learning
I Teach Adult Newcomers (CLB)
- Adult Literacy Collection
- CLB Competencies Collection
- Flashcards
- Word Bank
- English Basics (for literacy and numeracy)
- Super Simple Grammar
- Super Simple Questions
- Simple Sentences
- Functional English
- Fun Grammar Lessons (though designed for young learners, many teachers use these lessons with adult newcomers)
- Everyday Dialogues
- Living in English
- Listening in English
- Real-World Reading
- True Grammar Stories
- Sentence Stems
- Health Matters
- Role-Plays
- Holidays & Events
- Historic Events
- Famous People
Tip: You can view materials by CASAS Competency or CLB Competency in our Collections area. If you are a Canadian teacher, make sure your level preference is set to CLB & Ellii.
I Teach Grammar
- Grammar Collection
- Super Simple Grammar
- Simple Sentences
- Basic Grammar Sentences
- Fun Grammar Lessons (designed for young learners, has some duplicate content found in Grammar Practice Worksheets for adults)
- Grammar Stories
- True Grammar Stories
- Grammar Practice Worksheets
- Grammar & Usage (Resources)
- Grammar & Usage (Blog)
Tip: All of our grammar sections offer a suggested teaching order. We also have a resource organized by suggested teaching order: 50 Grammar Targets.
Note that many of our reading and discussion lessons also have mini-grammar lessons integrated into them. You can also search by grammar target to find all of our available lessons on a target.
Filter to Grammar category in Courses & Study Packs.
I Teach Reading & Writing
For reading and writing strategies:
- Reading in English (academic and real world)
- Writing in English (academic and real world)
For reading and writing practice:
- Word Bank Readers
- Real-World Reading
- Phonics Stories
- Easy News Stories
- Grammar Stories
- Famous People (filter by level)
- Famous Places (filter by level)
- Famous Things (filter by level)
- Easy Readers
- Guided Writing (for Young Learners)
- Holidays & Events (filter by level, use as holidays come up, see Lesson Plan Calendar)
- Historic Events (filter by level)
- Sports & Leisure
- Discussion Starters
- That's News to Me
- Mini-Debates
- Health Matters
- Business Matters
For assessment tools:
- Reading Assessment Tool (editable)
- Advanced Reading Comprehension (editable)
- Writing Assessment Tool (editable)
- Writing Assessment: Sequencing
- Writing Assessment: Note-Taking
Tip: Search ELD 2
I Teach Speaking & Listening
- Super Simple Questions
- Functional English
- Everyday Dialogues
- Sentence Stems (Resources)
- Role-Plays
- Listening in English
- Speaking Task Assessment Form (editable)
- Listening Task Assessment Form (editable)
- Conversation & Speaking Prompts
Note: Most of our reading lessons have audio files that can be downloaded or streamed in class to go with the reading. All of our dialogue lessons have audio files that can be played with the dialogues. Many of our lessons also have listening tasks, such as gap-fills, comprehension questions, listen and repeat tasks, and more. Many of our digital lessons also have listening tasks that you can assign for homework or class work. Learn about Listen & Type here. A digital Speaking task is available in most 4-skill lessons.
Tip: Search ELD 1
I Teach Conversation English
I Teach Pronunciation
- Pronunciation
- Phonics Stories
- Grammar & Usage (see Pronunciation)
Filter to Pronunciation Category in Courses & Study Packs.
I Teach Young Learners & Middle Schoolers
Though we consult US and Canadian curriculums to create our materials, we do not currently filter our Young Learners lessons by grade level or band. Teachers all over the world use Ellii. Please preview the lesson for level appropriateness.
- Flashcards
- Phonics
- Pronunciation
- Phonics Stories
- Story Prompts
- Picture Stories
- Word Bank
- Word Bank Readers
- Super Simple Grammar
- Simple Sentences
- Fun Grammar Lessons
- Young Learner Activities
- Language Scenes (Resources)
- Discovery
- Grammar Stories*
- Famous People, Places, Things* (includes science and social science topics)
- Sports & Leisure*
- Holidays & Events*
- Historic Events*
- Easy Readers
- Guided Writing
- Artistic Activities
- Young Learners (Blog)
*Please preview any content that is not in our Young Learners category to confirm that it is appropriate for your learners.
I Teach Business English
- Pre-Employment in Canada
- Pre-Employment in the US
- Functional Business
- English at Work
- Writing in English
- Business Matters
- That's News to Me
Filter to Workplace category in Courses & Study Packs.
I Teach Advanced Adults
Set the Level filter to High Intermediate or Advanced (or equivalent) in the following Ellii lesson sections. For examples of lessons at this level, click on the links.
- That's News to Me (e.g., El Salvador's Mega Prison)
- Discussion Starters (e.g., Imposter Syndrome)
- Mini-Debates (e.g., Net Neutrality)
- Grammar Practice Worksheets (e.g., Subjunctive)
- Reading in English (e.g., Identifying Rhetorical Devices)
- Listening in English (e.g., Airline Cancellation Regulations)
- Writing in English (e.g., How to Paraphrase)
- Business Matters (e.g., Negotiating)
- Famous People (e.g., Stephen Hawking)
- Historic Events (e.g., The Migrant Children Crisis)
- Holidays & Events (e.g., International Women's Day)
- Role-Plays (e.g., Law)
- Group Projects (e.g., Public Health Project)
- Courses (e.g., Grammar Genius 3)
- Study Packs (e.g., Tech Talk)
- Videos (e.g., Current Events)
- Blog Posts for Students (e.g., Struggling to Focus? 4 Types of Goals to Get Your Language Learning Back on Track)
Tip: Leave the main Search field blank and filter by High Int OR Advanced to see all of the 600+ lessons and resources available for adult learners at this proficiency level.
I Teach Multi-Level Classes
These sections offer some of the same topical lessons at different levels. We are gradually adding more beginner and low-intermediate lessons to these sections.
- Holidays & Events (The Word Bank section also has lessons for absolute beginners for some holidays.)
- Famous People
- Famous Things
- Historic Events
- That's News to Me
Tip: For grammar targets, we offer lessons at different levels of ability or age. For example, you will find very basic lessons on a particular target in our Super Simple Grammar section as well as more comprehensive lessons on the same target in our Grammar Practice Worksheets (for teens to adults) and Fun Grammar Lessons (for young learners) categories.
I Teach Survival English
- Flashcards
- Word Bank
- Simple Sentences
- Functional English
- Everyday Dialogues
- Travel English
- Famous Places
- Role-Plays
- Visual Learning
Filter to Life Skills category in Courses & Study Packs.
I Teach Literacy
- Adult Literacy Collection
- Needs Assessment (Pictorial)
- Flashcards
- Phonics
- Picture Stories
- Pronunciation
- Phonics Stories
- Word Bank
- Word Bank Readers
- English Foundations
- Super Simple Grammar
I Teach By Theme
Visit our Lesson Collections. To search by suggested teaching date, view our Lesson Plan Calendar.
For LINC Themes:
For US Themes:
I Teach One-To-One
Teachers all over the world use our lessons for online and face-to-face tutoring. Some of the group activities in our lessons will not be suitable for one-on-one teaching or may need to be adapted or skipped. You can also assign digital tasks to your online students. Here are some sections that teachers often use when tutoring:
- Grammar Practice Worksheets
- Discussion Starters
- Functional English
- Writing in English (for essay practice)
- Conversation Questions
Tip: Check out our blog post for One-to-One Vocabulary Review Activities and other ideas for teaching with ESL Library.
I Teach Idioms & Everyday Expressions
Note: Our serials follow a specific order and can be taught as a course over a number of weeks.
Here are some other places to find materials for teaching idioms and everyday expressions:
I Teach Science
See our Science Matters Collection and The Environment Collection.
- Academic VocabularyFamous Things (see Science & Technology category)
- Discussion Starters (see Environment category)
- Discovery (for Young Learners and Middle School)
- The Language of Science
- The Language of Evidence
- Science Flashcards
Tip: Search ELD 4
Filter to Academic category in Courses & Study Packs.
I Teach Social Studies
See our Social Studies Collection.
Tip: Search ELD 5
I Teach Math
See our Numeracy Collection and Math Collection.
Tip: Search ELD 3
I Teach Test Prep (IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL, CELPIPS, etc.)
We do not currently have materials for specific tests. We recommend the following sections:
- Grammar Practice Worksheets
- Grammar & Usage (find it in the Resource index)
- Writing in English
- Reading in English
- Listening in English
- Language Scenes
- Photo Prompts
- Everyday English
- Pre-Employment in Canada
- Famous People, Places, Things
- English at Work
- Travel English
- Ellii Placement Test
- Grammar Tests 1–4
I Teach Extra Practice and Short Activities
If you are a substitute teacher, a tutor, or a teacher looking for supplementary materials or quick activities, here are some places to look:
- Flashcards
- Warm-Ups & Fillers
- Visual Learning
- Grammar & Usage
- Young Learner Activities
- Holidays & Events
- Listening in English
- Photo Prompts
- Blog
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need further assistance.