If you are new here and you’ve never seen ESL Brains lesson plans, then you’re in the best place to discover what we do.

At ESL Brains we publish ready-to-use ESL lesson plans and worksheets for adult learners that tackle up-to-date and thought-provoking topics. The core of our content is based on authentic videos available widely online, e.g. TED Talks, YouTube, Vimeo. You’ll find videos with speakers from the USA, the UK or Australia, side-by-side with videos with speakers who use English as their second language. We put emphasis on practising speaking with a variety of different tasks, but also teach vocabulary and grammar.

What type of lesson plans we publish

We create standard lessons plans for 45 to 90 minutes as well as Flipped Classroom lessons to transform your classroom into a more hybrid approach. While most of our lessons focus on using authentic video in the classroom, we also have a reading-oriented format called Critical Reading Club, which requires students to read an article online before the class and then discuss it in class. We also develop worksheets designed specifically for conversation classes, if you need some materials to solely practise speaking with your students, then Speaking Class worksheets will be your thing.

On top of that, (practically) all lessons comes in two formats: printable PDF and digital e-lesson plan for teaching online.

Standard lesson plans – free samples

We love sharing our content with teachers out there that’s why we have 80+ free lesson plans that you can use with your students straightaway. No strings attached, we don’t need your email address or ask you to like our Facebook page. Discover ESL Brains lessons and have fun using them in your classroom.

See what we do and what type of lesson plans we publish by exploring the whole category of free printable ESL lessons plans (PDFs).

E-lesson plans – free samples

E-lesson plan is a format of our lesson plans suitable for teaching online. These are our lessons converted into Google Slides presentations. Of course, it’s not just copy & paste into Google Slides. We tweak the lessons a little bit here and there, and adapt the tasks to make them usable during online lessons.

With e-lesson plans you get an editable online-friendly ESL Brains lesson plan. It’s a presentation with both student’s version and animated answers that you can use straight away during your online classes. This digital format based on Google Slides is suitable for teaching English online and allows your students to collaborate in real-time. Learn more about how to use our e-lesson plans in this article.

We use just enough tech to make teaching online easier but not overwhelm both teachers and students.

Explore some of our e-lesson plans below and get a taste of what they are.

E-lesson plans are available both in our Premium and Unlimited subscription plans. Learn more and register here.

Flipped Classroom lesson plans – free samples

Flipped classroom is a blended learning teaching model where students need to get acquainted with some theory, watch a video or study new vocabulary on their own. But it’s not only about creating a video lecture and asking students to study some grammar points. What happens next is that during the class, you focus more on production, using new language structures and engaging students in the content. Classroom time becomes more effective. You can use it for problem solving and hands-on activities that create an environment where students can practise their language skills freely. Engaging your students in such activities makes them remember new things easily and reinforces acquired structures. Read more about the Flipped Classroom concept here.

See how we do it in practice with one of our open Flipped Classroom ESL lesson plans.

All of our Flipped Classroom lesson plans are available only in the Unlimited subscription plan.

Critical Reading Club – free samples

Critical Reading Club is our lesson format focused on reading & speaking skills. The idea behind this is that students read a selected online authentic article before the class and then discuss its content and share their thoughts in the classroom.

The ‘in-class’ part is based on a one-page worksheet, which typically contains three or four tasks related to the content of the article. The activities focus on some relevant language followed by speaking practice, which takes about 30-45 minutes to complete. It might actually take longer, as learners tend to get really engaged with the topics!

Their purpose is to inspire critical discussion while at the same time expand students’ language proficiency. Learn more about how to use our e-lesson plans in this article.

Critical Reading Club comes in two fomats: printable worksheets (both teacher’s and student’s versions), as well as an e-lesson plan

There are some CRC worksheets available for free so that everyone can have a peek at this new format. All the other CRC worksheets will only be available to our Unlimited subscribers.

Speaking Class – free samples

If you teach conversation classes, this format is perfect for your students. You can also use a Speaking Class lesson plan when you feel your students need more communication practice, or as a break from regular lessons. Speaking classes are ideal to use in the first or last lesson of the term, or much more often, as part of your course. 

Speaking Class worksheets have no grammar or vocabulary activities, just speaking! And the topics covered in Speaking Class worksheets are always engaging and meaningful. They encourage students to have in-depth discussions and speak their minds.

They include a variety of activities: ordering, rating, grouping, discussing, describing, organising ideas, agreeing and disagreeing, etc. Most of them also include a video but there isn’t a typical comprehension task linked to it. Its purpose is simply to spark more conversation. 

There are some free Speaking Class worksheets for you to test out but all the other lesson plans in this format will only be available to our Unlimited subscribers.

Lesson Sets

We’re proud to have created 700+ unique lesson plans to date, but we know that this means you might struggle to decide on the best order to use them in. If that’s the case, then Lesson Sets will be your best friend! 

Lesson Sets are small bunches of 2-3 ESL Brains lessons connected by topic or function. They add structure, save you prep time, and create a more seamless learning experience. Lesson Sets still allow for flexibility, as the lesson descriptions also contain some teaching tips that will help aid the flow. We also provide a selection for follow-up lessons so you can select what best suits your students’ needs and preferences. 

Lesson Sets are easy to spot as they are marked with a grey frame and ribbon. Just check the level, the number of lessons, and the description of the set. To browse Lesson Sets, use the search filter or click here. To understand how Lesson Sets work in more detail, have a look here.

Lesson Sets contain lessons available under different subscriptions (Free, Premium and Unlimited). And so, to be able to use entire sets, it is necessary to be an Unlimited subscriber. We also continuously add more and more lessons into Lesson Sets so browse them from time to time to see what’s new!