Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<h2>What will 2026 have in store for the world of English Language Teaching?&nbsp;</h2>

For the last few years, Ellii has tasked me with making predictions for the ELT trends of the coming year. Sadly, my mystic powers remain undeveloped, so I seek the assistance of esteemed&nbsp;experts online.&nbsp;

This year, I was astounded by the response. It has taken me some messy mind mapping and some AI assistance to pull together the top trends and wishes for the year ahead.

<img alt="Emily Bryson's mind map about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5135/content_Emily_Bryson_Messy_MindMap.jpeg" />

Here goes! Let&#39;s start with the trends.

<h2>What&#39;s hot in ELT in 2026</h2>

<h3>1. Human connections</h3>

Overwhelmingly, human connections wins the gold medal. This could be a push back&nbsp;against the increasing prevalance of artificial intelligence. Many practitioners shared their concerns over the growing isolation learners and teachers experience and how to recapture the social connections within&nbsp;the language classroom.&nbsp;

<img alt="Katherine Bilsborough quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5136/content_Katherine_Bilsborough_Human_Connection.png" />

There was a lot of discussion around &quot;back-to-basics&quot; approaches such as dogme, projects, games, picture books, visuals thinking, and graphic novels.&nbsp;

<h3>2. Artificial intelligence</h3>

Unsurprisingly, AI is still riding high. Perhaps human connection wouldn&#39;t be at the forefront of so many practitioners&#39; minds without it.&nbsp;

Sue Leather shared her worrying reflections that ELT materials developers are finding it more difficult to find projects, as more publishers move towards AI-generated content.&nbsp;

<img alt="Sue Leather quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5137/content_Sue_Leather_Agile_Writers_and_AI.png" />

From a classroom perspective, particular concerns were raised around safeguarding, responsible use, and the erosion of need to learn English.&nbsp;

<img alt="Dr. Steve Brown quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5138/content_Dr_Steve_Brown_Learning_Avoidance_AI.png" />

<img alt="Jen Dobson quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5139/content_Jen_Dobson_AI_safeguarding.png" />

<img alt="Stephen Farren quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5140/content_Stephen_Farren_AI_Soft_Skills.png" />

If you&#39;d like some ideas to support your learners to use AI responsibly, check out these blog posts:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-prevent-students-cheating-with-ai">How to Prevent Students Cheating with AI</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/developing-learner-autonomy-with-ai">Developing Learner Autonomy with AI</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>3. Teacherpreneurship</h3>

As technology becomes more affordable and accessible, more teachers are finding ways to boost their income, diversify their skills, and set themselves up as entrepreneurs.

Business coaches such as Rachael Roberts and Ola Kowalska are noticing more confidence with marketing and more individualized offers.&nbsp;

<img alt="Ola Kowalska quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5141/content_Ola_Kowalska.png" />

<img alt="Rachael Roberts" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5142/content_Rachael_Roberts__1_.png" />

This is good news for students, who can benefit from learning experiences that are truly tailored to their needs.&nbsp;

If you&#39;d like to know about teacherpreneurship, you may like these posts:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-make-passive-income-as-a-teacher">5 Ways to Earn &quot;Passive&quot; Income as a Teacher</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teacherpreneur">How to Be a Teacherpreneur</a></li>
</ul>

You may also want to check out <a href="https://ellii.com/indieteacher">Ellii for Independent Teachers</a>, which is the perfect platform to use with private classes.&nbsp;

<h3>4. Trauma awareness &amp; social emotional learning</h3>

Multiple ELTers mentioned the need for language teaching to be well-being&nbsp;focused and trauma aware. As Stephen Farren said, we have to have an &quot;understanding that &#39;trauma&#39;&nbsp;doesn&#39;t come from a specific part of the world.&quot;

Social justice, advocacy, and the ESOL classroom as an opportunity to support learner emancipation were key themes under this umbrella.&nbsp;

Penelope Roux had this to add about self-reflection, self-awareness, and self-esteem:

<img alt="Penelope Roux quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5143/content_Penelope_Roux_Self_Reflection_awarenes_esteem.png" />

Here are a couple of posts on this theme:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/support-english-learners-from-refugee-backgrounds">6 Ways to Support Learners from Refugee Backgrounds</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/social-emotional-learning">A Quick Guide to Social Emotional Learning</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>5. Soft skills (aka life skills)</h3>

&quot;Future Ready&quot; is likely to remain popular this year. These are skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and digital skills. They are skills that are essential in order to be successful in the classroom and workplace.&nbsp;

Check out these posts on the topic:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/top-tips-for-incorporating-life-skills-into-your-classroom">6 Tips for Incorporating Life Skills into Your Classroom</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-teach-workplace-english">How to Teach Workplace English</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>Wishes</h2>

As the discussions developed, people started to notice distinctions between trends that they could see happening vs. things they wished would happen.&nbsp;

Here are things that we would like to ask the ELT fairy godmother to bring in 2026.&nbsp;

<h3>1. Global issues</h3>

In many coursebooks and language, PARSNIPs&nbsp;are erased. These are:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Politics</li>
	<li>Alcohol</li>
	<li>Religion</li>
	<li>Sex</li>
	<li>Narcotics</li>
	<li>Isms (e.g., racism, sexim, feminism)</li>
	<li>Pork</li>
</ul>

The reasons from this often stem from trying to create &quot;one-size-fits-all&quot; courses as well as avoiding arguments or triggering topics in class.&nbsp;

However, many students and practitioners feel strongly that these topics should be a key part of the classroom. Teachers and students have the power to be changemakers.&nbsp;

<img alt="Huma Hasna Riaz Ahmed" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5144/content_Huma_Riaz_Global_Issues.png" />

The Ellii resource&nbsp;bank is full of lessons with global topics. This blog post will get you started:&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/making-the-world-a-better-place-the-power-of-teachers-and-learners-as-changemakers">Teachers &amp; Learners as Changemakers</a>

<h3>2. Sustainable ELT</h3>

The English language classroom can be a vehicle for direct action when it comes to environmental topics. Practitioners hope to see more of this in the coming here.&nbsp;

<img alt="Christopher Graham quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5145/content_Christopher_Graham_Sustainability.png" />

Here is a post with ideas on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/46-greening-the-elt-classroom-tips-teaching-ideas">Greening the ELT Classroom</a>.

<h3>3. Slow learning</h3>

Jane Carvell shared a wonderful idea inspired by the Slow Food Movement. It captured my imagination, especially with the growing&nbsp;desire for human connection. The &quot;slow&quot; approach focuses on removing the pressure from learning and going at a pace that allows learners to make connections, ask questions, and prioritize deep learning.&nbsp;

<img alt="Jane Carvell quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5146/content_Jane_Carvell.png" />

<h3>4. Extensive reading</h3>

Perhaps another&nbsp;throwback to the &quot;back to basics&quot; and &quot;human connections&quot;&nbsp;that underpin this year&#39;s predictions relates to the essential skill of reading. Lots of practioners mentioned the joy of storybooks, picture books, graphic novels, and extensive reading in class.&nbsp;

You can read Sue Leather&#39;s post about it here:&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sueleather_reading-extensivereading-activity-7403905458849144832-HQe6/">Sue Leather: The Benefits of Reading for Pleasure</a>

Here are some reading recommendations for your learners:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-for-advanced-students">Advanced</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-high-intermediate-students">High Intermediate</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-for-your-low-int-students">Low Intermediate</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>5. Visual thinking</h3>

Graphic organizers, visual tools, infographics,&nbsp;images, and doodles&nbsp;are a great way to simplify complex information and aid understanding. In recent years, graphic facilitation techniques&nbsp;have&nbsp;become&nbsp;more popular. Perhaps because they&nbsp;are a great &quot;back-to-basics&quot; approach that boosts human connections.&nbsp;

<img alt="Fernanda Freytes quote about ELT trends for 2026" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5147/content_Fernanda_Freytes.png" />

This year, the&nbsp;<a href="https://sketchnote.school/wsw26/">World Sketchnote Week Conference</a>&nbsp;that takes place from&nbsp;&nbsp;January&nbsp;12 to January 16 has&nbsp;two whole days devoted to education, with many language-teaching-focused sessions. Check it out, and come see me share some of my ideas to add sparkle to your lessons with sketchnotes.&nbsp;

You can find more on this topic here:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/sketchnoting-101-supercharged-professional-development-with-visual-notes">Sketchnoting 101</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/graphic-facilitation-101">Graphic Facilitation 101</a></li>
</ul>

So, what do you reckon?

<blockquote>
What will 2026 have in store for English language classrooms around the world? What are your wishes for the year ahead? We&#39;d love to know your thoughts.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

If you&#39;d like to read the comments on my LinkedIn&nbsp;post, or add your own, here is the original post:&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brysonemily_elt-trends-to-watch-in-2025-activity-7402626392011722752-32iJ?utm_source=social_share_send&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop_web&amp;rcm=ACoAAAi7ip0BCqZAlTHCFG8wTwULtYB8nWVFeUM">Emily Bryson&#39;s 2026 Trends in ELT LinkedIn post</a>

Here are links to my trends posts from previous years:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elt-trends-to-watch-in-2025">ELT Trends 2025</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elt-trends-to-watch-in-2024">ELT Trends 2024</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/6-english-language-teaching-trends-in-2023">ELT Trends 2023</a></li>
</ul>

Wishing you all the best for 2026!

Trends & Wishes in English Language Teaching: 2026

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2768/Emily_Trends-and-Wishes-in-English-Language-Teaching-2026_Banner.png

Tour around the ELT conference circuit as our team shares conference highlights and session reviews.

Conferences

Fall conference season is officially underway, and the Ellii team is buzzing&mdash;attending eight conferences this month alone, including BRAZ-TESOL, TESL Ontario, MITESOL, VATESOL, and more. Throughout the season, different members of our team step away from their desks to share Ellii&rsquo;s newest content and features&nbsp;and to chat with teachers and administrators about whether <a href="https://ellii.com/" target="_blank">Ellii</a> might be a good fit for their English language programs.

Conferences also offer something just as valuable: the chance to learn. Hearing from speakers, teachers, and publishers helps us better understand the evolving needs of today&rsquo;s English language learners&nbsp;and inspires new ideas for improving the Ellii experience for classrooms around the world.

<h2>MITESOL 2025 &ndash;&nbsp;Elevate, Motivate, Unite</h2>

The 2025 MITESOL conference took place on November 8, 2025, in the Student Center at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). The venue&nbsp;inspired this year&#39;s clever theme: Elevate, Motivate, Unite. The date itself was also significant! Michigan&#39;s governor, Gretchen Whitmar, officially declared November 8 as <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/proclamations/2025/11/08/november-8-2025-english-language-educators-recognition-day" target="_blank">English Language Educators Recognition Day</a> to honor the dedication of teachers who support English language learners and to acknowledge the value that these learners bring to Michigan.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Though I live in Windsor, Ontario,&nbsp;Michigan is my closest neighbor, so I&nbsp;was excited&nbsp;to attend, exhibit, and present at MITESOL on this monumental day!

<img alt="Anne Damiecka, Alexandra Covell, Tara Benwell at the Cambridge Ventures + Ellii booth at MITESOL 2025" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5000/content_MITESOL-2025.jpg" style="height: 526px; width: 500px;" />

Anne Damiecka (ESOL Specialist and Territory Manager, Cambridge University Press &amp; Assessment), Alexandra Covell (MITESOL President &amp; 2025 Conference Chair),&nbsp;Tara Benwell (VP of Publishing at Ellii) at MITESOL 2025

<h2>Morning Keynote&nbsp;</h2>

I knew it was going to be a worthwhile keynote when Dr. Raichle (Rai) Farrelly, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, began the first session&nbsp;by talking about&nbsp;how she likes to &quot;bookend&quot; her classes with stories.

In her keynote&nbsp;titled Mapping Knowledge and Language for a Change Agent Mindset,&nbsp;Dr. Rai used&nbsp;personal experiences, videos, and pictures to highlight why stories matter in our classrooms. Key takeaways were:

<ul>
	<li>stories drive connection</li>
	<li>stories are advocacy tools</li>
	<li>stories tell our history</li>
	<li>stories convey world views</li>
</ul>

Dr. Rai also shared&nbsp;strategies to foster curiosity, build knowledge, and inspire meaningful action to transform&nbsp;English classrooms into &quot;spaces for equity, connection, and global impact.&quot;

She illustrated the power of student agency by sharing a compelling story about young learners who launched a campaign to help school cleaners regain respect and dignity in their workplace.&nbsp;The young students developed an entire campaign to help change how cleaners were treated. They used this Design for Change model:

<ul>
	<li>Feel: What bothers you about the world?</li>
	<li>Imagine: Imagine ways to make the situation better.</li>
	<li>Do: Go out and put your ideas into action.</li>
	<li>Share: Inspire others with your act of change.</li>
</ul>

Dr. Rai also taught us about the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-54677-8_4" target="_blank">Care-Know-Do</a> pedagogical framework:

<ol>
	<li>Social Emotional Learning</li>
	<li>Meaningful Learning</li>
	<li>Mastery Learning</li>
	<li>Critical Socioconstructivism</li>
	<li>Inquiry-Based Learning</li>
	<li>Experiential Learning</li>
</ol>

Dr. Rai left us with these inspiring&nbsp;parting words from the late <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3531-jane-goodall" target="_blank">Jane Goodall</a>.&nbsp;

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lfLKHY52ERc?si=hRdMrXzexjZaIzLo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

<h2>Ellii Presentation</h2>

After spending some time chatting with teachers at the Ellii booth&mdash;where we were exhibiting next to our new publishing partner, Cambridge (Ventures)&mdash;I took a few steps down the hall to the Kiva Room, a cozy space with tiered bench seating. I was delighted to spend the hour with&nbsp;several teachers who were not yet familiar with Ellii (along with a few who were) during my session, Develop Oral Communication Skills in ESL Classrooms by Implementing Ellii&rsquo;s Game-Based Tools.

As a content creator, the workshop was an excellent opportunity to showcase&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/polls" target="_blank">Ellii Polls</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/dilemmas" target="_blank">Ellii Dilemmas</a> and get a feel for how engaged&nbsp;participants were in the activities.&nbsp;In her keynote, Dr. Rai&nbsp;emphasized three&nbsp;essential components to any student advocacy project. I was able to demonstrate how students can develop and build these very skills with&nbsp;Ellii&rsquo;s interactive activities:

<ul>
	<li>critical thinking</li>
	<li>meaningful communication</li>
	<li>academic language</li>
</ul>

<a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/polls/names" target="_blank"><img alt="Ellii Poll Names" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5005/content_ellii-polls-names.png" style="width: 500px; height: 299px;" /></a>

After students submit answers to a poll or dilemma, the class is prompted to look up at the teacher&#39;s screen to review and discuss the results, vocabulary, and questions&nbsp;in pairs or as a group. The activities are carefully scaffolded and useful language and sentence stems are&nbsp;provided. In addition to participating in the activity, attendees&nbsp;shared lots of ways that they would use these activities in their own classrooms.

<a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/polls/names" target="_blank"><img alt="Tara Benwell, VP of Publishing at Ellii, demonstrates Ellii Polls in the Kiva Room at Eastern Michigan University, MITESOL 2025" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4999/content_MITESL-2025-Ellii-Polls.jpg" style="height: 453px; width: 500px;" /></a>

This is the first time I have seen this result. 100% of participants polled said they&nbsp;liked their <a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/polls/names" target="_blank">names</a>!

If you missed this session at any recent conferences and want to learn more about Ellii&#39;s FREE interactive, game-based activities, check out these posts and videos:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/ellii-polls" target="_blank">Introducing Ellii Polls</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/announcing-ellii-dilemmas" target="_blank">Announcing Ellii Dilemmas</a></li>
</ul>

<a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/dilemmas/the-crooked-coworker" target="_blank"><img alt="Ellii Dilemmas" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5007/content_ellii-dilemma-crooked-coworker.png" style="width: 500px; height: 299px;" /></a>

If you missed the session, watch&nbsp;an interview with <a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes/episode/1a443540/e77-ellii-dilemmas-sparking-real-dialogue-in-the-elt-classroom-with-ben-buckwold-and-tara-benwell" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud</a> podcast that just came out this week, featuring&nbsp;the story behind the development of this&nbsp;&quot;tech-enabled&quot; tool that encourages students to look up, listen,&nbsp;and speak.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JNk03oadJgI?si=ZvyC5Tga2YG8Gkgs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

After a lively morning of sessions and conversations, it was time to break for lunch&mdash;and another inspiring keynote.

<h2>Lunch Keynote&nbsp;</h2>

The exhibit hall was closed during the luncheon, giving exhibitors a chance to mingle with attendees and enjoy a delicious meal (falafel, chicken, and cookies!) along with a wonderful keynote.&nbsp; 
 
Dr. Katie Welch&mdash;who has presented twice at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA53ad4GloU" target="_blank">#ElliiCon</a>&mdash;spoke about social-emotional health for teachers in her talk, From Fatigue to Flourishing: Supporting Teacher Well-Being in Tough Times. She shared a range of practical ideas for educators, including an &ldquo;extension request form&rdquo; designed to help teachers reclaim their time.&nbsp;Katie also recommended the <a href="https://truthforteachers.com/podcast/" target="_blank">Truth for Teachers</a>&nbsp;podcast.

One of my favorite moments of the conference was a story Katie told about teachers advocating for fair pay in their small Texas community. She described how one teacher refused to take no for an answer and rallied others to use their voices and advocate for themselves.

Back at the booth, Katie and I spoke with an MA&nbsp;student who admitted it&rsquo;s a challenging time to be preparing for a teaching career amid so much negativity surrounding the profession. She thanked Katie for offering hope.&nbsp;

<h2>Ventures 4e (+ Ellii)&nbsp;</h2>

Another bonus of attending the MITESOL conference was learning all about <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/ca/cambridgeenglish/catalog/adult-courses/ventures-4th-edition" target="_blank">Ventures 4th Edition</a>, set to launch in summer 2026. Now that Ellii can be bundled with Ventures, you&rsquo;ll often find us side by side in exhibit halls. It was a pleasure getting to know CUPA district manager Anne Damiecka and discussing Adult Literacy needs in Michigan.

I also attended Anne and Katie&#39;s&nbsp;session and learned about the exciting updates coming to Ventures 4e&mdash;especially the new Lesson G, which will focus on workplace themes.

<img alt="Anne Damiecka sharing Ventures 4th edition at MITESOL 2025" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4998/content_MITESOL-2025-Ventures.jpg" style="height: 438px; width: 500px;" />

Anne Damiecka&nbsp;speaking during the Meeting the Needs of Adult Learners in Michigan session, presented with&nbsp;Dr.&nbsp;Katie Welch&nbsp;

Ellii will be developing&nbsp;new Ventures collections to go with the 4th edition before the updated coursebook series is released&nbsp;next summer.

<a href="https://ellii.com/ventures" target="_blank"><img alt="Ellii + Ventures" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5009/content_ellii-ventures.png" style="width: 500px; height: 305px;" /></a>

<h2>Gratitude</h2>

MITESOL 2025 was a day filled with inspiration, community, and meaningful conversations. I returned to Canada feeling&nbsp;grateful for the educators who continue to elevate, motivate, and unite English language learners wherever their classrooms may be.

As we head into a season of gratitude, I want to extend a special thank-you to Alexandra and the entire MITESOL team for organizing such a productive conference and for helping Ellii feel right at home. And to Ashley, Ellii&rsquo;s conference coordinator extraordinaire&mdash;thank you for planning every detail and keeping us perfectly on track during each and every busy conference season!&nbsp;

English Language Educators Recognition Day Announced at MITESOL 2025

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These posts are written for learners of English themselves. Find learning tips and ideas for learning English.

For Students

A learning journal is a personal record of the past, present, and future of your learning. It&#39;s a great way to look back at how much you&#39;ve learned, think about what works best for you, and plan ways to learn even more in the future. You can also use it to note down how you felt doing different tasks or activities.&nbsp;

This blog post shares some ways that you can use a learning journal for your English language learning.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Planning</h2>

Planning your learning helps you to know what you need to do&mdash;and do it!

Use your journal to:

<ul>
	<li>note your schedule for the day, week, or month</li>
	<li>list&nbsp;your homework tasks (and check them off when you finish them!)</li>
	<li>write down your goals (and take notes of ways to achieve them)</li>
</ul>

Each day, week, or month, ask yourself:

<ul>
	<li>What do I want to do?</li>
	<li>How can I do it?</li>
	<li>What can I do better?</li>
</ul>

Take notes and&nbsp;do the work. Then, in the future, read your notes again and&nbsp;look back at how you have changed!

<h2>2. Tracking progress</h2>

Ellii helps you to plan and track your learning. But having a paper journal is a great way to think about this over a period of time.

At the end of each class, you could think about how confident you feel. Give yourself a number from 1 (not confident) to 10 (very confident). Write this down on one page of your journal. Over time, you will&nbsp;see the numbers changing!

You can also draw a rocket to the moon and some stars in your journal. The moon is where you want your English&nbsp;to be&nbsp;(for example, B2 level). Give each star a goal (for example, get confident with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCzJN0g5NHQ" target="_blank">present perfect progressive</a>). As you meet each goal, color in one of the stars.&nbsp;

<img alt="rocket to the moon" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5056/content_Notebook_Rocket-to-the-moon_Emily-Bryson.png" />

<h2>3. Reflecting</h2>

When we reflect, we look back at our learning. It can be helpful to ask ourselves these questions at the end of every class:

<ul>
	<li>What did I learn?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>How did I feel?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What worked well?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What do I want to do differently next time?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What questions do I have?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

A fun way to do this is by drawing a rose, a bud, and a thorn in your journal. Next to the rose, write something good that happened. Beside the bud, write something that you are excited about or an idea you had. And by the thorn, write something that you need to work on or get help with.&nbsp;

You can draw the rose, bud, and thorn yourself, or print this <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/warm-up-activity-for-social-emotional-learning" target="_blank">worksheet</a>.

<img alt="Rose, bud, thorn step by step Emily Bryson" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5057/content_Rose-bud-thorn-step-by-step-Emily-Bryson.png" />

<img alt="Rose, bud, Thorn, Ellii activity" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5058/content_Rose-Bud-Thorn-Activity_Ellii.jpg" />

<h2>4. Daily diary</h2>

Every day, we do a lot of things. Keeping a diary of your day in English is a fantastic way to practice the language. You could even sketchnote your day by adding simple drawings. Try to use grammar or vocabulary that you have learned recently or need to practice.&nbsp;

<h2>5. Writing prompts</h2>

Starting a daily journaling habit means that you will spend 5&ndash;10 minutes a day writing in English. Over time, that adds up to 35&ndash;70 minutes per week, 2&ndash;5 hours per month, and 30&ndash;60 hours per year. Just think how much your English&nbsp;can improve in that time!

But sometimes, finding things to write about can be hard. Here are 35 ideas to get you started: 
 
<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/journal-prompts-for-writing-practice" target="_blank">Journal Prompts for Writing Practice</a>

<h2>6. Ideas</h2>

Some of the best ideas never happen because we don&#39;t write them down! Keep notes of your ideas and things you want to try in your journal&mdash;for example, a podcast you want to listen to or TV show in English that you want to watch. That way you can look at the&nbsp;list when you have time&nbsp;and choose one of them.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
Have you tried journaling to help you learn English? Which of these ideas do you want to try? Share your ideas and advice for other learners in the comments.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

6 Ways to Use Journaling to Learn English Fast

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Did you know that the writers who create Ellii lessons and resources are all English teachers or former teachers?

That&#39;s just one of the reasons we love receiving poetry, stories, and paragraphs&nbsp;that students write while doing Ellii lessons.&nbsp;

In our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1885" target="_blank">Remembrance Day / Veterans Day lesson</a>, we challenge students to write acrostic poetry and share it with our team. Check out this year&#39;s submissions as well as the poems from years past.

<h2>2025 Student Poetry&nbsp;</h2>

This year&#39;s submission is from Eyerusalem Hailu at the Bickford Centre in Alison Clarke&#39;s class: Essential Skills Upgrading program,&nbsp;Toronto District School Board

<blockquote>
Remember the brave who gave their lives. 
Every moment was unforgettable. 
Memory and admiration bring tears. 
Energy for us to go forward. 
Meaningful for everyone of us. 
Recall again and again their sacrifice. 
Admire the people who sacrificed their lives. 
Never forget what they did for us. 
Celebrate every year on November 11th. 
Excited to be a part of this incredible Day. 
&nbsp;
</blockquote>

<h2>2024 Student Poetry</h2>

Here is a new poem submitted by Bryna Gerakos, an ESL Instructor at Hudson Adult Learning Center

<blockquote>
Veterans, we are 
Eternally grateful 
To you 
Excellent service 
Remembering and honoring you 
And we will 
Never forget you 
So, thank you very much!

By Gabriela Sanchez, Johanna Ortega, Dunia Caal, and Lin Yangzheng.
</blockquote>

&nbsp;

<h2>2023 Student Poetry</h2>

Here is a new poem that was submitted by Ms. Anderson&#39;s 4th Period Intermediate ELD Class:

<blockquote>
Memories of Silence for Their Sacrifice 

Remember the lives of soldiers

Everything stops for

Memories of silence

Enormous Alliance

Moments before disaster

Bullet dodging when Death calls your name

Remember the lives of the soldiers who sacrificed

Anniversary of the soldiers who fought for peace

November 11th is the Day of Remembrance

Color of poppies reminds &quot;we kept this promise&quot;

Everything for peace
</blockquote>

<hr />
And here is a poem that was submitted by Ms. Anderson&#39;s 6th Period Intermediate ELD Class:

<blockquote>
 
Peace for Veterans 

Represents all the soldiers globally

Every soldier that fought in War

Memories of lost ones

Event for remembering the veterans that fought for peace

Memorial is a way to remember someone

Be polite to Veterans

Remembering our loved ones

Allied forces fought for our peace

No veterans should be disrespected

Celebrate memories with loved ones

End war
</blockquote>

<h2>2022 Student Poetry</h2>

We love these moving acrostic poems we received&nbsp;from Betul Ozer Budak&#39;s LBS (Literacy and Basic Skills)&nbsp;class.

<h3>Poem #1</h3>

<blockquote>
Veterans Day...

Every November, we remember.

Trumpets play &quot;Last Post&quot; ...

Eleven o&#39;clock: a moment of silence ...

Red poppies people wear

After the war, people were happy but

Never forget the soldiers who died

Soldiers who fight ...

By Asmae Dadi, Ebtesam Rashed, and&nbsp;Helen Ada
</blockquote>

<h3>Poem #2</h3>

<blockquote>
Poppies everywhere

On our hearts

People&#39;s stories

Poppies everywhere

Yesterday&#39;s memories

By&nbsp;Ebtesam Rashed and&nbsp;Helen Ada
</blockquote>

<h3>Poem #3</h3>

<blockquote>
Remembrance

Every year we remember them.

Many soldiers died in the war.

Every 11 November is Remembrance Day.

Many people have a ceremony.

Birds of peace carrying olive branches

Remind us the young soldiers.

At 11 o&#39;clock the war ended but

Nobody forgot the soldiers.

Ceremonies we have for them;

Each of us is proud of them...

By&nbsp;Aisha Ankaa,&nbsp;Cuc Thi Nguyen, and&nbsp;Ebtesam Rashed
</blockquote>

Here are a few wonderful Remembrance Day poems from Kosta Stojanovic&#39;s LINC 4/5 class at Coll&egrave;ge Bor&eacute;al in Toronto, Canada.

<h3>Poem #4</h3>

<blockquote>
Red poppies bloom on each breast

Earth remembers it&#39;s heroes

Many great-grandparents were there

Every soldier lives to wonder why

Memories of War that never stray

But someone is shooting again and again

Remembrance poppies are red, not signifying blood of soldiers

And their stories never see the light of day

Need of peace is worldwide

Children want to live in love

Every day can be better,&nbsp;if everyone has remembrance

By Elvira Shootca
</blockquote>

<h3>Poem #5</h3>

<blockquote>
Raise your head off the ground

Everyone is proud of you

My heart is like a galaxy

Even though you&#39;re not here I feel you

My heart belongs to you

Breathe in the morning of victory

Raging about war

Army protect the people

Never make me feel sad

Ceremony for your courage

Everyone will always remember

By Mandana Hodhodynejad
</blockquote>

<h3>Poem #6</h3>

<blockquote>
Rmember our soldiers

Enlist the soldiers

Making our world into peace

Everyone who died in the wars

Memorial never forget

Brothers who bled just

Respect our fallen soldiers

Armistice day

November 11th armed weapons fall silent

Celebrate the soldiers

Enjoy freedom in happiness and peace

By Dilek Tas
</blockquote>

<h2>2021 Student Poetry</h2>

<h3>Poem #1</h3>

This beautiful acrostic poem was sent in by Sherry and&nbsp;Kathleen&#39;s class:&nbsp;

<blockquote>
Vests of soldiers carry valued human beings

Emotions of appreciation echo when we commemorate every year on November 11

Treasures you have done for us are countless as we are free

Echos of your contributions are hard to describe out loud.

Remembering you veterans

Appreciating your efforts

Nations will never forget you for

Sacrificing your lives to give us freedom.

By Antonio, Cecilia, Huda, Jingyuan, and Yunyi
</blockquote>

<h3>Poem #2</h3>

Here&#39;s another poem that was submitted by an intermediate LINC class.

<img alt="Remembrance Day Poem by LINC students" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1879/content_Remembrance-Day-Poem.jpg" />

<h2>2020 Student Poetry</h2>

Here are some poetry submissions we received in November 2020 from a low-intermediate&nbsp;LINC class in Toronto, Ontario. Thank you to Kosta and his class for sharing this writing with us!

<h3>Poem #1</h3>

<blockquote>
<h3>Remembrance Day</h3>

Essential day

Many people lost a loved one

Ended of the war must be done

Be peaceful, remember the war

Against the war, no more the war

Celebrate the peace

Everyone will be happy

By Momoko, Anibal and Zhi Sheng
</blockquote>

<h3>Poem #2&nbsp;</h3>

<blockquote>
<h3>Very important</h3>

Eating and drinking

Tomorrow it&#39;ll&nbsp;be coming

Email to me

Remember it

Answer and reply

Notice it on your calendar

Send it to me

By Coco
</blockquote>

<h3>Poem #3</h3>

<blockquote>
<h3>Remembering our veterans</h3>

Enormous respect

Many left behind the family who were

Eager to see them again

More peace, no war

By wearing the poppy we remember,

Each that fell

Rising like the sun every day

Don&#39;t forget them

Anually we honour the past

Yesterday is not forgotten

By Milena Nessi
</blockquote>

<h2>Poem #4</h2>

<blockquote>
Red color

Email me

May I have&nbsp;

Enough for me

Many years

Best of luck

Raise your hand

At a time

Never mind

Call me

Excellent place

By Israt, Alice, and Coco
</blockquote>

<h2>Poem #5</h2>

<blockquote>
Voters are protesting

Eat your food

Trumpet is a bass horn

End your day in a happy way

Remembrance Day is a poppy day

Are you okay

No one here

Can you hear?

By Rania, Gadha, and Milena
</blockquote>

<h2>Pronunciation Work</h2>

Here is some pronunciation work these writers did while working on their poetry from our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons">Holidays &amp; Events</a> lesson. We&#39;re so happy to see students working with <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/130/lessons/3352">pronunciation symbols</a>. We&nbsp;hope you&#39;re enjoying our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/130/lessons">Pronunciation</a> lessons, too.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1070/content_Screen_Shot_2020-11-26_at_4.22.13_PM.png" />

Keep up the great work, LINC class! And most importantly, thank you for remembering our veterans.

<h2>&nbsp;</h2>

Student Poetry for Remembrance Day / Veterans Day

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Most people know that English is&nbsp;the most common&nbsp;language&nbsp;in the world. In fact, it has 1.5 billion speakers!&nbsp;Travel anywhere by plane and the announcements will be in English and in the local language. Meet people&nbsp;from different countries on vacation and you&#39;ll probably all speak together in English.

But sometimes it might feel like English belongs to so-called &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;speakers. This is not true.

<blockquote>
<h2>English is global and it belongs to everyone.&nbsp;</h2>
</blockquote>

In fact, 80% of English language users are NOT so-called &quot;native&quot; speakers! Most people who use English learned it through hard work and practice and by using helpful resources like Ellii&#39;s.

In this blog post, I will share some ideas that will (hopefully) make you more confident with your language use and help you to OWN your very own personal voice. Because English belongs to you.&nbsp;

<h2>The problem with trying to sound like a &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;speaker</h2>

In my opinion, there are many problems with the terms &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;non-native&quot; (and with wanting to speak like one).

Here are some problems:

<h3>1. Who really is a &quot;native&quot; speaker?&nbsp;</h3>

When people talk about so-called &quot;native&#39;&quot; speakers, they often think about people from countries like the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.

However, there are actually 75 English-speaking countries in the world. And that number is growing. People often forget that countries like the Philippines, Singapore, Kenya, Dominica, Malta,&nbsp;and Hong Kong all have English&nbsp;as one of their official languages.&nbsp;

There are also many countries around the world that have lots of&nbsp;fluent English language users. For example, <a href="https://www.worlddata.info/asia/pakistan/index.php#google_vignette">46% of people in Pakistan speak English</a>.

<h3>2. &quot;Native&quot;&nbsp;speakers do not speak &quot;perfect&quot;&nbsp;English.&nbsp;</h3>

There is no &quot;perfect&quot;&nbsp;way to speak English. This is true for all languages. Think about your own language. Ask yourself:

<ul>
	<li>How many different countries speak it?</li>
	<li>What different words and phrases do people use in different places?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What accents are there? Which of these do you find difficult to understand?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

The fact is that English is spoken differently everywhere. There are many different Englishes: American, Scottish, Nigerian, Caribbean... The most important thing is to be understood.&nbsp;

<h3>3. &quot;Native&quot; speakers are harder to understand.&nbsp;</h3>

English languages users around the world often say that it is easier to speak with other people whose first language is not English. So-called &quot;native&quot; speakers speak quickly,&nbsp;use local words (e.g., slang), and idioms, and they often have accents that can be harder to understand.&nbsp;

They also don&#39;t always understand that it takes two people to have a successful conversation. They might believe the hard work is for the English language learner.&nbsp;But really, they need to slow down, leave spaces between their words, and choose their words more carefully.

<h2>So, do you really want to sound like a &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;speaker?&nbsp;</h2>

The reality is that there is no &quot;perfect&quot; way to speak English. It&#39;s more important to understand and be understood.&nbsp;

Here are some ways to OWN English, and make it yours:&nbsp;

<h3>1. Love your &quot;mistakes.&quot;</h3>

Mistakes are fantastic. They help us to learn. They can also become part of our own special way of using English. Unless you are taking a test, it doesn&#39;t really matter if you say&nbsp;&quot;in the bus&quot;&nbsp;instead of &quot;on the bus.&quot; Everyone knows what you mean! Enjoy learning new expressions and don&#39;t be afraid to try them out. Laugh&nbsp;and play with the language. A new way of expressing something can often sound poetic to those who speak English as their first language&nbsp;because it feels fresh and new.

<h3>2. Stop apologizing!</h3>

There is never any need to say &quot;Sorry about&nbsp;my English.&quot;&nbsp;You are learning. You are trying. You are getting better every day.&nbsp;

<h3>3. Use it for things you love.</h3>

When you enjoy doing something, you want to do it more. So find ways to use it for things you love. Sing, make videos, read recipes,&nbsp;post or comment&nbsp;on social media, or reply to this blog post.

<h3>4. Be yourself!</h3>

You can only be you and you will always be you. The way you speak English is also part of you and your life. Be yourself and make your own English!

To practice your English on your own, check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.englishapp.com/">EnglishApp</a>&nbsp;by Ellii.&nbsp;Or find out if your school&nbsp;has access to&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/solo">Ellii Solo</a>.

<blockquote>
How are you owning your English? Share your thoughts!
</blockquote>

English Belongs to Everyone: Here's How to OWN Your English!

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Discover what's new or coming soon, including upcoming lessons and resources and product feature updates. 

Announcements

<h1>Introducing Individual Student Assignments</h1>

Great news, teachers!

As of today, you can now select which individual students receive specific assignments within any class.&nbsp;

<h3>Here&#39;s how it works:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Click on a lesson, video, or flashcard set in your Prepping or Teaching lane within any of your classes</li>
	<li>A modal will open with your assignment preferences for that lesson&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Click the &quot;Students&quot; tab in the top navigation of the modal</li>
	<li>Switch the setting from &quot;All students&quot; to &quot;Some students&quot;</li>
	<li>Select the students you want to assign the lesson to&nbsp;and remember to hit &quot;Save&quot; inside the modal before closing it</li>
</ul>

Only the selected students will see the assignment inside their class dashboard.

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5BgjG7wtaI?si=I4waw7z14JkLaeer" width="640"></iframe></div>

We know that a lot of you have been asking for this feature for a while now. So thanks for your patience, and we hope it&#39;s a big help!

All the best, 
Ben :)

Founder, CEO at Ellii

Introducing Individual Student Assignments

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Find quick links to each episode of the Teacher Think-Aloud podcast, hosted by Shélynn Riel and Anna Ciriani-Dean and sponsored by Ellii.  

Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast

<section>
In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Episode 76</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, co-hosts Sh&eacute; and Anna sit down with teacher trainer and host of&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/everything-efl/id1494494153" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Everything EFL</a>,&nbsp;Erin O&rsquo;Byrne, to explore how the&nbsp;Lexical Approach&nbsp;can transform both teaching and learning in the English language classroom.

Erin shares how her journey&mdash;from pandemic boredom to professional epiphany&mdash;led her to embrace the Lexical Approach as a practical, empowering methodology that just&nbsp;makes sense.&nbsp;She explains how shifting from teaching individual words to teaching&nbsp;chunks of language&nbsp;helps students process meaning faster, use real-world English, and become more confident, autonomous speakers.

<blockquote>&ldquo; You are giving them real-world language. The lexical approach is very much conversation driven. They recognize things. They notice things faster.&rdquo;&nbsp; &mdash; Erin O&rsquo;Byrn</blockquote>

From corpus linguistics to classroom spontaneity, this episode explores how teachers can &ldquo;learn it loose,&rdquo; noticing and recycling meaningful phrases that actually appear in authentic communication. Erin also unpacks&nbsp;emergent language&nbsp;and how creating space for student-led noticing can reduce prep time, prevent burnout, and spark creativity for both learners and teachers.

Whether you&rsquo;re new to the Lexical Approach or looking to refresh your teaching, this conversation is packed with ready-to-use ideas and reflective insights on how to move from&nbsp;rules to real language.
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🎙️&nbsp;Listen now on your favorite platform:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2zv5mVNpSqkDNiNbQlnm7B" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-teacher-think-aloud-podcast/id1629819608" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

🔗&nbsp;Follow The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast on social media for more updates:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/teacherthinkaloud" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thinkaloud_pod/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/thinkaloudpod.bsky.social" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluesky</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-think-aloud/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>
</section>

Empowering Learners & Teachers with the Lexical Approach

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Autonomous, self-directed, or independent learners have the academic and life skills required to take control of their own learning journeys. They can fast-track their language learning through self-study, seeking out learning opportunities, and using effective learning strategies.&nbsp;

In my previous blog post on independent learning, I looked at <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-self-directed-learning-transforming-the-elt-classroom-with-independence">5 Benefits of Encouraging Learner Autonomy</a>. In this post, I will cover some practical ways to do this.&nbsp;

<h3>1. Explore learning strategies</h3>

Every learner is different, so what works for one may be less effective for another. Some learners may feel the need to write up notes straight after class, while others may prefer to watch videos or do activities with a similar theme.

Give&nbsp;students the opportunity to share learning strategies with their classmates. This can help them to find out&nbsp;what works for them and to&nbsp;understand that everyone learns differently. It also lets them&nbsp;take inspiration and guidance from their peers and discover new learning techniques.&nbsp;

For a simple and creative classroom idea for how to do this, check out the container activity&nbsp;in this blog post:&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/learning-that-sticks-the-power-of-post-its-in-the-elt-classroom">Learning That Sticks: The Power of Post-its in the ELT Classroom&nbsp;</a>

<h3>2. Encourage problem-solving</h3>

Students who haven&#39;t developed the ability to work autonomously&nbsp;can often be full of excuses. For example, they may claim that they didn&#39;t know what the homework was, that they didn&#39;t have the right worksheet, or that they couldn&#39;t log in.&nbsp;

These are all valid excuses in certain contexts. However, it is the student&#39;s responsibility to find out what the homework is, to make sure they have the right worksheet, and to find a way to log in.&nbsp;

We have to help students see excuses as problems to be solved. One way to do this is to write common excuses on the board and have them discuss&nbsp;solutions.&nbsp;

Problem: &quot;I didn&#39;t know we had homework.&quot;

Solution: Ask another student, keep a diary of the homework, or check emails, notes, or the learning platform.

Problem: &quot;I didn&#39;t have the right worksheet.&quot;

Solution: Keep homework tasks in a separate folder, ask a friend, identify&nbsp;the homework worksheet with a post-it or a star, take a photo of someone else&#39;s, and complete it in their notebook.

Problem: &quot;I&nbsp;couldn&#39;t log in.&quot;

Solutions: Ask the IT team,&nbsp;another student, or a friend for help. Follow the password reset functions.&nbsp;

Getting students into the habit of finding their own solutions before asking for help promotes resourcefulness and stops them from relying on you more than necessary.&nbsp;

<h3>3. Use learning journals</h3>

Learning journals can help students keep track of their learning. They can use them to jot down homework tasks, class schedules, topics covered, and upcoming themes. They can also use them&nbsp;to reflect on progress so far.&nbsp;

Learning journals are a great way to help students get organized, assess their own learning, and track their distance traveled.&nbsp;

<h3>4. Set goals</h3>

Setting goals lets learners consider where they want to be and how they are going to get there. It gives them direction and an attainable target to work towards and motivate them.&nbsp;

Here are some posts on the topic:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/creative-ways-to-set-personal-academic-goals-with-students">Creative Ways to Set Personal &amp; Academic Goals with Students</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/4-goals-to-help-you-focus">Struggling to Focus? 4 Types of Goals to Get Your Language Learning Back on Track</a> (for students)</li>
</ul>

Here are some&nbsp;Ellii resources on the topic:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Discussion Starters:&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5541-goal-setting" target="_blank">Goal-Setting</a>&nbsp;(Adv)</li>
	<li>Discussion Starters: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5543-goal-setting" target="_blank">Goal-Setting</a> (Low Int)</li>
	<li>Discussion Starters: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5657-grit">Grit</a>&nbsp;(High Int &ndash; Adv)</li>
	<li>Discussion Starters: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5439-growth-mindset">Growth Mindset </a>(Adv)</li>
	<li>Grammar Stories: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4421-more-simple-future-stories">More Simple Future Stories</a> (Goals)</li>
	<li>Student Reflection:&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2224-goal-setting-can-do">Goal-Setting</a>&nbsp;(Can Do)</li>
</ul>

<h3>5. Use self &amp; peer assessment</h3>

Why spend hours on grading when you can give students the answer key or rubric and have them correct their work themselves? This way they can get into the habit of assessing their own progress in their own time and learning from their mistakes.&nbsp;

Of course, this is simpler for activities with clear-cut answers (e.g., yes/no, true/false, multiple-choice)&nbsp;than for written or spoken work.

However,&nbsp;it is also good to have students get into a routine of checking their productive work against a checklist before they submit.

For example, have them check:

<ul>
	<li>Did they answer the question?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Have they used the right punctuation?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Is the word count suitable?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Have they used the language they are focusing on (e.g., sequence words, phrases for introducing opinions)</li>
	<li>How is the spelling?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>For extra support, you can have them check each other&#39;s work in groups or pairs. That way, they can learn from each other and give feedback and support.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h3>6. Try project-, task- &amp; inquiry-based learning</h3>

Project-, task-, and inquiry-based learning are great ways to help students explore topics in more depth. They can develop their research, collaborative, and presentation skills too.&nbsp;

Check out these posts for more:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/takeaways-from-tesol-2022-project-based-learning">10 Tips for Successful Project-Based Learning</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/task-based-learning">Task-Based Learning: An Introductory Guide</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/inquiry-based-learning-a-quick-guide-of-elt-professionals">Inquiry-Based Learning: A Quick Guide for ELT Professionals</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>7. Give them choices</h3>

It can be tiring choosing learning topics that will interest our learners. Giving them a choice lets them decide for themselves. You could set aside time in class where students can pick their own activity.&nbsp;

For example:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>read a book</li>
	<li>research something online</li>
	<li>create a poster</li>
	<li>make a video</li>
	<li>write a blog</li>
</ul>

This way, they can choose a mode of learning that works for them and a motivating subject that interests them.&nbsp;

On Ellii, you can use the built-in feature called Student Picks.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eSi7E0R3b4I?si=nbcUwXPOnHAaioAE" width="640"></iframe></div>

Our comprehensive self-study platform, <a href="https://ellii.com/solo">Ellii Solo</a>,&nbsp;lets students choose from a full library of courses, study packs, and videos, as well as studying vocabulary at their own pace. The content helps students target specific skills and reach their language learning goals faster.

For more on the topic of self-directed learning, check out my previous posts:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-self-directed-learning-transforming-the-elt-classroom-with-independence">5 Benefits of Encouraging Learner Autonomy</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-supercharge-your-students-study-skills">5 Ways to Supercharge your Students&#39; Study Skills</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/developing-learner-autonomy-with-ai">Developing Learner Autonomy with AI</a></li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
How do you encourage learner autonomy in your classroom? We&#39;d love to hear which tips and tricks have worked for you! Let us know in the comments.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

&nbsp;

Self-Directed Learning: 7 Ways to Develop Learner Autonomy in the ELT Classroom

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Self-directed learning is the key to long-term academic success. It empowers students to personalize their learning journeys, think critically, solve problems, and ultimately take control of their language learning.&nbsp;

In this post, I will explore some of the benefits of developing learner autonomy. In short, it answers&nbsp;why autonomous learning is so powerful.&nbsp;

For more, check out my post on&nbsp;how to support learners students to become independent learners: 
 
<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-ways-to-develop-learner-autonomy-in-the-elt-classroom">7 Ways to Develop Learner Autonomy in the ELT Classroom</a>

<h2>What is self-directed learning?&nbsp;</h2>

Self-directed learning is&nbsp;a bottom-up approach that puts students at the center, controlling their own academic success.&nbsp;

A self-directed learner can manage their time, set their own goals, and find their own ways to achieve them.&nbsp;

These are the students who complete their homework, write up their notes, and actively seek additional&nbsp;practice for their language skills.&nbsp;

They have developed the study skills to put them on the&nbsp;fast track to success.&nbsp;

<h2>What are the benefits of self-directed learning?&nbsp;</h2>

There are many advantages to promoting learner independence.&nbsp;Let&#39;s look at a few.&nbsp;

<h3>1. Independent learners are self-motivated</h3>

When learners know what they want&nbsp;and choose how they learn, they are motivated. This self-motivation compels them to log in to learning portals, repeat tricky tasks, learn from their mistakes, and&nbsp;reflect on what works for them.&nbsp;

This self-motivation can make them lifelong learners, seeking out ways to try new things and master new skills.&nbsp;

<h3>2. Independent learners have transferrable skills</h3>

The ability to take the initiative and complete challenging tasks independently is essential in the workplace. Employers actively seek to recruit people who are creative, can think critically, and have strong digital skills.&nbsp;

Learners who can do this in the language learning context can transfer these skills into further and higher education as well as&nbsp;nab themselves meaningful employment.&nbsp;

<h3>3. Independent learners are determined</h3>

When something gets too difficult, it can be very easy to give up. Learners who haven&#39;t yet developed their ability to learn autonomously may get put off by even the smallest obstacle&mdash;a forgotten login, a lost document, or an overwhelming liguistic concept. They will likely be dependent on you to get them back on track.&nbsp;

However, nothing stops an independent learner. They will find a way to reset their own login, find the document, and understand that tricky language point.&nbsp;

<h3>4. Independent learners reduce teacher workload</h3>

Teachers are busy, and sharing our time equally between all our students can be a challenge. However, when students can work automously, we can become a&nbsp;guide or facilitator to learning. We can set learners&#39; tasks and give them time to complete them in their own way.

<h3 data-end="436" data-start="271">5. Independent learners know their own needs&mdash;and how to meet them</h3>

Students who know how to learn by themselves know what kind of techniques and tools they like to use. They can choose to learn in a manner that supports their needs.&nbsp;

These are just a few of the benefits of encouraging learner autonomy. For more on this topic, check out these blog posts:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-supercharge-your-students-study-skills">5 Ways to Supercharge Your Students Study Skills</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/developing-learner-autonomy-with-ai">Developing Learner Autonomy with AI</a></li>
</ul>

You may also want to check out <a href="https://ellii.com/solo" target="_blank">Ellii Solo</a>, our comprehensive self-study platform that is perfect for independent learning success.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l-C2mk0YszA?si=58gjBGwMsPzoL-Bi" width="640"></iframe></div>

<blockquote>
What are your thoughts on self-directed learning? What benefits would you add?&nbsp;
</blockquote>

The Importance of Self-Directed Learning: 5 Benefits of Encouraging Learner Autonomy

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In Episode 75 of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, co-hosts Anna and Sh&eacute; explore the transformative potential of AI in the classroom with guest Sara Davila, a self-described &ldquo;learning alchemist&rdquo; who excels in transforming theoretical research into actionable strategies for educators. Sara provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of large language models (LLMs), tracing back to early AI research, and highlights their contemporary applications in education. The discussion emphasizes frameworks for teachers&rsquo; AI use and AI&#39;s potential to enhance teaching while preserving an essential human touch.

<blockquote>&ldquo;AI is a tool created by human beings to be used by human beings for the improvement of human beings. It&#39;s not about replacing humans.&rdquo;&nbsp; &mdash;Sara Davila</blockquote>

Sara encourages educators to experiment with AI, suggesting that beginning with familiar, low-stakes activities can boost confidence and illuminate AI&rsquo;s educational benefits. This episode serves as both a guide and an inspiration for teachers looking to embrace AI&#39;s educational potential.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nZAkl6A-QZg?si=u4elGdSwNcnvzVAj" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

🎙️&nbsp;Listen now on your favorite platform:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2zv5mVNpSqkDNiNbQlnm7B" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-teacher-think-aloud-podcast/id1629819608" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

🔗&nbsp;Follow The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast on social media for more updates:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/teacherthinkaloud" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thinkaloud_pod/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/thinkaloudpod.bsky.social" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluesky</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-think-aloud/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>

A Teacher’s Guide to Large Language Models

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Ellii&nbsp;is making&nbsp;some changes to our navigation system to simplify how you find, save, and assign materials, and how you generally get around the site. The changes will go live on October 2, 2025.&nbsp;

<h3>Here&rsquo;s what has changed:</h3>

<ol>
	<li>Our top navigation bar</li>
	<li>Our Lesson Section Index page</li>
	<li>Our Lesson Section pages</li>
	<li>The &quot;Like&quot;&nbsp;feature 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

<h2>Let&rsquo;s dive into each...</h2>

<h1>1. We&#39;ve simplified the top navigation</h1>

We&#39;ve made three changes to the top navigation.&nbsp;

First, our navigation bar has been simplified. The Materials tab, Classes tab, and Saved tab have been combined into one universal menu we call the &quot;Everything&quot;&nbsp;menu. So now, to get to any of our three main areas of the site, you simply need to click one button. Click &quot;Everything&quot;!

Second, our search tool has been brought to the middle of the navigation bar, making it more accessible and easier&nbsp;to spot.&nbsp;&nbsp;

And third, our administrator&nbsp;tools&nbsp;for managing your&nbsp;team and viewing usage reports have been conveniently moved to the Accounts menu on the right side of the navigation bar.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dsy605WReDk?si=Qc240yMiBBnoyUee" width="640"></iframe></div>

&nbsp;

<h1>2. The Lesson Page Index now includes genre filters, pins, and a plain-text list view</h1>

Our redesigned navigation in our Lesson Page Index includes a new genre tag filter at the top of the page, so you no longer have to scroll forever to get to a particular section you&rsquo;re interested in. Just click a genre tag to filter to your favorite lesson sections.&nbsp; 
 
We&rsquo;ve also moved our&nbsp;Resources&nbsp;into the Lesson Page. What used to live on its own page is now available as one of the filter genres at the top. Inside, you&rsquo;ll find all the same great resources such as Assessment &amp; Reflections, Certificates, Grammar Charts, and more, now easier to access in one place.

We&rsquo;ve also added a&nbsp;feature that lets you pin the lesson sections you use the most and access them all on one dedicated personalized Pinned page.

Lastly, we built a plain-text index view to quickly see and scan all lesson section titles in a single, simple snapshot page.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O2G8z_Pl-Aw?si=jIlKgjUdx7IfFZfO" width="640"></iframe></div>

&nbsp;

<h1>3. Each lesson section&nbsp;now includes&nbsp;category tags, and all lessons have an instant &quot;Add to class&quot;&nbsp;button</h1>

Most lesson sections on Ellii include categories to appropriately divide the many lessons by theme or&nbsp;target structure. In the past, you would sometimes find yourself endlessly scrolling&nbsp;to get to a category lower down the page. Now, we&rsquo;ve converted our categories into filter tags&nbsp;at the top of each lesson section, so that you can instantly jump to the category you&rsquo;re most interested in with just one click.&nbsp;

We&rsquo;ve also added a + button next to every lesson title on the index page so that you can add that lesson to a class without having to click into it first. Super convenient!&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/avb6x-eFX1E?si=VkSsAjkoVV0F77cO" width="640"></iframe></div>

&nbsp;

<h1>4. Likes have been retired. Your old likes have a new home.</h1>

We have retired the &quot;Like&quot;&nbsp;button on Ellii. If you were using the &quot;Like&quot; button before, all of the materials you saved have been moved into a new folder&nbsp;in your Folders area. The name of the folder is aptly called &quot;My Likes,&quot;&nbsp;but you can change the name to anything you prefer. From now on, you can put your favorite lessons into that folder.

Why did we retire the &quot;Like&quot;&nbsp;button? 1) Because it was not being used&nbsp;often. More people were putting content into their folders than utilizing the &quot;Like&quot;&nbsp;button. And 2) we think that it should possibly be reintroduced down the road to specifically indicate if you liked a lesson you taught, rather than be used as a favorites/saving&nbsp;feature. We think folders are better suited&nbsp;for saving your favorite items.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IQ1H9eIefRA?si=8_wjLvrOrSaEyUX_" width="640"></iframe></div>

<h1>&nbsp;</h1>

<h1>Where are the English Storylines?&nbsp;</h1>

Our English Storylines courses (Everyday Idioms, and Detective Series) have been moved to our Courses section. <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/?category=2&amp;material=courses&amp;page=1">You can find them here.</a>

&nbsp;

<h1>Supporting Teachers Through Change</h1>

We understand that change can sometimes feel overwhelming&mdash;especially if you&rsquo;ve been using Ellii for a long time and are comfortable with the way things were. These updates are designed to make Ellii easier to navigate, cleaner in design, and more intuitive for all teachers, no matter how you use the platform. Our goal is to give you back valuable time so you can focus on teaching and connecting with your students. We&rsquo;re confident that once you&rsquo;ve had a chance to explore the new design, you&rsquo;ll find it not just different, but a big step forward.

A New Way to Navigate Ellii

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Photographs are wonderful teaching tools. They capture moments in time and help us to tell stories and facilitate discussions.

In this blog, I share some ideas for how to use Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lessons/photo-prompts">Photos of the Week</a>&nbsp;to bring current affairs and global news into the ELT classroom.&nbsp;

Our Photos of the Week section shares five photos each week from our media partner, The Associated Press. These photos depict diverse stories from around the world&nbsp;and help learners to explore these topics in more detail.

You can use these hot off the press&nbsp;or take a step back in time to find out more about&nbsp;key stories from recent history.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Assign as speaking homework</h2>

These photo prompts&nbsp;are designed for self-directed learning. You can assign them to a class or an individual student to prepare them for an upcoming lesson&nbsp;or to give them additional practice of something you&#39;ve been working on in class.&nbsp;

Students are prompted to look at a photo, read a short description, and talk about the photo. The instruction is deliberately flexible to allow students to add their own ideas, knowledge, or creativity to&nbsp;the topic.&nbsp;&nbsp;

For example, take this photo of women voting in Guinea:&nbsp;

<img alt="screenshot of women from Guinea" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4940/content_Guinea-Vote.jpg" />

You could encourage students to:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Describe the photo using adjectives</li>
	<li>Say what the people in the photo might be thinking or saying</li>
	<li>Say what they know about the topic&mdash;and what they&#39;d like to know more about</li>
	<li>Predict what might happen next&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Guess what happened before the photo was taken</li>
	<li>Imagine what the story is about</li>
</ul>

Students don&#39;t necessarily need to know the backstory to the photo in order to use it as a speaking prompt. The aim is to get them talking and using their English. But you could let them research the story more&nbsp;before recording their answer.&nbsp;

<h2>2. Discuss in class</h2>

These photos work really well in class. Simply present one at a time or all of them at once and ask students to share what they know&nbsp;and what they&nbsp;would like to know about each photo.&nbsp;

Here is a photo of Venezuelan migrants on a boat between Panama and Colombia:&nbsp;

<img alt="Venezuelan migrants" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4941/content_Venezuelan-Boat.jpg" />

You could ask the students:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>What can you see?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What&nbsp;do you know about this story or place?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>How does this photo make you feel?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>How do you think the people in the photo feel?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What would you do in this situation?</li>
</ul>

Before the lesson, you could read about each story and share some interesting extra information. You could also facilitate some debate around each photo.&nbsp;

<h2>3. Improve research skills</h2>

These photo prompts are perfect for developing research skills. They can serve as a introduction to the topic.&nbsp;

Have students work in pairs or small groups. Have them&nbsp;choose a photo that intrigues them. Ask them to write a list of all the questions that they have about the photo.

Let&#39;s use this photo as an example:&nbsp;

<img alt="Melanie Santiler" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4942/content_Havana.jpg" />

Students may write questions such as:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Who is Melanie Santiler?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What kind of music does she play?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Who else plays at Shangri La in Havana?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>In what ways is the music scene in Havana changing?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Once they have a list of questions, have them research the answers online and take notes. Finally, have them share their findings.&nbsp;Some ways they could do this include:

<ul>
	<li>a vlog</li>
	<li>a presentation</li>
	<li>a poster</li>
	<li>a sketchnote or infographic</li>
	<li>a blog post</li>
	<li>a social media post</li>
	<li>a news article</li>
	<li>a role-play&nbsp;interview of&nbsp;one of the people in the photo</li>
</ul>

Here are some further classroom ideas, taking an inquiry-based learning approach:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/inquiry-based-learning-a-quick-guide-of-elt-professionals">Inquiry-Based Learning: A Quick Guide for ELT Professionals</a></li>
</ul>

If you&#39;d like some more ideas&nbsp;on how to use photos in class, check out these blog posts:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-one-image-can-develop-visual-literacy-and-critical-thinking">How One Image Can Develop Visual Literacy &amp; Critcial Thinking Skills</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-pictures-as-grammar-prompts">How to Use Pictures as Grammar Prompts</a></li>
</ul>

How do you use photos in class? How would you use <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lessons/photo-prompts">Photos of the Week</a>? Share your ideas with other teachers in the comments!

How to Use Photos of the Week

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Learn how to make the most of your Ellii subscription with tips from our publishing team.

Teaching with Ellii

This post answers frequently asked questions about Ellii&#39;s Placement Tests. For general questions about Ellii&#39;s assessment content, view this related post: <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/ellii-assessments" target="_blank">How to Find Assessments on Ellii</a>

<h2>Ellii&#39;s Placement Test (Autograded)</h2>

The <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5606-ellii-placement-test-autograded" target="_blank">Ellii Placement Test </a>(autograded) is designed to help teachers or administrators&nbsp;determine the Ellii level of a new English language student. This short, autograded test does not include writing and speaking tasks.&nbsp;Students have&nbsp;30 minutes&nbsp;to complete the Ellii Placement Test. There is also a printable version with downloadable audio available if schools prefer this method.

The Ellii Placement Test (autograded) has 30 multiple-choice questions and is divided into 3 sections:

<blockquote>
Part 1: Listening (3 recordings, 9 questions) 
Part 2: Grammar (12 questions) 
Part 3: Reading (3 readings, 9 questions)
</blockquote>

For the most accurate scoring, teachers should encourage&nbsp;students to skip questions they can&#39;t answer rather than guessing.

<blockquote>
Score Range = Ellii Level 
 
0-3% = Pre Beg 
4&ndash;17% = Low Beg 
18-40% = High Beg 
41-63% = Low Int 
64-83% = High Int 
84-97% = High Int &ndash; Adv 
98-100% = Adv
</blockquote>

After completing the assessment, students are assigned a score and suggested a level placement. This helps teachers decide which Ellii materials to use with their students. 
 
The type of level teachers&nbsp;see is based on the settings they have selected on their Account page (Ellii, CLB, CEFR, ELD, NRS). A percentage score will also be shown.

<hr />
<h2>Ellii&#39;s Placement Test (Speaking &amp; Writing)</h2>

The<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4226-ellii-placement-test-writing-speaking" target="_blank"> Ellii Placement Test (Writing &amp; Speaking)</a> assesses all four skills and is designed to help teachers determine the Ellii level of a new English language student. Teachers can also consult our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/equivalencies">Equivalency Scale</a>&nbsp;to determine which materials are best suited for their&nbsp;students based on their level preference.

We recommend giving students a time limit of&nbsp;60 minutes&nbsp;to complete this test in order to get the most accurate level placement. If assigning the digital version, teachers can include this guideline as a note: &quot;Please use a maximum of 60 minutes to take this test. I will see the time taken after you submit your answers.&quot;

A printable version with suggested rubrics for the speaking and writing portion is available in the Teacher PDF. If students are taking the digital version, teachers may want to share expectations so students understand what they will be looking for in a response. There is also an <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4798-ellii-placement-test-ireland">Irish version</a> of this test.&nbsp;

This test is divided into 5 sections:

<blockquote>
Part 1: Listening (6 recordings, 12 questions, 20%) 
Part 2: Grammar (16 questions, 27%) 
Part 3: Reading (3 readings, 9 questions, 15%) 
Part 4: Writing (3 short answers, 1 long answer, 22%) 
Part 5: Speaking (1 long answer, 16%)
</blockquote>

For the most accurate scoring, students should be encouraged to skip questions they can&#39;t answer rather than guessing. Here is the suggested level placement for the full test with speaking and writing portions.

<blockquote>
Score Range = Ellii Level 
 
0-3% = Pre Beg 
4&ndash;17% = Low Beg 
18-40% = High Beg 
41-63% = Low Int 
64-83% = High Int 
84-97% = High Int &ndash; Adv 
98-100% = Adv
</blockquote>

The score and suggested level will help teachers decide which Ellii materials to use with their students. The type of level teachers see is&nbsp;based on the settings they have set up on their Account page (Ellii, CLB, CEFR, ELD, NRS). A percentage score will also be shown.&nbsp;

<hr />
<h2>Ellii&#39;s Exit Test</h2>

To assess students&#39; gains since they took the autograded <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5606-ellii-placement-test-autograded" target="_blank">Ellii Placement Test</a> or to use an alternative version of the autograded Ellii Placement Test, teachers can assign the&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5607-ellii-exit-test-autograded">Ellii Exit Test</a>.&nbsp;This is an additional autograded proficiency test with different questions at the same difficulty and with the same number of questions as the autograded Ellii Placement Test. Some teachers also use it to deter cheating or to offer extra practice taking assessments. Students have 30 minutes to complete the test.&nbsp;

<hr />
<h2>Ellii&#39;s Proficiency Level Account Settings</h2>

Under Account settings (top right on Ellii), teachers can adjust their level preferences to the ones they want to see on the materials. Teachers choose the&nbsp;generic&nbsp;Ellii level (Pre Beg &ndash; Adv) with the option to add one of the following level systems:&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

<blockquote>
Canadian Language Benchmarks: CLB 1&ndash;12 
Common European Framework: CEFR A0&ndash;C2 
English Language Development:&nbsp;&nbsp;ELD 1&ndash;6 
National Reporting System: NRS 1&ndash;6
</blockquote>

<a href="https://ellii.com/equivalencies" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4927/content_Screen_Shot_2025-09-18_at_1.54.43_PM.png" /></a>

<hr />
<h2>Ellii&#39;s Equivalency Scale</h2>

If you want to know more about Ellii&#39;s levels, consider reviewing our <a href="https://ellii.com/equivalencies" target="_blank">Equivalency Scale</a>. You can find this comparison scale on the footer of the site.&nbsp;

<hr />
<h2>Ellii Solo</h2>

If your school has <a href="https://ellii.com/solo" target="_blank">Ellii Solo</a>, Ellii&#39;s self-study solution designed for pre-enrollment learning paths, computer lab programs, and independent learning initiatives, students will take the Ellii Placement Test when they first begin the program. This test is the same autograded test that teachers assign on Ellii. After taking the test, students will be directed to ready-made pathways of self-study packs and courses most appropriate for their level. The proficiency level will be displayed the way the administrator has chosen (e.g., Ellii + CLB). 
 
<img alt="Ellii Solo Level" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4928/content_Screen_Shot_2025-09-18_at_3.25.40_PM.png" /> 
Students must complete a pathway or retake the placement test in order to unlock higher-level pathways.&nbsp; 
<img alt="Ellii Solo Pathways" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4929/content_Screen_Shot_2025-09-18_at_3.35.56_PM.png" />

Students using Ellii Solo can also access the&nbsp;Library if they choose to explore courses, packs, and videos&nbsp;without using the guided pathways.

<img alt="Ellii Solo Navigation bar" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/4930/content_Screen_Shot_2025-09-18_at_3.37.18_PM.png" />We hope <a href="https://ellii.com/resources/assessment-tools" target="_blank">Ellii&#39;s diagnostic assessments</a> help you and your learners find the content and courseware you need to ensure proficiency success!

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