ALERT (Adult Literacy ESOL Resources Training) is a website that provides free adult education resources. There are ESOL, literacy and ICT resources available from levels E1 to L2. Please feel free to download any resources you may find helpful - and of course, please free to add your own!
Editor's notes
There are some wonderful resources here - especially for Entry ESOL and Literacy. Resources include interesting topics such as Chinese New Year, St Patrick's Day, The Great Famine, etc. Well worth a browse.
Scroll down the English for Action page until you reach section 6. Here you can find the download link to this superb 76 page toolkit, along with a brief overview. I don't know why I have only just come across this resource! IMO, it makes inspiring and fascinating reading for all teachers, not just ESOL specialists.
Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
General literacy / English
ESOL
General ESOL
General
Staff development
Study Skills and General Teaching
Generic resources for literacy, numeracy and beyond
This scaffold has been designed to be used either as as a diary for use in class and / or as a way for students to record and reflect on their literacy/language experiences outside of the classroom.
Emojis are used to try to encourage them to consider and record their feelings.
A set of five texts about screen time, physical and sedentary activity, and sleep for Children under age 5. The texts can be used in various combinations for Functional Skills (FS) speaking, listening and communicating; reading and writing activities. Teachers can pick and choose their own texts and create related DARTs (directed activities related to text) and questions to suit. There will also be pre-prepared resources on skillsworkshop. See "See also" for links.
Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
T Levels - embedded maths or English
English
Functional English reading
TL - Synthesise information
GCSE Reading AO1a Identify/interpret explicit & implicit information & ideas
GCSE Reading AO1b Select & synthesise evidence from different texts
GCSE English Reading AO2 Explain & analyse language & structure
GCSE Reading AO3 Compare writers’ ideas & perspectives across 2 or more texts
Two differentiated functional English tasks that involves a number of reading and writing skills (with a bit of maths thrown in!). Learners can personalise this by using names of their own friends and family. For both versions you will need copies of the current Argos book or access to the web site.
Entry 2 version includes: using a catalogue or web site, writing a list & a gift tag, budgeting, writing a note. You will need one gift tag per learner.
20 literacy and numeracy questions to warm up the new term! All based on the words HAPPYNEWYEAR (can easily be adapted for other festivals such a Diwali, New Year’s Eve or Ramadan). Covers vowels, consonants, number, ratios, simple substitution, range, mode and more!
Ideal for mixed ability groups (E1-L2). Also provides very good practice in reading instructions carefully.
For higher level groups it could be completed in teams as a speed test.
This resource arose from a conversation with a learner who had lost their debit card a number of times in the cash machine because they couldn’t read the screen fast enough.
I used it by discussing each of the screens with learners and then having them work through the reading text and the accompanying exercises. Even better, if you have access to the internet, you can show different images of ATM screens and discuss them.
Simplified texts and DARTS activities with follow up writing tasks at E1 and E2.
Based on material from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website http://hmd.org.uk/
Prior to completing the reading and writing tasks the class listened to a podcast of a survivor talking about their experiences.The material from both the listening activity (http://hmd.org.uk/resources/podcasts/i-was-there)
This is great as a warm-up activity or a bit of end-of-term fun. It is suitable for a mixed ability group of numeracy learners, or indeed literacy or ESOL learners. This quiz tests learners’ knowledge of how old someone has to be in order to do certain things legally, e.g. be a blood donor. It can be used in small group or pair work (which worked well for me) as well as individually.
A set of reading and writing activities to accompany Readwell Road book 1A The Shop. You will also need need to download book 1A (scroll down to See also)
Readwell Road adult reading scheme books have been a great hit since they first appeared on skillsworkshop in 2010. Site contributor Linda has now gone on and independently published the complete set of 48 books. Linda has recently produced sets of photocopiable activity books to accompany all the stories in Steps 1 and 2.