A new series of comprehensive Functional Skills Maths books now available from talented mathematician and teacher Marsida Horeshka who you may already know from her popular Functional Skills maths site https://marscademy.com/(previously known as Maths Made Fun). The three Entry Level books are now available on Amazon (and soon from other booksellers).
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
I am absolutely fascinated by this blog written by Lauren Piovesan, the founder of ESL Reads. Despite spending two decades simplifying texts - a task that I enjoy and sometimes find a challenge - I've never really analysed what I'm doing.
Although written for EAL (English as an Additional Language) teachers this is a useful guide for both experienced and new teachers of ESOL, adult literacy (Functional Skills English) and indeed vocational subjects.
An incredible collection of free worksheets from OUP. Designed to support the excellent book ‘Maths the Basics’ by June Haighton et al (see our separate entry about this book) but can be used independently. I haven’t looked at them all ( there are more than a 100 - plus answer sheets!) but they seem to cover Entry Level 3 to Level 2.
In addition there are many other useful downloads including tips and hints for non-specialists on delivering Functional Skills maths, English and ICT and much more.
I’ve only briefly skimmed through but some of these new mastery resources for L1 & L2 Functional Maths (and GCSE resits) look amazing! Includes full 33 hour (22 x 1.5 hr lessons) schemes of work, lesson plans, handouts and slides.
Language feature spotting in songs - Eurovision through the ages edition! 8 songs that have all won Eurovision and use various language features. Suitable for L1 and L2.
Editor's note
Very topical and jolly 3 minute video. Lyrics appear clearly, word by word, on screen. Covers rhetorical questions, simile, repetition and more. Teachers will probably want to watch in advance and formulate their own question prompts. PS. Some of these songs made me feel old!
Level
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
English
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes
Three graduated online basic skills tests (but new questions can be generated for each test) based on original PDF basic skills tests from AQA. The tests are just one of many hundreds of excellent resources on the mathsbot.com site which is owned, written and maintained by maths teacher Jonathan Hall.
I absolutely love these starter quiz templates for L1 Functional Skills Maths and L1-L2 Functional English from Pearson Edexcel and Jonny Kay. The main link below sends you to an PDF overview - scroll to the end of the PDF for direct links to the templates and sample quizzes.
I've been recommending this resource to many learners and potential learners of ESOL and even English Functional Skills.
It allows learners to submit some typed in text for a particular task (for free) and then get feedback. They may need some help understanding the feedback, if they're not sure about grammatical terms, but many of my learners have found this very useful.
I have started to give it out at the beginning of term for students to get extra writing practice outside of the classtime.
Here's another easy-read guide about Queen's death. I like the practicality of this 4 page PDF: it includes reassurances that stamps & money are still OK to use & clearly explains vocabulary such as the meaning of half mast). Perfect for E1 reading. 👑👍