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Every year, major dictionaries and language organizations announce their Word of the Year (WOTY) in December or January. The winning word is often a term that captures something essential about how we used language over the past 12 months. Sometimes the choice is obvious (e.g., pandemic in 2020), while other choices reflect deeper cultural and linguistic shifts.

And every January, editor Mark Allen hosts a discussion about the WOTY in his webinar called <a href="https://www.thatwordchat.com/" target="_blank">That Word Chat</a>,&nbsp;where he invites experts from dictionaries and other major publishers to explain their choices.

What made 2025&nbsp;especially interesting is that many dictionaries and language experts gravitated toward the same idea (and even the same word in some cases). The&nbsp;recurring theme that emerged in 2025 was our growing discomfort with low-quality information, online manipulation, and questions of authenticity in the age of AI.

Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of the most talked-about WOTY contenders and winners this year&nbsp;and what they can teach us (and our students) about modern English.

<h2>Slop</h2>

The word <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year" target="_blank">slop</a>&nbsp;was chosen as the 2025 WOTY by no fewer than four publications (Merriam-Webster, the American Dialect Society, the&nbsp;Economist magazine, and Australia&rsquo;s Macquarie Dictionary). According to Peter Sokolowski (Merriam-Webster), slop saw a huge increase in lookups&mdash;not for its traditional meaning (waste or animal feed), but for its new sense:

<blockquote>slop: low-quality, mass-produced content flooding the internet, often generated by AI</blockquote>

Reasons why it was chosen:

<ul>
	<li>It reflects distrust of online information.</li>
	<li>It joins words like gaslighting, catfishing, trolling, and deepfake.</li>
	<li>It highlights how much we value authenticity&mdash;perhaps more than ever.</li>
</ul>

As Ben Zimmer (American Dialect Society) pointed out, slop has become so prominent that people no longer need to say the original, longer version, which was&nbsp;AI slop.&nbsp;We even hear slop expanding to other areas, such as&nbsp;work slop and&nbsp;friend slop.

<h2>Rage bait</h2>

Oxford Languages&rsquo; WOTY for 2025&nbsp;is&nbsp;<a href="https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/" target="_blank">rage bait</a>.&nbsp;Unlike most other dictionaries, which choose their WOTY based on the number of lookups, Oxford chooses theirs based on the corpus data (i.e., tracking which words show the biggest year-over-year growth in real usage).

<blockquote>rage bait: content deliberately designed to provoke anger or outrage, especially online, in order to drive engagement, clicks, or shares</blockquote>

According to Fiona McPherson (Oxford English Dictionary), rage bait has narrowed to describe online manipulation&mdash;not real-life situations such as&nbsp;road rage.&nbsp;

Reasons why it was chosen:

<ul>
	<li>It reflects increased awareness that our emotions are being exploited online.</li>
	<li>It follows a productive pattern (clickbait, love bait, Oscar bait).</li>
	<li>It also won Oxford&rsquo;s public vote by a wide margin.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Other notable Words of the Year</h2>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/articles/word-of-the-year-2025" target="_blank">67</a>&nbsp;(Dictonary.com; also spelled 6-7 or 6 7):&nbsp;so-so, this or that, maybe (though some people argue it has no meaning at all and is simply a phrase that youth use to confuse and frustrate adults)</li>
	<li><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/editorial/word-of-the-year" target="_blank">parasocial</a>&nbsp;(Cambridge): a one-sided relationship in which a person feels emotionally connected to a public figure or&nbsp;influencer who does not know them personally</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/woty" target="_blank">vibe coding</a>&nbsp;(Collins): an informal approach to programming where developers describe&nbsp;desired outcomes instead of writing detailed instructions, and then rely on AI to generate the code</li>
	<li><a href="https://corp.oup.com/news/brain-rot-named-oxford-word-of-the-year-2024/" target="_blank">brain rot</a>&nbsp;(Oxford&#39;s WOTY in 2024; American Dialect Society&#39;s runner-up in 2025):&nbsp;the mental fatigue, reduced attention, or sense of cognitive decline caused by prolonged exposure to low-quality, repetitive, or overwhelming digital content</li>
</ul>

<h2>Words as time capsules</h2>

As Ben Zimmer (American Dialect Society) reminded us in his closing remarks, Words of the Year act as linguistic time capsules. Sometimes they capture a single global event (e.g.,&nbsp;COVID). Other times, they reveal subtler shifts, such as changing attitudes toward truth, trust, and technology.

Several speakers noted a relative lack of political WOTY choices for 2025, which itself says something about how cultural anxiety is being expressed more through technology and media language than traditional politics.

<h2>WOTY in the classroom</h2>

For English teachers, WOTY discussions are a powerful classroom tool in the following ways:

<ul>
	<li>They show students that English is alive and evolving.</li>
	<li>They encourage critical thinking about media literacy.</li>
	<li>They open conversations about tone, connotation, and register.</li>
	<li>They highlight how culture shapes vocabulary.</li>
</ul>

Whether you explore slop, rage bait, or another contender with your students, one thing is clear: the language of 2025 reflected a world questioning what&mdash;and who&mdash;to trust online.

Words of the Year 2025

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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

In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes/episode/1c25d156/e80-algorithms-echo-chambers-and-critical-thinking-in-the-english-language-classroom-with-andrea-collados" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Episode 80</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 global educator and ESL teacher Andrea Collados to unpack how algorithms, echo chambers, and digital media environments are shaping the way students encounter information&mdash;and why critical thinking has become an essential responsibility in the English language classroom.&nbsp;

As algorithm-driven platforms increasingly curate what learners see, believe, and share, Andrea argues that ELT classrooms may be one of the last spaces where students can slow down, question sources, and engage meaningfully with perspectives beyond their digital bubbles. Rather than positioning technology as something to avoid, this episode encourages teachers to interrogate it thoughtfully and intentionally.

<blockquote>
&ldquo; Our <a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/5868-algorithms" target="_blank">algorithm</a> is tailored according to what we do and what we search. And there is this false sense that this is for our benefit and it&#39;s quite the opposite because then you are trapped in a bubble and you cannot see other perspectives. And then you are just in that loop of thinking the same and doing the same thing over and over again.&rdquo;

&mdash;&nbsp;Andrea Collados
</blockquote>

Together, the conversation explores media literacy, confirmation bias, and the emotional dimensions of critical thinking, highlighting empathy and perspective-taking as core analytical skills. Andrea shares low-prep, classroom-ready strategies for embedding critical questioning into everyday lessons without overhauling existing curricula. From analyzing social media posts to designing speaking and writing tasks that challenge students to shift viewpoints, this episode offers practical inspiration for helping learners navigate information critically and ethically.

This episode is a must-listen for educators seeking to support students as discerning language users and engaged global citizens, especially in an era of misinformation, polarization, and algorithmic influence. 
&nbsp;

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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>
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	<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-think-aloud/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>

Algorithms, Echo Chambers & Critical Thinking in the English Language Classroom

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In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_in6I3pXNw">latest episode</a> of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, co-hosts Anna and Sh&eacute; take a nostalgic journey &ldquo;back to basics,&rdquo; zooming in on the foundational aspects of teaching and the importance of reflection in educational practice. As we embrace the year 2026, the episode &quot;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_in6I3pXNw">2026 Friends of the Podcast: Back to Basics</a>&quot; features voices of educators around the world who share their personal reflections and goals for the new year. From the K&ndash;12 classrooms worldwide to one-on-one adult ESL and EFL classes, these educators explore themes of needs assessment, AI integration, student motivation, lesson planning, trauma-informed teaching, and more, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of language education.&nbsp;

<blockquote>&ldquo;The deeper you go [in the field of English language teaching], the more you realize there is to learn.&rdquo;&nbsp; &mdash; Anna Ciriani-Dean</blockquote>

The friends of the podcast featured in this episode reveal the everyday adjustments and aspirations they hold, tying into the broader theme: &quot;The human side of teaching.&quot; Each contributor offers a unique insight, making this episode a treasure trove of practical advice and inspiration for educators seeking to enhance their teaching practice in 2026.

Happy teaching and happy reflecting in 2026!

 
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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>

Back to Basics: Reflect on Your 2026 Teaching Goals

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

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Are you teaching US history and government and&nbsp;preparing students for the NEW Naturalization Civics Test (2025 version)? You are changing lives, and Ellii wants to help!

<blockquote>
Yes! Ellii is developing test prep materials for the new Naturalization Civics Test.
</blockquote>

We began working on new content as soon as the notice went out about the new test (Sep&nbsp;18, 2025). If your students are preparing for the naturalization test, you&nbsp;can expect plenty of new content on Ellii in the next few months. We&#39;ll be updating this post as new content is available.&nbsp;

<h3>What has changed with the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test?&nbsp;</h3>

<ul>
	<li>If applicants applied before or within 30 days of the notice (Sep&nbsp;18, 2025), they take the 2008 test.</li>
	<li>If applicants&nbsp;applied 30 days or more after this notice (Sep&nbsp;18, 2025), they take the 2025 test.</li>
	<li>On the new (2025) test, the&nbsp;USCIS officer will ask applicants to answer up to 20 out of&nbsp;128 civics test questions&nbsp;to prove their&nbsp;knowledge of&nbsp;US&nbsp;history and government.</li>
	<li>USCIS officers will&nbsp;stop&nbsp;after the&nbsp;applicant answers&nbsp;12 questions correctly OR misses 9 questions.</li>
</ul>

Note: Scroll down for useful external links to resources regarding these updates.&nbsp;

<h2>Ellii&#39;s Media Gallery</h2>

Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;new <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep" target="_blank">US Civics &amp; Test Prep</a> videos build history and government knowledge while offering practical test-taking tips. Choose from short, digestible clips or full-length video lessons with chapter divisions.&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep/colonial-period-independence" target="_blank"><img alt="US Civics Test Prep videos" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5010/content_Civics-Video-Colonial-Period-and-Independence_OG-play.png" /></a>

The first 30&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep" rel="noopener" target="_blank">US Civics &amp; Test Prep videos</a> are available now!&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep/the-1800s" target="_blank"><img alt="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep/the-1800s" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5011/content_Civics-Video-1800s_OG-play.png" /></a>

Videos include a real teacher from Ellii, real&nbsp;photographs, useful drawings, and real questions and possible answers from the test.

<a href="https://ellii.com/video/recent-american-history" target="_blank"><img alt="Recent US History video " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5055/content_Screen_Shot_2025-11-19_at_3.11.32_PM.png" /></a>

More videos are coming soon.&nbsp;

<h2>Ellii&#39;s Study Packs</h2>

Ellii Study Packs allow you to assign your students bundled content easily with one click. Visit our <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/?category=45&amp;page=1" target="_blank">US Civics</a> category in Courses &amp; Packs&nbsp;and watch this content&nbsp;grow. 
 
If you and your students like Ellii&#39;s test prep videos, you&#39;ll love the NEW study packs. Each video lesson comes with practice tasks, including vocabulary review, comprehension, and speaking practice. Note that we have been releasing these out of order, but we will be covering the full set of possible questions with a completion date scheduled for the end of February 2026.

In our first release, <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/colonial-period-independence/materials" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Colonial Period &amp; Independence</a>, students practice questions 73&ndash;89 of the civics test.

<a href="https://ellii.com/packs/colonial-period-independence/materials" target="_blank"><img alt="Colonial Period &amp; Independence Study Pack on Ellii " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5012/content_US-Civics-Test-Prep-Colonial-Period-and-Independence_OG.png" /></a>

This follow-up pack on <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/the-1800s/materials" target="_blank">The 1800s</a>&nbsp;features video lessons and practice about western expansion and the Civil War. Students practice questions 90&ndash;99 of the civics test. Expand your students&#39;&nbsp;knowledge with related lessons from our library, such as lessons on historic figures from this period, including <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3185-harriet-tubman" target="_blank">Harriet Tubman</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3473-frederick-douglass" target="_blank">Frederick Douglass</a>, and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2881-susan-b-anthony" target="_blank">Susan B. Anthony</a>.

<a href="https://ellii.com/packs/the-1800s/materials" target="_blank"><img alt="The 1800s US Civics Test Prep Study Pack on Ellii " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5013/content_US-Civics-1800s_OG.png" /></a>

The third&nbsp;pack features video lessons and practice about conflict and change in <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/recent-american-history/materials" target="_blank">Recent US History</a> (the 1900s and early 2000s). Students practice questions 100&ndash;118&nbsp;of the civics test. Expand your students&#39;&nbsp;knowledge with related lessons from our library, such as lessons on historic figures from this period, including <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1535-franklin-d-roosevelt" target="_blank">Franklin Roosevelt</a>, the <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2856-the-vietnam-war" target="_blank">Vietnam War,</a> and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1466-september-11th" target="_blank">September 11th</a>.

<a href="https://ellii.com/packs/recent-american-history/materials" target="_blank"><img alt="Recent US History US Civics Test Prep Study Pack: The 1900s and early 2000s" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5054/content_US-Civics-Recent-US-History_OG.png" /></a>

The fourth and fifth pack have now been released too. <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/principles-of-us-government" target="_blank">Principles of American Government</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/system-of-government-1" target="_blank">System of Government 1</a>&nbsp;cover the first 30 possible questions on the civics&nbsp;test. 
 
Did you know? You can also send content individually to just the students who are studying for the test&nbsp;(NEW feature).

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/introducing-individual-student-assignments" target="_blank"><img alt="individual assignments on Ellii " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5014/content_Screen_Shot_2025-11-14_at_11.12.24_AM.png" /></a>

We have four more packs in the works&nbsp;and will be releasing the videos and lessons as they are ready! Then we will move on to the personal interview section of the test.

<h2>Ellii&#39;s Collections</h2>

<h3><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics" target="_blank">US Citizenship &amp; Naturalization</a></h3>

This collection category offers six ready-made collections of EL Civics content focusing on US law, government, history, and culture. This content will help prepare ELLs for life and citizenship in the United States.&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lessons/american-presidents" target="_blank">American Presidents&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/american-institutions" target="_blank">American Institutions</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/american-trailblazers" target="_blank">American Trailblazers</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/american-holidays" target="_blank">American Holidays</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/us-history" target="_blank">American History</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/us-landmarks" target="_blank">American Landmarks</a></li>
</ul>

<h3><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/el-civics" target="_blank">EL Civics</a></h3>

This collection category features curated content for pre-approved civics objectives (COAAPs) selected by California agencies supporting adult ed. Search for content that is specifically related to the needs assessment of your students and use this content toward&nbsp;the 30 hours of instruction your learners need before doing related assessments.

<h3><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/nations-regions/americana" target="_blank">The United States</a></h3>

Our content library is full of lessons about American facts, figures, and firsts. This collection highlights some of our most popular lesson content related to the US, including presidents, famous people, and holidays.

<h2>Popular Ellii Lessons</h2>

Use the Search field on Ellii to find lessons on topics you are covering, and reach out to us if you can&#39;t find what you&#39;re looking for. Here are some popular US civics lessons:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5757-us-immigration-rights" target="_blank">US Immigration Rights</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2277-american-citizenship" target="_blank">American Citizenship</a> (in editing)</li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3836-n-400-vocabulary" target="_blank">N-400 Vocabulary</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2676-the-united-states" target="_blank">The United States </a>(Listening in English)</li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2263-map-of-the-us" target="_blank">Map of the US</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1505-george-washington" target="_blank">George Washington</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2779-trail-of-tears" target="_blank">The Trail of Tears</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3172-the-us-constitution" target="_blank">The US Constitution</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5636-the-bill-of-rights" target="_blank">The Bill of Rights</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4037-the-declaration-of-independence" target="_blank">The Declaration of Independence</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2764-the-supreme-court-us" target="_blank">The Supreme Court</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3381-election-day-us" target="_blank">Election Day</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/video/republicans-democrats" target="_blank">Republicans Vs. Democrats</a> (explainer video)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Coming Soon on Ellii&nbsp;</h3>

<ul>
	<li>20 + more videos</li>
	<li>4 + more US Test Prep Study Packs</li>
	<li>NEW comprehensive civics&nbsp;lessons focused on US History &amp; Government&nbsp;</li>
	<li>US Test Prep Speaking Practice Tests (for the personal interview)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Useful External Resources for 2025 Updates</h3>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/18/2025-18050/notice-of-implementation-of-2025-naturalization-civics-test" target="_blank">Notice of Implementation of 2025 Naturalization Civics Test </a>(09.18.2025)</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/brochures/USCIS-2025-Civics-Test-Study-Guide.pdf" target="_blank">One Nation, One People Study Guide (2025)</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-Civics-Test-128-Questions-and-Answers-09.15.2025.pdf" target="_blank">128 Civics Questions (2025)</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materials-and-resources/check-for-test-updates" target="_blank">USCIS Comparison of 2008 / 2025 Test</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5n2h5rdfojhykxegok15a/Natz_Test_Comparison_A_2008-2025.pdf?rlkey=47rpmtohvcrqazh1uf17h8o7k&amp;e=1&amp;st=r1lxr88r&amp;dl=0" target="_blank">Bill Bliss&#39;s Comparison chart of 2008 / 2025 Test</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship" target="_blank">USCIS Citizenship Resource Center</a></li>
</ul>

US Naturalization Civics Test Prep (Updated Version) Now on Ellii

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Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

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

For Students

The end of the year is the perfect time to stop and think about life. We can look back at the things we have done and what we have learned. This helps us to decide what we enjoyed and what we want to do next year.&nbsp;

Sometimes people make &quot;resolutions&quot; at the beginning of the year. These are promises that you make to yourself. For example:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>I will exercise for 20 minutes every day.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>I am going to study on Ellii for one hour a day.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>I plan to speak B2 English by the end of the year.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

These resolutions can be difficult to keep, so I&#39;d like to share an activity to help you plan next year in a kinder way.&nbsp;

1. Choose your paper

This activity is best on BIG paper. I think A3 (or bigger) is best, but A4 will also work well. If you prefer digital, you can use a drawing tool like Procreate (only for Apple users), Adobe Fresco, Concepts, or Canva Whiteboard.&nbsp;

2. Draw out last year&nbsp;

First, draw a line and then divide it into 12 months. The easiest way to do this is to start with a line and then divide it into six parts:&nbsp;

<img alt="Timeline 1" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5148/content_Timeline_1.png" />

Then, add more lines to divide it into 12 parts.&nbsp;

<img alt="Timeline 2" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5149/content_Timeline_2.png" />

After that, you can write the months of the year. You can shorten them by writing the first three letters of each month or even just the first letter!

<img alt="Timeline 3" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5150/content_Timelin_3.png" />

You can divide the top and bottom parts of the page into different parts of your life&mdash;for example, family, home, health, work, study, money, and fun.&nbsp;

<img alt="Timeline 4" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5151/content_Timeline_4.png" />

In this example,&nbsp;the top part of the page is for &quot;professional&quot; things. For example, things you did at work or that you studied. The bottom part of the page is for &quot;fun&quot;&nbsp;things&nbsp;like travel, seeing friends, and visiting family.&nbsp;

You can add&nbsp;little drawings to help you think. I chose a rocket to show moving forward quickly&nbsp;and a star to express fun.&nbsp;

3. Add what you did&nbsp;last year

Now, add all your important memories from last year.

Think about:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>things you learned</li>
	<li>courses you took</li>
	<li>people you met</li>
	<li>your work</li>
	<li>places you visited</li>
</ul>

If you find it difficult to remember, look back at photos on your phone or your calendars and diaries.&nbsp;

Don&#39;t worry about getting the&nbsp;dates correct or having something for each month. The main idea is to write down the most important things that happened.&nbsp;

Here&#39;s an example:

<img alt="Timeline 5" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5152/content_Timeline_5.png" />

You can add quick drawings or just write down your ideas. Using drawings gives you the chance to play and think more&nbsp;about how things felt. It also&nbsp;helps you to really see your year. The drawings don&#39;t need to be artistic. Simple and messy is perfect!

At this point, you could also highlight the best bits in different colors, cross out the worst bits, or draw little emoji.

4. Decide your &quot;more&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;less&quot;

New Year&#39;s resolutions are promises&nbsp;that you might break. But in this activity, we choose what you want &quot;more&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;less&quot;&nbsp;of in your life. Look at your last year and choose the things that made you smile. Write down one or two things that you want more of this year. Then do the same for things you want less.&nbsp;

Here&#39;s an example:&nbsp;

<img alt="Timeline 6" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5153/content_Timeline_6.png" />

As an extra, write all the things that you want more of on another piece of paper. Put it somewhere safe. At the end of the year, look back and see if you really got more of what you were looking for.&nbsp;

I hope this activity helps you to think about your year ahead and make a plan that works for you.&nbsp;

Here are some other blog posts that we think you might enjoy:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/six-ways-to-use-journaling-to-learn-english-fast">6 Ways to Use Journaling to Learn English Fast</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-belongs-to-everyone-here-s-how-to-own-your-english">English Belongs to Everyone: Here&#39;s How to Own Your English</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/what-is-cockney-rhyming-slang">What is Cockney Rhyming Slang?</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

&nbsp;

Looking Back to Look Forward: A Classroom Activity

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<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

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Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

Few, fewer, fewest and little, less, least&nbsp;are small words that often cause big confusion for students. The key difference is what kind of noun they describe: count or&nbsp;non-count. Once students understand that distinction, the&nbsp;forms become much easier to use correctly.

<h1>Count Nouns: Few &ndash; Fewer &ndash; Fewest</h1>

Use the adjectives&nbsp;few, fewer, and fewest&nbsp;with nouns you can count one by one (e.g., &quot;people,&quot;&nbsp;&quot;books,&quot; &quot;jobs,&quot; &quot;emails&quot;).

<h2>Few</h2>

Few means not many and has a negative tone.

<ul>
	<li>Few students arrived on time today.</li>
	<li>There are few parking spaces near the building.</li>
	<li>Few answers were correct on the quiz.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Fewer</h2>

Fewer is the comparative form. It compares two amounts.

<ul>
	<li>There are fewer cars on the road today than yesterday.</li>
	<li>Fewer people joined the meeting than we expected.</li>
	<li>This year, we have fewer applicants than last year.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Fewest</h2>

Fewest is the superlative form. It means the smallest amount.

<ul>
	<li>Sara made the fewest mistakes on the test.</li>
	<li>This class has the fewest students in the program.</li>
	<li>That team scored the fewest points.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Non-Count&nbsp;Nouns: Little, Less, Least</h1>

Use the adjectives&nbsp;little, less, and least with nouns that you cannot count individually, such as &quot;attention,&quot; &quot;time,&quot; &quot;water,&quot; and &quot;information.&quot;

<h2>Little</h2>

Little means not much and often sounds negative.

<ul>
	<li>She showed little interest in the project.</li>
	<li>There was little hope of finishing on time.</li>
	<li>We have little information about the car accident.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Less</h2>

Less&nbsp;compares two amounts.

<ul>
	<li>This task takes&nbsp;less effort than the last one.</li>
	<li>I spend less money on coffee than I used to.</li>
	<li>He feels less stress at his new job.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Least</h2>

Least means the smallest amount.

<ul>
	<li>He drank the least milk of all the children.</li>
	<li>She has the least experience on the team.</li>
	<li>This option requires the least preparation.</li>
</ul>

<h1>A Note about A Few &amp;&nbsp;A Little</h1>

While few and little can sound negative, a few and a little are usually postive. They suggest enough.

<ul>
	<li>A few chairs are still available.</li>
	<li>I have a few questions for you.</li>
	<li>There is a little milk left&mdash;enough for coffee in the morning.</li>
	<li>He speaks a little English.</li>
</ul>

&nbsp;

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/aw-vs-awe/" target="_blank">Aw Vs. Awe</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/lay-vs-lie-lets-lay-this-matter-to-rest/" target="_blank">Lay Vs.&nbsp;Lie</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/everyday-vs-every-day/" target="_blank">Everyday Vs. Every&nbsp;Day</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-theyre-their-and-there/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on They&#39;re, Their &amp; There</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-youre-and-your/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on You&#39;re &amp;&nbsp;Your</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-to-too-and-two/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on To, Too &amp; Two</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-its-and-its/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on It&#39;s &amp;&nbsp;Its</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/ah-vs-aah/" target="_blank">Ah Vs. Aah</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/count-non-count-nouns/" target="_blank">Count &amp; Non-Count Nouns</a></li>
</ul>

&nbsp;

Few, Fewer, Fewest & Little, Less, Least

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Ellii & the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) for Adult Education

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<h1>We&#39;re unwrapping another year of content at Ellii...</h1>

<h2>🎶 Sing it with me!&nbsp;🎶</h2>

<h1><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/new-content/new-in-2025" target="_blank">New in 2025</a></h1>

<hr />
<h2>January</h2>

🎶 In the first month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/casas-test-preparation" target="_blank">CASAS Reading STEPS Level D</a></li>
</ul>

<img alt="CASAS STEPS Practice Tests on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5082/content_month-1.png" />

<h2>February</h2>

🎶 In the second month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/famous-people/5306-ayrton-senna" target="_blank">lesson request</a> from our Brazilian CTO (who could say no?)&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

We added lots of new content about famous Brazilians this year as well as two Study Packs!

<img alt="lessons on famous Brazilians on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5083/content_month-2.png" />

<h2>March</h2>

🎶 In the third month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a historic&nbsp;lesson in <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/that-s-news-to-me" target="_blank">That&#39;s News to Me</a>&nbsp;(Canada&#39;s Next Prime Minster)</li>
</ul>

We added new lessons to this section every week, using content from our media partner, The Associated Press. We also added current events&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/current-events" target="_blank">videos</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/photo-prompts">photo prompts</a>!

<img alt="That's News to Me lessons including Canada's New Prime Minister" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5084/content_month-3.png" />

<h2>April</h2>

🎶 In the fourth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a lesson on&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/discussion-starters/5429-cryptocurrency" target="_blank">Cryptocurrency!</a>&nbsp;(followed by many more <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/discussion-starters" target="_blank">Discussion Starters</a> lessons and warm-up videos by our newest Publishing team members)</li>
</ul>

<img alt="Discussion Starters lessons on Ellii, such as cryptocurrency" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5085/content_month-4.png" />

<h2>May</h2>

🎶 In the fifth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/soft-skills-for-hospitality-workers" target="_blank">Soft Skills for Hospitality</a>!</li>
</ul>

Search &quot;soft skills&quot; for all of the new content we added on our &quot;theme of the year&quot; for 2025.

<img alt="Soft Skills for Hospitality on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5086/content_month-5.png" />

<h2>June</h2>

🎶 In the sixth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/conversation-phrases-course" target="_blank">Conversation Phrases with Lise</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Ellii&#39;s video team focused on &quot;speaking&quot; content for&nbsp;2025.

<img alt="Conversation Phrases course on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5087/content_month-6.png" />

<h2>July&nbsp;</h2>

🎶 In the seventh month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a new section for Adult Literacy (<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/first-five" target="_blank">First Five</a>)&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

We added 29 new lessons to this section as well as&nbsp;several Language Ladder packs!

<img alt="Adult Literacy section on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5088/content_month-7.png" />

<h2>August</h2>

🎶 In the eighth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/picture-stories" target="_blank">Young Learner stories</a> with Benji!</li>
</ul>

New Benji lessons this year were about Benji&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/5653-workday" target="_blank">Workday</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/5866-vacation">Vacation</a>!

<img alt="young learner picture stories on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5089/content_month-8.png" />

<h2>September</h2>

🎶 In the ninth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a print-based course that took our whole team&#39;s&nbsp;energy!</li>
</ul>

Due to popular demand, we have started making printable versions of our workplace courses, starting with&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/packs/nursing-assistants">English for Nursing Assistants</a>&nbsp;and moving on with four more in 2025.

<img alt="printable workplace courses on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5090/content_month-9.png" />

<h2>October</h2>

🎶 In the tenth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>Ellii Up E! (the latest course in our ready-made <a href="https://ellii.com/packs?page=1&amp;level=&amp;material=&amp;category=43" target="_blank">General English</a> curriculum)</li>
</ul>

More General English courses coming throughout 2026!

<img alt="General English courses" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5093/content_month-10.png" />

<h2>November</h2>

🎶 In the eleventh month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>Videos on <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep" target="_blank">US history</a> (Study Packs too!)</li>
</ul>

More US civics and test prep content coming throughout 2026.

<img alt="US Civics Test Prep on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5091/content_month-11.png" />

<h2>December</h2>

🎶 In the twelfth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/gather/dilemmas" target="_blank">Ellii Dilemmas</a> like <a href="https://ellii.com/gather/dilemmas/the-pet-policy" target="_blank">The Pet Policy</a>!</li>
</ul>

We&#39;ve also added lots of new beginner-level <a href="https://ellii.com/gather/polls" target="_blank">Ellii Polls</a>. A big request from teachers in 2025!

<img alt="Ellii Dilemmas" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5092/content_month-12.png" />

<h2>Who&#39;s counting?&nbsp;</h2>

We are! Here&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/new-content/new-in-2025" target="_blank">everything</a> we added to Ellii&#39;s content library in 2025. Subscribers have access to all of this content, plus everything else we&#39;ve added to Ellii in&nbsp;the last 20+ years.

<blockquote>
<ul>
	<li>253 lessons &amp; resources</li>
	<li>60+ Ellii original videos</li>
	<li>70+ AP videos &amp; silent clips</li>
	<li>9 flashcard categories (46 new flashcards)</li>
	<li>45 study packs</li>
	<li>14 courses</li>
	<li>44 polls &amp; dilemmas</li>
	<li>40 blog posts&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<h2>Who makes all of this content at Ellii?&nbsp;</h2>

Humans,&nbsp;of course! At Ellii, we have a small but mighty team of real-life materials writers, editors, proofreaders, designers, artists, producers, and other helpers (including our own daughters who offer summer help)!&nbsp;We also have a partnership with The Associated Press and owe a little shout-out to our AI assistant, aka &quot;ElliiBot,&quot;&nbsp;this year. 
 
Here&nbsp;is Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;2025 content and marketing team, including staff and contractors! A huge thank-you to all of our contributors.

<blockquote>
Tanya, Head of Video Production

Ann, Head Editor

Saori, Lead Designer

Lula, Motion Graphics Designer

Alison, Content Support Specialist

Zara, Materials Writer

Steve, Illustrator

Laura, Course Writer

Felicia, Materials Writer

Kate, Assistant Editor

Lise, Video Content Producer / Marketing Lead

Sarah, Designer&nbsp;

David, British English Editor

Emily, Blogger

Jaksyn, Jr. Materials Writer

Sofia, Jr. Publishing Assistant

Tara, VP of Publishing
</blockquote>

That&#39;s a wrap. If you think this is awesome, you should see what Ellii&#39;s Product team was up to this year. Stay tuned! 
 
~ Tara&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/warm-ups-fillers/2221-how-to-make-a-paper-snowflake" target="_blank"><img alt="How to Make a Snowflake lesson" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5101/content_IMG_8151.jpeg" style="width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a>

Ellii&#39;s VP of Publishing (Tara Benwell) on winter break at Blue Mountain, featured with 3-D snowflakes from our <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/warm-ups-fillers/2221-how-to-make-a-paper-snowflake" target="_blank">How to Make a Snowflake</a> lesson.

<blockquote>
Did you enjoy using Ellii&#39;s content this year? Please leave&nbsp;us a love&nbsp;note below that we can add to our <a href="http://ellii.com/tour/testimonials">Testimonials</a> page.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

The 12 Months of Ellii (in 2025)

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2764/Tara_The-12-Months-of-Ellii_Banner.png

In&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5B4RIMKW51deYzrbDr9DIy?si=66A1yllIRT6d4kebFtp4oA" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Episode 78</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 talk with Dr. Tabitha Kidwell, faculty member in TESOL at American University and longtime teacher educator, about how teacher trainers themselves learn to lead professional development. Drawing on her recent research, Tabitha discusses the surprising reality that most trainers receive little formal preparation&mdash;often describing their first experiences as &ldquo;being thrown into the fire.&rdquo;

<blockquote>&ldquo;Teacher education is not something that you can read in a book. It&#39;s something that you really have to develop in collaboration with others and through your own personal growth and professional growth.&rdquo;&nbsp; &mdash; Tabitha Kidwell</blockquote>

Together, we explore what makes teacher training truly effective: contextual awareness, adult-learning theory, active facilitation, and continuous reflection. Tabitha highlights the need for structured Training of Trainers (ToT) programs, purposeful mentoring, and professional learning networks that help teacher educators thrive. The episode also unpacks the parallels between learning to teach and learning to train, emphasizing that good teachers aren&rsquo;t automatically good trainers without intentional support.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone leading&mdash;or aspiring to lead&mdash;professional learning in ELT. Gain insight into how intentional mentorship, structured preparation, and reflective networks can transform teacher development for the better.

 
<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/RK5dEG8AA6w?si=s4vt-HbA13Wh940U" 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>

Get featured on the podcast! 🎙️

<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/">The&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>&nbsp;is looking for contributions to their annual Friends of the Podcast episode, in which they feature voices from teachers around the world. In past years, these episodes have focused on&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/6XfSr9oolcE?si=DR_JsVtLKImIXxio" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">teaching contexts around the world</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/Gh7SQJbEEmQ?si=UT3ZIxht0mQOECSu" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">AI for ELT</a>. This year, they&#39;re asking contributors to get back to basics and reflect on what areas they want to work on in their teaching practice.&nbsp;

Getting featured is easy!&nbsp;

1️⃣ Reflect on these questions:

<ul>
	<li>What is one thing that you want to work on in your teaching practice? Why?</li>
	<li>What is one step that you&rsquo;ll take to start working towards your goal?</li>
</ul>

2️⃣ Record a 60-second voice memo answering them

Go to&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/backtobasics26" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/backtobasics26</a>.

<ul>
	<li>Listen to the prompt.</li>
	<li>Record your audio response with one easy click.</li>
</ul>

Training the Trainers: Developing the Next Generation of Teacher Educators

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2763/Tara_New-Year-New-Reflections-and-a-Partnership-with-The-Teacher-Think-Aloud-Podcast_Banner.png

In Episode 77 of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, Sh&eacute; sits down with Ben Buckwold (Founder &amp; CEO of Ellii) and Tara Benwell (VP of Publishing at Ellii) to explore the story behind one of Ellii&rsquo;s most creative classroom tools: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/gather/dilemmas" target="_blank">Ellii Dilemmas</a>. Born, quite literally, on a cocktail napkin, this interactive activity invites students to wrestle with moral and everyday dilemmas through authentic dialogue, reflection, and debate.

Ben and Tara share how Ellii Dilemmas grew from a moment of procrastination into one of the platform&rsquo;s fastest-growing features&nbsp;with thousands of teachers already using it worldwide. The conversation covers the tool&rsquo;s pedagogical design, from its built-in discussion scaffolds and &ldquo;Speak Up&rdquo; feature to the way it fosters empathy, critical thinking, and social-emotional learning.&nbsp;

Together, we unpack how moving from debate to dialogue can transform speaking practice into something deeply human and reflective.

<blockquote>&ldquo; It&rsquo;s a way for students to engage, have a conversation, a debate, a discussion, a dialogue, and to just really get into it.&rdquo;&nbsp; &mdash; Ben Buckwold</blockquote>

<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=jxGkKYLzZJPsqhKM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Get featured on the podcast! 
The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>&nbsp;is looking for contributions to their annual Friends of the Podcast episode&nbsp;in which they feature voices from teachers around the world. In past years, these episodes have focused on&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/6XfSr9oolcE?si=DR_JsVtLKImIXxio" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">teaching contexts around the world</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/Gh7SQJbEEmQ?si=UT3ZIxht0mQOECSu" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">AI in ELT</a>. This year, they&#39;re asking contributors to get back to basics and reflect on what areas they want to work on in their teaching practice.&nbsp;

Participating is easy: all you need to do is listen to a short prompt and leave a voice memo at&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/backtobasics26" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/backtobasics26</a>.&nbsp;The deadline to participate is December 15, 2025.

🎙️&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>

Ellii Dilemmas: Sparking Real Dialogue in the ELT Classroom (with Ben Buckwold & Tara Benwell)

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2761/Tara_New-Year-New-Reflections-and-a-Partnership-with-The-Teacher-Think-Aloud-Podcast_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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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>