Cool English Review: Screen-Shareable ESL Games for the Classroom
Cool English is built for the screen-shareable ESL class — open an activity, project it, and run a live game with the whole group. Here's what 900+ activities actually look like in practice, what works in class, and where the gaps are.Ready to try Cool English?
"Built for screen sharing — open the activity, project it, and run a live game with the whole class."
Best for
Online and in-person ESL teachers who want ready-made screen-shareable games and short video-based activities without building anything themselves.
Pricing
From $4.99/month
What is Cool English?
Cool English is an interactive ESL platform built by teachers for teachers. The library is dominated by screen-shareable activities: open a link, project it (in class) or share your Zoom screen (online), and run a live activity with the whole group.
The site organizes its content into nine categories:
- Fun — game-show formats (Jeopardy, Family Feud, Taboo, Scattergories, Wheel of Fortune)
- Grammar — tense practice, articles, modals, conditionals, reported speech, and more
- Vocab — themed word lists (food, travel, sports, emotions, idioms, phrasal verbs)
- Listening — dialogues, news clips, podcasts, ads, songs
- Speaking — role plays, cue cards, debates, pronunciation drills
- Reading — short stories, news, business cases, comic strips
- Writing — recipe writing, story writing, topic sentences, email practice
- Pictures — image-based description and prediction activities
- Videos — short YouTube-style clips with built-in comprehension tasks
The site claims 900+ activities in its marketing copy (and over 1,000 in the library metadata), with new ones added weekly. About 100 activities are free without an account.
How teachers use it
Cool English works best for these specific classroom situations:
- Live in-class warm-ups: open a 5-minute Taboo or Family Feud game while students settle in. The game-show format wakes up a tired class.
- Online (Zoom/Teams) group work: share your screen, students call out answers. No student logins needed for most activities. Big in the online ESL market.
- Video-based listening lessons: the Videos category includes short clips with built-in comprehension questions. Pair a clip with a vocab list and a speaking prompt for a complete 30-minute lesson.
- Substitute teacher plans: pick three games at mixed levels. Subs can run the class without prep.
- Picture description rounds: the Pictures category has hundreds of images. Excellent for practicing adjectives, prepositions, and present-continuous narration.
- Homework links: send a Quiz or Picture Description activity to students. They open the link on any device and complete the work asynchronously.
The platform is used by ESL teachers in 100+ countries, with a noticeable user base in Brazil, China, and Latin America based on the testimonial page.
Is it worth your time?
Yes — if you teach online or run a projector-led class, Cool English is one of the better $5/month values in the ESL space. The activities are designed for the screen-share use case, which most ESL platforms only support as an afterthought.
The library is broad (9 categories, 900+ activities) but uneven. Grammar and vocab are deep; writing is thin; picture activities are genuinely strong. Most activities are short and game-like — great for warm-ups, less so for full 60-minute lessons.
One caveat: Cool English has migrated from coolenglish.net to coolenglish.org. The old domain still works for existing subscribers, but if you're sharing links with students, double-check which URL you're sending.
Honest recommendation: worth the $4.99/month for online teachers and anyone who projects activities in class. Pair it with a printable resource like Teach-This.com for offline materials, or with ESL Brains for full structured lesson plans.
The honest pros and cons
What works
- Built for screen sharing Activities are designed to be projected or shared on Zoom. Game-show formats work in real time with whole classes.
- 900+ activities, weekly updates Nine categories cover every skill. New activities land every week, so the library keeps growing.
- 100+ free activities You can try the platform with no account and no credit card. Taboo, Jeopardy, picture description rounds are all free.
- Video-based listening built in Short clips with comprehension questions. Saves you from hunting for ESL-friendly YouTube content.
- No student accounts required Most activities work via a shared link. Less friction than platforms that force every student to sign up.
- Broad level coverage Activities tagged for beginner through advanced. Younger learners and adults both work well.
What doesn't
- Domain migration in progress coolenglish.net redirects to coolenglish.org but the move is still rolling out. Verify the URL before sharing links.
- No progress tracking per student Activities don't save scores automatically. You'll need an external grade book or quiz platform for tracking.
- Writing category is thin Compared to grammar or vocab, writing activities are sparse. You'll need a separate resource for serious writing practice.
- Subscription only — no school license visible Per-teacher plans only. Departments or schools will need multiple accounts; check current terms before buying.
- Most activities are short Game-show format is great for warm-ups, less so for a 60-minute lesson. You'll need to combine activities.
- Some video links may break over time Some video-based activities use YouTube clips. If a clip is removed, the activity loses its content.
Best alternatives
If Cool English isn't a fit, these are the resources teachers actually switch to:
Baamboozle
Free game-based quizzes, no student devices needed.
Games to learn English
Free interactive vocabulary and grammar games.
ESL Brains
Lesson plans built around authentic videos and current events.
Teach-This.com
3,000+ printable ESL worksheets, CEFR-aligned, updated monthly.
Crystal Clear ESL
Sequential curriculum for online ESL teachers, CEFR-aligned.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cool English?
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What's the difference between coolenglish.net and coolenglish.org?
What are the best alternatives to Cool English?
Ready to try Cool English in your next class?
$4.99/month for 900+ activities, with 100+ free to try without an account. Open a game-show activity, share your screen, and see how the class responds.
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