EFLnet Review: Free Grammar, Listening, and Vocabulary Practice
EFLnet is a free ESL practice site covering grammar, listening, reading, vocabulary, idioms, and pronunciation — built by a teacher, not a company. Here's what you actually get, what works for classroom use, and whether it's worth bookmarking alongside your other free resources.Ready to try EFLnet?
"Built and maintained by a single ESL teacher for over 20 years — no funding tricks, no data harvesting."
Best for
ESL teachers and learners who want no-signup, no-cost grammar and vocabulary drills for warm-ups, homework, or self-study.
Pricing
Free
Pro tip — heads up before you bookmark it
A note on long-term availability
EFLnet is a one-person project maintained by ESL teacher Richie since the early 2000s. Bookmark it now and keep a backup resource ready — single-author sites are wonderful but their future depends on one person.
What is EFLnet?
EFLnet (English as a Foreign Language Network) is a long-running free ESL practice site built and maintained by teacher Richie. It covers the four core skill areas plus vocabulary, idioms, phrasal verbs, and pronunciation.
The site is organized into five sections:
- Grammar: adjectives & adverbs, nouns, prepositions, pronouns, verb tenses, verb patterns.
- Listening: comprehension exercises and a Sound Contrast section for phonetics / minimal-pair practice.
- Reading: reading exercises and cloze (fill-in-the-blank) passages.
- Vocabulary: advanced vocabulary, idioms with picture support, phrasal verbs, word lists.
- Games: Word Skater and Word Bird — newer puzzle games added in 2025 to keep practice engaging.
The interface is plain HTML — no animations, no progress bars, no mobile app. That dated design is the point: nothing distracts from the exercise. Most pages work fine on a phone browser.
The site is also a project blog. "Richie's Workshop" documents what Richie is building, including AI tools and language-learning experiments. Teachers who want to follow the process can subscribe to the newsletter.
How teachers use it
EFLnet works well for these specific things:
- Targeted grammar drills: send a student to the prepositions section when their writing keeps missing prepositions. The exercises are short and immediate.
- Phrasal verb and idiom practice: the picture-vocabulary section and idioms gallery are good for visual learners.
- Pronunciation minimal pairs: the Sound Contrast section covers common ESL pronunciation confusions (ship/chip, bad/bed, etc.) — useful as warm-up audio.
- Self-study between classes: assign a topic URL by level. Students complete it independently, get feedback, and you can spot-check what they struggled with.
- Substitute teacher plans: leave 3–5 grammar URLs at different levels. Students work independently for 30+ minutes.
EFLnet doesn't have built-in placement or progress tracking — it sits between a textbook and a quiz platform. Pair it with a placement tool if you need formal benchmarking.
Is it worth your time?
Yes — for free, no-signup practice drills, EFLnet is genuinely useful. It has survived 20+ years because it does a few things well and doesn't try to be a full LMS. If you want focused grammar, listening, and vocabulary exercises without tracking or account creation, it's worth bookmarking.
The phrasal verb and idiom sections are particularly strong — they include picture vocabulary, which is rare for a free resource. Most free sites either skip idioms entirely or list them without context.
Honest recommendation: use EFLnet as a secondary or backup resource alongside something more modern (BBC Learning English) or more structured (Teach-This). It's not pretty, but the content is solid and the no-tracking, no-signup approach is genuinely teacher-friendly.
The honest pros and cons
What works
- Truly free, no signup No email, no account, no trial. Students use it anonymously.
- No ads or tracking Safe for students. No data collection, no third-party scripts.
- Wide skill coverage Grammar, listening, reading, vocab, idioms, phrasal verbs, pronunciation.
- Picture vocabulary Idioms and advanced vocab sections include visual support.
- Pronunciation drills Sound Contrast section for minimal pairs and phonetics.
- Long-running project 20+ years of content, still being updated.
What doesn't
- Plain interface No animations, no progress bars, no gamification layer.
- No progress tracking Scores aren't saved across sessions. Track externally if needed.
- Limited speaking/writing Only fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, and matching.
- No audio for every exercise Listening section has audio, but most grammar pages don't.
- Single-author project If Richie stops, the site could go quiet — a real risk for long-term use.
- Search can be hit-or-miss Internal search works but the navigation is the better way to browse.
Best alternatives
If EFLnet isn't a fit, these are the resources teachers actually switch to:
AgendaWeb
Hundreds of free printable ESL worksheets and grammar guides. Also volunteer-maintained.
BBC Learning English
Free, polished activities. Strong on listening, grammar, and weekly series.
A4ESL.org
Free grammar quizzes, vocabulary exercises, crosswords, and rare bilingual activities.
ESL Brains
Lesson plans built around TED talks and authentic videos, ready to use.
Teach-This.com
3,000+ printable ESL worksheets, CEFR-aligned, updated monthly.
Frequently asked questions
What is EFLnet?
Is EFLnet still active?
Is EFLnet free?
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Can students use EFLnet independently?
Does EFLnet have listening practice?
What are the best EFLnet alternatives?
Ready to bookmark a free practice site?
EFLnet is free, no signup, no ads. Save the grammar, listening, and phrasal verb sections for warm-ups, homework, or self-study — your students can use it without an account.
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