Honest review · Classroom-tested

Pro tip — heads up before you bookmark it

Read it as reflection, not as a content library

ELT Planning is a WordPress blog by a working EAL teacher. There are no printable worksheets, no vocabulary lists, no PDFs to download. The value is in reading the underlying principle and adapting it to your own context.

What is ELT Planning?

ELT Planning is a personal teaching blog by Pete, an EAL (English as an Additional Language) teacher working in UK international schools. The tagline is "EAL tips and ideas from a developing teacher" — and the "developing" part is deliberate. Pete writes as a reflective practitioner, not as a guru.

The blog is hosted on WordPress.com and has been active for several years, with a long archive of posts sorted into a few recurring categories:

  • Materials writing — conversations with coursebook writers, handling vague editorial briefs, DipTESOL independent research project write-ups.
  • Teacher development — reflections on CPD, effective questioning, CEFR in EAL contexts, AI experiments in resource creation.
  • EAL adaptations — how the author tweaks mainstream English units (poetry, fantasy writing) so EAL learners can access them.
  • Reviews & recommendations — sites, books, and webinars Pete has personally used.

It is not a worksheet library. There are no PDFs to download, no vocabulary lists, no printable activities. The value is in the thinking — reading why an activity worked, what to adapt, and what to avoid.

How teachers use it

ELT Planning is most useful in these specific situations:

  • You're an EAL specialist adapting mainstream English content. Posts like "EAL adaptations: Fantasy writing" or "Adaptations: Follower (Year 7 poetry)" walk through real adaptations of real units. You can borrow the principles directly.
  • You're working towards a DipTESOL or similar qualification. Pete shares his own DipTESOL independent research project and reflections on the course. It's not a study guide, but it's an honest account of what the experience is like.
  • You want ideas for tutor time / community building. The "Community building activities for tutor time" post gives a concrete set of induction-phase activities you can repurpose.
  • You're thinking about how to use AI in resource creation. The "AI experiments: Creating an ESL resource website" post documents one teacher's months-long attempt to build an ESL site with AI — including the failures.
  • You teach in a UK international school context. Many posts reference Year 6, Year 7, Year 9, the DipTESOL, the CEFR, and coursebook-driven curricula — all in a UK framing.

Is it worth your time?

Yes — if you read it as reflective professional development, not as a content library. ELT Planning is one of the few blogs in the EAL/ELT space that reads like a working teacher's notebook rather than a marketing funnel. The author is clear about his own context (UK international school, EAL specialist), and the posts transfer well to similar settings.

The downsides are real. There is no search-friendly taxonomy, no tagging beyond a few broad categories, and the back-catalog can be hard to navigate. The design is a stock WordPress theme. Some posts are personal reflections where the underlying teaching idea is small and the writing is long.

Honest recommendation: subscribe by email (it's free) and treat it as a slow drip of CPD reading. Don't expect to find a worksheet or a ready-to-print lesson — expect to find one teacher's thinking, and decide what's worth keeping.

The honest pros and cons

What works

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  • Written by a working teacher Posts come from current classroom practice, not a content team.
  • Reflection, not marketing Honest about what worked, what didn't, and why.
  • Free, no signup All posts open in the browser. Email subscription is optional.
  • EAL-specific adaptations Shows how to tweak mainstream English content for EAL learners.
  • DipTESOL insights Useful if you're working on the DipTESOL independent research project.
  • No ads, no popups Stock WordPress.com theme. Distraction-free reading.

What doesn't

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  • No downloadable materials It's a blog, not a worksheet library. You'll take notes, not print.
  • Narrow context Posts are framed around UK international school EAL — less useful elsewhere.
  • Hard to navigate Light tagging, broad categories. The back catalog takes effort to browse.
  • Inconsistent posting Some months are quiet. There's no fixed publishing schedule.
  • Stock WordPress design Functional but not polished. Search and archive are basic.
  • Long-form by default Some posts run deep on reflection. Reading takes time.

Best alternatives

If ELT Planning isn't a fit, these are the resources teachers actually switch to:

Frequently asked questions

What is ELT Planning?
A free personal teaching blog by Pete, a UK-based EAL (English as an Additional Language) teacher working in international schools. It covers lesson planning ideas, materials writing, DipTESOL reflections, and classroom-tested teaching strategies.
Is ELT Planning a lesson-plan library?
No. It's a reflective blog, not a downloadable worksheet site. The value comes from reading the post, understanding the reasoning, and adapting the ideas to your own context.
Who is the author?
Pete identifies himself on the About page as a teacher who has worked through DipTESOL and in UK international school settings. He shares EAL-specific adaptations for mainstream English units (poetry, fantasy writing, etc.).
Is the content free?
Yes — all blog posts are free to read. There is no membership tier, paywall, or paid downloads. It is hosted on WordPress.com and supported by an email subscription list.
What levels does the blog target?
Mostly secondary and post-16 EAL learners in UK international schools. The author adapts mainstream English curriculum (Key Stage 3 / Year 6 / Year 9) for EAL learners.
Can I use the ideas in my own context?
Yes. The author explicitly frames posts as starting points to adapt, not scripts to copy. He often shares the underlying principle so you can transfer it to your own year group or country.
What's the best alternative if I want downloadable lesson plans?
For ready-to-print lesson plans, see ESL Brains (video-based, adult learners) and Teach-This.com (3,000+ printable ESL worksheets, CEFR-aligned). For a more curated blog, see TEFL Lessons or ESL Uncaged.

Want reflective CPD from a working EAL teacher?

Free to read, no signup. Subscribe by email and use it as a slow drip of professional reading — not a content library.

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