Honest review · Classroom-tested

Pro tip — heads up before you bookmark it

A note on level and audience

The contrastive verb form exercises assume learners already know basic English. This is a B1+ resource — beginners and kids will find it too dense. Best used as homework, self-study, or grammar deep-dive work for higher-level students.

What is English Classroom?

English Classroom (Engels Klaslokaal, engelsklaslokaal.nl) is a free English grammar and practice site run from the Netherlands. The site is bilingual — Dutch for the local audience, English for the international one — but the practice material targets English learners in general.

The site is organized around three main areas:

  • Grammar exercises — verb forms (simple tenses, perfect tenses, continuous, modals, passive, conditionals, mixed), plus miscellaneous topics like articles, possessives, conditionals, and word order.
  • Contrastive verb form exercises — the site's signature: choosing between two tenses in context (e.g. Simple Past vs. Past Perfect, Present Perfect vs. Past Simple). This is much harder than typical gap-fill work.
  • Listening and cultural content — TED Talk comprehension questions, YouTube English literature clips, and quizzes on Shakespeare, Christmas, the US elections, and Great Britain.

It's not flashy. The design is a basic WordPress theme with no animations. But the grammar content is unusually thorough, and the contrastive exercises in particular are the kind of work that most free ESL sites skip.

How teachers use it

Where English Classroom actually helps in a real teaching setup:

  • Homework for B1+ students: the contrastive verb form exercises are perfect take-home practice. Students can't just guess from context — they have to know the rules.
  • Listening warm-ups: the TED Talk section has 5 curated talks with comprehension questions. Drop one in as a 10-minute opener.
  • Self-study between classes: free, no signup, no tracking. Send a struggling intermediate student the link with a specific page to work on.
  • Cultural lesson supplements: the Shakespeare, Great Britain, and Christmas quizzes work as short 10-15 minute lessons when you need a break from grammar.
  • Diagnostic checks: the mixed tenses section is a brutal-but-useful way to find out where a student actually stands on tenses.

Is it worth your time?

Yes — with the right audience in mind. English Classroom is not for beginners, not for kids, and not for teachers who want ready-to-print thematic lesson plans. For B1+ students who need real grammar work, especially verb form contrast, it's one of the strongest free resources on the open web.

The site is what it is: a focused grammar and listening site run by someone who clearly cares about the quality of the exercises. It's not going to win design awards, but the content does the work.

Honest recommendation: bookmark it as your go-to for verb form contrast practice and TED Talk listening. For everything else — themed lessons, kids content, classroom games — pair it with the alternatives below.

The honest pros and cons

What works

6
  • Truly free, no signup All content is free. No account, no email, no paywall.
  • Contrastive verb form exercises Harder than typical gap-fill work. The site's signature strength.
  • B1+ focus Caters to intermediate-advanced learners who are underserved by most free ESL sites.
  • TED Talk listening with questions 5 curated talks plus comprehension tasks. Real listening practice with academic content.
  • Cultural quizzes Shakespeare, Great Britain, Christmas, US elections. Useful as short topical lessons.
  • Clear, no-nonsense design No animations, no upsells, no popups. Students focus on the practice.

What doesn't

6
  • Not for beginners Verb form contrast assumes learners already know basic English. A1-A2 students will struggle.
  • Limited topic variety Grammar-heavy site. Not useful for themed lessons, holidays, or conversation practice.
  • Dated design Basic WordPress theme. Doesn't feel modern, but doesn't get in the way.
  • No printable materials Web-based only. No PDFs for offline or in-classroom print use.
  • No progress tracking Students do exercises anonymously. Teachers track externally.
  • Not for kids Content and tone target adults. Kids-focused teachers should look elsewhere.

Best alternatives

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

Frequently asked questions

What is English Classroom (Engels Klaslokaal)?
A free English grammar and practice site run from the Netherlands (engelsklaslokaal.nl). It focuses on verb form practice, contrastive grammar exercises, listening via TED Talks, and cultural quizzes. Available in English and Dutch.
Is Engels Klaslokaal really free?
Yes — the grammar exercises, quizzes, listening comprehension, and cultural pages are all freely accessible. There is no paywall and no account required for the public content.
What level is Engels Klaslokaal for?
Mostly intermediate to advanced — the verb form contrast exercises assume the learner already knows basic English. Best for B1+ self-study or as a homework source for higher-level classes.
Does it work for teachers or just learners?
Both. Teachers can use the contrastive grammar exercises as homework, the listening pages as lesson supplements, and the cultural quizzes as warm-ups. Learners can use the same content for self-study.
What makes the verb form exercises useful?
The site specializes in contrastive exercises — choosing between two similar tenses in context (e.g. Simple Past vs. Past Perfect). This is harder than typical gap-fill practice and is a weak spot for most free resources.
Is the content only in English?
The main content is in English. The site itself has a Dutch version (Nederlands) and was clearly built for a Dutch-speaking audience, but the practice material targets English learners generally.
What are the best alternatives?
For broader ESL lesson plans, ESL Brains and Teach-This are paid options with more variety. For free structured grammar at beginner levels, AgendaWeb and Ego4U work well. For kids-focused free content, ESL KidStuff is a good complement.

Ready to bookmark a free grammar deep-dive?

No signup, no paywall, no tracking. Send your B1+ students the contrastive verb form section as homework, or use the TED Talk pages as 10-minute listening warm-ups.

Visit English Classroom