Top DIY EFL Materials Websites

As EFL teachers we often have many things on the go, all at once. Some of us teach in physical classrooms, some of us teach online, many of us do both – sometimes at the same time! On top of that, there’s life, family, home, other jobs, hobbies, commitments and, and, and… 

Lesson planning on the other hand often needs time, effort, and energy, but at the end of a long day of teaching and doing life, these resources are in short supply for so many of us. 

Read more: Lesson Planning On A Budget

How can we make our lessons personalised, creative, but low-prep?  

DIY EFL materials websites of course! Yes, it’s a mouthful, but it will save you time and money. 

Instead of scouring the internet to find these, I considered a few of my own personal favourites and asked my colleagues for their input too. In other words what current teachers are currently using in their classrooms and during planning. 

So, here is our list of sites where you can create tailormade materials, in no time at all, for free. Because as teachers, we need resources to be user-friendly, budget-friendly and classroom ready. 

Free DIY EFL materials websites

Let the list begin. 

ESL Tools: Generating classic classroom fun

ESL Tools is a go-to website where you can create custom worksheets and classroom games – quickly! You can use it to generate flashcards, bingo cards, board games, word searches, matching activities and more. Everything is printable and classroom-ready, making this resource ideal for busy teachers. 

Free to use, no sign-up required. 

https://www.esltools.net/

Tools For Educators: Quick and easy revision and homework ideas

Tools For Educators is a simple but effective site that lets you create word searches, puzzles and basic activities using your own word lists. While it is fairly minimal, it’s quick and easy-to-use and perfect for vocabulary recycling or homework tasks. 

Free, no account needed.

https://www.toolsforeducators.com/

Discovery Education Puzzlemaker: Professional-grade logic & word puzzles

Puzzlemaker is a completely free tool for creating word searches, crosswords, mazes, and other puzzles. Although it is not specifically designed for EFL, it is excellent for vocabulary practice and spelling work, and you can fully customise the content to suit your learners’ needs. 

Completely free, no login required. 

https://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/

My Worksheet Maker: The modern “drag-and-drop” lesson designer

My Worksheet Maker allows teachers to create basic, printable worksheets quickly and without fuss. It’s particularly useful for straightforward practice activities, grammar exercises for vocabulary consolidation when you don’t need anything too visually complex. 

Free, no sign-up required; straightforward for printable worksheets.

https://worksheets.brightsprout.com/worksheet-maker

Canva: The king of visual DIY materials

You may already be familiar with CANVA, but it remains one of the most versatile tools for EFL teachers. With a free account, you can create worksheets, flashcards, posters, writing frames, storyboards, and more using ready-made templates. CANVA is especially useful if you want your materials to look polished and professional without spending hours on design. 

Free account required (optional paid upgrades).

https://www.canva.com/templates

Wordwall: DIY gamification for online lessons

Wordwall is an excellent tool for creating interactive language activities. Teachers can design quizzes, matching games, flashcards, word games and other activities using their own content. One of Wordwall’s biggest advantages is flexibility: activities can be used online or printed as worksheets. The free version allows limited activity creation but it is more than enough for classroom use and experimentation. 

Free version allows limited activity creation, account required.

 https://wordwall.net/

ActivInspire: Turning your whiteboard into a collaborative hub

ActivInspire is a desktop programme designed for creating interactive lessons and activities, particularly for use with interactive whiteboards. Teachers can build flipcharts, drag and drop activities, multimedia slides and interactive tasks using text, images, audio and video. The free personal edition makes it an excellent option for teachers who want full control over lesson design, especially for in-class or hybrid teaching.

Free Personal Edition download required.

MES-English: The ultimate source for themed flashcards & posters

MES English offers a wide range of free printable flashcards, worksheets, pronunciation material and classroom games. While many resources are ready-made, they work well as adaptable materials that teachers can customise or combine with their own activities. 

Free to use, no sign-up required.

https://www.mes-english.com/

iSLCollective: The world’s largest community-driven DIY exchange

ISLCollective is huge community-driven library of free EFL and ESL worksheets, lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations created by teachers from around the world. With free registration you can download and edit many of the materials, making it easy to adapt activities to suit your learners’ levels, age and lesson focus. It is an excellent option when you want a solid starting point without creating everything from scratch. 

Free with account registration.

https://en.islcollective.com/ 

BusyTeacher: For when we really don’t have time

BusyTeacher offers thousands of free printable worksheets, activities and lesson ideas for EFL and ESL classrooms. The resources cover a wide range of grammar points, vocabulary topics and skills, and many can be adapted or combined with your own materials. It is particularly useful when you need quick inspiration or ready-to-use practice activities. 

Free with optional sign-up.

https://busyteacher.org/

Games4ESL: PowerPoints and templates for maximum engagement

Games4ESL offers a suite of interactive teacher tools that let you create custom classroom activities instantly – including word searches, Hangman, match games, fill-in-the-blank worksheets, Bingo sheets and more just by entering your own vocabulary or sentences. These generators produce printable resources and game sheets in second and are completely free to use with no login required. 

Free, no sign-up required.

https://games4esl.com/teacher-tools/

Cram.com: Creating high-impact digital flashcards

Cram.com is a free online flashcard platform where teachers can create, edit and organise flashcards tailored to their lesson content. You can study, share, or print flashcard sets – ideal for vocabulary drills, key terms, quick revision and recycling activities. 

All basic functionality for making and using flashcards is free (account optional). 

https://www.cram.com/flashcards/create

Making your materials work for you

The resources above are not only free and easy to use, but also rather fun to experiment with as you plan your lessons. Your students will be impressed at seeing their newly acquired target language so seamlessly integrated into a simple but clear and personalised worksheet.

A few of these resources can be incorporated into the lesson itself. Imagine asking pairs or groups of students to access their devices to create a crossword based on a set of new words they’ve just learnt, then having them swap their crossword with another group.

Or having students write a story using a tense they’ve just mastered, using one of the story writing platforms. And that is exactly what these resources are meant to be: multi-functional, user-friendly and inspiring. 

Happy teaching! 

Author Bio

Written by

Luan Dreyden

Edited by Kirsten Colquhoun

Luan is a Language Practitioner and certified ESL instructor. Her love for the English language led her into the classroom. After gaining experience at the top language schools in Cape Town, she went on to become the Head Teacher of a well-known English institution. This is where she discovered and practised her passion for teacher training. She now runs the TEFL courses for The TEFL Academy in Cape Town and continues to teach second language learners – both in the classroom and online. Read Luan Dreyden's story →