The Ultimate List of Language Tools For Language Teachers to Use

As a language teacher, the best return on investment you can receive is investing in the right language tools to upgrade your lesson experience. This includes everything from high-quality video and audio, online tools for teacher-student communication, and language textbooks.

When you're taking your teaching business online, there are many benefits that come with it. You can work anywhere in the world, create your own schedule, and you can say goodbye to long commutes. But that also means you have to present yourself professionally online, and equip yourself with the right language teaching tools.To help you save time, we’ve curated our top language tools for you to try and experiment on your own.

Language Tools: Equipment
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Webcams

Video is incredibly important to the quality of your lessons, and we want to give you the best resources to make it happen for you without breaking the bank.Here are some great suggestions for you to look at:
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1. Logitech C270 HD Webcam 960-000621 (Low price)

2. Microsoft Lifecam HD-3000 (Low Price)

3. Logitech Webcam HD Pro C920 (Medium price)

Microphones

Audio is the most important aspect of the lesson experience, because it allows students to hear your accent, pronunciation, and what you’re trying to teach.Here are some great choices we recommend:
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1. Logitech ClearChat Comfort/USB Headset H390 (Black) (Low Price)

2. Logitech Desktop Microphone (Medium Price)

3. Etekcity RoverBeats Bravo Professional Over Ear Stereo Headset with Microphone (Low Price)

4. Blue Yeti USB Microphone (Med-High Price)

Language Teaching Tools Online

1. Google Drive

‍Google Drive is a useful way to keep all of your files organized into one place. You can have a separate file for each of your students and keep things organized so it’s available when you need it.

2. Recordit

‍Recordit is a free tool that allows you to create gif images on-demand and creates unique url links that you can send to your students. If there’s anything that you need to record on your screen, this is the tool to use.

3. Ecamm Recorder

‍Ecamm is a Skype recorder for audio and video calls that take place. If you want to be able to record lessons to share with your students, you can purchase the tool for as little as $30.

4. Typeform

‍Typeform is the easiest and most beautiful way to create forms on-demand. You can create feedback forms for students to share their thoughts on your lesson experience or for anything else you want to do including payments, ordering things online, and more.
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5. F.lux

‍Teaching online can take a toll on your eyes. F.lux can significantly help decrease those eye strains by getting rid of blue light from the screen, which can be dangerous over a long span of time. Best of all, it’s free.

Language Tools For Writing

If you have students that are looking to focus on improving their writing skills, you can leverage the following tools to make the best use of your time. Many of them involve reviewing writings from native speakers, and this can be particularly useful if your student has written a long essay.

Lang 8

Lang 8 is a site where you can write text in a particular language, and pretty soon have natives look over it and give you great feedback. Highly recommended for improving your writing skills!

Skritter

Skritter is an awesome site that not only allows you to review and learn words in Chinese and Japanese, but aids students in handwriting and stroke order! Highly recommended for help with learning to write in Chinese or Japanese.
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Language Tools For Reading

The following reading tools are helpful for improving your student's reading, vocabulary, and grammar skills. They contain reading games, quizzes, articles, and more that you can use during your private language lessons.

Readlang

Readlang is a site that allows users to read and translate text in dozens of languages. While many languages are still “beta” versions, in all they offer over 60 languages for people who are interested in translating text or learning to read in a new language!

LingQ

LingQ (pronounced like “link”) focuses on reading, writing, and listening to audio clips to improve your language skills. For those who are focused on grammar and vocabulary, this is a great option!

Lingualy

Lingua.ly is a site that focuses on words, and nothing but! It features a “smart” dictionary, memory games, and even a news feed where you can view the top articles and blogs from countries all over the world. Lingua.ly can be accessed on your computer or phone as it has an Apple and Android App.

Pronunciation Tools

Pronunciation is always a tricky subject for most beginners. While you can do your best to help out your student, the following tools are great recommendations for students to practice on their own. Encourage your students to leverage these language tools, and they'll be speaking fluently in no time. With you to thank :)

Forvo

Forvo is a great site if you come across a new word and would really like to hear how it’s pronounced by a native speaker. It has a huge database covering many languages that you can search and get an instant answer.
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Rhinospike

Rhinospike is better to hear how an entire sentence or even a couple of short paragraphs are pronounced by a native speaker. Submit your request and make sure to help fill those requests in your native language to have yours prioritized.
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Language Teacher Textbooks

At the core, a language textbook can be one of the most powerful language tools a teacher can have, particularly for teachers starting out. It will allow you to stand on the shoulders of giants that have already done the hard work of putting together a curriculum and assignments.

From Spanish, English, Japanese, and more, here's our comprehensive list of language teacher textbooks to check out.