Editor’s note: This post has been updated to include the 2017 conference hashtags.
“Thanks to Twitter, the hashtag has become an important linguistic shortcut.”
—Lindsay Zoladz (Pitchfork, 2014)
On the web, millions of teachers worldwide connect to share support and resources. If you are in search of activities, resources, or support for a lesson, then you’ll want to know where these teachers share ideas online.
Hashtags, the words you see around the web with number (#) signs in front of them, are the key to finding and sharing resources online. You don’t have to belong to social networks to benefit from hashtags. You can do a search for a hashtag on Google and find public streams of information on Twitter and other sites.
Below are a list of fantastic hashtags for English language teachers. Click and begin exploring and connecting today!
General Hashtags
According to Hashtagify, the following are some of the most used hashtags among English language teachers. Discover free resources, bloggers, apps, activities and news about teaching your language learners. The hashtags to follow are #ESL, #TESOL, #TEFL, #EFL, #ELT, #duallang, #ELLs, and #ELL. Other great hashtags with useful resources include #CLIL, #Grammar, and #Idioms.
#Twinglish, #EngPls, #LearnALanguage, #StudyEnglish, and #LearnEnglish are hashtags used by English language learners around the world. Sometimes you will find tweets in other languages.
Hashtags for Specific Areas of English Language Teaching
Try any of the following hashtags for resources specific to a test or age group.
- Use the hashtags #BusinessEnglish and #BESIG to discover resources related to teaching Business English.
- Use the hashtags #YoungLearners and #YLTSig to discover resources related to teaching young learners.
- Use the hashtags #EAP, #TLEAP, #BALEAP to find resources related to teaching English for academic purposes.
- Supporting learners in their different tests or taking a test? Try #IELTS, #TOEFL, #TOEIC, and #CELTA.
Hashtag Chats
If you’re looking to connect with other English language teachers and bloggers, then try joining a Twitter chat. We recommend these great Twitter chats:
- #ELTChat takes place every Wednesday at 12 pm and 9 pm GMT.
- #ELLChat takes place on Mondays at 9 pm ET.
- #Duallangchat takes place the first Sunday of each month at 6 pm PST / 8 pm CST.
Conference Hashtags
Get to know the teachers, authors, vendors, and events at the conferences you attend. Following the conference hashtag is a great way to keep up with what is happening at conferences, including any freebies or tips about navigating the city. You can also share your presentation time and materials to a much wider audience. If you are looking for tweet-ups (face-to-face meetings of Twitter users), then knowing the hashtag is a must!
Two of the most followed conference hashtags are for the TESOL International Conference and IATEFL. The TESOL International conference takes place March 21–24 in Seattle, Washington. Attendees and the organization share information with the hashtags #TESOL2017 and #TESOL17. (The ESL Library team will be there, so be sure to visit the booth.)
The IATEFL conference takes place April 4–7 in Glasgow, Scotland. Use the hashtag #IATEFL to keep up with the latest news and events.
There are many other conferences with hashtags. To discover conferences and events in different countries try #ASIAELT, #AUSELT, #KELTChat (Korean ELT), #JALT, and #JALTCALL.
Canada has a few hashtags for English language teachers, which include #TESLCanada, #TESLToronto, #BCTEAL, and #LINCChat.
What are your favorite hashtags?
