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Hey! I’m Brooke

I create ready made printable and digital activities, games and resources designed to stimulate language learning and help English teachers make their lessons more fun and engaging. My resources are primarily focused on fluency and comprehension. Whether you are living abroad and materials are hard to find or you just need that extra activity to help your class master the Present Continuous - Hot Chocolate Printables is constantly growing and adding resources to make teachers' lives easier! Who has time these days to wait for an Amazon order to arrive with a game that you needed yesterday? Have you taken a look at my Teachers Pay Teachers store? It's full of resources that you'll probably be interested in!

 
As a HUGE learning through play advocate, my resources help ESL teachers make their lessons more stimulating by adding the element of PLAY. Using printable language based games in your classroom is the best and most effective way to improve listening, speaking reading and writing skills.


 
After graduating from California State University - Los Angeles, I owned and operated an English language school in Italy for many years. I became TEFL/TESOL certified and have continued to stay updated with the latest courses and certificates related to English Language learning, ELD young learners strategies and bilingual learning. I’ve taught English language learners of all ages and I specialize in hands-on resources for young learners and conversation based activities for teens and adult students alike. I learned quickly that language only sticks when your students are enjoying themselves. 

 
When I began my career as an EFL teacher, I was given a text book and a whiteboard. Can we say B-O-R-I-N-G? So, I immediately starting looking for ways to incorporate fun and games into my lessons. This meant scouring the web and downloading what didn’t always turn out to be what I needed. But hey, I was a new teacher - I came to class with a game to play and my students were happy.

 
When time allowed, I created my own resources but always thought to myself - “if I ever have more time, I’ll make exactly what I need”. While teaching, I never had more time to devote.

In 2017 when I made the decision to step away from teaching to spend more time with my growing family - I finally had the time to focus on creation and I posted my first resource on Teachers Pay Teachers. Hooray!! Hot Chocolate Printables was born and the rest is history!

 
According to Face the Facts USA, a Project of George Washington University, 10 percent of all public school students in the United States are English as Second Language Learners (ESL)  or English Language Learners (ELLs), meaning they have limited English proficiency. That makes what I do so much more important. Not to mention that most countries in the world teach English as a foreign language where the standards and curriculum are completely different and teachers have little access to English materials for their students. 

 
Fast forward to today! I’m a work from home mom of two little bilinguals. They have taught and continue to teach me so much about language acquisition on a daily basis. Working from home allows me the flexibility to enjoy my little ones and travel (my two biggest passions) while providing some pretty cool content and make learning English a little more fun in classrooms around the world. 


P.S. What are all these acronyms I'm constantly using? Well, they all have one thing in common: English! The difference is who you are teaching. I know that ESL tends to be widely overused and we can often narrow things down to more specific categories.
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) EFL is the teaching of English to students whose first language is not English. Often EFL teachers live and work abroad in private language schools and centers. Three different certifications are recommended to those who are interested in living abroad and teaching.
 
ESL (English as a Second Language) ESL students live in an English speaking country yet their first language is not English.
 
ELL (English Language Learner) a student who is not proficient as an English speaker and are currently developing their skills. This can be a native K-12 student or ESL.
 
ELD (English Literacy Development) is a program for English language learners who have had limited opportunities to develop language and literacy skills in their  first language. 
 
Since there are a wide variety of certifications available for teachers hoping to move abroad and teach English in another country, the certification that are most commonly sought after by employers are: