A selection of English ESL esl stories printables

This story was based on the renowned headpiece that Bajau ladies wear known as "Serimpak" and its connection to the ancestral spirits of the community whom they referred to as "Embo'-Embo'". There are several questions in this material. It was written by Sirhajwan Idek. It is also available in ESL Printables.

Serimpak & Embo'-Embo' 


This worksheet focuses on ten major news stories from around the world for the week of April 21–27, 2025. Students read each story and complete a heading gap-fill activity by matching the correct title to each paragraph. The worksheet also includes a vocabulary matching task (10 key words) and comprehension questions to check understanding. Suitable for upper-intermediate (B2) and advanced (C1) EFL/ESL students. Great for reading, critical thinking, and vocabulary building. Can be used for individual work, pair work, or group discussion.



Think Tales 59 Borneo Version (Manuk Manuk Poem)

This ESL worksheet explores a powerful ethical dilemma set in a future where religion has been completely banned after a violent religious uprising. In a world afraid of belief, even private prayer is illegal, and those who continue to worship are sent to re-education centers. Students read a dystopian background story, then reflect on freedom, belief, and control through discussion questions, a choice-based moral scenario, and a personal writing task. Written at a B1–B2 level, the activity encourages critical thinking, emotional expression, and real-world conversation practice around sensitive but meaningful topics. Ideal for upper-intermediate teens or adults in a conversation or ethics-themed lesson.

After the Fire – A World Without Faith

This ESL worksheet invites students into a future where thoughts can be monitored and controlled. In the year 2074, a global system called ThoughtNet scans people's minds for signs of violence, crime, or danger—before they ever act. At first, society celebrates the drop in crime, but soon people begin to fear that even angry or emotional thoughts can lead to arrest. The reading introduces a rebel group, FreeMind, who believe the right to think freely—even dark thoughts—is essential to being human. Through an accessible background story, discussion questions, a choose-your-own-adventure scenario, and a reflective writing task, students explore deep ethical issues in language they can understand. This worksheet is designed for strong B1 or B2 learners and works well in classes that enjoy science fiction, philosophy, or modern technology debates. It encourages critical thinking, conditional structures, and emotional vocabulary, making it ideal for conversation-focused lessons.

The ThoughtNet – A Pre-Crime Ethics Worksheet

This worksheet is designed for upper-intermediate to advanced learners and focuses on reading comprehension, moral reasoning, and creative writing. It features a short story titled The Copy in Room 6, where a doctor secretly forms an emotional bond with a conscious clone created for organ harvesting. The text explores deep ethical themes such as consent, power imbalance, identity, and human rights in a futuristic setting. After reading, students answer critical thinking questions and write a journal entry from the clone’s perspective. This resource is ideal for lessons on dystopia, ethics, or science fiction, and works well in classroom debates or philosophy-driven ESL lessons.

The Copy in Room 6 – A Clone and Consent Dilemma

How This Harry Potter Quiz Helps Language Learners

Learn magical and everyday words in real story situations.
Practice question forms, tenses, and sentence structures.
Improve understanding by interpreting questions and choices.
Familiar characters and storylines keep learners engaged.
Linking language to well-known events boosts retention.
Great for bilingual learners to see how expressions differ.
Fun, game-like format encourages active participation.


Here Quiz Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-worksheets/vocabulary-practice/general-vocabulary-practice/movies-and-tv-series/quiz-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban/163144

Quiz. Present Simple. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Here is an ESL Worksheet for Intermediate Students – Father's Day Special based on the true and moving story of Harrison Ngumbi  from Kenya. The tasks are really useful.

FATHER'S DAY (A FATHER WHO STOOD UP FOR HIS DAUGHTERS)

This worksheet is a worksheet practice for the K sound. Each picture you see that starts with the letter K or has theK sound, color it, and make sure to say the vocabulary words after coloring it.

Letter K Initial Sound Coloring Worksheet

 Here’s a comprehensive ESL worksheet based on the inspiring life of Dashrath Manjhi, designed for intermediate to upper-intermediate learners. The tasks are quite engaging.

INDIA AND THE AXE OF LOVE

For ESL students, reading a script about a classmates crush on a boy in school. All the material is translated if you have Korean students. It has a humorous tone to the story, 

A role play, about three Middle School girls talking about a cute guy in their school.. One girl has a crush on him. ( Korean translation)

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

179 Esl stories English ESL worksheets pdf & doc