Teaching ESL online? Looking for a flexible and visual way to run your lessons? Let me introduce you to one of my favorite tools for remote teaching: Canva!

You might know Canva as a design platform, but it’s actually so much more when you’re teaching English online. I use Canva to prepare entire lesson plans, share my screen with students during class, and even collaborate with them in real-time. It’s visual, interactive, and incredibly user-friendly.

Why Canva Works for Online ESL Lessons

Here’s why I keep coming back to Canva for my classes:

• Visual learning made easy: ESL students often benefit from strong visual support, and Canva is full of free images, icons, and graphics to bring lessons to life.
• Live editing during class: I share my screen with the Canva lesson open and make changes as we go—students can see vocabulary, grammar points, or corrections in real time.
• Customizable & reusable: Once you’ve created a lesson, you can easily duplicate and adapt it for another student or level.
• Instantly shareable: After class, I make a copy and send it to the student for review or extra practice.

Whether it’s a grammar explanation, a vocabulary matching task, or a speaking activity, Canva gives me all the flexibility I need—without switching tabs or opening ten other tools.

How I Use Canva in My Online ESL Classes

Here’s a quick breakdown of my Canva workflow:

1. Before class
   I create a visual lesson plan in Canva—like a digital slide deck with space to write, discuss, and explore ideas. I use text boxes, graphics, tables, and images depending on the goal. If you want to have one master file, create a copy before the class and work in the copy with your student. This way you do not have to edit the master file after every class.
2. During class
   I share my screen and walk through the lesson together. We edit it live—filling in answers, typing sentences, correcting mistakes. I can also quickly add visual aids when something needs extra clarification.
3. After class
   I duplicate the file and send the student a copy so they can revise or keep notes.

Creative Ideas for Using Canva in Class

Need inspiration? Try using Canva to create:

• Vocabulary games or matching tasks
• Grammar challenges or gap-fill activities
• Personalized progress trackers
• Visual storytelling tasks with icons or image prompts
• Speaking cards with discussion questions and fun visuals

Final Thoughts

You don’t need complicated tools to run engaging ESL classes online. With Canva, everything is in one place: visuals, text, activities, and student copies. It’s clean, simple, and fun to use.

So if you’re looking for a fresh way to teach ESL online—especially one that’s interactive and easy to manage—give Canva a try! Your students might love it as much as mine do.

Try It Yourself – Free Lesson Below!
Want to see a Canva-based ESL lesson in action?
Grab my “At the Airport” lesson and use it with your own students.
✔ Editable
✔ Visual
✔ Ready to go!

(And no, it’s not a sponsored post 😉, Canva is really my favourite tool for online classes!)

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