Are you trying to find ESL resources on TPT? Approximately 85% of PreK – 12 teachers in the U.S. used TPT in 2025 to find materials and 15% of educators outside the U.S. used it.
If you answered yes, maybe you’ve noticed that it’s gotten harder to find resources aimed at Multilingual Learners. It’s because TPT changed its search algorithm.
Below, I’m going to explain what to do to find ESL resources on TPT, so you don’t have to wade through several pages of search results or hundreds of resources before finding something that looks useful for your English Language Learners. Here’s the secret: Use filters.
It’s easier to show you with images. This is for when you’re on a computer, not a phone, since you can’t buy TPT resources via your phone.
How to Find ESL Resources on TPT: Step 1
Let’s say you’re looking for something to teach your students how to use MLA format to cite works for a research paper bibliography. (You can read more about the importance of teaching MLA format to students HERE.) Here’s what to do:
Type in your search query; let’s use Works cited. Yikes – there’s over 8,000 products!
FYI: When I want to search quickly, I change the webpage layout to Grid view and zoom out/minimize the page because that way I can easily see the covers of many resources at the same time. The beginning of the product descriptions aren’t visible this way but I can see more resources more quickly.
How to Find ESL Resources on TPT: Step 2
At the top of the page, under where your search query appears, is a row of filters. They’re tabs with drop down menus. Click on the one that says “Supports.” You’ll see ESL, EFL, ELL as the first option. Click that (it’ll turn green) and the page shows new search results. Only 120+ resources – yay!
How to Find ESL Resources on TPT: Step 3
All these resources have been labeled with the ESL, EFL, ELL tag because the TPT sellers who created them believe they are appropriate for Multilingual Learners. They may or may not be; you’ll have to click on them and judge for yourself.
You can refine your search even more by clicking on the Grade filter. That drop down menu first shows you some grade span options. After you click one of them – say, Middle school – another menu appears and you can choose just one particular grade. In this case, I chose 7th grade. (Note that the ESL, EFL, ELL filter is still active.)
Now there’s only 82+ resources that fit those criteria. That’s just over 3 pages of search results, which is much more manageable.
It doesn’t seem to matter if you click the ESL, EFL, ELL filter or the Grade filter first – you end up with the same results.
How to Find ESL Resources on TPT: Step 4
One thing to be aware of: You can’t click on 2 filters in the same drop down menu; that is, in the Supports tab, you can’t choose ESL, EFL, ELL filter and also the Special education filter – it’s one or the other only.
The other filters – Subject, Price, and Format – can also be helpful, depending on what you’re searching for. I encourage you to experiment with all the filters by typing in 1 search phrase and then clicking on various filters to see the results and what works best for you.
Below is what the result looks like after you:
* Select the Supports filter, then select the ESL, EFL, ELL tag
* Select the Grade filter, chose Middle school, then select the 7th Grade tag
I hope this tutorial about how to find ESL resources on TPT has been helpful. And if you’d like to get my MLA Works Cited resource that I used as an example, please click HERE.
