25 ChatGPT Prompts Every English Teacher Should Save
These 25 ChatGPT prompts for English teachers cover the six jobs AI genuinely does well: creating materials, grading and adapting texts, generating practice, wording feedback, writing admin emails, and unblocking ideas when your brain is empty. Copy the prompts you need, fill the {PLACEHOLDERS}, and keep the set in a notes file. The time saving comes from never starting from a blank page — the first draft exists, and you edit it into something teachable.
You do not need all 25 on day one. Most tutors settle on five or six that match their week — usually a text generator, a gap-fill maker, a feedback reworder and one admin prompt — and add more when a job starts eating time. Treat this as a menu, not a syllabus.
Which six jobs does AI do well for tutors?
AI is unreliable at some teaching jobs (deciding what a student needs next) and excellent at others (producing a level-controlled text about any topic on demand). The prompts below are grouped by the jobs where it earns its keep, with the weekly saving you can realistically expect:
| Teaching job | Prompt group | Typical time saved per week |
|---|---|---|
| Materials creation | Prompts 1–5 | 60–90 minutes |
| Grading and adapting texts | Prompts 6–9 | 40–60 minutes |
| Practice generation | Prompts 10–13 | 30–50 minutes |
| Feedback wording | Prompts 14–17 | 30–45 minutes |
| Admin writing | Prompts 18–21 | 20–40 minutes |
| Lesson ideas | Prompts 22–25 | 15–30 minutes |
Every prompt follows the same shape: context, task, format. Replace anything in {BRACES}, and add your student's CEFR level and first language (L1) wherever the prompt asks for them — those two details change the output more than anything else you could type.
Two jobs are deliberately absent: diagnosing what a student needs next, and choosing your syllabus. AI can guess; you can know. Keep those decisions, and let the machine do the typing that follows from them.
Which prompts create materials from scratch?
Materials are the job to hand over first: level-controlled texts, dialogues and vocabulary lists are exactly what language models produce fastest and most reliably. The trick is to demand constraints — word counts, line counts, sentence lengths — because unconstrained output drifts towards the mushy middle.
1 · Graded reading text — a reading lesson from nothing.
Write a {150-word} graded reading text about {REMOTE WORK} for a {B1} learner. Use vocabulary at {B1} level or below, short paragraphs, and natural English. Return the text only.
2 · Gap-fill from any text — turn any text into a grammar workout.
Take the text I paste below and create a {10-item} gap-fill targeting {present perfect}. Number the gaps, leave the rest of the text unaltered, and list the answers separately at the end.
TEXT: {PASTE TEXT}
3 · Dialogue for a situation — functional language your student will actually use.
Write a {12-line} dialogue between {a hotel receptionist and a guest complaining about noise} for {A2} learners. Include {three useful phrases for making complaints}, and keep sentences under {12} words.
4 · Discussion questions by level — the speaking lesson skeleton, pre-written.
Generate {12} discussion questions about {REMOTE WORK} for {B2} learners: {4} factual, {4} opinion-based, {4} hypothetical. Order them from easiest to hardest.
5 · Vocabulary list with examples — this format drops straight into a lesson or Anki deck.
Give me {10} words or phrases for talking about {NEGOTIATION} at {B2} level. For each, give the word, a one-line definition, and an example sentence showing typical use. Format as a table.
Which prompts grade and adapt existing texts?
Adapting is where AI beats writing from scratch, because you keep the content and change only the difficulty. A text that is perfect for one student but unusable for another stops being a dead file — paste, retarget, reuse.
6 · Simplify while keeping key vocabulary
Simplify the text below to {A2} level but keep these {8} key words: {LIST}. Keep the paragraph structure, add nothing, and do not shorten it below {120} words.
TEXT: {PASTE TEXT}
7 · Raise or lower the level
Rewrite this text at {C1} level. Keep the meaning and length roughly the same; upgrade the vocabulary and vary the sentence length deliberately.
TEXT: {PASTE TEXT}
8 · Comprehension questions at three levels
From the text below, write {3} gist questions, {3} detail questions and {3} inference questions suitable for {B1} learners. Label each set clearly.
TEXT: {PASTE TEXT}
9 · Parallel text for comparison work
Rewrite this text as a parallel version arguing the opposite position on {THE TOPIC}. Keep the same length and {B2} level so students can compare the two texts side by side.
TEXT: {PASTE TEXT}
Which prompts generate targeted practice?
Practice prompts work because they can aim at a precise target: one sound, one verb pattern, one error type. The more specific the target, the better the drill — name the sound, the L1 and the level, and you get something a coursebook would need a whole unit to cover.
10 · Minimal pairs for a specific L1
Give me {10} minimal pairs for the sounds {/ɪ/ and /iː/}, chosen because they are difficult for {Spanish} speakers. Use common words, and add one practice sentence per pair.
11 · Phrasal-verb story gap-fill
Write a {200-word} story for {B1} learners containing {8} phrasal verbs about {starting a new job}. Turn each phrasal verb into a numbered gap and provide a word bank at the end.
12 · Error-correction paragraph
Write a {150-word} paragraph as if written by a fictional {Japanese} learner at {B1} level, containing {10} typical {article} errors. Number the lines so students can locate the errors.
13 · Roleplay with role cards
Create a roleplay for {B1} business learners: {a customer returning a faulty product}. Provide two role cards — Role A with {3} objectives, Role B with {3} constraints — plus {6} useful phrases for the conversation.
Which prompts word your feedback?
Feedback is writing work you already understand — which makes it ideal to delegate the wording while you keep the judgement. You decide what the student needs to hear; the machine finds five ways to say it kindly.
14 · Reword a correction three ways
Reword this correction in {3} ways — direct, diplomatic and encouraging: {PASTE CORRECTION}. Keep the grammatical explanation identical in all three.
15 · Explain an error simply
Explain this error to an {A2} learner in {3} sentences maximum, with one clear example: {I have gone to Paris last year}. Avoid grammar jargon.
16 · Progress comment from rough notes
Using my notes below, write a {4-sentence} progress comment for a monthly report: one strength, one area to improve, one focus for next month, one encouraging closing line. Warm but specific.
NOTES: {PASTE NOTES}
17 · Encouraging nudge for a quiet student
Write a {2-sentence} message to a student who has been silent for {two weeks}: acknowledge the gap without guilt, mention one thing from our last lesson, and invite them to rebook. Friendly, zero pressure.
Which prompts handle admin writing?
Admin writing is pure delegation: the facts are yours, the phrasing is the machine's. These are also the prompts to personalise once and reuse forever — draft your policy email, your renewal nudge and your summary format, save them as templates, and only the details change per student.
18 · Lesson summary from notes
Turn my rough notes into a summary to send the student: what we covered, {3} key phrases that came up, homework, and next lesson's focus. Maximum {120} words.
NOTES: {PASTE NOTES}
19 · Parent update
Write a {100-word} update to a parent about their {13-year-old daughter}'s progress in {speaking confidence}. Positive and concrete, no jargon, ending with one small way they can help at home.
20 · Package renewal reminder
Write a {3-sentence} message reminding a student that their {10-lesson package} ends on {DATE} with {2} lessons remaining, and inviting them to renew. Light, and no discount talk.
21 · Policy email after a missed lesson
Write a {150-word} email explaining my {24-hour} cancellation policy to a student who missed a lesson without notice. Firm, warm, and end by confirming their next slot.
Which prompts unblock ideas on demand?
Idea prompts are for the ten minutes before a lesson when the plan is thin. They will not write your course, but they reliably end the staring-at-a-blank-page problem.
22 · Warmers for a topic
Give me {6} warmer activities for a {B1} lesson on {food and eating out}, each under {5} minutes, needing no materials beyond a whiteboard.
23 · No-prep fillers
List {8} no-prep filler activities for {A2–B1} learners for when a lesson finishes early. One line each: what to do and what it practises.
24 · Exam-style speaking cards
Write {4} sets of {IELTS}-style Part 3 speaking questions on {the environment}, formatted as examiner cards with follow-up prompts.
25 · Homework under 20 minutes
Suggest {5} homework tasks for a {B2} student with {under 20 minutes} a day, each self-checkable without a teacher. One line each.
What are the prompting rules that actually matter?
Three rules separate useful output from generic filler.
Give level, L1 and format, every time. "Write a dialogue" produces mush, while "write a 12-line A2 dialogue about returning faulty goods, sentences under 12 words" produces something you can teach tomorrow. The L1 matters more than people expect: knowing errors cluster around articles for Japanese speakers or /ɪ/-/iː/ for Spanish speakers turns generic practice into targeted practice.
Ask for variants. "Give me three versions and I'll pick" beats iterating on one you dislike — the model produces alternatives faster than you can refine a single draft, and choosing between three texts also tells you what you actually wanted.
Proof every output before a student sees it. Non-negotiable. AI texts still contain unnatural collocations, wrong levels and the occasional factual error, and you are the quality check. Two minutes of reading aloud catches most of it; skipping it is how a machine-generated mistake becomes "the teacher said".
What can't AI do for you?
AI drafts; you decide. It does not know your student's face when they are confused, and it cannot hear that the "B2" text it produced actually reads like B2-plus. It also knows nothing about your student's real life, which is where the best personalisation comes from — the machine supplies the level and the target, and you supply the human fit. A prompt chain cannot replace the moment you notice a student light up at a topic and quietly reroute the lesson.
One hard rule overrides everything above: never paste student personal data — names, emails, payment details, recordings, identifiable lesson notes — into a public AI tool. Write about "a B1 learner", not your student by name. For the bigger picture of where these prompts sit in a full prep routine, our guides to AI tools for language tutors' lesson planning and the lesson planning workflow for online tutors cover the surrounding system. And if you would rather the scheduling, materials and classroom side were handled for you, Tuton does that part.
Frequently asked questions
Do these ChatGPT prompts work for all CEFR levels?
Yes, provided you state the level in the prompt. Level is the single most important input — the same request at A2 and C1 produces completely different output. Always name the level and ask for vocabulary at or below it.
Do I need a paid ChatGPT plan for these prompts?
No. Every prompt here works on the free tier. Paid plans mainly add speed and file handling, which matter once you start pasting long texts rather than short ones.
Is it safe to paste lesson materials into ChatGPT?
Generic materials and fictional texts, yes. Never paste anything that identifies a real student — names, emails, lesson notes with personal details — into a public tool. Describe "a B1 learner" instead of naming anyone.
How do I stop AI materials sounding unnatural?
Give the level, the L1 and a format, ask for short sentences in natural English, then proof-read with your own ear. Asking for three variants and choosing the best beats accepting the first output, and reading the winner aloud catches most awkward phrasing.
Can AI prompts replace my coursebook?
For individual pieces — texts, drills, dialogues — they are faster than most coursebook exercises. For a structured syllabus with built-in progression, a coursebook still saves you the sequencing work, and many tutors use both: coursebook spine, AI-generated practice on top.