DrillKit is an AI-powered tool that turns your online lesson chat from Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or Microsoft Teams into professional, print-ready ESL lessons in under 30 seconds. It automatically extracts vocabulary, generates exercises (gap-fill, error correction, vocab match, word formation, and more), and produces beautiful PDFs tailored to the student's CEFR level and native language.

Does DrillKit support Zoom chats?

Yes! Simply copy the chat text from your Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or Microsoft Teams lesson and paste it directly into the input area. You can also paste vocabulary lists or handwritten notes. DrillKit's AI strips out timestamps, sender names, and other noise automatically.

Can I export lessons to PDF?

Absolutely. Every lesson is generated as a high-quality, print-ready PDF. Pro users can also export to Google Docs and customize branding with their school logo and accent colors.

Which languages are supported?

DrillKit supports translations in 11 languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, and Russian. The AI auto-detects the student's native language from the chat transcript.

What exercise types can DrillKit generate?

DrillKit generates 11 exercise types: Gap Fill, Vocab Match, Error Correction, Sentence Completion, Multiple Choice, Word Scramble, Sentence Reorder, Translation, Word Formation (Cambridge Part 3), Key Word Transformation (Cambridge Part 4), and Dialogue Builder.

How does the AI extract vocabulary from chat transcripts?

The AI scans your pasted chat transcript, strips out noise (timestamps, reactions, media placeholders), identifies teachable vocabulary, phrasal verbs, idioms, and student errors, then scores each item by relevance. You review and select the best items before generating exercises.

Is DrillKit free to use?

Yes! The free plan includes 20 generations per month with full access to all 13 exercise types, all lesson styles, and custom branding. The Pro plan ($5.99/month or $4.00/month billed yearly) unlocks unlimited generations and priority AI processing.

Can I customize the lesson with my school branding?

Pro users can add their school or institution name, choose custom accent colors, select from 5 lesson styles (Standard, Classic, Modern, Playful, Academic), and add footer text to every generated lesson.

Teaching Abstract Nouns in English: ESL Guide | DrillKit Blog

Why Abstract Nouns Matter for Advanced Learners

Concrete vocabulary — table, run, quickly — is relatively easy to teach because it has referents in the physical world. Abstract nouns (notion, ambiguity, resilience, reluctance) are harder because they refer to ideas, states, and qualities rather than objects or actions.

At B2-C1, the proportion of abstract vocabulary in academic and professional texts increases dramatically. The ability to handle abstract language — to understand it in reading, produce it in writing, and discuss it in conversation — marks the difference between upper-intermediate and advanced English.

Teaching Abstract Noun Formation

Nominalization patterns (verb → noun)
• -tion / -sion: achieve → achievement, decide → decision, discuss → discussion
• -ment: develop → development, manage → management, adjust → adjustment
• -ance / -ence: perform → performance, exist → existence, persist → persistence
• -al: refuse → refusal, propose → proposal, arrive → arrival
• -ure: fail → failure, please → pleasure, press → pressure

Adjective → abstract noun patterns
• -ity: complex → complexity, similar → similarity, possible → possibility
• -ness: aware → awareness, happy → happiness, kind → kindness
• -ce: important → importance, patient → patience, reluctant → reluctance

Teaching these patterns systematically gives learners a derivational tool: knowing 'flexible' means they can derive 'flexibility' for formal writing.

Abstract Language at Each Level

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B1: Common Abstracts

Experience, decision, opportunity, challenge, improvement — high-frequency, concrete-adjacent

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B2: Academic Range

Implication, assumption, consequence, evaluation — academic reading vocabulary

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C1: Nuanced Abstracts

Ambiguity, resilience, reconciliation, discrepancy — sophisticated conceptual vocabulary

Teacher Tip

“Take a B1 sentence and challenge students to make it increasingly abstract: 'The company decided.' → 'The company's decision was made.' → 'The decision-making process reflected...' → 'The rationale behind the decision reflected the organization's long-term strategic ambitions.' This 'abstractification' exercise makes the function of nominalization immediately visible.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Are abstract nouns mainly relevant for writing, not speaking?

No — advanced speakers use nominalizations constantly. 'Your hesitation is understandable' is more sophisticated than 'I understand why you hesitated.' Spoken academic registers (presentations, lectures, discussions) are heavily nominalized.

How do I help students use abstract nouns correctly in sentences?

Focus on the collocations: which verbs and prepositions go with each noun. You 'make a decision' not 'do a decision.' You have 'an awareness of' not 'an awareness about.' Abstract noun collocations are as important as the nouns themselves.

Is nominalization always better?

No — overuse of nominalization creates stiff, bureaucratic text. Teach students when nominalization adds value (compressing complex ideas, formal register) and when plain verb forms are clearer (action-focused writing, direct communication).

Teaching Abstract Nouns in English: From Concrete to Complex