Advisor Academy

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I have been working as an English instructor for 8 years at an academy that caters to foreign students such as Koreans, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, to name a few, who want to learn and improve their English skills and land a good job in the future. To me, my first year at work was the hardest. At first, I did not have any idea of how to handle students from different cultural backgrounds. I encountered numerous challenges no matter how much I was prepared. Thanks to my perseverance and dedication, fortunately, I was able to overcome the hurdles. I would like to talk about some of the major difficulties I dealt with and how I was able to surpass them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Winnie J. Please note that this blog post...  [Read more]

Najwa Sabih Destinations Alumni Experiences Turkey is one of the most beautiful countries where you can have a lovely vacation. There are many touristic sites and fascinating places that will mesmerize you with the beauty of this country. Though, living in Turkey can be challenging. It is completely different from coming for tourism. When I decided to move to Istanbul almost two years ago, in October 2020, it was still the period of the covid-19 pandemic. This was really hard, as the companies were still closed, and everything was online, which made it hard for me to find a job. I was still an undergraduate back then, which was also a negative point for me to be able to have a job. Later, things turned out for the best. When I first came here, I believed that it was very hard for me to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In the past, the emphasis on teaching a foreign language was, amongst other older techniques, Grammar-Translation, and is still used in some situation today. This method helped the student to learn ‘about’ the language instead of learning the language (ITTT Unit 3,3). Over time, and continuing today, more and more attention and research have been placed on the question of what makes a good language learner. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Cliff G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are considerable differences in age, gender, motivation, attitude, and culture. Different students assimilate differently. The environment also plays a roll in learning. Some learn...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas After doing some research online and asking some of my friends who are experienced teachers, I have compiled a list below of what we believe to be the five favorite flashcard games. Until I am a practicing teacher myself, I cannot come up with my favorite list and it would also, of course, depend on the age and ability of the students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alessandra F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This is a classic game from our childhood and always guarantees to make everybody laugh. The way it works is, you place a flashcard on each chair, and there is one number of chairs less than there are students. You start playing music for a short period...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As the mother of a 3-year-old son, born in Spain to British parents, I have found that singing the same song in both English and Spanish has helped my son become bilingual. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alessandra Fay B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Provided it is done in a fun and interesting way, James appears to retain information much quicker when presented to him in song form. For example, we sing the days of the week, first in English and then in Spanish, both to the same tune and he enjoys repeating these over and over. I have also used the tune from the song “if you are happy and you know it” to teach him different types of actions like, turn...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This essay examines English education in South Korea and its socio-cultural problems. The discussion draws on my personal beliefs and experiences. First, the history of Korean education is laid out by illustrating the cultural background of Korean society. Following that, it traces the problems of learners of the English language in Korea and tips on how to improve their learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nayoung H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For a long time, Korea has been a country that’s been highly education-obsessed. Entry to a top university has led to prestigious, well-paying, and secure jobs; it has even led to fame. Therefore, the country...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences For those of us who have a desire to teach English as a foreign language in Korea but decide to forego a formal TEFL certificate, language academies (or, "hagwons") are one of our most prominent and accessible options. In the year 2018, fresh out of my undergraduate program, I joined the ranks of many enthusiastic (albeit, mostly untrained) teachers bound for privately-run English academies. The opportunity to travel, visa sponsorships, housing benefits, and the job, itself, make hagwons an attractive option to aspiring teachers with no formal training or little practical teaching experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shelby H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As we all know, motivate students is a signature party of a teaching career. In the future, we maybe will teach the businesswomen/businessmen group, our pupil group. Motivate them and keep them studying is an expression of working ability. Here comes a question, what methods we can use to motivate students? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zixi Y. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Above all, we need to change our roles from a student to a teacher. Also, we can call it a manager, organizer, assessor or prompter, etc. in the classroom. Some of the teacher’s features are a good teacher should be kind and patient, and be able to motivate learners. Next, the essay will...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Learning a new language can be nerve-wracking, especially for young learners who experience a great deal of peer pressure and fear of sounding unintelligent in front of their classmates. This fear is something adults learning a new language experience as well. I have personally experienced it as a native English speaker learning Spanish. Therefore, praise from the teacher they view as an expert in the language they’re learning is vital to the learning process in many ways. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alexandra W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I believe praising students is very important. It is essential, however, that the praise teachers give is genuine....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teachers of ESL will often find themselves in charge of a class with students at different levels of proficiency. When this happens, the teacher needs to know ways to adapt and manage the class and activities in a way that benefits all the students. The stronger students could become bored if the teacher caters to the weaker ones, and, reversely, the weaker students could become demotivated and feel forgotten and left behind when they cannot keep up with the advanced students. So how can a teacher make sure all the students get what they need from the class? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Leigh K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Joe Budden, in the article "Adapting...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Twenty years ago as an elementary school principal in a large inner-city school district, the staff and I took great pride in creating what we considered to be an exemplary high-technology school. We believed that technology could serve as an excellent tool for children to develop critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills, deeper conceptual understanding, and the ability to communicate their understanding to others. This new paradigm was called inquiry-based information shifting teaching from a teacher-directed approach to a student-centered approach where the students acquired the skills necessary to access and use information. Of the many new initiatives, we started at this elementary school was a “Writing to Read” lab in K-1, a full-time...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Visa and Legal If you are interested in teaching English abroad, you probably quickly realized that China is one of the largest job markets for TEFL teachers at the moment. Truth is, China has over 300 million English learners and schools are hiring constantly. This large demand for qualified teachers leads to high salaries and great benefits to attract teachers to make the move. China is a great place to work in if you’re a new teacher and if you have experience in the field. However, it is key to understand the country's current visa regulations and the local preferences of schools to be able to teach English in China. Disclaimer: Visa regulations in China change very frequently. Therefore, we recommend checking with your local Chinese embassy for the current updates....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information The importance of a course such as a TEFL is easy to overlook when you consider the multitude of teaching jobs that are available around the globe that require no teacher training whatsoever. In many countries, the only requirements are that you have some form of degree and are a native speaker. For those looking to travel whilst earning some money, these countries can provide a good balance of income and culture, as well as easy access to other countries in the area. However, whilst this is beneficial to the 'tourist teacher', it can often lead to substandard teaching methods. For an example of this, I need not look any further than myself. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Timothy H. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Technologies are constantly evolving and improving. There are literally dozens of new technologies that can be applied to the modern classroom in 2019 that have not yet made their way into mainstream usage. New tech changes the way subjects are taught, how students learn and the way teachers and students communicate with each other. Everything from new types of interactive whiteboards, classroom response systems, use of social media, tablet computers and classroom websites to the more exotic and potentially cost-prohibitive techs such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality(VR) or even holographic projectors are commercially available for use in the classroom. Students in ancient Babylonia and Sumeria inscribed their lessons on clay tablets with a...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information Mainland China and Taiwan form a very large part of the Asian ESL market. There are obviously many similarities but also many differences. In this blog we will look at some of the major differences in job requirement in these two regions. It is said that there were around 100,000 foreign teachers working in China until recently, so that's a huge number. China is a vast country with huge demand for EFL teachers. There are opportunities at public schools, kindergartens, boarding schools, universities and international schools. However recent regulations have changed the Chinese EFL market drastically, so it's not as easy to find work as it used to be. Basically the government has placed some new regulations that make it a little bit harder to...  [Read more]

  Mexico is one of the leading travel destinations in the world. What makes Mexico so appealing for travel? The food, the people, the culture, the natural beauty and so much more. Mexico offers its visitors a taste of every possible landscape that you can imagine, from sandy dune deserts to snow pine forests or buzzing cities to majestic beaches… you name it and Mexico’s got it. If sightseeing is your thing when you explore then take your pick; Mexico has Mayan and Aztec pyramids like Templo Mayor or Calakmul, colonial jewels like Museo de Bellas Artes and Castillo de Chapultepec. Mexico’s past is not all that glorious, but its future is brighter than ever. Impressive urban developments throughout the country place it as one of the most important economies in the world. Puerto...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) abroad is a great way to gain international experience, learn a new culture, and earn money while traveling. Europe is a particularly popular destination for ESL teachers, offering a wide variety of countries with different cultures and languages. In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the best countries in Europe for teaching ESL, including factors such as cost of living, job opportunities, and cultural immersion experiences. Whether you're a seasoned teacher or just starting out, these countries are sure to offer something for everyone. For people who really want to go to Europe we recommend the Czech Republic as a good first option because it's relatively easy to get work compared to...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information Hi everyone, here's Linda again from ITTT. Today we're talking about something really interesting and exciting, teaching English in Asia. Also, all you need to know about how to get to Asia, the countries in Asia with the highest demand, and also the best sort of recruiters and teaching job platforms where you can find the best jobs for teaching English in Asia. I'm super excited about this topic today as I have been pretty much based in Asia since 2012. I spent some time in China and I am now in South Korea where I've been for the last six years. I'm so excited to share my experience with you guys and hopefully maybe some of you can also share your experience, if you have experience in teaching English in Asia. If you want to know anything...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Budget and Salary Destinations TEFL Information Hello, Linda here from ITTT for another weekly live session on Facebook and YouTube at the same time as always. If you've watched one of my sessions before thanks so much for tuning in again and if this is your first time watching, hello and welcome. If you are listening to this as a podcast episode, thanks so much for downloading the podcast, it means a lot to us as we always turn our live sessions into podcast episodes and you can find them on Spotify, Google Podcasts, itunes, all those podcast places out there. Today's topic is teaching English in Europe. So two weeks ago I talked about teaching English in Asia and I focused on seven of the most popular countries in Asia and today we're going to do the same thing for...  [Read more]