Aha Moment Meaning

  Our second example sentence 'I am playing football at the moment.' is the present continuous tense. This has a different structure as the subject 'I', the verb 'to be' in the present tense 'am', 'is' or 'are' plus the verb with an '?ing' on the end. So here: 'I am playing football at the moment.' Whereas the present simple tense is used to talk about habits routines and facts, the present continuous tense is used to talk about actions in progress at the time of speaking or around the time of speaking. Our third example sentence is the present perfect: 'I have played football twice this week.' Here, the structure is the subject 'I', auxiliary verb 'have' or 'has' plus the past participle. The past participle is usually formed just by adding '-ed'- on to the end of the base form of...  [Read more]

  Even though many people use "may" and "might" interchangeably, they actually have slightly different meanings. The word "may", for example refers to a possibility, while "might" conveys slightly more uncertainty. In the example "There are dark clouds in the sky. It may rain later", we use "may" because the dark clouds suggest the possibility of rain. The sentence "I'm sick but I might come to the party" uses "might" because it is not certain the person will go to the party. This means, you should use 'may' when there is some kind of a sign that predicts or indicates future happenings. You should use 'might' when expressing something a little more unlikely or uncertain. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The English Language is universally derided for its difficulty and the absurd number of exceptions to every rule. To teach English effectively in an EFL setting, it is important to make note of these difficulties and teach students both the rules and the plentiful exceptions. My personal experience as a teacher and the knowledge I’ve gleaned from this course illustrate the importance of incorporating games and group practice so that students feel motivated. I want my students to find learning English fun rather than frustrating. It is key, especially when teaching young learners, to pick one’s battles: a pedantic mindset will only breed frustration and lead to a classroom full of anxious students. Therefore,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences It has been the most extraordinary experience in developing my skills as a teacher. My own personal philosophy is that life has no finish line, it’s just a struggle uphill were you are continually overcoming adversity and constantly improving. This philosophy applies to many facets of life but few things better than the art of teaching. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jack W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I think of the great teachers that I have had. I think of their various breadths of experience. To be sure some are born with a natural talent, a knack as it were, to teach and connect with pupils, but some of the...  [Read more]

  James from England works in Indonesia as an English teacher. In this TESOL review James tells us that he decided to do ITTT's online 120 hour TEFL/TESOL course in order to further his teaching qualifications and to improve his teaching skills. James completed the course with the tutor support option. He is now undertaking to complete ITTT's advanced 370 hour TEFL/TESOL Diploma course. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. What is best about Unit 3...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English as a spoken language has become the international standard for people as a first or second language, whether it be for business, science, or just recreationally. This, of course, means that a lot of people are learning the language as a second language. For anyone who knows English as a native language, you know that it has many difficult learning curves along the way to the true understanding that make for many difficulties in how new learners communicate. This essay will touch on a few examples that people undoubtedly run into when learning English, and why it's so difficult to master. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kelson l. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Among my most cherished childhood memories takes me back to the moment when it was time to choose a new book to get lost in before bedtime. I was lucky enough to have a bookshelf in front of which I would sit and, I thought, let the book choose me. Sometimes the calling was immediate; sometimes it took longer. I picked up random books, read the back, and smelled them; sometimes I read the first page, anything I needed to do until I found the perfect connection. Reading was one of my favorite moments of the day. Most of the time, the book I picked would be so perfect for the moment in my life that it would take all my attention the next morning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ana L. Please...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How important is it for EFL learners to learn slang and idioms? Let’s clarify what is slang? What is an idiom? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Laura B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Slang is an informal language and should be used only with people one knows very well. Slang can change constantly, appear today, disappear within month or year and some words have been used by English speakers since medieval times. Also Read: "How Can We as Teachers Motivate Our Students?" The earliest use of the word “slang” (eighteen century) referred to the vocabulary of “low” or “disreputable” people. Later, in the early...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Lewis (1993) claims that “Lexis is the core or heart of language” (p 89). Indeed, it is one of the basic steps of mastering a foreign language. Vocabulary knowledge is what makes verbal communication between people possible. Most teachers face problems when teaching new items. They feel the need to use techniques to have an effective lesson. Over the years, teachers have tried to find the most effective and practical strategies to teach vocabulary. They have been applying several methods like fill in the blank definitions, pre-teaching unfamiliar words and stressing high-frequency words. This essay will just focus on three strategies that can help teach vocabularies such as using visual aids, highlighting...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Lewis (1993) claims that “Lexis is the core or heart of language” (p 89). Indeed, it is one of the basic steps of mastering a foreign language. Vocabulary knowledge is what makes verbal communication between people possible. Most teachers face problems when teaching new items. They feel the need to use techniques to have an effective lesson. Over the years, teachers have tried to find the most effective and practical strategies to teach vocabulary. They have been applying several methods like fill in the blank definitions, pre-teaching unfamiliar words and stressing high-frequency words. This essay will just focus on three strategies that can help teach vocabularies such as using visual aids, highlighting...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching skills do not only refer to lesson handouts and specific classroom ideas/techniques—although both are part of, and important to teach— but also cover qualities teachers should possess, and the various roles the instructor will (at some point) need to fill. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Carly G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first unit of the course began by identifying qualities that make for a good instructor. These qualities are as follows: teachers must be kind, patient, lively and entertaining. They must be able to motivate learners and involve all students equally, and finally, they must truly...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas First of all, let us define the meaning of the phrase “global language”? I suppose a “global language” is the language suitable for communication among a huge amount of people around the world. We also can say it is the language of global meaning. After the Second World War and especially since the beginning of the 90th years of the twentieth century, English became the most common international language. Artificial languages, created specifically for international communication, for example, Esperanto, are also supposed to be multinational. Common characteristics of international languages are: a lot of people are native speakers; among the non-native speakers there are a lot of people who use this...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word firebrand. This word has two different meanings. The first meaning is quite literal and describes burning wood. The second meaning is rather figurative as it refers to a person who is usually inflicting change as a result of being passionate about a certain topic or cause. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. Personally, enjoyed going through this unit and reading about the different roles...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In the following essay, I consider something like a continuum from task to the game to assessment, but only in the bookend learning moments of “input” and “output.” I often think of learners in my classrooms as a gray box—not quite a “black box,” the inner workings of which are completely mysterious, but a thing into which we only ever have uncertain, provisional insight. We can do all sorts of theorizing about language acquisition and psychometry but will never have anything as exact as a litmus test. However accurate my notion is, it motivates me to focus on things that are much more knowable and observable: the inputs and outputs of a learning situation. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Every language has its peculiarities, more so in the English language, which is spoken in the largest number of countries in the world. And thus has attained the status of a global language. Factors attributed to this phenomenon are many. One of the major reasons is that the Britishers had a large number of colonies which enabled them to come in contact with the inhabitants of different parts of the world. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Stone S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Moreover, the colonies had the English language as the official language. As language is the most potent means of communication, it was natural for...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Idioms are a relatively difficult language point to teach. However, with these fun activities you will be able to make your students activate new vocabulary faster and easier. Keep a running list of idioms in your classroom. As students hear or come across an idiom in class (or at home), add it to a list on a bulletin board or poster board. Students use this list as a reference during conversation periods or when writing. Also Read: The How-To Guide For Americans To Teach English in Europe If you carry out your lesson online or there is an internet connection in your classroom, find websites that offer self-study idiom lessons and quizzes. For example, a4esl website. Encourage students to work on their own and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences After dedicating more than 3 years of my life to travel and seeing 60 beautiful countries across 6 continents around the world, I have come to realize that the English language is the missing link in what would bring people and nations together. It was at a hostel in Bosnia and Herzegovina sometime last year when I decided I wanted to teach English to people from different parts of the world. I was speaking to an American volunteer at the hostel and she had been teaching English for more than 2 years already. The first thing that attracted me about the profession was the fact that it was a great way to earn money remotely while traveling around the world. But what I later came to realize was that teaching...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A language is a particular form of communicating information, feelings, or ideas. Words and speech change depending on the country, area, or social group. The language belongs to the Culture 's Universe and Culture is undoubtedly evolutionary. So does language. Thus, when one has to put in touch people with different mother tongue, from different countries, different age, etc. They have to take into consideration they will put in touch different cultures. In order to get this communication successful for teaching or learning a new language, it is important that teachers and students understand what these differences are. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Natália S. Please note that this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reading competence involves making sense of the written text and requires the complex interaction of knowledge and skills. When children learn to read, they need to learn to integrate the use of visual, phonological and semantic cues and relate to their own experience to construct meaning. An effective reading instruction thus involves a combination of phonological instruction (decoding) and whole language (reading for meaning), with the use of authentic literary experience. This paper will provide a summary of essential areas of reading instruction, coupled with various strategies that I have used in my work as an educational psychologist and teacher, helping young children to read. This post was written by our...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'adverse' and 'averse'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. While they are both adjectives, they have slightly different meanings. 'Adverse', for example, means unfavorable or harmful, while 'averse' means strongly disliking or opposed. Let's take a look at two example sentences: "He listened to no adverse criticism and receded before no obstacle." and "My children are quite averse to the suggestion of having year-round school". Since they are both adjectives, they are always used in combination with the verb 'to be', such as 'is adverse' or 'are averse', or before a noun: 'adverse criticism'. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Every language has its own rules and way of speaking. People that share a common language are united not only by the way they communicate but also in cultural experiences. Using language, whether it is sign language or spoken language, helps individuals experience the world differently. Teaching slang and idioms are an integral part of learning any language. For students learning slang and idioms is an extension of language learning, it offers a way to communicate better and it helps students experience the world through the native speaker lens. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marie L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Learning new vocabulary is considered as an integral part of learning a new language. Even children who learn their mother tongues learn isolated phrases and words before making complex sentences. Similarly, in second language learning, teaching new words and phrases plays an important role in helping learners’ communication. Based on David Wilkins “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. If learners spend their time on learning grammar, their English will not improve greatly. However, if they learn more words, phrases, and expressions, they can express almost anything (Thornberry, 2002; Watkin, 2005). This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When we talk about teaching language, we always think about speaking, listening, writing and reading; but now, let’s just focus on reading and listening, in other words, the receptive skills. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mirazo L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The answers are: we do read or listen in teaching receptive skills because we need to know some instructions as how to control a video recorder which is not an usual task for a normal people so our a motivation must be higher than other in rather understand the difference between reading with passion and read a favorites book and listen to somebody who is not...  [Read more]

  In this video Linda explains the differences between "assure", "insure" and "ensure". They not only sound similar, but those three words also make an outcome sure but they are in no way interchangeable. "Assure" is used to speak out a promise or say something with confidence, for example "I assure you that he is a great lawyer". "Ensure" is used to make something certain, such as here: "Please ensure that you will be home at five o'clock today"."Insure" means to protect an object against risk by buying an insurance policy from an insurance company, like here: "I insure my television because it was expensive". Once you have realized the three different meanings and usages, there is no way you'll confuse them again. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Grammar plays a very important role in learning and teaching a foreign language. What is grammar? Crystal describes grammar as “the business of taking a language to pieces, to see how it works” (as cited in Bentsen, 2017). This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Meral B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. According to Swan ‘‘grammar is essentially a limited set of devices for expressing a few kinds of necessary meaning that cannot be conveyed by referential vocabulary alone’’ (as cited in Hu, 2012). Ur believes that ‘‘grammar may be roughly defined as the way a language manipulates and combines words (or bits of words)...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teachers often encounter difficulties in various aspects of language teaching. The main task of every teacher is to motivate and engage a student in the process of language learning. In this regard, teachers try to set a learning environment in the classrooms to be able to demonstrate and make learners stay focused on the lessons. There are different methods and approaches to learning English, and it is not always easy to choose the best one to make a lesson effective and successful. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mahri J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Among a great variety of essential parts of language learning,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences When I started my ITTT classes, I wasn't totally sure of the difference between British English and American English. I knew there were accents and pronunciation differences, but it seemed like no big deal. Then I learned more about grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and spelling. When you speak to someone who has never spoken or has very little knowledge of the two, I can see how things get really confusing. British English is a bit more formal and follows the Kings English, where American English is a little bit more laid back. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brian F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Kings English (noun) is...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'aisle' and 'isle'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. The word 'aisle' is a noun and describes a passage between rows of seats in a church, in a theater, an airplane or between shelves in a supermarket. A suitable example sentece for the word 'aisle' would be: The aisle was crowded with people looking for seats. The word 'isle' is also a noun but has a very different meaning. It usually refers to a small island, such as here: The pirates were in search of the lost isle for buried treasure. As you can see, once you know the meanings of the two words, you will not confuse them as their meanings are very different. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas A learned language isn't something to be kept on a shelf, slowly collecting dust, forgotten like any other book or relic. It must be held close and treasured, and used so that it is an extension of oneself. For true understanding, all the aspects of a language must be carefully developed until mastery. There are diverse aspects to practice in every language; the inflections and accent understanding of listening, the pronunciations and cadence of speaking, the grammar and structure of writing. Despite all these various skills and the pieces that compose them, they all come from the same source and the same primary skill, one that transcends...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Vocabulary has always been one language area about which students usually complain and claim that it impedes language learning. The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether using the context for guessing the meaning of new vocabulary can solve this problem. The learning of vocabulary is an important part of foreign language learning. The meaning of new words is very frequently emphasized, whether in books or verbal communication. And also, English teachers have an important role in teaching new vocabularies. In this research, we will study different kinds of teaching vocabulary by using a dictionary or guessing on the context. Further, the study also attempted to reveal what kind of factors hinder or...  [Read more]