Black And Abroad

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas It’s Black History Month! Now, Black History often falls short in EFL classrooms but if you are able to include it into your EFL curriculum abroad (and you should!) here is an important reason to do so: You get to focus on the amazing culture, history, and contributions of Black people, something a lot of EFL students would never otherwise learn. Hold a class meeting to introduce the topic and explain why a month of Black History is needed and brainstorm some famous Black people the students know. This is also a great time to read aloud “Our People” by Angela Shelf Medearis. In this book, a father is telling his daughter about the history of their people - how they were kings and queens and invented amazing...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I am a teacher in a training center for young learners in China, Beijing. Our school has a praise system, to be more precise our school has its own money that students can use to buy some toys from our school’s shop. To get this money students should listen to the teacher, do their homework, and pass the tests. The teachers can give them money even for each lesson if they want. And it is really useful to maintain discipline in the classroom. It’s the first reason why we should praise the students. The second reason is that if you praise the students it increases their self-esteem and they are more likely to enjoy their course and be motivated during it. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In an article that explores the future of Assessment for Learning (AfL), Popham (2006) draws on the difference between the traditional approach known as assessment of learning, which focuses on determining what pupils know for the purposes for grading and reports and Assessment for learning, which focuses on helping ‘teachers use assessment, as part of teaching and learning, in ways that will raise pupils’ achievement’ (Assessment Reform Group, 1999, p. 2). This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Robert S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Black et al. (2006, p. 119) draw on this shift of focus in education from ‘Learning...  [Read more]

  http://www.tesolcourse.com Both the 120 hour TEFL/TESOL online course and the four week TEFL/TESOL in-class course cover the same academic content, i.e. grammar, phonology, teaching theories and methodologies. The difference between the two courses is the actual teaching practice component in the in- class course. During the in-class course trainees are given the opportunity to complete a number of observed teaching practice sessions. By having this practical teaching experience you are improving your job prospects. Follow the above link to find out more about the differences between our TEFL/TESOL online and in-class courses. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Are you ready to Teach English Abroad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcXD_GNR04 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Below you can read feedback from an...  [Read more]

  Which is the best course for me? A typical question asked by prospective trainees. It is not always an easy question to answer as it really depends on one's background, financial situation and time constraints. Where a person wants to teach can also be a factor in the course you select. For example in some regions the 120 hour online course is the basic requirement by employers but in other regions the 4 week in-class course is basic requirement. Contact us if you need assistance in deciding the right course for you. We will be happy to provide you with the relevant information you need to meet your particular needs and requirements. Go to our web site or follow the link above. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Are you ready to Teach English Abroad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcXD_GNR04...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflcourse.net In this Online TESOL Course video we will look at a useful teaching idea for the past perfect tense. Students are given statements written in the past simple and will have to complete the statement with sentences in the past perfect. Each statement would have been cut out before the class and distributed to pairs or small groups. The student will turn over their card, read out the statement then complete it with their own past perfect sentence. For example: I didn't do my homework ... because I hadn't brought my book home. Teaching ideas such as this become an important part of an English teacher's resources, enabling them to create interesting plans when required. To learn more about this tense and others consider taking one of ITTT's online TESOL...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas The grammar worksheet is an integral part of any English class. It’s straight-forward and gets the job done. Nevertheless, both teachers and students always welcome alternatives to the, often so boring, worksheets. Here you go - ten alternatives to boring English worksheets! These days, a lot of learning occurs visually and many more students respond to visual learning. Have your students make their own videos or research and show videos relating to an English grammar point to the class for a great alternative to a worksheet - it will really get your students excited! Also Read: 7 Activities for Teaching Passive Voice in the ESL Classroom Yes, interactive notebooks can be a lot of work, and teachers often lack the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas October is here and Halloween isn’t far away! Whether you teach in your country or abroad, this festival is exciting as it has specific cultural features. In this blog post, we share five fun Halloween decor ideas for your ESL classroom. Get inspired, and feel free to encourage your students to help you decorate the classroom! If you prefer to celebrate in style, you can pick a particular topic to decorate all parts of your classroom. Also Read: "6 Great Ideas for Developing Vocabulary in English Learners" Use all time favorites - pumpkins, lanterns, web, and wreaths - as the basis of your decor. You can either DIY them or buy them at a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Today, Vietnam is entering the world stage as a united and independent country, eager to learn English, but unable to meet its standards for EFL education. Vietnamese students are a victim of several unfortunate coincidences in pronunciation, and often complain that reading and writing are easy to learn but speaking and listening simply impossible. Two huge differences in the way these languages differentiate words have made English communication into a “black box” for the Vietnamese, more difficult for them to penetrate than for other Asian peoples. Among these differences are the very small number of shared sounds, as well as tonogenesis, a pitch-based method of differentiating Vietnamese syllables that...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video Ann Marie describes her TEFL experience with ITTT and what she achieved by completing the course. Each of ITTT's training courses will provide you with all you need to begin your career as an English language teacher abroad. After you complete your course ITTT will continue to provide you with any job support information that you may require. 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. This unit has been one of the most...  [Read more]

Laura Payne Destinations Tokyo is a dream city for many people who aspire to live abroad. It is modern yet traditional, and a vibrant culture of food, fashion, and popular media among other things ensures that it has something for everyone. For all its excitement, however, Tokyo is only one part of Japan as a whole. Each area of the island nation holds a distinct culture of its own, offering a myriad of experiences for travelers. Luckily, those who teach English in Japan have easy access to the country's major airports and extensive bullet train lines, meaning they can access almost anywhere else in Japan within a few hours. While living in Tokyo make the most of your experience abroad, and try checking out some of these must-see destinations....  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas Of the four language skills taught in an ESL classroom, listening skills are often overlooked as teachers can be unsure how to make these lessons interesting and relevant to their students. However, as listening skills are a fundamental part of the language learning process, it is vital that we give them the classroom time they deserve. The good news is that there are many ways to make listening skills lessons both fun and productive. Here are 6 ideas for livening up your lesson plans. One simple way to engage your students in a listening lesson is to use popular culture as a tool. Most students would much rather listen to music, TV shows, movies, or podcasts than sit through a dry monologue from a textbook. To add...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas We have come a long way from when we believed young children to be a ‘blank slate’ for adults to write on and mold. Child psychology has shown us that individuals are born with a personality and have social and emotional needs like adults do. A lot of the times when children appear to be misbehaving or acting strange, it’s either only age-appropriate behavior or their needs are not being met. Let’s look at some of their needs and characteristics and how fulfilling them will help manage a class: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Benazir B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Also Read: How New Technology Can be Used in TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Words are an essential part of the structure of English sentences. If we want to speak English as a foreign language, we need to know new words and even progress. Considering a student who needs to know and learn new words as a teacher, we have to answer this question "What impressive ways do you have in teaching ESL vocabulary?" This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yasemin A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First, they notice a new word with help; Secondly, they recognize the name at first with help, then later on their own; and lastly, they can both...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Being an English teacher, teaching skills are very important. The quality of learning result depends on many factors, but the teacher's methods are the essential elements for learners' learning progress, motivation, enthusiasm, etc. to help them have the best result in studying English. I will concentrate on "How to teach vocabulary effectively". This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nhat D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It can't be denied that the learning outcomes mainly depend on the effort of each learner, but the mission of each teacher is no less important. Vocabulary is one of the most important factors for learners, those...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Cambridge English Dictionary defines the word “hindsight” as “the ability to understand an event or situation only after it has happened.” That is why people tell you that “hindsight is a perfect science.” So with the benefit of hindsight and looking back after completing some 220 hours of TEFL training, I see that there are, indeed, several things that I wish that I had known before starting the course, both on the positive and the negative sides. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Desmond V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Let me start with the positives. First and foremost, I wish that I had come across...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Trang V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Also Read: Moving Forward: My Personal Teaching Experience, Changing Careers STAGE 1 - Understanding And Learning The Meaning Of New Words (10’) Firstly, students watch a video that is related to colors. Students give their attention the main words: Black, white, yellow, pink, blue, green, orange, grey, brown, purple, red Help them to understand what topic we learn today. They watch the video once and try to remember some of the colors. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4XUBGJK180 Then the teacher will move around class make them have more focus:...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas First lessons are always a little bit overwhelming because the students and teacher don’t know each other yet. That's why it’s very important to break the ice and help your ESL learners to relax. Plus, for future planning, you need to learn more about your students and their likes and dislikes. Get-to-know games are great for these purposes and work best if you play them during the first 3-5 lessons. For this activity, give your students two opposite words to choose between and ask a question “Are you more like 1 or 2?”. This way, you find out a little bit more about your students and the students also can bond among themselves. ...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Being a teacher in a foreign land and who does not have a TESOL certificate is quite cumbersome. There are things that I did as a self-proclaimed teacher but did not know that I was erring. The course taught me quite a lot of things that I thank the team for informing. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Letitia A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I learned a theoretical and practical foundation that necessitated me in having appropriate teaching methodologies at my disposal. However, there seems to have been some excessive focus on the different theories of language teaching that might leave some prospective TESOL students...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Throughout the modern and ancient world, across all cultures and empires, generations have been inspired, entertained and educated through the process of storytelling. Before such modern practices of documentation, word of mouth was used to keep the spirit of generations alive, these served as a purpose of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and to instill a sense of morality into their young. Since the written word, our desire for storytelling has evolved and allowed us to reach and inspire further audiences on paper. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate florence c. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. To separate and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Foreign language experience is complexed on so many different levels, it is a window into a different culture, often a different country and even a different paradigm of thinking. There is a multitude of language experiences people can have, each with their own intricacies and uniqueness. As a native English speaker from South Africa, living in China has provided me with extraordinary foreign language experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marlan S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Mandarin, the national language of the People’s Republic of China, as many would attest to is extremely challenging. One could argue...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas For a native English speaker, it is easy to understand as they are commonly used every day in casual conversation. But for ESL students, this type of informal English might as well sound like Mumbo Jumbo! (Make no sense). That’s because most students are taught proper, textbook English like: “[name of person], are you going anywhere today?” “No. I’m just relaxing at home.” This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mark L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. “Dude where ya hanging?” “Na man just chilling” To an ESL student, the above conversation would be hard to comprehend. The same goes for Idioms. “I am so happy...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Being a tutor in a foreign land and who doesn't have a TESOL certificate is kind of cumbersome. There are things that I did as a self-declared teacher however failed to understand that I was erring. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Husein B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The course educated me quite a lot of things that I truly give thanks to the team for informing. I learned a theoretical and sensible foundation that necessitated me in having acceptable teaching methodologies at my disposal. However, there seems to have been some excessive focus on the various theories of instruction which may leave some prospective TESOL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas For many years, drilling has been used in foreign language classrooms. This approach to language teaching places an emphasis on repeating structural patterns through oral practice. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jazmin W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When using the technique of drilling, if used appropriately, it can be a very productive and proactive way for students to memorize and retain vocabulary and structural context within a sentence. It could be argued that when learning a foreign language, the thought that repeating phrases correctly lots of times can lead to master that language. Yet, it dials down to a far...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching English in China is exciting (sometimes) but teaching beginners in China can be a game-changer that is if you are up for the challenge. I mean of course if you weigh the options and if you are one of those people who are willing to compromise, learn and grow. Because honestly just like anything else it can be tough in the beginning but later you get the hang of it and end up loving it. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Joan A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching beginners in schools and training centers differ a lot. I think many teachers freak out when they hear about beginner classes, but from my experience...  [Read more]

Shakira Moss TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Have you ever been in the middle of a lesson only to look up and notice that your student has a strong look of confusion on their face? The student may look blank, glazed over, or they may be nervously giggling. If your student is not answering your questions and is waiting for your prompt, then it may be because they do not understand. No worries, fellow teachers! Here are five things to do to help prevent confusion and to make learning more seamless. Have your students complete a level test prior to your session or class time. This helps you to gauge the different ability levels in your class or with 1-1 tutoring. If you are teaching a class,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences There are many different ways in which a trainer can make the learning experience more interesting and memorable for learners. One technique is to use teaching aids. Many different teaching aids can be used to make lessons more interesting. effective and less dependent on the books. These are things used in the classroom to aid in teaching and training. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate AYBÜKE B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Also Read: 4 Reasons Why Vietnam is the Perfect Place For Teaching English Abroad It is the most common tool that we can find in a classroom, either it is white, black, or green. It is essential to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The best thing I’ve learned from this course begins with the EFL teacher as an instrument of facilitation. The creative spark that ignites a flame in every student that is trying to master a new language. A teacher doesn’t need to be perfect but must be fully present and prepared with a positive, supportive vibe. The successful teacher is a role model, a subject matter expert, and a skilled conductor of English language learning and immersion. Course books aside, from the very first lesson, a teacher identifies the level of learners and builds rapport with students through engaging activities that aim to reveal the students’ needs and interests. These interests can then be incorporated into future lesson...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Defining games for kids can open up a broad prospect but in this topic, we are going to specifically talk about the various games that kids can not only enjoy but can incorporate in their learning curriculum. Playing games in the classroom helps kids to feel more relaxed and friendly with the teachers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sonal L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Learning becomes more of a fun activity for them rather than the same boring schedule which makes them lethargic and least interested in studying. Introducing the various types of games that can be played in the classroom are as follows: The game monopoly...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas According to Jeanne Et Al (2009: 284) teachers are regarded as one of the most important socialization factors in every society in the world. A world without teachers would be a black hole without any fruitful improvements. Kindergarten English teachers are regarded as the backbone of any form of language acquisition as people climb the academic ladder. This is the first stage that children are exposed to a language that is completely foreign to them. Children at this stage are just beginning to become comfortable with one language and introducing a new language, especially one as complex as English, can, therefore, be difficult. However, studies suggest that children learn languages better than adults, and so...  [Read more]