Books For Teaching English As A Second Language

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Even in the first language, it can be difficult to get children reading. There are many reasons they may turn their nose up at a book. In some way, I think most of those reasons can be boiled down to boredom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Bailey N. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I have the privilege of remembering my journey to reading. When I was very young, my parents would read simple books to me, and I would enjoy looking at the pictures. I would enjoy the way they sounded especially when they rhymed. I remember the moment it clicked in kindergarten when I was so excited to understand the correlation between the words...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A leader must read to expand his scope of knowledge, to keep abreast of what is happening in his field of expertise and around the world. Reading stimulates one's thinking and processing. Before we develop a child in his leadership ability, we must develop something more foundational – the love for reading. As an educator, I believe reading develops inquisitiveness, which in turn, develops the interest to engage, hence build confidence, even at a young age. And in the process, to nurture the child towards leadership ability. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Katherine C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. 'Opening the world of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reading is important in developing language skills. While we may speak every day, the vocabulary used is often limited. For people who speak more than one language, reading is an easy way to help o develop their language skills and fluency. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lidi L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Reading books ensure exposer to vocabulary on different topics, words that may not be head otherwise in our daily lives. Many studies have shown that people who read every day have a larger vocabulary than those who don’t. this is because they are exposed to more words which turn to increase their vocabulary....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Margaret Fuller has justly said, “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” Remarkable leaders have countless exceptional habits - one of them, is reading. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Snehal A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase “use it or lose it” is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to tackle any challenge you’ll ever face. Good readers excel at life, conversely those that can’t read end up in dire circumstances. “Not all readers are...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Multiple researchers have shown that learning a new language is a healthy exercise for one’s brain. In today’s world where connection to each other has been made easy by technology, it has also become very important to be multilingual. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sipho D. English is still the widely spoken language in the world but the is a growing trend of Mandarin Chinese learners , Spanish learners and a number of students too tackling languages like French and German. This has been largely due to open trade, huge corporations having multiple trading offices all over the world. Gone are the days when interpreters would be needed for translation duties when a company ventures...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Spanish is my mother tongue; however, I also managed to learn English and French at a young age. Both of these languages stuck with me even years after I had left the countries where I learned them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jorge P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Despite staying in those countries for a short time (less than a year), it surprised me how, when comparing myself with people who had had similar experiences, my language skills were much better than theirs. Looking back on those days, I believe that it’s because I was not learning the language for itself, but rather as a means to an end. I was using those...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Is it useful to read stories to my 3-years-old students? This is a question that many teachers ask themselves when considering reading in English in early childhood. Through careful self-assessment during my years of teaching experience, I have found out that reading stories in the classroom is a powerful resource when learning a new language. For starters, stories grab visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners’ attention when seeing the images and connecting words and feelings. It is also worth considering that books enrich readers’ vocabulary and strengthen their language skills. Last but not least, readers are motivated, influenced, and inspired when the stories can relate to what they experience in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are four basic skills in any language: receptive skills – reading and listening, and productive skills – speaking and writing. Usually, when we learn a new language, we tend to access our learning process and result by checking how our productive skills are and forget that before we can the product, we need to receive first. Data says that the production of every 100 words in writing needs a receipt of 1000 words in reading which means to be able to produce anything, one must get as much as 10 times receipt. Similarly in listening and speaking. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Josephine L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of...  [Read more]

Elaheh Rezvani TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Among the four main language skills, reading is considered to be influential in the process of language acquisition. Indeed, reading is one of the best contributors to the journey of learning a new language, and its advantages are not exclusive to reading comprehension. It enhances the other skills of language to a higher degree. Book reading has been found to have the power to create interactional contexts which nourish language development. There has been a famous quotation by Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), which says, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." Reading, even at a slow pace, exposes students to more...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When we are born, our first contact with our native tongue is one hundred percent oral. Our mother is the first one to speak to us in her native language and as we grow we are constantly exposed to words, expressions, and conversations that we take in and start to understand in our everyday life. Once we reach a proper school age everything starts to change because we are introduced to a new way of communication that goes beyond body language and oral expressions. We are introduced to written language. This rite of passage is as normal as it´is expected to be, but we must take into account something that in the last couple of decades has become part of this experience; the simultaneous learning of a foreign...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I have chosen this topic as I have been living in France for the past seven years and I would like to write about how I learned French and how learning this language has helped me in teaching English as a foreign language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daniel L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I remember when I wanted to come to France, I bought a book called 'French in three months'. I followed the instructions, I learned the words and I had the impression that I could speak French albeit very slowly with a terrible accent. On arrival in France, I quickly learned that my French was nowhere near as good as I thought it...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reading plays an important role in language learning. It is one of the language skills that can be used to interpret a written text and discuss the given information applying speaking and listening skills as well. Reading different books, texts, advertising wallpapers, or magazines helps us gain knowledge or receive important information. Since old times books have always been one of the main sources of knowledge. While reading people could imagine themselves traveling to different places, having an amazing adventure, possessing pirates’ treasure, or even solving a mystery, and at the same time learn about different countries and their cultures. In other words, reading has always provided its readers with...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas One of the most challenging contradictions I had to face as a high school language and literature teacher in Germany was the principle that each child should have equal opportunity when, sadly, the inequality often starts long before high school, and that as a teacher, you should give every student the chance to achieve excellent performances when, in reality, the latter also depends on factors outside of the classroom. In conversations with parents, I often pointed out specific deficiencies in their child's essays as I was taught to. I made suggestions on how to improve them, hoping in vain that next time, the student would get a much...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reading is a skill that people should acquire from early childhood. A book is a treasure that produces inspiration, strong knowledge, morality, and pleasure. This activity stimulates people to shape their personality, to nurture their character, and to create a particular set of precious values and principles that will guide them in life. Reading books continually determines people to discover themselves better, to perceive appropriately the environment they live in, and to understand the people, events that happen around them. It makes people rich spiritually and contributes to the formation of a healthy and solid personality. Once they comprehend the circumstances of their living medium, people can construct...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The English language has evolved to become the global mode of interaction. More and more parents now desire that their children learn the English language at an early enough stage to become globally competitive in the ever-shrinking world market. For children born to English-speaking parents, the task is easy since they would typically pick up English as their first language. However, for parents who themselves lack English language proficiency, the job can be daunting. This essay will highlight some essential steps that parents can take to help their children gain mastery of the English language. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Hello and welcome to the weekly ITTT live session, my name is Liza and I'm glad that some people have joined already. I hope everything works smoothly here and you can hear me clearly and see me well, if not please let me know in the comment section so that I can fix it quickly. Today we are going to talk about the vital topic of lesson materials. I know that many people struggle looking for resources and content for their lessons so this is something I want to look at today. While we are waiting for some more people to join us, please let me know where you guys are tuning in from. I'm located in the Euro region of Russia in Yekaterinburg city,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Turkey, being famous for its fast-growing economy, fulfilling the educational needs of most of the people around the globe has been my residence for the past three years. As an ELT professional, I have the privilege of teaching English in various educational institutions in the country. During my tenure in those institutes, I came upon various reasons as to why students are having difficulty in learning English. I devised various solutions by adding in more activities and solving the complications from the grass-root level. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Karina G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The correct organized...  [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]

  http://www.teflonline.net In this video we look at the last of three teaching ideas for the past simple. This is a two part exercise that involves students initially guessing the answer to a given question before taking a poll on what the real answers is. This is idea is one of many that can be learned on one of ITTT's online TEFL courses. There are number of options available to study from short 60-hour introductory courses to longer 120-hour TEFL courses. It is also possible to take ITTT's TEFL courses in-class at one of many locations around the world. Please visit the link above for more information about the courses ITTT provides to help you become an English teacher. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Are you ready to Teach English Abroad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcXD_GNR04...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences The course was informative and comprehensive. Since I had a good grasp of the language, initially I thought I would go to the classroom and teach. But after deep pondering, questions crept up in my mind: What if I run out of ideas in the middle of the class? What if my students are not motivated? What if the lessons I provide are not effective? There is so much more to teaching. The list of my apprehensions went on, and that was when I decided to enroll in a course. After doing some research, I found ITTT with its internationally recognized TEFL/TESOL program. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shalia M. As a new teacher the course gave me the confidence that I needed to be effective. The...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Travel had benefits for all of us. Particularly for our children. Our twin baby boys are mixed-race and mixed-cultured and equal importance will be placed on both sides of their heritage while maintaining a truly international worldview. We plan to raise them as true world citizens. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mingke R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. We plan to focus on a few areas to strengthen their cultural connections: language, exposure to different cultures, exposure to people from those cultures, and cultural holidays. We will achieve this by continuing to travel slowly. We plan to live in different cities and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I have been fortunate enough to have taught English in South Africa to Zulu speaking learners and for the past six years to Chinese students. The ability to acquire the language differs greatly between the two. There are multiple reasons for this which I will briefly discuss. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tania C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The students in China have a much longer school day than those in South Africa, however, they have fewer English lessons. Students receive a total of eight forty-minute lessons per week solely focused on English. Drama lessons are also taught in English, but it is only one 40...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In the following essay, I have chosen to explain my personal experience on why reading can be an invaluable resource in both primary (L1) and secondary (L2) language acquisition. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Manuel G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As a very young child, my mother read to me at night until I fell asleep. By the age of 2, I could speak in simple but uninterrupted sentences with proper syntax. By a few months after my third birthday, I was able to read the same children's books that my mother used to read for me, which resulted in my being able to produce a variety of basic sentences with an improved choice...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Online English teachers are divided into two groups. The first group is online ESL teachers that work for an education company. The second group is online ESL teachers who freelance. I will explain the two types of teaching materials, authentic and created materials, and how materials are incorporated in teaching English online to students. The focus of this article will be young learners as that is my personal career goal. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dora E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first group of teaching materials is authentic materials. Authentic materials are defined as “anything a native speaker would...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences There are many good things I have learned from the TEFL course I have been taking this past month. Things I had never considered before as a skill is to be a good teacher. I had mentioned it before in my tests that I did not realize how important it is to have those skills until I started taking the course and had read about it. So I guess I am saying that the best thing I have learned from my TEFL course is how to be a good teacher and it reminded me of my previous teachers and how well they taught me and my fellow classmates. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hildur E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Every unit I have...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Just as a map is a guide to a territory, grammar is the guide to a language. A language course ought to include such guidance, through which the student perceives direction. The ability to read a map, and, as a result, delineating the goal´s location, facilitates the endeavor to set the student onto the right path. When a learner understands the universal logic of language, he can put his native language into context within every foreign language. This comparison of languages will reveal similarities. To learn that all languages are alike will make the acquisition easier. If the teacher wants the student to understand that languages are closely related he has to present grammar as a common aspect of all...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As I've had to study several foreign languages, I've realized many things about what's necessary and helpful in studying foreign languages. And I think many of these things could come under the heading of sensitivity to the culture that the language one is studying comes from, as well as an awareness of one's own culture. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Peter B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One thing I've noticed about much of the course material available for some of the foreign languages I've studied, as well as educational texts on other subjects written in English, is that one can see the culture and cultural...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I have read everything that has fallen into my hands ever since I can remember, and that goes for both my native tongue, Spanish, and my second language, English. I remember waiting in line and reading and re-reading a thousand times a sign on a window directly in front of me! Sometimes it can be maddening being this way, but in the long run, I firmly believe that my passion for reading has finally paid off! This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marcela C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When I began studying English, and I was about 11, I started what it seems now like a race! A race against who? Me! Every new word, meaning,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Let’s remember the latest class you’ve had. What were you doing? Were you explaining a new rule? Were you answering your students’ questions? Were you telling a story from your life? Weren’t you talking too much? Let’s discuss how to decrease teacher speaking time (TST) and increase student speaking time (SST). This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate DALER R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. According to the communicative approach, TST shouldn’t be greater than SST, moreover, it must be much less than the last one. Why? There are several reasons. First of all, we have to mention that the more a teacher talks the less...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT TEFL Information As with most professions the world of [Teaching English as a Foreign Language](37 Key English Teaching Terms Explained) has many of its own particular and sometimes peculiar terms and jargon. Getting to grips with the wide array of acronyms in the industry can sometimes feel like learning a whole new language! So if you have trouble telling the difference between your IWB and your OHP this article is a great guide to what’s what in the English language teaching industry. Two of the most commonly used phrases in English teaching relate to certification, and they are the two that cause most confusion. The culprits are TEFL and TESOL. TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and TESOL means Teaching English...  [Read more]