Concept Questions

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Emphasize the most critical concepts continuously. Reiterate these concepts in lectures and assignments throughout the course. Include questions relating to these critical subjects on every exam, thus rewarding students for learning, retaining, and, hopefully, applying this knowledge in a variety of contexts. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Maurine M. S. Provide students with a "visual aid" when possible to explain abstract concepts. A significant proportion of today's students are visual learners. For these students, a simple diagram, flashcards, videos or flowchart truly can be more valuable than a thousand words in a text or a lecture. This will motivate the students to elaborate on...  [Read more]

Mudita Yajnik TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What’s the best way to find out what your students know? Or, how much they’ve been paying attention, or what you need to revisit? Tests. Tests can be a great way to find out if the class is ready to move forward or if they need to revisit some ideas. They can be a great tool for finding out what your students need and how much they’ve been paying attention to. However, tests can be very stressful for students, especially if they have been asked to memorize information. Of course, I understand the argument that in “real life,” they won’t be able to use their notes, or they won’t have time to pause a conversation so that they can look up the correct words. Of course,...  [Read more]

Ramon Perez Teaching Ideas Every day, we learn something new. It can happen on the street, at work, at school and even in our home. We can attain new skills and knowledge through our interactions with our surroundings. Utilizing our 5 senses and past experiences to make sense of what is going on, we can ascertain new concepts and make proper use of them in our daily lives. However, as a teacher, we are tasked with transmitting abstract concepts that become difficult to fully grasp through traditional methods. Consequently, some teachers rely on literal translations to bring the point across. Since the student’s exposure to the target language can be extremely limited outside of the classroom, it’s important to fully immerse the students in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Songs are used as a pedagogical tool for many reasons, especially with young children. This approach to teaching can empower young students and it recognizes differing abilities and skills. Activities are designed to support the goals of the curriculum and will accommodate multiple learning styles. Songs are universal and used all over the world to teach cultural information and they play an important role in a young child's learning and development. The use of songs is a teaching method that helps students comprehend the information taught. Songs encourage fluency, vocabulary, structures, patterns as well as speaking skills. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Deborah M. Please note that this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In my experience gained the past few years, one of the most challenging experiences for me was to effectively teach beginner students. Since all my students were absolute beginners (learners who have had no contact with English at all), I had to find ways to make the learning effective, differently to teaching false beginners, who have some form of understanding of the English language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alida K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. To further add a challenge to my teaching methodologies, all my learners were very young. This essay attempts to describe the most effective methodologies I applied when...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The main goal of reducing teacher talk time or TTT is to have the teacher speaking less and the students engaging more. This essay will explore the benefits of doing this for the teacher and student, complications that could arise and how to deal with them, and how this can be implemented into any ESL lesson. It will cover a few key areas in an ESA lesson such as planning, questioning, student participation, silence, and instructions. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Benjamin R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the first things as teachers that we can do to reduce teacher talk time is to give clear instructions....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Abstraction is in essence, the formation of broader, and more difficult and subjective systems from inputs. It is a concept that can be applied to the four language skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. As an idea becomes more abstract and subjective, it requires more information and becomes more difficult to answer. Some of the easiest and least abstract pieces of language are simple Yes/No statements and questions. “Do you like ice-cream?” “Yes, I do.” “No, I don’t.” A more difficult question might be, “Who likes ice-cream?” More difficult still would be, “Why do you like ice-cream?” A simple, but by no means an exhaustive list of abstraction moving from simple to difficult...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL/TESOL review video, Alexey, from Moscow, describes his experience on ITTT’s online TEFL/TESOL course. He points out that the course provides a great overview of grammar, teaching techniques, methodology, classroom management and lesson planning. In Alexey’s opinion ITTT’s course is one of the best on the market for those wanting to teach English abroad. 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 first unit is...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As an instructional strategy, drilling is familiar to all educators. It is best defined as a disciplined and repetitious exercise, used as a mean of teaching and perfecting a skill or procedure. As an instructional strategy, it promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through systematic training by multiple repetitions, rehearse, practice, and engages in a rehearsal to learn or become proficient. It is also a common method used by many teachers when introducing new languages to their students. The skills built through drill-and-practice become the foundational building blocks for more meaningful learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kasey K. Please note that this blog post might...  [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 Learning a new language is intimidating, stressful, and confusing. Learning English feels the same way for our students. Teaching our students in groups is essential for their learning to progress. By grouping students they will be more confident in their learning experience, be able to teach one another, and more efficient for the teacher to monitor. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kendyl C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the most important reasons for grouping students when teaching is that it increases a student’s confidence in taking risks. As mentioned previously, studying a new language can be frightening....  [Read more]

Erica Sunarjo TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Due to the way most businesses tend to operate and with the increasing rate of digitalization which has started over a decade ago, most schools are starting to catch up with the online teaching trend that private courses have grown used to. With the ever more growing population that is both teaching and learning over the internet, there is a need for efficient, fun and interactive lessons. Where in the old-style classroom teachers could use various nonverbal tools, over the internet luckily there are a few tips and tricks to help them. Here are some of the ways you can make your online lessons more interactive and thereby more engaging for students! Most people vary in style with...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Having previously been a small business owner, I began teaching an English conversation class as a volunteer at my local library just over two years ago to fulfill a community service requirement for my degree program. The experience of teaching English as a second language has been so personally rewarding that I am now pursuing it as a career change. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daniel E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Being in the United States, it is a multilingual class. The students are all adults from a wide variety of countries, though the majority come from Latin America. I found that the students are very...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences Do you want to make your English lessons more exciting? We have the perfect teaching ideas for you! Here are 7 amazing activities to spice up your ESL classes. This is a great one to practice different tenses, especially the passive voice. Have your students come up with headlines for their class; such as “The teacher’s purse was stolen,” “the students were taught passive voice.” This also works for vocabulary lessons and other grammar structures. This one works well with intermediate and advanced students. Introduce a controversial issue, such as capital punishment, for example. Then, the students choose their “side” and group into teams. They do some research about the topic and take notes that...  [Read more]

Kavinna Batra Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Interactive education is all about teaching students in a way that engages them directly in their learning process. There are numerous ways of building an engagement like this. Most of the time, it is by You inspire the students to be involved in class participation, think independently, and use their minds, leading to a longer memory retention. The students' awareness grows, but their interest, strength, expertise, team spirit, and freedom of speech will also increase. I will speak about the use of interactive teaching approaches in this blog post, urging more attention to the content of the lesson. We're going to see some interactive instruments, concepts, and games for...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The popular saying which states: never judge a book by the cover has once again reminded me to always be optimistic about a new experience. Before I entered the school I had already concluded what a bad experience it would be in this new environment which I would pass on numerous occasions and hear different external noises coming from inside of the school, I imagined how hard the job of a teacher could be. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Chantal S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. On Monday, September 3, 2018, the first day upon entering the second gate I was led by the security to a teacher namely Ms. Hamilton. She was...  [Read more]

  The idiom "itchy feet" refers to the need to leave or a feeling of a need to travel, for example: Watching an airplane pass by is giving me itchy feet. 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 a wonderful overview of building the foundations of a class. There are two areas that I will start implementing when I start my new literacy class: Ask a question and then say the name of the student. Don't ask if they understand but rather ask them to...  [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]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Throughout my ITTT TEFL course a specific teaching concept persisted, entitled “ESA”. This methodology has been proven over several years to be effective in teaching English to students in the classroom. A precursor to this concept was “PPP” (Presentation, Practice, Production) which has been used by many teachers, though it lacks in engaging the students resulting in a less successful environment. Jeremy Harmer noticed this and in turn put forth a new and improved model, labeled “ESA”, consisting of three steps; Engage, Study, and Activate. This methodology has continued to remain relevant to this day through its flexible and fluid approach to teaching English. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences There are many types of multiple intelligences such as (Visual intelligence-Musical intelligence – Kinesthetic intelligence – Verbal intelligence – interpersonal & intrapersonal intelligences … etc.) we must take care of our students' types and design our lesson according to their intelligences. The verbal intelligence involves knowing which comes through language. Mathematical intelligence uses numbers, math, and logic to understand any topic. Visual intelligence represents knowing through shapes, patterns, and pictures. Intrapersonal intelligence is showing people who prefer to work individually. Also, kinesthetic intelligence is based on physical movements. Interpersonal intelligence is learning...  [Read more]

Michela Coticone TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching a new language to children can come with many challenges because there is limited time and sometimes limited attention spans. To effectively teach a new language, children need to have a feeling of confidence in the fact that they can perform what they are being taught, and the element of having fun while learning. Children, just like adults, need repetition to effectively learn a task. Repetition Repetition alias Drilling: Is it an Effective Way to Remember Language Points? will allow a child to mentally prepare themselves for a task that will happen at a certain time of the day, therefore they can begin to anticipate what their...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I began my TEFL/TESOL experience not having had any prior teaching experience. Therefore, teaching was something that I was learning step-by-step, reading the units and using Internet resources for additional examples when needed. Even though there is no straightforward answer to this question, the ITTT course taught me that being a teacher is so much more than just transferring knowledge to someone else. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sofija A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It helped me pave my path of self-discovery as a teacher. There were many areas in which I felt I was strong in theory but lacked the practice....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As teachers set expectations for their students, students naturally have expectations for their teachers. To be an effective teacher, regardless of the subject being taught, one must be knowledgeable in their field. However, teaching English calls for specific personal qualities that can ultimately distinguish a good teacher from a great teacher. These qualities include, but are not limited to patience, dedication, and compassion. With these attributes, the teacher can foster a comfortable learning environment for their students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yvonne D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching English,...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word canoodle. This word is used as a verb and describes the action of kissing and cuddling amorously. The origin of the word is widely unknown. 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. The form breakdown for each of these tenses is useful when teaching to students. I am familiar with how to communicate effectively, as English is my only language, but it is great to see the affirmative, negative, and...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflcourse.net Here the teacher gives a brief overview of the uses of the 'going to' future tense. This tense is formed: Subject + verb to be "am/is/are" + going to + base verb. The two uses for the 'going to' future are: To talk about future plans/ intentions made before speaking. They are going to watch a film. Predictions based on evidence. (Looking at dark clouds overhead) It's going to rain. The future tenses represent just one part of the grammar covered by ITTT's TEFL certification courses. ITTT's courses can be taken fully online, in-class or a combination of the two. Visit us at the link above to find a TEFL course that suits you. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Are you ready to Teach English Abroad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcXD_GNR04 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Below...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching and learning are processes that go hand in hand with one another. Effective teachers are able to inspire and engage students with a desire to learn. They must be able to impart their abilities of learning into students in various ways. Through my personal teaching experiences, I firmly believe in establishing high, yet attainable expectations, creating a curriculum that is student centered, and providing real life experiences for students to help them grasp the concepts taught in the lesson. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sarah N. Effective classroom management is more than being a strict or authoritative figure, it requires a structured learning...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are many ways to teach students English or any other language. You can learn in an immersive environment, a formal classroom setting, or even try to learn from watching and listening to media. One common format is one to one teaching. This means there are one student and one teacher working on the curriculum together. This can be in person or on the internet, which is becoming increasingly more common. As with all things in life, there are both good and bad aspects resulting from this teaching format. Individual attention has benefits and drawbacks, as does the lack of peers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Naomi P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences For the past twenty years, I have had the pleasure of teaching English to Chinese students of all ages in both Taiwan and mainland China. The following are my observations: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eugene E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If one were to argue that Socrates was the beginning of modern Western Civilization, one could easily surmise that that modern Chinese civilization has its roots in the teachings of Confucius. While Socrates told his students that the unexamined life was not worth living and that students should question everything, even their teacher; the opposite is true with the teaching of...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas When you teach English as a foreign language it’s important to pay attention to details that we sometimes ignore when communicating with other native level speakers, either in spoken or written English. Some people have got into the habit of writing in uppercase/capital letters, use abbreviations, and don’t think much about punctuation. We also tend not to be too critical of people’s spoken English as long as we get the point across. ‘There’s a lot of cars on the road today’ is grammatically incorrect for example. We also tend to enjoy speaking when we should be letting others speak. This is a particular issue in the classroom when you should be maximizing student talk time and minimizing yours. Here are...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflonline.net This is the second ITTT video that looks at the structure of the Present Perfect Continuous tense. This time we focus on the question form. Question form: auxiliary verb 'have/has' + subject + been + present participle Have I/you/we/they been teaching for five years? Has he/she/it been teaching for five years? To learn more about the Present Perfect Continuous tense and the other tenses, why not have a look at our other videos online. You may then want to consider completing one of our popular courses. ITTT's courses will equip you with the necessary skills needed to make sure that you can become an effective English language teacher and to be able to confidently teach all aspects of the language. Then the possibilities as to where you can teach are...  [Read more]