Different From Sentence

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Grammar is the whole system of language. It includes a set of rules known as syntax. Occasionally when working on the computer you may get a message “Error Syntax; code 141” this means you have typed into the computer something that did not fit into the rules. This is not allowed and the computer will reject it and force you to obey the rules. When speaking English we have no restrictions on the structure or form and no computer monitoring us to stop us from speaking incorrectly. We can say anything anyway we choose, well-spoken or poorly spoken. There are some common words which are frequently misused. They are, affect, that, and whom. This essay will look at each of these in an effort to clarify their use....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning a second language can be difficult, and this is especially true when the learners L1 and their target language are completely different in structure, sound, and tones. An English as a second language student who speaks French, German, or any other European language will have an easier task than one who speaks a language that is not of European origins. One such language is Mandarin Chinese. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ashley L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The areas that native Mandarin speakers most often run into difficulty are pronunciation, tones, tenses, and sentence structure. A Chinese speaker might...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Placement tests are designed to put students in their appropriate ESL level band. What are the levels and how do the tests do this? ### Watch the video about this topic One type of test we commonly use for our ESL students is called the placement test. They're also called level tests and as the name implies what we're trying to do is to place students in a particular level of class. Typically there are five levels, these being, Starter (Level 1), Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate and Upper- Intermediate (Level 5) Some of the more common features of these tests are that; 1. All four skills are commonly tested that means, reading, writing, speaking and listening and 2....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this essay, I am going to talk about how students can be motivated, more specifically, how to encourage shy or reluctant students to participate in class discussions. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Bertram R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. With the possible exception of mental "problems" such as being a mute, most of the time I find that a student who is unwilling to talk is either not confident in their abilities, or waiting for somebody else to answer the question. Also Read: The Benefits and Pitfalls when Teaching One-on-One What I have found to be a good way of encouraging students to talk who are shy is to teach...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas One may be keen to know what grammar is. Why do we need to learn grammar in our lives? How can I learn grammar? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mbalenhle S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Grammar is the set of rules that we follow when we speak to express our thoughts and to have a sound and meaningful conversation. It serves as an umbrella that comprises several things including part of speech, phrases, clauses and sentence diagrams which we normally use on our daily talks to be grammatically correct concise. Part of speech refers to a noun, pronoun, verbs, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, and interjection, they...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Grammar and the correct usage of it is a vital part of all communication whether spoken, written or read. It allows the speaker to correctly convey their message or ideas and for the listener to understand what is been said. Been able to communicate is not just about speaking or listening but been able to do this correctly and therefore the usage of grammar and how it is constructed within a sentence is important to know. Grammar develops effective communication skills and assists in fluency in the language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dawn C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. With technology, today slang and the shortening...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word psychology. This word is used as a noun and describes the science of mind and behavior of a person or animal. The word was created by combining the Greek word psych? (meaning life or soul) with –logia, from the Greek logos, meaning reason. 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. in this particular unit,I've learnt a range of very different teaching strategies and themes. such as, Songs, Chants...  [Read more]

  As mentioned earlier, our example sentence has used a regular verb 'to play'. With the regular verbs we simply add '-ed'. This spelling pattern changes for words that end with a consonant and a Y: 'cry' goes to 'cried', 'try' to 'tried'. Another spelling pattern we have to be aware of is our consonant plus vowel plus consonant. In these instances, we double the consonant used: 'shop' needs the double P; 'ship' needs the double P. With these spelling patterns, and most spelling patterns in general for the English language, there are always exceptions to the rules. So we have to be aware of those exceptions. We also have to impart those exceptions on to our students. We can do so through various exercises and various activities to end our class. To form the negative sentence here,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Sometimes problems may be encountered when teaching students from different nationalities due to varied reasons. When teaching English to students that are culturally and linguistically different from one's own, the teacher must take great care to prepare and identify the specific problems one may encounter as well as be attentive to the problems that occur in real-time. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Roman S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The problems an ESL or TEFL teacher may encounter can vary widely but are usually identified in these areas: pronunciation, grammar, and syntax as it pertains to language but also...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In today’s world learning English is no longer a possibility, but an essential part of being a world citizen. However, we must face the fact- for some people- to learn English grammar is not so easy and fun, they hate grammar and even think it is the most boring part of learning a new language. On the other hand, others are extremely interested in learning grammar rules and practice it as much as they can. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Glaucia S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Whoever wants to become an effective language learner cannot run from grammar lessons; it is a crucial part of the learning process besides...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review, Deeksha tells us how she enjoyed taking the 120-hour online TEFL course with ITTT. She found that the course units were clear and comprehensive. She also found that the level of difficulty of the course helped motivate her to keep going. 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 section merely contained an overview and explanation of different testing types and strategies, as well as a summary of the more common \"external...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Speaking like a native speaker is always expected from learners. However, they encounter many factors that prevent their success. Therefore, as an English teacher, I want to explore some common difficulties that Vietnamese students face when they learn to pronounce English so that I can teach effectively and help them communicate more confidently. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Thuong L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Four major features can cause problems for them. Firstly, the complexity of tense and lax vowels in English creates confusion for Vietnamese learners. Secondly, a variety of dialect differences and consonant...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word categorical. This word is used as an adjective and means explicit and direct. It comes from the Greek word kat?goria meaning ‘statement’. 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 is a follow up from 'Past Tense'. I read about the future tense and how to categories sentences knowing which tense the sentence belong to. Future tense is activity or event that has bot taken place as yet...  [Read more]

  And now it's time to have a look at our first grammar unit. Grammar in its widest sense is the structure of a language. We as speakers of the language can structure our language without a problem. However, as teachers of the language we need to be able to better analyze the grammar and the grammar that exists within statements that we make. These basic parts of grammar are called parts of speech. Each part of speech has a certain function within a sentence. Our example sentence here is "My older brother lives in Tokyo." Each one of these words is a certain part of speech, which we'll have a look at in just a minute but let's just think about the words within this particular sentence. We have ?my?, indicating whose brother it is, we have "older", indicating which brother it is....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Peculiarities in the English language can be quite difficult and challenging to explain to students but are certainly very rewarding. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Monique E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If we look at the word “Peace” – in English this word could refer to “peace between family, neighbors, and friends” or it could mean “peace of mind” or “peace” etc. We also have the same word spoken in the same way, but spelled differently and has a completely different meaning – as in “Piece” – a piece of cake. In some languages, there is no way to use one word to convey all those different...  [Read more]

  And now let's look at the pronouns. Simply put, pronouns take the place of a noun. We have various types of pronouns. They are personal pronouns, which can either be subject or object. We have reflexive pronouns, relative pronouns and possessive pronouns. With our personal pronouns, we have to decide whether it's the subject or the object. The subject is the doer of an action, whereas the object is the one that receives the action. Subject pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it etc. Object pronouns are: me, you, him, her, etc. In the sentence "Greg hit Pete," the subject of the sentence is "Greg", therefore I would say "He hit Pete," or I could put a pronoun in for the object of the sentence, where "Greg hit Pete", now, I go into "Greg hit him." With our reflexive pronouns, these are...  [Read more]

Shirin Sophy Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Today's pedagogical approaches put considerable emphasis upon the importance of providing students with the opportunity to have a joyful educational experience through adding enough and well-located variety to the lessons. One practical way to do so is designing and adding aimful games to your plan in order to inject positive energy into your lessons, improve the mood of your class and make your lessons stick in students' long-term memory. Since not only young learners but also grownups enjoy playing fun games while taking English lessons, teachers, therefore, are always trying to come up with games that serve this purpose. So here are some ESL game ideas that you can adapt to your...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video Mike describes his experience with ITTT. He successfully completed his four week TEFL/TESOL Certification course in Phuket, Thailand. He also talks about how he now looks forward to taking up a teaching position in a new country. A TEFL/TESOL Certification from ITTT entitles you to unlock the door to any one of a number of TEFL/TESOL jobs worldwide. Teaching overseas allows you to experience many different cultures and you will be paid for that experience. To find out more about teaching English as a second language and the courses that are available at ITTT visit our web site or follow the links above. 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...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I have been living in Japan for the past one and a half years. Needless to say, the experience has been enthralling. This country would have never been my first choice for a country to relocate to, from my home country, India. But if my stay has taught me anything, it is that never judge a book by its cover. When we think of Japan, the first thing that pops up is that it is a country of workaholics; it has zero English presence, and the people are highly prejudiced against foreigners and foreign culture. I was proven wrong. Japan is a beautiful country. It is culturally so rich, it makes me want to live here forever. The people, though tend to be a little distant initially, a warm-up to you eventually, and...  [Read more]

  CELTA is an internationally recognized teaching qualification in the field of teaching English as a foreign or second language. The course is aimed at potential teachers with little or no experience inside a classroom. CELTA courses can be studied in a number of locations around the world and are individually designed and organized by different language institutes. Although there may be some variety between individual courses, the fundamental specifics of the course are dictated by Cambridge ESOL, part of the University of Cambridge. 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...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Flashcards are a proven way to learn new information. Their use however, does not need to be monotonous or boring. Make your own, play a game, show the card, and combine it with art, put them in sequence, or create and fill-in sentences. These ideas will stimulate both sides of the brain by combining thinking and doing. This will also keep the students attentive. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Corby K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The students will get twice as much exposure to the words if they create the flashcards themselves. They learn while creating and also later when using them. One way to use this idea would be...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Grammar is the rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in a natural language. Simply put, grammar is the general rule of a language. Language is logical; grammar tells us in which order we say words. It’s about how words become phrases; how words and phrases become sentences and how sentences become language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yang S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Some of these rules are acquired naturally in childhood while others are acquired in the learning process under the guidance of a teacher. While most of the time, people don’t know which grammatical rule they are following...  [Read more]

  Absolutely YES! Large numbers of non-native English speakers complete our TEFL courses each year and go on to have successful careers teaching English either in their home country or further afield. In order to successfully complete the course you will need to demonstrate a high standard of English, but it is certainly not a barrier that will stop you from becoming a fully qualified EFL teacher. In many cases being a non-native English speaker can actually be an advantage in the classroom as you have already been through the same experience that your students are currently facing. This can help to build a good rapport between the students and the teacher as they are often less afraid of making mistakes in this situation. It can also provide the students with a real incentive to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Thom P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Lesson Objectives: Students will practice recognizing homophones and practice the correct, indefinite, and zero articles. Summary of tasks/actions Warm-Up: Vocabulary Review (10 minutes) Tell students that they will play a game to review some of the words that they talked about last week. Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team stands at the back of the room, and one person from each stands by the board. Divide the board into four parts. Label each piece the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Susan T S G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Singapore is a multilingual and multi-ethnic society. We have four official languages Malay, English, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil, with Malay as our national language. English is used as the main medium of instruction in our education system and learning a second language is compulsory in school starting from pre-school age. Being Chinese, my second language is Mandarin. I also speak a third language called dialect especially to our parents who do not understand English or Chinese. Also Read: The Most Important Personal Qualities in the ESL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This paper will discuss the benefits of teaching slangs and idioms to students learning English as a second language. It posits that both are necessary to fully use and understand the language, and will look at when it would be appropriate to introduce them to different types of students and how they might be incorporated into lessons. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Niall M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Both slang and idioms are natural parts of the English language; however, textbooks are usually lacking in them, due the fact that they cannot be updated quickly enough to keep up with the change of language or because it...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Nowadays when it comes to English learning, people are likely to say speaking is the most important and difficult part of people’s learning. But actually, writing is also significant even though it is the most neglected skill. Speaking pays more attention to accuracy and fluency while writing highly requires accurate grammar, more formal vocabulary, right spelling and beautiful handwriting. Even though they are too different in many ways, the two carry equal importance. Speaking and writing are both used for the same purpose making successful communication with people. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tingting H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences From the days of Chaucer and Shakespeare to the present the English language has been filled with some amazingly peculiar and bizarre examples of speech and grammar. As the English sailed around the globe colonizing it to the extent the “sun never set on the British empire” the number of words that were adopted by the language could not help but grow. Along with this vocabulary growth so to did the number of expressions and grammatical rules that seem to make no sense when actually examined. One could say that English has been beating up other languages in dark alleys, then going through their pockets for loose grammar and spare vocabulary for centuries. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Jon C....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I'm pleased to say that I could teach or lead a class to learn English as a foreign language, challenging and rewarding. I have little experience tutoring adults in learning English. My studies learning what could be ahead for a teacher looking to lead a class in English was so rewarding. The challenge to get the students to engage in activities is a top priority for the teacher. I'll have to develop and practice proven ways to present to the class a lesson where the students may absorb the English language and will stay with them for the rest of their life. I had to give some thought about what I would write for my Essay and how I would present this topic, so I'm happy to be able to present flashcards for...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences In my past, I have lived in many different countries and language environments. I have come to learn that the best way to gain an understanding of a new language is to be absorbed in it. In countries where English is widely spoken as a foreign language (Scandinavian countries for example), learning the language of the country can be much more difficult. It is uncomfortable not being able to express oneself, so English offers a cane of comfort, but also a disservice. Unless one goes through this part of the learning process where speaking is hard for you and maybe even for your listener, fluency can never be achieved. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eija R. Please note that this blog post...  [Read more]