English Category

  Our next category in our series of teaching special groups in ESL is English for specific purposes. This video focuses specifically on teaching business English. How is business Enligsh different to general English? Will you be able to teach business English? Find out in this video. 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. When teaching how to speak English the teacher must work on accuracy and fluency at different times in order to let the student...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas The first thing to bear in mind when we're looking at the category of beginners is that beginners can be of any age and experience, so really what we should do is to break the beginner category down into a number of sub categories. Our first group we may call the absolute beginner, the second group we could have are called false beginners. The next category may be the adult beginners and therefore the category of young beginners and our final grouping called beginners without the Roman alphabet. The absolute beginner as the name implies are those people with no language knowledge of the particular language being learnt, so they've never been taught it and they probably have had no...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences It is important to note that regardless of which situation you may find yourself in be it in a school, language center, teaching young learners or adults you will always be involved in some or the other form of testing or evaluation. These test/evaluation may include things that are done internally for the school such as homework, course unit test or end of year test/exam and you may also be involved in external exams such as IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and other exams. The most common types of test/evaluation that takes place are: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Frankline E. Placement Test which is also known as level test involves in the placement of...  [Read more]

  In this TESOL review video Ray talks about how the 120-hour online TESOL course he took with ITTT helped him to learn the necessary skills to teach English as a foreign language. Ray recommends the course to anyone considering a career teaching English abroad or online. 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. Grammar, vocabulary and functions go hand in hand in this unit. Therefore as teachers we have to ensure that students are introduced to a new...  [Read more]

  In her third video, Chantelle talks about unit 3 of the 120-hour online TEFL course from ITTT. This unit deals with teaching theories, methodologies and techniques. The unit introduces several different methodologies before focusing on the ESA method that is used throughout the course. The unit also covers a range of different activities that can be used in a lesson. It also looks at ways to deal with correcting student mistakes and errors in spoken and written English. 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...  [Read more]

  The idiom "green thumb" refers to the ability to grow plants well, for example: Whenever I buy a plant, it always dies shortly after. I really don't have a green thumb. Because my plants always die, I don't have the ability to grow plants well, hence, I don't have a green thumb. 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 covers the grammatical rules for using conditions and reported speech. There are different levels of conditionals (zero to...  [Read more]

  Zanab took the in-class intensive TEFL course with TEFL International in Zhuhai, China. In this TEFL review video Zanab explains that before taking the course she had had no prior teaching experience and was not confident but now she has graduated she feels ready to teach English as a foreign language. During the course she had 8 hours of teaching practice when she taught young learners and students of varying levels. Zanab recommends the course in Zhuhai to anyone considering a TEFL course. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas A consideration for the categorization of your language learners is actually their language level. So within any class the language level the students should all have, (assuming that your class is not a mixed ability class) is usually at one particular level. Typically your students will have had some form of level test to put them into one of the levels and in ESL teaching there are often five different levels of grouping described. Level one, the most basic level is called Starter. Moving on from that the Elementary level, the next one beyond that is level three, called the Pre-Intermediate level and then on to the Intermediate level and finally level five, which is called the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I would like to introduce five flashcards activities which I found fun and practical to enhance a student's vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, listening, and speaking. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate MOHSEN H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This activity is designed to teach vocabulary as well as practice listening. It can be used for teaching various categories (animals, food, fruits, …) or a mix of them. The teacher gives each of the students a set of flashcards and asks them to show him/her the correct card when they hear the item spoken. For example: “Show me a pig” “Hands up if you’ve got a banana” “Stand...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Tenses- Usually it creates tense for many ESL students during communication. It defines and differentiates the situation by time. Is time important in communication? Yes, it is. The wrong usage of tenses changes the exact meaning of the situation, what the speaker is trying to convey. So focusing tenses in grammar is more essential than others. Still, the proper usage of tenses is a complicated and confusing task for many high-level students in competitive exams. Then, what about the ESL students? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vallikkannu M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. We can classify the ESL students into two...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video Claire from Taiwan talks about her experiences completing ITTT's 120 hour TEFL/TESOL online course. She successfully completed the course with the tutor support option. 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 was about past tenses. It was kind of confusing because some of the questions seemed to be complicated to know which group it should go into; past simple, past perfect, past continuous, or past perfect...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning the English language during adult years is a specific process when a student has reached a certain age, got some kind of profession (occupation), and decided for some specific reasons to learn (improve) English language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dinara Y. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For example, the first category of students I came across decided to learn the English language and attend lessons because they needed to pass a governmental exam (YDS English), which could provide public officers with certain advantages such as promotion, salary bonuses and /or appointment abroad. The second category of...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What are ice breakers and when and where do we use them? In this blog post, we will cover these issues and give actual examples of activities you can use with your classes. Icebreakers are games or activities that are designed to ‘break the ice’. Typically you would use these kinds of games or activities at the beginning of a new school year, when you have a new set of students, or a new class that you don't know and they don't know you. You also can use icebreakers to get your students going at the start of the lesson speaking in English and that's really important as you don't want to come into the classroom and say, “Open your books to page five” and then start studying....  [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]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences This post will focus on the differences English teacher face when they are working with a class of young learners compared to a class of adult learners. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebecca M. First, it is necessary to define what we mean by adult learners and young learners in the TEFL environment. An adult learner is defined as any student over the age of eighteen who engages in English language tuition. A younger learner, therefore, is a student under the age of eighteen years old. There is a much greater variety within the young learner category due to the vast developmental changes that occur during this period. For example, a five- year- old is a very different type of learner...  [Read more]

Charlotte Lam Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Due to the pandemic, distance learning has become the new form of teaching all over the words. In Hong Kong, teachers are trying to figure out ways to teach their students while having quarantine at home. In this post, I’m going to share some fun activities and games to play with kids by using Zoom so that you won’t run out of ideas when teaching through an online platform. If you’ve never used Zoom before, you must try it with your students, and it definitely surprises you. Teaching through an online platform makes it very difficult to manage the class because students are staying at home in a comfortable place rather than attending real classes in school. Therefore,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I have traveled throughout Asia for some forty-five years, Vietnam is now my home. I always found the younger generations had a thirst for knowledge, particularly English as a second language. The difficulties of acquiring the knowledge under what was a repressive regime have diminished somewhat, but the major stumbling blocks to acquiring good English are the lack of experienced Vietnamese teachers, interaction with English natural speakers, and knowledge of the outside world in general. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Christopher M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Learning English as a second language has now become a...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas As you have learned during your TEFL certification course, a good lesson starts with an engage, or warm-up phase. This usually consists of a fun and interesting activity to get your students going and speaking in English. For new teachers, it’s often these more casual moments of a class that are a challenge because of their lack of teaching experience. However, these top 5 icebreakers for new TEFL teachers will help you to get your class energized and ready for your lesson. This is a great activity for your very first lesson with a new class. Basically, the students each write down three statements. Two statements are true but one of them is a lie. Next, the students either present the statements to each other or...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word ilk. This word describes a person or a thing that is similar to a person or a thing previously referred to. Suitable synonyms for ilk are type, category, sort, and class. 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. Unit 2 grammar of speech gives good explanation of the basic rules that are needed to build a sentence in English language. But I found the two last clauses about Pronouns and...  [Read more]

  The next category we are looking at in our series on teaching special groups in ESL are individuals. Teaching individuals, or one-to-one, forms a large part of the ESL market. Find out the positives, negatives and tips in this video. 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 really helps potential teachers figure out the right questions they need to ask before accepting a job. I also do appreciate how this unit tells new teachers that its...  [Read more]

  The first group of students we are looking at in this series are the beginners. It is important to understand that beginners can be of any age. This is why we break this category down into the following sub-categories: absolute beginners, false beginners, adult beginners, young beginners and beginners without the Roman alphabet. Find out more about this type of student group in this video. 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...  [Read more]

  The next category we are looking at in our series on teaching special groups in ESL are young learners. We consider students aged 2 to 16 young learners. Find out the positives, negatives and tips when teaching young learners in this video. 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 based on the explanation of the structure and the use of the modal verbs, the passive voice and the phrasal verbs in English.Phrasal verbs are very important to...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas You will find the web full of ideas for teaching vocabulary and, although most of them are undoubtedly good activities, some are only suited to a particular level. Here are some tried and tested activities that can be adapted to suit any level of student and a variety of class sizes. This is a great activity that can be used as a warm-up at the beginning of a class, or as a game at the end of a lesson. It’s suitable for any class size over 4 students and requires minimal preparation. Divide the class into two teams and have two chairs at the front of the class, set up to face away from the board. Have one student from each team come and sit in the chairs and tell them not to turn and look at the board. The premise...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This essay on the Multiple Intelligences is based on my past 26 years of teaching experiences at the elementary and middle school grades, as well as teaching in teacher education in higher education at the university level. I have conducted much research on the area of Multiple Intelligences, however, this essay will be based on my memory and experiences of teaching utilizing the Multiple Intelligences; thus, references are not included as they have been an accumulation throughout the last 26 years of teaching. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gahan B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Howard Gardner, a professor in...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas How do you teach just one student using the communicative approach? Here we discuss how you can adapt to this particular teaching situation. The category of teaching individuals is also known as teaching one-to-one and it forms a very large part of the ESL teaching market. Teaching one-to-one has some positive and negatives about it. Perhaps the main positive is that because you've only got that single student you're only ever working at one learner level so there's no chance of any mixed ability. With only one student perhaps the main potential negative point if we're not careful is that there is very little dynamic with only two people (you and the student). This means that you...  [Read more]

  Moving further down our list of the parts of speech, we have our prepositions. Prepositions show a relationship between a noun or a pronoun and the rest of the sentence. We have three main categories: time, place, movement as well as a miscellaneous category that doesn't fit the other three. Here, we can have prepositions of time: before, during, in, at or on. If I said, "I work at eight o'clock," I'm sharing a relationship between the time "eight o'clock" to the rest of the sentence. We have our prepositions of place: in, at, on, under, in between. If I said, "The book is under the table," I'm showing a relationship between the table and the rest of the sentence. Then, we have our prepositions of movement. These show movement: towards, from, to or through. I could say, "He...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas There are many types of English learning groups and each group requires different teaching techniques. In my opinion, English learners can be divided into 2 groups: beginners and English learners for specific purposes. Beginners can be students who have no English at all or know a few simple structures. They can be children or adults. English learners for specific purposes are students who have a basic English level and want to achieve their specific aims of learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nhung T. Children are quick to learn but prone to forget. Therefore, they need frequent repetition and revision. Here are some tips for successful lessons with...  [Read more]

1. Introduction 2. Requirements to Teach English in Japan 3. Steps to Becoming an English Teacher in Japan 4. Benefits of Teaching English in Japan Are you considering a career as an English teacher in Japan? Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) can be a rewarding and exciting experience in a country known for its rich culture, history, and technological advancements. By obtaining the necessary qualifications and meeting the requirements, you can embark on a journey to teach English in Japan. International TEFL and TESOL Training (ITTT) can help you achieve your goal with their comprehensive programs and support. To teach English in Japan, there are several requirements that you must meet. Firstly, a bachelor's degree in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In speaking of any language is global, and in our case, particularly English, several categories could be discussed to give us more understanding. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Frederic S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first is the history of the language, where did it originate? If we say English was an obscure German dialect we can also say that without knowing more of the history behind it, there would be no way for us to plot its progression or understand its popularity. The second is the spread of the language, how and why did it occur? The third is economic, what were the factors that propelled its growth,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas One emerging field of work is teaching business English. When teaching business English, there are both pros and cons. To mention a couple in each category; one pro is the vast knowledge of information students will hold in their particular field. Another pro is that typically business English students are adults so behavioral issues will be less common. One con that is that since you are teaching in a workplace students may become unavailable when issues arise or if the company schedules them for meetings during the time allotted for training. Another con is that not everyone’s job inside a company is the same; therefore, what may be a priority learning point for some will not be for others. This post was...  [Read more]