English Language Learner Teacher

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I haven’t been a teacher for very long, but I have noticed more and more, since taking this course that a classroom can succeed if a teacher knows that teaching isn’t just the passing of information. The teacher must understand that there are many different types of learners, that they must build a rapport with these learners, and they must tailor lessons based on these aspects. Teaching is more than just teaching a subject or language; this is the best thing I’ve learned from my ITTT classes. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Erin W. As a foundation, to being teaching, I have learned that there are many types of learners, which is a lesson in itself and more than just teaching....  [Read more]

  In this episode of Chantelle’s TEFL diary she takes us through her experiences with the second unit of her online TEFL course. Unit 2 of ITTT’s 120-hour TEFL course focuses on parts of speech; nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. As Chantelle points out in her video, having a basic understanding of the rules behind parts of speech is an important part of being an English teacher and is something that many native speakers of English take for granted. Although, as native speakers, we may instinctively know when and where to use the different parts of speech; understanding how to explain the rules to an English learner is a very different matter. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our...  [Read more]

  Rishi has currently completed our 120-hour TEFL course. He especially benefited from the units on lesson planning. Now, he is confident in the classroom and can easily prepare for his classes in an efficient way. 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 unit, we are given 2 videos with the same lesson to compare. One is taught the right way by using the techniques and methods from previous units to show how and why they are used, and the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Common standards must be met by every American student in classes like mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. English language learners are held to the same standards and given the same assessments in these different content area classes. Are these assessments a true measure of what an English language learner knows? How can teachers prepare English language learners for the rigors and expectations of the American educational system? Teachers who are prepared can help these students to succeed in both their learning of the new language and the content of the academic classes in which they are enrolled. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Danita O. Please note that this blog...  [Read more]

  This TESOL review video was recorded by ITTT graduate Floyd. Floyd is from the USA but is currently living and working as an English teacher in Japan. Floyd took the 120-hour online course with tutor support as well as the teaching business English course and intends to take the Diploma course with ITTT in the future. 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 unit, I learned about the usefulness of games in the classroom, and their value as an...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) involves dynamic, cross-cultural English language instruction, requiring a level of intentional, service-oriented cultural sensitivity and awareness with new English learners that may not be so readily understood or relevant with native speakers from the United States of America. Beyond the memorization of rote grammar, language proficiency, public speaking, reading comprehension, and other elements of linguistic aptitude, there must first be a deliberate recognition of the unique challenges of a non-native speaker of the English language. While our units do not suggest that instructors allow learners to speak in their native tongue regularly, its use does not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) involves dynamic, cross-cultural English language instruction, requiring a level of intentional, service-oriented cultural sensitivity and awareness with new English learners that may not be so readily understood or relevant with native speakers from the United States of America. Beyond the memorization of rote grammar, language proficiency, public speaking, reading comprehension, and other elements of linguistic aptitude, there must first be a deliberate recognition of the unique challenges of a non-native speaker of the English language. While our units do not suggest that instructors allow learners to speak in their native tongue regularly, its use does not...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Upon completing the 50-hour Teaching English to Young Learners Course, the best things I’ve learned would have to be the section that covered course development, including ESA (engage, study, activate), testing/assessment, and how they all come together to form a syllabus and ultimately an English language course. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kinsey K. I have seen ESA in the previous 120-hour TEFL course and my 50-hour Teaching Business English Course, however, I had not seen it applied in a way to be used specifically with the young learner in mind. Whenever a teacher is planning a course and a syllabus, the teacher needs to be able to ensure the material is at the appropriate level...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Where do I begin? I have learned so much from my 60-hour TEFL course with ITTT. I have learned about everything from what it takes to become a great teacher and of course what not to do in the classroom. I also learned a lot about what makes a student a great learner. I believe this is very important as well since good learners progress more rapidly in the class. That rapid learning makes good learners and most of all more successful students. In turn that builds confidence in the teacher on behalf of the students. Of course, the teacher ends up with more confidence in their teaching abilities too. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Michael A. The goal is for the student is to learn English and I believe...  [Read more]

  Fernando is originally from Buenos Aires but spent the past 12 years working in the United States. As he has now returned to Argentina, he wants to become an English teacher. In his TESOL review he shares his thoughts on the center in Buenos Aires. He learned a lot regarding teaching techniques and lesson planning. He is confident that he can now lead his own classroom and is excited to start working as an 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 grips with each section before moving onto the next. ...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences To begin with, I had completed my TEFL onsite course with International TEFL and TESOL Training in Paris, France before starting my CTEYL online course. After practicing teaching both to adults and young learners, I decided that I am more interested in teaching English to young learners. That’s why I chose the 50-hour specialized course Teaching English to Young Learners. After successfully completing all the units of this course, I can say that my experience of this course has been of great benefit to me in many ways. It helped me to expand both my theoretical and practical knowledge concerning the teaching of the English language to young learners. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Chrysoula D. To...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Have you ever wondered why nursery rhymes are one of the first grammar structures taught in the life of a young learner? And how come it is easy for most adults to remember lyrics to a song that they learned in Kindergarten? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dee S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Let us analyze a few elements that Song and Rhyme have that make them effective teaching methods in learning a new language in the classroom : In Unit 19 of this course, it was stated that it is best to teach very simple grammar concepts to beginner students. Nursery rhymes are short and contain no complex storylines, symbols, and...  [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]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Listening is an important skill in which learners need help in developing their abilities. Listening strategies are so helpful. By giving a learner, tools to listen to the learner can develop more control over his/her listening abilities. Many learners ask “ Teacher, how can I improve my listening?” The truth of the matter is with training from teachers. We can apply strategies in class to help learners overcome the obstacles, which they encounter while listening. The spoken text varies greatly from written text, and these differences can affect the listeners’ understanding. For example, when listening to spoken text the learner must process the information right away, and in some cases, there is often...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Abraham F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching tools used for learners: One bucket with nontoxic learner-approved clay. Each bucket of clay will have five sticks, each stick a different color. Paper plates matching the color of the clay. Scissors and crayons. Learner approved audio about a rainbow song. The object is to gain the learners' attention. The learning environment created will be interesting, fun, and relaxed. Class level - children between the ages of 8 – 10 class volume 10 learners. Learners will be...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning is a process of acquiring knowledge and skills. A learner or student is an individual who is being taught a given set of skills to achieve a goal in mind. Learning a second language like English is both a challenging and exciting experience. In this writing, we are going to focus on the learners between the ages of 12 – 18 years and the problems they encounter in the learning of the English language in Rwanda. Rwanda is a former Francophone nation, which of recent (8 – 10 years back) has made a shift to Anglo-phone, requiring all teaching from primary four to the university to be done in the English language. It is therefore against this background that we are going to look at the numerous...  [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 Today’s technology-based society has a significant impact on how English is both experienced and taught. A great number of professionals spend a large part of their day on the Internet and interacting with all that it and ICT, in general, has to offer. Through it, they absorb information, generate knowledge and are both indirectly and directly educated and influenced. Computer-assisted language learning tools provide us with a vast number of resources that we can use both in the classroom when teaching collective language lessons or in a group and individual students assignments. I would like to elaborate on different aspects of Computer-Aided Language Learning (CALL), some of which were highlighted in the ITTT...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A life long learner, to me, is one who desires to learn new things based on interests, motivations, and knowledge to be gained. As one who is a certified teacher in first through eighth grades (in Louisiana, USA), possesses a master degree in education, as well as having a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in Leadership and Supervision, does not mean that I know it all; far from it. In my middle school teaching days and years of teaching in higher education preparing teachers to teach, I encountered students from other culturally diverse backgrounds; yet, I did not have the basic fundamentals of teaching students whose first language was not English. This I regret. This post was written by our...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This academic discourse will examine the concepts of motivation in an ESL classroom, through the lens of some motivational theorists such as John Schumann and John Keller. According to Kreitner ( 1995 ), “Motivation is the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction”. Dalton E (1974) stated that “ Motivation refers to how urges drives, desires, aspirations, and strivings or needs direct, control or explain the behavior of human beings. From the definitions quoted above, one can conclude that without motivation, there’s inertia at the level of human ability and energy. There are four kinds of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, instrumental, and integrative. This post was written by...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Most of us take being able to read for granted. We seldom give a thought to how the process of learning to read began in our lives. I am sure most of us will not even recall the age we began to read. For many learners experiencing some form of learning difficulty, this may seem like a mountain with no peak. I am writing this essay based on my experience of having worked with learners ranging from those with various learning challenges to those with extreme learning disabilities. One thing I have learned over the years is that giving up on a child is never an option. One is forced to think creatively and innovatively to address the challenge. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lynne C. Please...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Let's begin with this - classroom activities are useful. Teachers need to use suitable games for students based on their level and that way students can train their vocabulary and language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sandra S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. They are fun! It's important because nobody wants to sit in the classroom and be bored. Doing games in the classroom, educators can make a great relationship with learners, while learners can gain confidence, build self-esteem, so they will feel free to speak and participate in the class. Games boost students' energy, which makes the class more dynamic, more...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Why is the incorporation of storytelling and singing vital when teaching English to young learners? When a teacher is faced with the – sometimes daunting – task of teaching English to young learners, he or she must pause and consider a few things. First of all, if it is the first time a teacher is confronted with young learners, they must adapt their teaching approach. As with any new course, the teacher must evaluate his or her teaching approach. Who are the learners? What level are they at? How do I, as the teacher, reach the student, gain their attention and trust? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Therese B....  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Upon completing the teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) for business English (BE), the best things I’ve learned would have to be the section that covered ESA (engage, study, activate), including boomerang and patchwork lessons, and how the engage, study, activate methodology is the core of a great teaching syllabus. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kinsey K. The best thing I’ve learned from my TESOL business English course would have to be “Engage, Study, Activate” within the business English environment. I have seen ESA in the previous 120-hour TEFL course and my 50-hour TEFL young learner course, however, I had not seen it applied in a way to be used for the business...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Managing a class involves organizing and controlling a class. It also involves having a relaxed manner and a sense of discipline. The class has to be interesting for the learners. A large class can be fun if managed well by the teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Esther O. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I would suggest an orderly row arrangement for a large class. This will enable the teacher to move back and forth. This arrangement also enables the teacher to keep eye contact with the learners. A large class requires a confident voice and changes based on the stage of the lesson. Learners can sense a teacher that is...  [Read more]

  Dawn decided to take an online TEFL course with ITTT to enable her to take advantage of the high demand for English teachers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In this TEFL review video Dawn describes her experience of taking ITTT's 120-hour online course with tutor support. 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 unit there is a lot of material for teaching English to Young Learners. This material can be used if the teachers wants to improve young...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Over the course of this certification program, I learned an abundance of information and methodologies, but none as important as the ESA outline; the ESA methodology is, undoubtedly, the best thing I’ve learned from my TEFL course. The ESA procedure provides a myriad of benefits, engaging learners in a series of dynamic activities aimed to create a seamless and effective educational environment. Due to the adept and fluid nature of the ESA methodology, it is easily the most important tool taught to me throughout this program and something I foresee utilizing often in the near future. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Richard H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Having worked in South Korea for almost 8 years, I have been fortunate enough to experience a rapid influx of new technology in the classroom. As a hub of new technology, Korea promotes the use of new technology by teachers in public schools. These new technologies include the use of touch-screen TVs, Ipads and tablets, as well as VR systems. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hannah P. Touch screen TVs can really benefit the teacher in the language classroom. It makes creating interactive materials a lot simpler, as well as allowing for students interaction during the class. Interactive games and PPTs can make the materials more fun and help to increase...  [Read more]

  The final stage of the lesson will be the activate and the activate phase is going to form the main speaking activity within the lesson. So, it's very very important that here, we do a good demonstration of what it is that we're expecting them to do, that we elicit the type of target language we're expecting them to produce from the activity. So, one way we could go around it is to, firstly, form pairs. Each pair is going to be given a card and onto that card they're going to write the country and a month. What the teacher can then do, just to add a little bit of spice to it, is to collect all of the cards and shuffle them around and then redistribute them to the pairs so that they get a card that doesn't have their country or their month on it. What they're then going to do is...  [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]