Esl Lesson Themes

Anna Domiczek TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Preschool curriculum or lesson plan designed for English language learners should incorporate several basic and common themes. Those popular themes created for young learners will introduce students to new, interesting vocabulary words and phrases. Learning about animals, clothing, food, family, shapes, colors, numbers, or daily activities makes students deeply engaged in learning. They are discovering the world around them versus memorizing/repeating abstract words and phrases. Thanks to such theme-based lessons, English language students genuinely engage with the content being taught and make real-life connections while developing new...  [Read more]

TEFL Lemon began in 2014 as an ESL blog on the WeChat platform in China, quickly becoming the biggest ESL blog on WeChat. TEFL Lemon provided English teachers with ELT articles to read and share, as well as free ESL lesson ideas, ESL games and fun speaking activities which TEFL teachers could use in their classes. English teachers in China could also download free ESL flashcards on a variety of themes. Following their success on the WeChat platform, in 2018, TEFL Lemon decided to build their own website to offer their ESL Flashcard Games for Kids, ESL Warmers, ESL games and speaking activities for teens and adults for free to TEFL teachers around the world. You can visit their website here. Not only do TEFL Lemon offer teachers brilliant ESL games and teaching ideas, but they also have...  [Read more]

  The second conditional is used when speaking about dreams, fantasies and hypothetical situations. This video is specifically aimed at teaching the second conditional in an ESL setting. 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 a great reminder about conditionals. I really liked the activity ideas in the unit, there were some great examples of activities that would be fun for students and help them learn conditionals and reported speech....  [Read more]

1. Introduction 2. Benefits of Interactive ESL English Lessons 3. Features of ITTT's ESL English Lessons 4. How to Get Started with ITTT's ESL English Lessons Are you looking to improve your English language skills in a fun and interactive way? Look no further than ITTT's ESL English lessons. Our interactive lessons are designed to help you learn English effectively and efficiently, whether you are a beginner or looking to enhance your existing skills. With a focus on practical language use and real-world scenarios, our lessons will help you gain confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in English. There are numerous benefits to taking interactive ESL English lessons with ITTT. One of the key advantages is the interactive nature of the lessons, which keeps learners engaged...  [Read more]

Shirin Sophy TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The following features that are briefly discussed in this article can directly affect the quality of the lesson and facilitate generating a more desired outcome. Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Does a year abroad teaching English hurt your career prospects back home? Quite the contrary! In this live session, we discover exactly how teaching English abroad enhances your career prospects - back home and around the world! Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Do you...  [Read more]

Shirin Sophy Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The activation phase is naturally divided into some steps to facilitate the activation process, including the controlled, semi-controlled, and free practices that are briefly discussed in this post. Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Do you want your new students to come back again? Do you want students to do homework? Are you looking for fun activities for your online classes? In this live stream, we will look at how to engage and motivate English learners outside the classroom at 100%. Ahmed Taha TEFL Information Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Do you want your new students to come back again? Do you want students to do homework? Are you looking for fun activities for your online classes? In this live stream, we will look at how to engage and motivate English learners outside the classroom at 100%. Shirin Sophy TEFL Information Alumni Experiences This blog post is a suggested procedure that can be taken into account while teaching productive skills after the engagement phase is applied and learners are ready to start the study phase. Ahmed Taha TEFL Information Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]

Anna Domiczek Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Songs and music are such an important part of an ESL preschool curriculum. Not only are they fun, but they are also very powerful tools to help young students learn English in a fun and entertaining way. Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Does a year abroad teaching English hurt your career prospects back home? Quite the contrary! In this live session, we discover exactly how teaching English abroad enhances your career prospects - back home and around the world! Shirin Sophy Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas ...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas If you have already switched to online ESL teaching, you've definitely been using an online board. There are many good options out there, but I prefer using Miro over the others. Miro is a convenient online whiteboard with lots of fun and interactive tools to use during the class and outside. In this blog post, I'd like to share several interactive ideas to enhance your online ESL lesson. At the beginning of the online ESL lesson, start with a warm-up conversation. Ask your students about their mood, day, weather, etc. Just do some small talk of any kind. To support the conversation, you can encourage your students to draw pictures on Miro...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas There are many famous games used by TEFL teachers that students know like the back of their hand. If you want to change up your online lessons and bring even more fun in your teaching, check out these seven non-trivial online ESL games to help you in every stage of the TEFL class. For this activity, you will need to prepare a digital image and share it with a student during the online class. You can find plenty of connect-the-dots worksheets on the internet. The student needs to have access to the drawing tool, so make sure the online conference program you use has this feature. Choose a picture that would accompany the lesson's topic. Ask...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The online mode of teaching has become a primary one in the COVID-19 era. For many teachers, remote work is not easy especially due to a different approach to creating materials. If you still struggle with games and activities for your activate phase of the lesson, take a look at the following three tools that can help you to versatile your Zoom classes and make your students super happy! Yes, it’s that easy! This tool is like a magic wand for ESL teachers because it’s easy to use and very flexible in adjusting dozens of favorite games. It's not just a visual aid for delivering a presentation to an audience, in fact, Google Slides can be used as a tool to create a unique learning experience for students. All...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What do you think of when I say the word “teacher”? When I think of this word, I think of the “teacher when I was a child. The person who talked and I listened. The person who gave me instructions and I followed. I think in today’s environment this word has changed. What does the word “teacher” mean today? We’ll look at what the roles of a teacher are in today’s ESL world in Japan, where I’ve taught for over 14 years. We use many synonyms for the term “teacher”. In elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools in Japan we use the term “ALT” (assistant language teacher) or “AET” (assistant English teacher). In business courses, we use the word “instructor”. In...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Lesson planning is one of the most important elements of successful teaching in the ESL (English as Second Language) classroom and every TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) lesson needs a plan, particularly so in the case of the less experienced teacher starting their career in a foreign country. The often-cited argument that over planning can create a less fluent atmosphere in the classroom does hold some truth but just as the artist is tutored not to attempt abstract art until first mastering the art of realism, the teacher likewise is best placed not to address a class unprepared until first mastering the art of pre-planning. Many proficient teachers will attest to the fact that successful lessons are...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Lesson planning is a significant element of everyday life as a teacher in English as a foreign language. A lesson plan acts as a step-by-step guide providing the structure for your lesson. However, too much planning can make lessons rather rigid and stop the teacher being flexible to the needs of the students. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Mariska F. Before planning a lesson, it is essential to classify the learning outcomes for the class. This is crucial as it helps the teacher maintain a standard teaching pattern and does not let the class deviate from the topic. Pre-planning helps the teacher to be better equipped in answering questions asked by the students...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information Teaching Ideas While you learn about teaching multi-level classrooms when you take a TESOL or TEFL certification course, the reality often looks a little different. It’s true that multi-level ESL classrooms have many benefits for English learners. For example, they have the chance to communicate with each other and learn how to use English through practice and negotiating meaning. For the instructor, teaching multi-level classes can be quite a challenge. It requires more prep time and also involves a high level of classroom management. That’s why we’ve written this post to reveal all you need to know when teaching multi-level ESL classes. It’s not unusual to have a new student with lower...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences “Engage-Study-Activate” also known as ESA - is an effective teaching model designed by Jeremy Harmer. This methodology means, that for the best involvement of students in a learning process, the conditions of the lesson should be flexible and divided for different activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dmitrii Z. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. “Engage” phase is a sequence, where the teacher tries to give an interest in a new topic by implication of different games related to the lesson. Such a beginning gives the “warm” for the next phase of the lesson. “Study” phase is focused on the construction of the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas When I started teaching English, I've always experienced imposter syndrome because my major was Linguistics. I had no idea about teaching itself, although I knew a lot about how the language works. To change this situation, I've started working on my teaching skills to build a successful ESL teaching career. In this blog post, I want to share five ways to start ESL teaching career development that helped begin my English teaching career, even though I had no degree in education. As I've already mentioned, I studied linguistics in university and was quite advanced in English when I graduated. Right after that, I jumped at the opportunity to...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas When the aroma of gingerbread and eggnog is in the air, you know it’s time to translate your love for the most beautiful season of the year into your TEFL classroom with winter ESL activities! While this is the perfect time to embrace winter in TEFL destinations with changing seasons, it’s also ideal to educate your students living in places with tropical temperatures and other cultures about the holiday celebrations. Here are 7 amazing winter and Christmas ESL activities your students will love! Tell your students to imagine the following: You wake up in your bed and look out the window when you see a brightly decorated Christmas tree. It’s cold and even looks like snow is slowly falling from the sky. The...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Hey there it's Lizzy here and I'm super happy to welcome you to our weekly live stream. This live stream is provided by ITTT, International TEFL and TESOL Training. If you haven't watched our recent live streams please feel free to go to one of our social networks and check out the previous videos, because we share really useful topics on a regular basis. Today's live stream is going to be devoted to creating lessons based on videos. I'm going to change the size of the slide right now. Let me know if you can see and hear me clearly. There is a comment section in the live stream so feel free to write down any greetings there so I know that someone is there and someone is watching....  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Business students are most likely already familiar with using computers and particularly the Internet for learning English. The Internet can provide a teacher with an enormous array of teaching resources from non-authentic and authentic materials to lesson plans and ideas. Here are 7 great resources for teaching business English at no cost to the teacher! This post was written by our ITTT graduate Shannon S. This is a website that features hundreds of free online non-authentic teaching materials such as vocabulary exercises, grammar quizzes, listening comprehension videos, and reading comprehension articles. The materials are related to such business areas as accounting, sales and marketing, project management,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas After I graduated from school, Ifromided to be a teacher. I had all the prerequisites for that profession since my childhood. I entered a university, and the department, which I chose, was Russian Language and Literature. It happened because it was affordable for me financially. Although this profession was good, I often wanted to try myself as a teacher of English too, just to not feel bored from teaching the same subject all the time. However, I did not dare to take that step, since I lacked good equipment for teaching English. This new skill quite differed from my main profession. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nargis S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent...  [Read more]

Anna Domiczek Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Songs and music are such an important part of an ESL preschool curriculum. Not only are they fun, but they are also very powerful tools to help young students learn English in a fun and entertaining way. Learning a second language at the preschool level needs to be experienced through engaging activities - words and actions need to go in tandem. Songs allow the children to move along and learn in a pleasant, fun way, in accordance with the TPR technique. They also serve as a tool to lower students’ affective filter - according to the famous linguist Stephen Krashen’s theory (1983), students can develop a blockage/filter toward their study because of a negative emotional...  [Read more]

Anna Domiczek Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Reward systems can be a very powerful tool for teachers in an online environment. Having a reward system for your students is essential because it encourages even the more shy and reserved young learners to participate in their virtual English lessons. More importantly, they can help you, the teacher, in overcoming the constraints of an online classroom - not being physically present to intervene in situations where a student is distracted or attempting to divert his/her friends’ focus from the English lesson. Reward systems can be a great part of the online teacher’s repertoire for the purpose of encouraging the young learners to focus on the lesson and participate. While...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas During the grammar lessons of learning English, the aspect of tenses is inevitable. Tenses could be passed, present or future which could further be broken up into simple past, simple present or future continuous just to highlight a few. The past tense is important because it gives one some background information about an event when such an event is assessed. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate David K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Testing is a process that can be done using a particular scale say for example having figures with ranges of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). It is a process of administering the test on the learner to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences ESL students will receive many formal grammar lessons that will give them a good grounding in proper English sentence structures, when to use who and whom, various verb tenses, the importance of noun-verb agreement and proper punctuation—and much more. Proper grammar will give them a thorough understanding of the elements of grammar and equip them to navigate through formal English-language communication, such as business letters and reports, meetings, emails to clients, and formal assignments in English classes. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brenda Q. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. But I believe we have a...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Songs, what are songs? Merriam-Webster define a song as a short poem or other set of words set to music or meant to be sung OR a single (and often standalone) work of music that is typically intended to be sung by the human voice with distinct and fixed pitches and patterns using sound and silence and a variety of forms that often include the repetition of sections. I will like to emphasize on some major factors that makes songs in the classroom very important in learning a new language and the general upbringing of children. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Banda J. The terms “repetition” and “rhythm” are vital in the classroom, according to psychologists; they claim that “songs...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas One of the first things you should learn during a TEFL certification course is that delivering interesting lessons goes a long way to keeping your students happy and motivated in the classroom. And, if your students are stimulated by your lessons they are likely to progress quicker, which also makes the teachers job that much more satisfying. So what exactly makes a TEFL lesson interesting? There are many things you can do to make your lessons stand out, but one of the main ways to pique the interest of your students is to focus on things that they can actually relate to in their own lives. In this post we show you 5 great activities based on movies that you can use in the classroom, because everyone loves a good...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In most developed nations, technology is prevalent in all areas of life. Adults and children alike are exposed to technology from the moment they wake up, and until they go to bed. Computers, social media, toys, and transportation are just a few of the many areas in which technology is a part of daily life. Teachers need to think about the ways they can include technology in their lessons. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dakota C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teachers often have the option of presenting information using a projector. In the past, teachers used slideshow projectors and transparencies for teaching students....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A lesson plan is a teacher working document which serves as a step by step guide that provides a detailed description of a course or what the students are supposed to learn and how effectively it can be done during lesson time. Over time there have been lots of description as to what a lesson plan should look like or how a lesson could be planed. It is very important to plan a lesson because it is very difficult for inexperienced teachers to be flexible in a lesson without a teaching guide. However, planning a lesson should be carefully done so as to avoid making the teacher less flexible to meet up with the needs of the students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mireille L. N. We...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When teaching a new language there are many important factors a teacher should be aware of. Learning a language has no certain formula hence teachers should follow the golden rules of ESL teaching but also know when to adapt and improvise. Let's think about how we learned our first language when we were little. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Erdem Ç. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. We didn’t learn with teaching materials or drilling techniques. With our primal instinct, as humans we know that to survive and adapt to the environment we live in we need communication, the need to express ourselves, that plays the key role in...  [Read more]