Get Certified To Teach In Texas

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Idioms are great yet a challenging material to teach as they usually are culturally and stylistically influenced. Another problem is choosing a suitable idiom to teach different groups of students. In this blog post, we share ten fun English idioms and three ideas to teach these English indioms in your EFL classroom. To help students understand the meaning of an idiom and to help remember it fast, offer them a visual presentation. Draw the literal meaning of the idiom on one side of the sheet (what it sounds like it means) and the figurative meaning on the other side (what it actually means). If you don’t feel like drawing, use popular memes. This activity can be used with any idioms that have a clear literal...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas What opportunities do learners have to practice these core skills in the lesson? This question is often expressed by teachers when teaching a new language whereas learners do not need to produce language but receive it. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Domenica G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are different types of text which may be used for this purpose such as authentic texts which are written for any purpose other than language learning and are intact instead of being processed, adapted or simplified. However, not only is the text itself authentic, but also its context and related tasks as well. It may be a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Reading is one of the two receptive language skills that might seem easier to teach. When learning to read in a foreign language, a student doesn't have to deal with accents or pronunciation problems, as it often happens with speaking and listening. What's more, learning reading skills does not necessarily imply high teacher participation and can generally be done independently. Much as with writing, it might seem tempting to relegate most of reading to homework, especially in one-to-one teaching. The easier way isn't always the best one, and paying enough attention to this aspect of English during one's lessons offers many benefits. This...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Learning a foreign language is quite challenging and reading has crucial importance in learning the vocabularies of the language and also learning vocabulary can affect reading texts. Knowing vocabulary is an important factor in language acquisition. Although grammar is very important too but to understand the meaning of the text, the students need to know the meaning of the words first. So reading offers the learner a wide range of words, different grammar and makes them more successful in speaking a language compared to those who don’t read much. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mercan H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Stories expose the students to more language, they engage and motivate the learner, they can be used to teach the structure of a language and the concepts about print which may be different between cultures. Stories with images can also help the students anchor their knowledge about the text. Listening to stories also helps the students hear accents and how words are pronounced. However, it is important to choose the correct book or story for the students you are working with. If familiar storylines are chosen the student is more likely to understand the story. It is also important to take into consideration the interests of the students and to find text on those topics. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There has been a wide body of research regarding the positive effects that reading has on a student’s literacy levels. Introducing more reading material, and, even cultivating a love of reading in the classroom, can thus improve a student’s fluency in a new language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sher L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the ways reading can help a student acquire a new language is by providing motivation to further strengthen the student’s grasp of the language. As a student, I learned English as my second language. A great deal of the English language material I encountered during English...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Motivation is integral to the development of any language learner. Disengaged learners do not actively participate in or see the reasoning behind their learning. While external motivation is a prominent factor, teachers need to implement a range of strategies to encourage enthusiastic engagement in classroom activities. To provide adequate opportunities for student achievement, educators need to understand their students and utilize prior experiences in their instruction. Effective classroom instruction will implement materials and resources that are relevant to students’ lives and provide ample opportunity for meaningful communication while ensuring activities are fun and enjoyable for a diverse cohort of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The four basic language skills are divided into two categories; the receptive (“passive”) skills — reading and listening, and the productive (“active”) skills — speaking and writing. All are invaluable skills to learn when becoming proficient in a new foreign language and teachers should try to incorporate them into their lessons whenever possible. However, this summative task will be solely focused on receptive skills and how to teach them in the classroom. Students may need to read/listen for a purpose — for example, reading an extract of a book as part of their homework assignment, or they may want to read/listen for entertainment — for example, listening to their favorite audiobook. These...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning English in Russia is a very popular time-spending. People learn English in various ways. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Elizaveta A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. in most schools learning English is obligatory and most pupils do not understand why they should learn English. Mostly teachers at school do not have any enthusiasm when teaching, as a result, they only stick to soviet course books. They do not create any activities for the class. According to most of my acquaintances, the only things they did in the classroom were: Translating texts, passing tests, reading aloud some of the texts and that’s it. No...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Nothing ever comes to be without being created first. The same can be said for any lesson, without creating the materials to be used in the lesson it would be difficult for any teacher to deliver their intended lesson to students. Then one would ask the question of why is it important to create and adapt teaching materials if some already exist.in as much as using already available materials saves time and expense, it is not always effective because the materials not be intended for that specific target group and would not deliver the intended impact if not hinder it all together. Therefore materials need adjusting or adapting them to suit the requirements of the students. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas ESA is a learning methodology invented by Jeremy Harmer. April 30, 1947, He has taught English in Mexico and the UK and has trained teachers around the world. He is the series editor of the “How to teach” series, and the author of the highly acclaimed The Practice of English Language Teaching and How to teach English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nawal S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The ESA method which he invented, has all the factors students need in a classroom, for example, motivated, exposed to the language, and have the opportunity to use it. ESA is short for engaging, study activate. The three most needed...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Nothing ever comes to be without being created first. The same can be said for any lesson, without creating the materials to be used in the lesson it would be difficult for any teacher to deliver their intended lesson to students. Then one would ask the question of why is it important to create and adapt teaching materials if some already exist.in as much as using already available materials saves time and expense, it is not always effective because the materials not be intended for that specific target group and would not deliver the intended impact if not hinder it all together. Therefore materials need adjusting or adapting them to suit the requirements of the students. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Destinations Most people who want to earn a TEFL/TESOL certificate will be planning to teach English in a country that does not speak English as its first language. This is not surprising - the vast majority of jobs available for English teachers are bound to be in countries where the local population does not speak English. However, this does not mean there are no opportunities to teach English in your home country if you are a native English speaker. From working with newly arrived immigrants to teaching international students, there are plenty of jobs available for those who have the right to work in these countries. If you are looking for work as an ESOL teacher in the United States the best places to look are those with large...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas With the opportunity of teaching English online comes the opportunity of using items outside of the classroom. Exactly what materials can be used for teaching English online? Most importantly, online teaching requires specific equipment for enabling a quality connection to students. For the classroom, any items that can assist in teaching students the language can be used for online lessons. Using some regular classroom materials is a great option but objects found at home and online resources are extremely useful, too. This summative paper will discuss the types of materials mentioned above. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Priscila E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [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 Teaching Ideas There are two Receptive language skills; Reading and Listening. English speaker’s use both of these are used for the same two purposes, for entertainment, or to help us to achieve a particular goal. Reading and listening are not just as simple as opening your eyes or ears, each student will have different problems areas to target and understanding the received language will vary from country to country. For example, a person from England who saw the headline "Magpies destroy Red Devils" would know that the article was referring to Premier League football, and not an actual event. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate George C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas One of the most challenging contradictions I had to face as a high school language and literature teacher in Germany was the principle that each child should have equal opportunity when, sadly, the inequality often starts long before high school, and that as a teacher, you should give every student the chance to achieve excellent performances when, in reality, the latter also depends on factors outside of the classroom. In conversations with parents, I often pointed out specific deficiencies in their child's essays as I was taught to. I made suggestions on how to improve them, hoping in vain that next time, the student would get a much...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching a foreign language involves a whole set of different stages and methods that are guided and put into practice by the teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Maria S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If music is a “universal language”, and it is furthermore considered as an element inherent to culture, this link between music and the teaching of language can be explored using the song as didactic material. Often the most playful or innovative moments are the ones that are recorded in the student's memory. Thus, one of the main advantages of using the songs will be the disruption from class routine and the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Understanding the use of slang in a different language is a benchmark for fluency. Once a speaker is able to navigate society by listening and speaking slang, they are better able to assimilate among native speakers. But whether or not colloquial speech has a place in English classrooms is debated among teachers. While formal English takes precedence in many classes, teaching slang can be important depending on students’ reasons for learning English and their experience with the language. Incorporating slang can also be a motivational tool for teaching disengaged students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Emma M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As we know in any case when we are going to teach a new language, it is really important to pay attention to some particular skills, that is the root of the language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gevorg S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. These skills are receptive skills and productive skills. Reading is one of the basic skills of learning a new language. And first of all, I would like to define reading. The process of reading a printed text louder or silently is called reading. For readers, it is important to know and understand the new information of the text. That is why before starting to read a text, it is necessary...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas ESA is a common methodology that teachers use when teaching students another language. It is also a large part of your TEFL certification course. By using the layout of the ESA method to plan your lessons, they will be more structured, organized and effective. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Casandra L. ESA stands for engage, study, and activate. By using ESA, it gives teacher's the flexibility to conduct a classroom in an organized and productive way. ESA is extremely important when it comes to teaching, because it keeps the students interested, motivated, and eager to learn more. That is why all teachers, especially new ones, should learn the ESA method when teaching students a new language. The first...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a teacher of English, one may need to identify some areas that are essential in teaching even though the syllabus doesn’t mention them. For instance, what to teach is suggested but not how to do that. Having taken courses in pedagogy and didactics in Sweden (in the Swedish language) was and still is highly appreciated, but I may consider the TEFL and CTEYLS courses more satisfying when it comes to investigating ways and possibilities of designing a syllabus in teaching English. Another consequence of studying these courses is that it may as well result in better understanding and improving methods of preparing the French language as well. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Bassem F....  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences English language learners at high school and college levels in Mongolia face a variety of structural and cultural difficulties that often prevent them from moving beyond an intermediate or even-low level in spoken and written English. This post will look at a few of the core issues and examine some of the ways to help improve the type of instruction provided in Mongolia that could prove beneficial for future language students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ariel W. First and foremost, teacher training in areas like lesson-planning, teacher/student talk time, impromptu speaking and writing activities, and classroom management needs to be improved. This problem stems directly from the...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Teaching English grammar is an important part of any EFL classroom. Depending on the level of your students and the degree of difficulty of the topics, the teacher may encounter several problems in the classroom. However, the following 10 tips should help you to prepare effective grammar lessons for your EFL students abroad. With an increasing change in the English language and the lack of proper grammar used in the spoken language, many students aren’t motivated to learn grammar. To ensure success, you should break this barrier and show your students why grammar matters. Create a big mind-map on the board and ask the students for statements about why grammar matters. This is a fun interactive way that gets the...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Two classifications of ESL materials are Authentic and Non-Authentic (or created). What is the difference between what are called authentic and created materials? Authentic materials as the name implies are actual materials that are created for any reason outside of the classroom. Examples of authentic materials would be things like, newspapers; those are generated for the general public and they're certainly not generated for the use in the classroom. However they can be used within the classroom. Other examples would be things like songs and poems and even things such as brochures and magazines and indeed menus from restaurants. So these are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What is classroom management? Classroom management refers to all kinds of activities and measures taken by teachers in order to make effective use of their time, to create a good learning environment and to reduce bad behavior. In classroom teaching, in addition to the task of "teaching", the teacher also has the task of "managing", that is, coordinating and controlling all kinds of teaching factors in order to ensure the smooth progress of teaching activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shufang H. We all understand the importance of classroom management, so what can we do to effectively manage the classroom? Teachers' facial expressions, head movements, gestures, and body...  [Read more]

Zainab Sadriwala Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Exposure to a language is of prime importance if one intends to excel in it. Like every language, English needs to be practiced in all its integrated skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Vocabulary has always been among a key component of language learning that teachers rely on. The following are 6 great ideas for developing vocabulary in English learners. Students should keep a journal for noting down every new word they learn during the day. It's also a good approach to add example sentences for every new word so that the student knows how to apply it in various contexts. Then, this list of new words should be put into practice by students at the end of the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reading plays an important role in language learning. It is one of the language skills that can be used to interpret a written text and discuss the given information applying speaking and listening skills as well. Reading different books, texts, advertising wallpapers, or magazines helps us gain knowledge or receive important information. Since old times books have always been one of the main sources of knowledge. While reading people could imagine themselves traveling to different places, having an amazing adventure, possessing pirates’ treasure, or even solving a mystery, and at the same time learn about different countries and their cultures. In other words, reading has always provided its readers with...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker TEFL Information Alumni Experiences In recent years, English has become an increasingly important means of communication that is used by people from many different backgrounds to interact with the rest of the world for a wide variety of purposes. But why has English become an international language, how is it used and applied in different situations and what are the advantages of being able to speak English? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alexander C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. English is a language that has had a big impact on the world in terms of communication, as a large number of countries benefit from its usage in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reading is an integral part of the process of acquiring language skills and can be strong support for the development of listening, speaking and writing skills. We will explore the benefits of the diversity of written material - both in topic and style - the ways it can be utilized or expanded upon. We will also look at its shortcomings and some strategies for overcoming them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jason T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A key benefit of written texts is that they provide complete and properly formed sentence structures that are static, allowing students to process the information at their own...  [Read more]