Good English Novels

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Parents are the first teachers a child interacts with, from age zero to around three or four years when the child is exposed to early childhood education at schools. The parent role at this point is very critical for educating the child in; the culture of the society, religion of the family, the first language of the family and educational mentors among the family. Infants at this age are normally very keen on the happenings on the surrounding, and so they tend to model the behavior of the parents or the caregivers. Parents can help the infants feel secure and protected by playing with them. Infants can learn to build social connections when the parents let them be held by other people when they are around....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In my classroom, I often hear many of my students saying, "I want to be good at English." At the same time, I am aware that most of them almost lose their motivation for learning English. After studying English hard to pass the entrance examination, they are free from the "obligational" study of English. Now in college, no one in the classroom speaks out that English is unnecessary. On the contrary, they answered that they need to study English because it is a global language. More importantly, the ability to command the language strongly influences the success of their job hunting. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Milos O. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [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 Learning is always hard especially learning something new such as English learning. English is a different new language compared with Chinese, so when we are learning, definitely we will meet all kinds of difficulties in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate XIAO J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Due to the lack of vocabulary, beginners can not get the main idea of a story. They usually expect to know every single word and if they miss some words, they will become extremely nervous so that they lose their confidence at all. The best way to avoid it is to pre-teach some potentially...  [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]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Kids' education starts at home. Thus parents are their first teachers and home is the first school. Parents not only play vital roles in the children's educational path but the betterment of their lives too. Mere teaching A B C D is not part of education. But good values and behavior of the children are equally important, which they learn from their parents. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate SRAMESHWAR K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Obeying the time and rules, focusing on study, helping, and respecting others are some qualities that children learn only from their parents. So the role of parents is the most important and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The theory of Multiple Intelligences was developed by Howard Gardner. The theory postulates that there are many different types of intelligence, which involve different skills and ways of thinking. Gardner (1989) relied on that intelligence was divided into the following categories: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gina F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It relates to an individual's ability to use language. This involves the comprehension and production of verbal and written language. Students with linguistic...  [Read more]

  Moving further down our list of parts of speech, we have our adjectives. Adjectives modify or describe nouns. Basically, they give more information about the noun. Here, we've used a noun such as chair. It could be any old chair. It's only the noun. If we want to describe the noun, we need to use an adjective before it. So, I could say "I have an old black leather chair". Here, we have to be concerned about the adjective order. In this instance, I started with age, as age typically goes before color and then I use the color to go before the material. This is a certain pattern. Depending on the adjectives you want to use, you always have to use certain patterns to which you'll need to be aware of when teaching your class. Another way to describe a noun is by showing possession. We...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are many views about learning English grammar. Many people think that learning English grammar is not important and unnecessary. This idea is not wrong because it depends on the purpose of your English learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate May T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For middle and high school students, learning English grammar is very important because it accounts for the highest score in the English test sections. Confirming that, to learn English well, you need to start from learning and consolidating English grammar. Thereby, we can see that English grammar is not a prerequisite and the most important...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The term business English is used to cover the English language taught to a wide range of professional people, and students in full-time education preparing for a business career. There’s a lot more to learning a second (or third or fourth!) language than just vocabulary and grammar because languages are used differently in different contexts. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Rupanpreet K. Business English is the type of English used in business contexts. Some types of English, like novels or law briefings, welcome long, sophisticated vocabulary. Business English isn’t like that. Good writing is direct and to the point. There is less focus on grammar in conversations and more emphasis on...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Throughout the course of this TEFL course, many factors were discussed that can lead to potential success or failure within the ESL classroom. One factor that was constantly highlighted was the teacher’s attitude and ability to build a good rapport with their students. Student engagement skills are vital for motivating students. Teachers in a classroom should develop a relationship with their students where the students can be comfortable in his or her classroom environment. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jheanelle M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For that relationship to happen a teacher needs to possess the right...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Learning a language begins with developing the receptive skills, either consciously or subconsciously, to get familiar with how the language is used and later for producing the language learned or observed. The sensory abilities include two modules: reading and listening. Of them, reading skills can have a wide variety of impacts not only on the individuals' overall language learning but also on the development of them as individuals. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Md. Mahfujar R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For the learners of the language to use...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Just as quarks are the building blocks of atoms and the periodic table of elements, letters are the building blocks of words. And just as the 118 elements are the foundation of our physical life, the 26 letters of the English alphabet are the foundation of the 470 000 words English language (Wikipedia, 2019), so that each word with all its variation and diversity is part of a living and evolving cosmos of vocabulary. Today the English language is one of the most diversified and colorful languages alive and numerous words evolve to enrich this lexicon each year. It is this diversity that allows free and fluent thought in English that is the epitome of native English speakers and it is for this reason the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There is a saying that goes ‘Old dogs can’t be taught new tricks’. However, recent advances in cognitive science prove the concept of brain plasticity or neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to continuously re-wire and change throughout the life of a person. This ability can be observed in the brain healing from injuries and can also be applied to ordinary brain activities like learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Cherryl T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As I have learned in this course and experienced in actual practice, almost all adults learning business English are working and studying at the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Constant examination drillings and the inflexible memorization of rigid grammatical rules may, to many, sound like some of the worst elements for bringing forward a fun, engaging learning environment (Sanders, 2018) (Tam, 2018), but to many of those shouldering the responsibilities for teaching English in Hong Kong, this is an unequivocally honest encapsulation of the ways English knowledge are disseminated to the future generations. In this regard, this essay focuses on two primary issues encountered by the learners – writing and pronunciation. Also, to narrow the scope of the analysis, this essay focuses on younger learners, those around 6-18 of age. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate...  [Read more]

Rhea Latchu Destinations Teaching Ideas Within the last months, many countries have been implementing various restrictive measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Thus, many of us have had to adapt to drastic changes in our day-to-day life. Lots of EFL teachers, myself included, are currently stranded in foreign countries with expiring visas and/or contracts. Many are faced with the absence of physical contact from others. Some have even lost their jobs and are currently without an income. Numerous EFL teachers aren’t earning their full salary. In addition to that, the ones who were used to face-to-face classes now have to adapt to online teaching. Can you imagine facing all these challenges, while dealing with the fear of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Reading affects language acquisition based on the level of the content read, the type of content, and the reader’s external sources of language acquisition. This summative text will explain the different difficulties that can arise when any English learner uses reading as their sole or primary language acquisition mode. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Laura J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Reading over the level of your speaking and listening skills can cause errors in phonetics, such as mispronouncing words that you’ve only read and have not...  [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 I chose this topic for my essay because it is not something I had ever given much thought to. As a native speaker, I don’t recall studying correct pronunciation in school along with other aspects of language learning such as grammar and vocabulary. Correct, or at least acceptable and understandable, the pronunciation was something that just happened. I was initially somewhat surprised when I saw that an entire online module had been devoted to the topic, but as I read the module, I realized that it is a rich and complex component of language learning, to which serious students of English as a second language should be exposed. And the sample lesson video demonstrated to me that teaching phonetics could also be...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Language acquisition often involves four skills. These skills are further divided into two groups receptive skills (reading and listening) and productive skills (writing and speaking). Not all languages have a corresponding writing system however, learners of English will have to learn all these skills to be proficient in their use of English. Reading is more than just calling words on paper, In this essay, the importance of reading in language acquisition will be discussed on the basis that reading influences vocabulary expansion, facilitates the practice of word pronunciation and finally sparks and improves the imagination. These concepts will be discussed from the standpoint of English language acquisition in...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Hello everybody, it's Liza here. We are just about to start today's live session that is devoted to ideas on how to improve English skills. While I'm waiting for more people to join me let me just tell you about these live sessions. So we are doing them weekly and right now there are a lot of videos to check out on our YouTube channel and our Facebook group. If you missed any of these live streams you can go to our social networks and see any of them there. Welcome to the new session and if you haven't heard already my name is Liza and I'm a non-native English teacher from Russia. I can see that there are some people from the Philippines here....  [Read more]

Kristin Hoppe TEFL Information At 25 years old, I heard Peru calling my name and could no longer ignore it. I dreamed of moving abroad alone again after teaching English in France — and it was finally happening, with TEFL certification in hand. Unfortunately, many friends, family members, and acquaintances had a different reaction. I saw wide eyes and heard words of concern. Instead of sharing in my excitement, I spent most of my time fending off people’s fear-mongering questions or convincing them that my plan was actually a good idea. Spoiler alert: it was a fantastic idea. Women have all heard the warnings before: Don’t walk alone at night. Keep your purse close to you. Never leave your drink unattended. We’ve been raised listening to...  [Read more]