How To Become A Teacher In The Us

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas If you think of Chinese ESL students it is safe to assume that most teachers would immediately worry about how they should teach phonics to Mandarin speakers. It is also true that the media has portrayed the Chinese accent as one of the most challenging to understand or even get rid of. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Graciela G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Usually, the first thing you will notice as an ESL teacher, speaking from experience, is the difficulty Chinese ESL students face when it comes to the pronunciation of certain English sounds. In this essay, I will address not only the most common but some of the most...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English is everywhere. It is the world’s lingua franca. Out of 7.5 billion people, 1.5 billion speak English and just 360 million of them are native speakers, that is to say, that English is by far the most commonly studied language. It has become the global language for business, science, technology, aviation, advertisement, cinema, music, education, and so much more. How did it become so powerful? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Philippa K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The answer lies in history – after 1945, when the world was recovering from the biggest and most horrific conflict, the United States business...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There's no doubt that the quality of the educational process significantly depends on the teacher. And therefore the teacher plays the leading role here. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ivan K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are many of them. First of all, in my opinion, it's the personality of a teacher that has the main impact on the way he/she leads the educational process. Such personal traits as confidence and self-perception, emotional control, creativity, сommitment, and determination make a good teacher in the first place. A teacher can have good theoretical knowledge about teaching, have a great variety of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In my experience tutoring students in English as a foreign language, the most overlooked learning points were undoubtedly phonetics, phonology, and their connection to pronunciation. Occasionally, there would be a few students who specifically asked for materials that would allow them to perfect or improve their English accent. Some students even requested to receive tutoring in different accents such as the Australian accent. No matter what the request was, it became clear to me over time that the missing link when teaching pronunciation was its connection to phonology and phonetics. From this point on, I became incredibly interested in this topic. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Umutesi...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a teacher, we often find ourselves daunted with the task of capturing our students’ interests and also equipping them for the future. Not only do we seek to train better students, but we also want to produce better citizens, workers, and future teachers. Teaching is still held the same purpose throughout all these years: bettering our future through the lives of our students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Madison R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Although our methods need to continually be more thought-provoking, entertaining and motivating, our objective has not changed. We need to incorporate storytelling into...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Diane Ackerman coined the phrase “play is our brain’s favorite way of learning” and we have discovered tough various studies and examples of how play in and out of the classroom improves learning skills and encourages involvement. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebeccah G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Within the classroom teachers have discovered that using games can increase motivation and can benefit students in a variety of ways. It is often found that students will pay more attention, become more motivated to learn and be more inclined to participate. While we know reading, writing and listening are very...  [Read more]

  Amanda from Brazil is currently living in Ankara, Turkey. Amanda completed her TEFL course with ITTT and found a job just two weeks after graduating. In this TEFL review video Amanda recommends ITTT’s TEFL course for those wanting to teach English abroad. Amanda liked how the course not only covered grammar but also taught methods and techniques that can help you become a great teacher. 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. The unit contains...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Communication through complex language is a uniquely human trait that allowed for the development of society and culture in the human species. Over the past several decades, humans have moved into an era of a globalized society. Part of “society” is sharing a language; therefore, a globalized society should have a shared language. While there are still many cultures across the globe and thousands of languages being spoken, English has gained a place of global dominance. The recent rise in technology has created avenues for instantaneous communication between people thousands of miles apart. With the internet playing an extremely important role in how humans continue to build a global culture, English sits...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As we all know, English has become a global language spoken as the official one in many countries around the world. Because of its importance, nowadays English is taught at school to children from a young age because it is a skill that it is looked for by many employers and will be very useful in the future. At the moment it is very important to speak and understand the English language, especially because it gives you the ability to travel, work or have connections abroad in different fields and be able to communicate in a language that it is not your mother tongue with colleagues, clients, or customers. For this reason, I think that studying and knowing English will help and enhance a person’s life and career....  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Learning a second language is never easy but the problems that each learner faces are not all the same. Sometimes the grammar of your first language is completely different from your second language. There might be sounds you do not know how to make because your first language does not have them. You might have limited access to fluent speakers of the language you are learning. All of these are true for Lao learners trying to acquire English as a second language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mary A. The national language in Laos is called Lao. It is missing many of the sounds that native English speakers take for granted. They have no “r” sound, no blended consonants such as...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences With the rapid growth of technology, we can immediately see how it's affecting not only the world as we know it and how we interact with it. We also become aware of how it changes the way we teach language. In this essay, we will discuss how the change of technology has influenced our teaching process and also how it can be used to our benefit to make grammar learning an exciting process for students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Andreas K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For decades we have taught students grammar the traditional way. Providing them with lists of vocabulary/language terminologies and having them study...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The difference between formal and informal grammar is very apparent both in everyday life and during ones time as a teacher of English as a foreign language. These differences, I believe, play an important part in why many language learners find it so difficult to understand and become fluent. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daniel B. As a native English speaker and an ongoing learner of Spanish I find myself struggling with these differences as well. Much of the English grammar we learn in school in America is grammar that the person knows they are likely to use very sparingly. This is why most students fail to truly pay attention in their literature...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This summative essay will exam the importance of teaching the differences between American English and British English for EFL learners. I will examine the intention behind teaching these differences, and when these teachings should be applied, and to what effect and purpose. This essay will focus primarily on the problems of pronunciation and spelling, which are the two main differences. I am a British citizen, born and raised in London, England, and currently teach at a public high school in Tokyo. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Challis C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The most prominent differences in spelling would be...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Confidence - how many times we’ve heard about it. That it’s important, that we should have it, that we should build it, that we should help students or any other people develop it. But what does it mean? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Iuliia S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It’s been always difficult to explain what is it, as it’s something that comes from feelings of well-being, acceptance of yourself, belief in your abilities, skills, your own experience. I would say it’s a ‘self-power’, that lets you move through any difficulties, helps you to grow and become a ‘someone’. The Merriam-Webster dictionary...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas According to Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. As parents what is our role for our children to be educated? How would we reach out to us and explain to them the importance of education? How would we encourage them to pursue their dreams of graduating college despite the struggles that arise? How we would inspire them with Nelson Mandela’s quote “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have,...  [Read more]

Rhea Latchu Alumni Experiences What if I told you it is totally possible to combine your passion with your dream? Well, it is. You see, for as long as I can remember, I have always had the dream to travel and wander around this globe. Then approximately four years ago, I discovered a passion within me that I didn’t even know existed: teaching! And that is how my journey working as an EFL Teacher began! Teaching English for many presents the opportunity needed to become an expat. To live the expat life. This was certainly the case for me. When I accepted a volunteer position as an English Teacher in Chile four years ago, it wasn’t (initially) to accomplish my life long goal of becoming an English teacher. Yes, I had some interest in being able...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The experience of living and working abroad for sure will give us another vision of the world. If you have been in China, enough you will learn to be more patient and tolerant. Live with another culture is not easy, and we learn how to be flexible. We are different, we live differently, our environment is different, our beliefs, our politeness, our food, etc. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ana P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. “Good morning, how are you today? “- They have never asked each other how are they? Instead, they ask “Ni chi le ma?” Did you eat? These people were starving for so many years, and the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences People from different countries inevitably face problems when they are trying to learn English. Russia is no exception. Let’s have a quick look at some typical problems that my fellow countrymen face. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sergei S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As you may know, Russian is written using the Cyrillic alphabet, and some may think that it can cause problems. In reality, the Russians are fine with understanding the Latin alphabet and can easily pronounce each letter. However, the Devil is in the details. When it comes to speaking it becomes problematic to pronounce [θ] and [ð] sounds properly....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I think to best address this question you need to know why I took this course. I am a USA certified teacher who arrived in China almost 6 years ago after a teacher in the Florida school system for 13 years. I was an ESE (Exceptional Student Education) certified, Middle School Math and Science teacher. When I first arrived, I assumed all the foreign teachers I worked with were also certified teachers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jennifer K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I quickly discovered this was not true and began to experience working with TEFL/TESOL teachers. There was a distinct lack of understanding in many...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Deciding whether to teach individuals or group classes can be difficult. There are many similarities as well as differences. The perusal of these two kinds of classes led to charting each difference and similarity. Many of the differences fell under three categories. These three major differences between teaching one-to-one and groups are the class set up, students’ goals/motivations and available activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jade B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching individuals can be nerve-racking itself; the class consists of just the teacher and one student. The traditional dynamics of a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A TEFL teacher will encounter a lot of different things throughout their career and the sizes of the student population are no exception. There are two different types of lessons, group and one to one. While group and one to one lessons are no better than the other, one may excel in some areas where the other one isn’t as strong at or the teacher may have to adapt their teaching style. The number of students in the classroom will affect how the lesson is carried, creates challenges and opportunities for the teacher, and affect student development. The teacher must consider these points to create an effective teaching and learning environment for all included. This post was written by our TEFL certification...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas From both my experiences as well as what I have learned from this course, I believe seating arrangement in the classroom is very important. I remember always remember one teacher in college because her class stuck out from all of the others. In her greek history class, we were forced to place our desks into the form of a circle a vast majority of the time. She warned us from the first day of her class that this would be a class far different from the normal teaching style. She told us that this style would help ensure we stay engaged, listen to others as well as her and would help to keep us accountable for our previous reading assignments. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daniel B. Please...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As with many languages, English has so many different dialects. When one travels to a different region of the United States, for example, one will likely encounter different accents, vocabulary and different meanings of the same words. This is also true for British English and American English. For the purpose of this assignment, we will look a little deeper into these. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sarah Jane G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Many people enjoy traveling. In many parts of the world, English is the primary language, because of this, many people think if they pick places like the U.S. or the U.K. that they...  [Read more]

Anna Domiczek Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching grammar can be challenging, and it becomes especially tricky if we teach younger students, who learn differently than older students or adults. Whereas the latter group focuses primarily on learning vocabulary and grammar rules first, before applying those rules and expressing themselves in the new language, children need to be surrounded by the language and be able to sort it out. Comprehending abstract concepts and grammar rules is not the way young students connect with language and construct meaning. Young learners need to have opportunities to have engaging content, to be able to find patterns and make connections. Can grammar rules be taught that way? Certainly....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Without knowing it nor intending it to be, my path has been strongly directed and focused on education and it was since Elementary School that I felt that something was wrong with me in the nowadays education system. After struggling a lot with learning as I was supposed to and believing that I was not smart enough, I finally took a subject at college that changed my thinking. This subject was called Educational Psychology and it was based on the actual necessity of creating a revolution or a change in education. Within the years we have been de-humanizing education at the point that we don’t even ask ourselves what is the purpose of what we are learning or teaching. We have become like side-blinded horses that...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Since I previously worked as an English teacher in China, I also have my own experience. What is important to me as a teacher? First of all, the personality of the child. He's a human, and I want him to stay that way. Therefore, I need to teach this person to learn, not just to know and be able, but to teach him to use knowledge for the benefit of himself and those around him. Knowledge is a power that can destroy and create. And the child learns to make a decision and be responsible. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vladlena H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Of course, there are errors and problems. Together with our...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Spanish is my mother tongue; however, I also managed to learn English and French at a young age. Both of these languages stuck with me even years after I had left the countries where I learned them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jorge P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Despite staying in those countries for a short time (less than a year), it surprised me how, when comparing myself with people who had had similar experiences, my language skills were much better than theirs. Looking back on those days, I believe that it’s because I was not learning the language for itself, but rather as a means to an end. I was using those...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As with all living languages, English is constantly evolving, slangs and idioms is an example of that. Slang and idioms are an integral part of written and spoken English; often it is employed by native speakers and has a deeper meaning than the literal phrase. Some might argue that slang and idioms are not ‘proper’ English and should not be part of the syllabus but people around the world are increasingly getting exposed to Western media. Students might encounter slangs and idioms when consuming authentic materials such as English films and books, where the characters would interact using normal lay speech. Perhaps the students are interested in all these words and phrases that are nonsensical when taken...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences TEFL Reviews & TESOL Reviews For ITTT, our community of students and alumni is the most important to us. That’s why we’d love to share what our course grads have to say! This will not only have others make a better decision in whether TEFL/TESOL is for them, but it will also help the ITTT community grow bigger and stronger! The below answers were given from real ITTT alumni who have agreed to share their thoughts for our blog section. Zac Robertson I am from Pretoria, South Africa. To become an English Teacher abroad, ITTT was highly recommended to me by a friend. Video Lessons and comprehensiveness of course units. I hope to become an English Teacher in South Korea, to assimilate to...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences I might not have realized it before since I was busy studying and just trying to achieve my short term goals but I believe that my mother has been an inspiration for me to become a teacher. I could remember seeing kids at home being taught by my mom and she used pictures to identify certain shapes and animals. My mom was a regular housewife then. She taught only for fun and to make my brother and I be more engaged in learning things with the company of our friends, our playmates. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marie M. I remember how I strived hard to be able to be the best in my class when I was in elementary school. My mom would always prepare review lessons for me before my periodical...  [Read more]