How To Get Certified To Teach Spanish

Tamara Jennings Teaching Ideas While there is great value in learning a second language, it can also be quite time-consuming. It also requires a good amount of patience and determination. Thanks to technology, the bright side is that learning doesn’t always have to feel like work! Continue reading to find out ways to use media to your advantage in assisting students with enjoyable ways to gain their target language skills. I love Spanish, and when I set out to really learn the language in 2019, I started by taking two college-level courses. These classes gave me a wealth of information on vocabulary, rules, and conjugation, but I still had no idea how to really use Spanish. I felt those classes didn’t really do much to teach me much about how...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The accelerated growth of English as a global language has made people from all around the world realize how important this one is nowadays, even in our everyday life we find English words and content wherever we look, technology, movies, tv, business, and internet are only some of them. Therefore, people from different nationalities around the globe, show a lot of interest in learning the English language. This time we are going to focus on Latin and Hispanic students and the challenges that these Spanish speakers encounter when learning English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dayana M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas First and foremost I'd like to address why phonetics issues very early piqued my interest in teaching English for foreigners. Ever since childhood, I was surrounded by people with substantial articulatory and auditory phonetic problems, not so much with the acoustic ones. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Asbiorn B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Firstly, those auditory problems were inherited biologically by people around me and couldn't be helped much before the very sophisticated miniature hearing aids just recently were introduced. However, some foreign students can't afford these rather expensive items and subsequently...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences As a native English speaker, my first major foreign language experience began in 8th grade, where I had the option of studying either Spanish or French. I chose Spanish, as I’d always been drawn to the language and Latin American culture, and hoped to one day live in a Spanish speaking country. I studied the language throughout high school, but in the years afterward, it wasn’t much of a priority and wasn’t something I used on a regular basis. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lauren M. In high school, our language classes were mainly structured around learning grammar and following the textbook. From time to time, we would listen to and translate songs in Spanish, or watch a movie in...  [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 Alumni Experiences English is my first language, however, I studied Spanish throughout high school growing up in the Midwest and eventually received a Master’s degree in Spanish Literature. I learned to speak Spanish very well after becoming a high school Spanish teacher for eight years and then a principal for elementary and secondary schools for 26 more years speaking Spanish to new immigrant students and parents the whole time. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rex P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In reflecting on the title question I first asked myself how Spanish had influenced me over the years. The first obvious answer was that I...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This essay displays my own experience as well as information from other (internet) resources. I work as an English teacher in Chile, mainly teaching professionals in the mining industry. Only 3 to 5 percent of the population in Chile speaks proficient English. The Ministry of Education created a plan to upscale the level of English and the percentage of English speakers in the country. They welcome teachers from abroad. Chile is a Spanish speaking country. Spanish speakers have a certain advantage when it comes to learning English, like the use of cognates. But they also have specific difficulties that need attention while learning English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yvette O. Please...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences Difficulty with pronunciation is likely something that every EFL teacher will face at one point or another in their career. Every language in the world has different ways of pronouncing different words/ letters. In addition to this, most speakers of other languages have heavy accents that can make pronouncing English words very difficult. This can be a challenge when teaching English as a foreign language. It can be especially challenging because not all learners around the world will face the same problems. Students in Vietnam will likely have different pronunciation problems than students in Kenya and students in Brazil will likely have different pronunciation problems than students in Morocco. For this essay, I will...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas For non-native English student in Spain, specific difficulties may be encountered when learning English. A good English teacher will help a student address those difficulties including, but not limited to, pronunciation, listening, and grammar. A good English teacher to non-native English students requires a solid foundation in the knowledge of English as the student relies on the teacher as the main source of the language. The student looks to the teacher for guidance and direction in order to comprehend English. The teacher must instill trust and display confidence for the student to learn adequately. These are difficulties in teaching English to non-native students in general....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Spanish speakers from Mexico face several challenges for acquiring successful pronunciation skills in English. Many students here will have had at least some exposure to English through media and contact with American-English speakers, however, this does not mean that they will have a complete understanding of the phonemic system in English and how it differs from that of Spanish. This essay will briefly describe some outcomes stemming from pronunciation problems in students, followed by an overview of the basic phonetic and phonological differences between English and Mexican Spanish with examples and discussion around the rules that govern English word stress. This post was written by our TEFL certification...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Is English the most and widely language ever used in the history of this world? Yes. It does mean that it’s the only one spoken though. There are many other important languages in the world, but when it comes to business, English is the most spoken of them all. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hector R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Beginning with the Mayans, later on, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all knew the mechanics to create a bond with other societies. Trading goods and services in early civilizations have been the motor to move markets from one country to another with rapid success. Going back thousands of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The native language in Ecuador is Quichua, an Inca language. It is spoken by the Indian population, but Spanish is the most common, widely spoken language. Besides Spanish, ten native languages are spoken in Ecuador. English is the most spoken foreign language amongst tourist providers and professionals. For this reason, English is taught in most schools as a Foreign Language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jemma W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Most students find it very hard to learn English in Ecuador as there are very few people to practice with. It is only the most dedicated students who put the effort in to studying...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences When one begins to study a new language, they can often find themselves to be a bit overwhelmed. Language acquisition is not an easy task, and it comes with many challenges and difficulties attached. Although, as ESL teachers, we are trained to look out for common errors and given the best teaching ideas and methodologies to use in the classroom, it can sometimes feel as though something is missing. Teachers who have studied a foreign language and have had experience using the language possess that missing piece, and their foreign language experience makes them better teachers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gabrielle N. These ESL teachers were once in their students’ shoes; they, too,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I did not realize how difficult English is until I became fluent in Spanish. I am currently studying French and I am pretty good at French. I have a basic knowledge of Esperanto. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Wayne K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I will just touch on each of these since a book could be written about each of these. Also Read: Teaching Young Learners vs. Adult Learners - The Differences You Can Expect I have found many poems(1) and articles on the internet discussing the insane way English is spelled and pronounced. On the previously sited website(ibid) an English instructor states that he has very often...  [Read more]

Julia Erbacher Alumni Experiences I am American. My hometown is Buffalo, New York. 26 I have an Associates of Science in Music and Bachelors of Arts in Spanish. I also have been TEFL certified and DELE certified with a C1 level of Spanish speaking from the Cervantes Institute. My first experience abroad I went to Peru, then Madrid, Spain, and finally back to Spain in another region of the country. I studied at the International Institute in Madrid through the University of Albany. In my hometown, I graduated from the University at Buffalo. I was looking for the next learning adventure in my life, as well as the desire to improve my Spanish speaking skills. That is why I made the decision to apply for the Conversation Auxiliar Program through the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I think of myself as having been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to learn other languages at a young age. I was taught French in primary school and at home, I learned or acquired Spanish. At school, I remember my language teacher being very textbook-oriented and she focused and followed the book to the “T”. I picked up easily on the grammar because I had already learned Spanish at home and I was also very keen to learn foreign languages, especially French. The grammar didn’t seem difficult or boring to me at all because I had already been exposed to the language at a very early age. However, many students didn’t feel the same way I did and had difficulty with the subject and therefore,...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Most of the Mexican learners have difficulties with English due to a lack of the use of English in daily life. Most people in Mexico do not normally have real contact with English outside the classroom. They are usually only exposed to it through the media, such as online channels or music videos but most of them never listened to a real conversation in English or practiced a real-life situation (as asking for directions, ordering food, etc). If you are interested in teaching English in Mexico, this article will be very helpful as it highlights the most common problems students in Mexico face when learning English. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Pablo P. Only a minor percentage of Mexican students...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Although many ESL teachers do have foreign language experience, many are not aware of how much this experience benefits them. Sure, if they are teaching English in Japan, having Japanese language experience is helpful for daily life situations, but how could it bleed into the classroom as well? And the language experience doesn’t necessarily have to involve the first language of the students, either. Having foreign language experiences allows the teacher to understand just how hard learning a language is, can understand where certain errors may come from, see English from a different perspective, and gives them a stronger grasp on English grammar. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate...  [Read more]

Sabrina Segal Alumni Experiences Language skills begin in the womb when a fetus's hearing first develops, they begin to listen to the language of their mother. Once the baby is born they recognize their mother tongue. Though, a baby is born with the ability to learn any language and multiple languages. When babies hear a word repeatedly their brain forms neural connections, which is a step towards their speech. The brain of a child is like a sponge. It retains so much information that by the time a child reaches 3 years of age, their brain has formed double the amount of connections that adults have. Young children learn language through simple exposure. It is possible to learn a language later on in life but the process is slower and more...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I am from the United States and my native language is English. I am currently living in the Philippines, so I have been encountering language issues a lot lately. I have desperately been trying to learn Tagalog, and it is a major challenge. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gabriel T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Along the way, I have had a lot of help from the native Filipinos that I live with and whom I now call my family. I have asked myself, "How did they learn English so well and what difficulties do they still have with English?" Because English has so many contradictions and strange nuances I have decided to do my...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As someone of mixed heritage, I have always had an interest in learning about cultures other than the one I live in America. My father is Colombian and my mother is American, so growing up I felt obliged to learn more about the Colombian background I was fairly unfamiliar with. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Catherine P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I never felt satisfied with the amount of exposure I had to my Colombian heritage. My mom never learned Spanish, so around the house, it was easier for my dad to speak to my siblings and me in English. As a result, we barely grazed the surface of the Spanish language and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Parents have a definite role in the education of their children, especially if the language of the family is different from the target language of the children. Because of the closeness that should exist between parent and child, the first teachers in all areas of life should be the parent. However, due to the situations created in our society, this is not often the case. When one thinks of modern society, the difficulties that parents encounter in the role of the teacher can be seen. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Norris J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Imagine the situation in which both parents have to work each...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences For the past several years I have been working for a non-profit company that provides high-quality daycare and preschool education for financially disadvantaged children. The population we serve is diverse, but the majority of families in our particular centers are Latino. Although I am not employed in a classroom teaching position, I have a great deal of contact with the children and with their parents. Part of my responsibility is to conduct an intake interview with the parents to explain the policies of the school, and to do a health history of the child before he enters. These meetings take about forty minutes when the parent speaks English, and an hour or more if I need the help of a translator. This post...  [Read more]

1. Introduction to ITTT 2. Benefits of ESL Teaching Certification 3. ESL Teaching Certification in Barcelona 4. How to Get Certified with ITTT International TEFL and TESOL Training (ITTT) is a leading provider of ESL teaching certification courses worldwide. With over 25 years of experience in the field, ITTT offers a range of accredited in-class and online courses for individuals looking to start a career in teaching English as a foreign language. Our programs are designed to equip aspiring teachers with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the classroom and make a positive impact on their students' learning experience. Obtaining an ESL teaching certification from ITTT comes with a variety of benefits. Firstly, our courses are internationally recognized, allowing you to teach...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Stepping onto my flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile, I was confident in my Spanish skills. After all, I had taken nearly seven years of Spanish classes in middle and high school. However, when I landed I found, not only did I not understand 80% of what my host family said to me, they couldn’t understand me either. Over the course of my two months there, I came to appreciate the significance of slang in understanding and mastering a language. Even though slang words and usage can vary tremendously throughout the English speaking world, this is not an excuse to avoid introducing slang in the classroom. Being able to identify and understand some common slang words and phrases will help English learners reading...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences To finish the TEFL course, I would like to write on a topic that worries many EFL high school teachers in Spain: the lack of motivation, improvement, and participation of their students in the classroom. This is a topic that was widely discussed during my MA in Foreign Language Teaching. For this reason, I would like to take this opportunity to do some further research on this since I believe it's a topic of ultimate importance to all EFL teachers working in Spain. I will discuss how to solve this issue through the use of IT created to facilitate school exchanges. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ana Maria Serra C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Lulu Johnson Destinations TEFL Information Alumni Experiences The Fulbright program is a great way to travel abroad and work as an English language teacher in an exciting new country. It allows you to experience a new culture, meet lots of new people and discover something new about yourself. This article will go over what Fulbright is, their English teaching program, and how to apply to Fulbright in this blog post. My name is Lulu, and I am currently a Fulbright recipient in South Korea for the next year (2021). A little about me: I was originally born in China but was adopted into a USA family. I grew up knowing I wanted to become a doctor and went to college in the Midwest and majored in Nutritional...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Prior to starting a class, an English teacher needs to take into consideration many parameters. How many students will I have to teach? How old are they? What are their levels? What knowledge did they already acquire in terms of vocabulary and grammar? What are their nationalities? In this blog post, we are going to focus on the problems that an English teacher can encounter when teaching to students of different nationalities and cultures. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Manon L. First of all, it is important to define what a monolingual class and a multilingual class are. Monolingual students are students who all have the same native language. For example, teaching English to Thai...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As a young child, I was, for some reason, obsessed with the idea of learning French. I tried a couple of languages, including Finnish at some point, but kept going back to French. I have no idea why because I was never exposed to the culture or the language itself at that age. I doubt I even knew anything about the country itself. I think I assumed learning French would make me sound smarter but, the joke's on younger me, I have no skill in French and never have. I tend to struggle with romance languages in general. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nicole H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When I was in high school, my...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas Language acquisition is not an easy feat for anyone at any age, whether you are learning your first language as a baby or your fourth language as an adult. Learning foreign languages will always be difficult however, having a teacher that understands the challenge with first-hand knowledge, can make a huge difference to students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Randi B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. 1st language acquisitions are much easier to learn given the fact that it happens almost naturally. While it will surely take time, babies typically learn their first language organically from listening to those around them and...  [Read more]