If I Was The Student Would You Be The Teacher

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences At its core, the same teaching principles and skills must be required and initiated for teaching one student or a group of 30 students. However, the key difference is time. An academic hour is 50 minutes, take 5 minutes to warm up and five minutes cool down, and this leaves 40 minutes for a class of 30 students. If one was to speak directly with every student, this equates to 1.33 minutes per student. Obviously, it would be pointless to do this, as not alone would each student get such little time as not to be of benefit. With one to the one, you get to spend the full 50 minutes with one student. Learning a language, be it a person’s native language or a second language, it takes time and practice. This post...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Anyone can be a teacher but not every teacher is likable or caring. I found in my experience as a student, especially as a child, I would find myself dreading the classes with the teachers that had bad attitudes and would look forward to the ones who not only kept the class interesting but showed true interest in the student's lives. The truly talented teachers would take examples of scenarios people had discussed from their personal lives and use it as a tool in their teaching strategies. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Priscilla L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The only thing that separated these two types of teachers...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Is it appropriate to punish younger children in an ESL classroom? No, there is no need for that. Punishment is such a strong word to use for children when trying to learn a new language. Learning a new language may be difficult for everyone. It requires patience towards the children you teach and patience towards yourself. Punish us not the word that I would use, discipline is. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kathrina M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. At some point, the children in your class would misbehave during a lesson. Yes, it would disturb the flow of the class. Others can also join the other student and misbehave as...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Punishment can be defined as an inflicted action in a person’s environment that occurs after a given behavior, or a response which reduces the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future. There are a lot of reasons why people use punishment, but the main reason is to change someone’s behavior. There are two types of punishment known in Psychology: negative, and positive punishment. The first consists of taking away something very desirable for the person and the other one is about inflicting undesirable stimuli to that person, whose behavior we want to change. Motivation, on the other hand, can be defined as an internal willingness to undertake actions that would result in the achievement of a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Motivation is the act of giving a reason or reason to carry out a task and or function. In today’s society schools are becoming more and more diverse and as such it provides teachers and students an extra task to try and learn about individuals in their surroundings. As we all know, a student’s background plays a role in the student’s receptive and productive skills. Hence the reason for building rapport with students. Not all students are self-motivated, so teachers need to motivate them and encourage them to develop self-motivation. Motivating students is essential as it promotes learning, growth and self-development, and truancy...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Should teachers punish students for bad behavior? In my psychology class at university, we learned that there are many ways to curve or modify behavior, one method involves 2 different types of punishment. When we think of punishment in a classroom we typically think back to corporal punishment, which would be classified as Positive Punishment (when something is added to diminish behavior). This is quite frankly unacceptable in a classroom. This can have a great and direct psychological effect on the student's motivation to learn a language. Even if the behavior is not related to language learning, a student might subconsciously relate the punishment with learning English. There are far better ways to improve...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Culture is ubiquitous. Today, a lot of people, especially teachers, are aware of how culture plays a major role not only within the educational realm but everywhere. Indeed, it takes an astute observation and deep understanding of cultural sensitivity in the classroom. It is noteworthy to claim that cultural belongings shape our communicative skills and thoughts, which in return enable us to sympathize with people having different cultural backgrounds. To promote cultural sensitivity in the classroom, teachers should at least be culturally knowledgeable, adaptive and celebrating diversity. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jihane A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This essay will focus on the differences between one-to-one teaching and group teaching. With both teaching approaches, there are advantages as well as disadvantages. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alida K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Recently, there has been an increase in demand for one-to-one lessons, particularly within the business industry (Teaching Special Groups, Unit 19). Students feel they are receiving a service tailored to their wants and needs than that of a group lesson would. Furthermore, teaching one-to-one allows the teacher to create a plan that directly suits the learners' needs; for example,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Have you ever considered living and experiencing a different culture? If the answer is yes, teaching is a good way to achieve your goal. Teaching can be hard and challenging but also very rewarding to watch your students improve. This is why taking a TEFL course is important for several reasons including the following: methods for teaching younger students, methods for teaching students who require different approaches to learning, and methods for keeping students under control in the classroom during an English lesson. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Taylor E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First, I learned that...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I believe discipline in the classroom has a time and place. Depending on the age group or behavior of the classroom will define if discipline is needed. When discipline is simple, the teacher must ask themselves one question, is it disrupting the student's time to learn? If the answer to that question is a yes then action must be taken at that point. As a future teacher, I think the best way to make it clear to the student that bad behavior will not be tolerated is by implementing a three-strike system: the first strike is a warning, the second strike is detention and a paper assigned to the student asking them to write what mistake they made and how they will improve in the future, the third strike is being sent...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas So you studied for hours, completed the necessary work, took the test, and received your TEFL certification, now what? You need to find a suitable company that meets your hours and teaching style. Do you want to teach in person or online? Do you want to teach a group of students or would you like the settings of one on one interaction? In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the benefits and pitfalls of teaching foreign students English one on one. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate John B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A major advantage of teaching foreign students when mono-y-mono is that there is only “one”...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas One of the fulfilling thoughts on teaching English as a foreign language is that generally, the students are very self-motivated as most of the students have taken up learning English as a second or foreign language due to personal requirements; either they need to up-skill themselves for work opportunities or a possible relocation to an English speaking country, or possibly purely for personal fulfillment. Whatever the reason, the students will be eager and self-motivated to learn. The students understand the purpose of their work and have a sense of responsibility for their learning and achievement. However, that should not stop a teacher from doing their best to encourage and motivate his or her students, so...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas According to the Cambridge dictionary, motivation is the need or reason for doing something. Motivation is a way to get somebody to complete something that they might not aspire to execute on his or her own. Teachers have been using different forms of motivation in the classroom for years, which has been positive and negative. My parents used to tell me stories about their school time when the teachers would smack their hands with rulers if they didn’t do their homework. They would also use the same rulers to smack the students’ buttocks when they were misbehaving. When I was in school our motivation to perform satisfactorily in the class was to get decent grades. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teacher self-analysis in the classroom is just as important as a critical self-reflection upon the unfolding of our lives. To know whether or not our students are getting the most out of our course, the first step must be to critically assess whether or not we are upholding our values and/or philosophical approaches to teaching. Without remaining mindful of our intentions for and approaches to teaching, it may be easy to lose sight of one’s long term goals and could result in disorganization, a loss in student interest, and/or a poor student to teacher relationship. But being critical of the self is difficult due to our loyalties and beliefs that frame our perception. So how is the eye able to see the eye? This...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When teaching English lessons, a teacher will more than likely find themselves in the position of teaching a class with only one student. It is for this reason that it is useful to consider the ways in which a teacher needs to adapt their lessons to be suitable for one to one teaching. It is also useful to consider the advantages and disadvantages of such classes in order for the teacher to be better prepared for any issues that may arise. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Laura W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A teacher should, first and foremost, check the number of students that will be in their class in advance. In this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In our everyday life we try to teach someone something, as in life we use different methods to explain something to someone, it is the same for a teacher. We spend every day as teachers and learners. We don't have to be students to learn and we don't have to be teachers to teach. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Medha R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The source of learning doesn't have to be one human giving a lesson to another; it can be something new we learned from a book, the internet, a newspaper, etc. However, we owe it to another human being that we have within us the capacity to teach, it can vary from a life skill...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Educating children is one of the most challenging and rewarding roles. Children are usually illustrated as a bath sponge when it comes to absorbing language input. They could learn easily learn a language without much force at a young age. As teachers or educators, we need to be able to nurture them to have a positive mind and become an independent individual in the future. A child’s future would largely depend on the education they receive when they are young. Thus, it is a teacher’s role to mold children by giving the best education in a positive direction at a young age. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jze Chen W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The role of the teacher is to guide the student to success. They are the main source of motivation, knowledge of the subject, and plays a key role in the possible atmosphere of the classroom. The vitality of the role cannot be understated because it is the difference between helping the student reach their full potential or failure to learn the subject matter. From the beginning, the teacher must let the students know that they care and all questions are welcomed so that it becomes an open space to create opportunities to learn. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Priscilla L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Subconsciously by the...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teachers who walk into a new classroom are never sure what type of students will be there. Many times, they will get a class that has a mixed ability. Some of the students may have a stronger grasp of the English language than others. An experienced teacher would know what to do. But what about an inexperienced teacher? This post will describe some of the steps and strategies that would assist them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate James O. On day one, the teacher does not need to use the text. The teacher’s job on the first day is to develop a rapport with the students. This would include getting to know the students, what they are interested in, what their level of English proficiency...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When teaching a class of students, teachers may discover that when they are trying to explain or introduce a new concept or segment of work, they are talking for more time than their students are. This can consequently reduce the effectiveness of the lesson and in turn result in a poor experience for the learners, as well as not equipping them properly to communicate in English outside of the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lindsay K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The method I would use to minimize this problem would be a combination of drilling and simplification exercises. While teaching, I would employ the...  [Read more]

  Unit 10 provides students with the opportunity to see two real English language classes in progress one effective and one not so effective. During this unit you will analyze the two lessons and gain an understanding of how your attitude as a teacher and the way you interact with your students affects their ability and motivation to learn. 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. There is an integral relationship between a teacher and a student....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences First of all, there’s a great difference between teaching one-to-one and groups. Some teachers prefer teaching one-to-one as it gives teachers a better opportunity to focus on one student rather than giving attention to many students. Also, there are differences regarding the classroom of each type. For example in teaching groups, classrooms are more formal. That’s why there would be more discipline in classrooms of groups. On the other hand, in teaching one-to-one, the classroom can be anywhere either in the student’s home if lessons are private or even in the teacher’s home. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Omnia A. As for choosing curriculum, teaching one-to-one gives the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas For the last two years, I have worked as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) at a Japanese high school. Along with my teaching job, I have volunteered at a weekly English conversation class, where I teach English to both children and adults. Next year, I plan to transition out of my ALT job and into private ESL teaching. It is most likely that I will do most of my teaching online, where I will be one-on-one with a student. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Bailey J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In this case, when looking at my experience with teaching...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Evaluation and testing are important components for the teacher, students, and the teaching of ESL/EFL courses. These two tasks are both ways of measuring personal achievement about the progression of the course being taught. Without testing, it would be much more difficult for teachers to gauge their students’ progression in the course and would likely prevent students from earning certifications in the English language. If evaluations are not conducted the teacher may be oblivious to their deficiencies in their teaching methods. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ryan R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Evaluation as...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When approaching a new language, one must understand that this will be a challenging journey. Not an impossible one, but a learning process that, sooner or later, will require a great deal of motivation, passion, and commitment. As educators, I think that our first duty is not only to really outline this journey for our students, but also to bring to life their inner motivation. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Flavia-Ioana S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It is quite a well-known fact that while most of the students who decide to learn English, especially if we take into consideration adults, are self-motivated and they...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As a foreigner in a foreign country, cultural sensitivity is important. As a teacher being culturally sensitive in the classroom is of more importance. As a foreigner, there is the ability to interact with people of various ages, occupations, and other demographics in foreign countries. In foreign countries, there are different ways in which society treats certain age groups, occupations, and other demographics. As a teacher, there could be the goal of interacting with native people and groups appropriately. As an English teacher one may have the opportunity to interact with students that vary in ages. As a teacher, the interactions that one would have would be with students, schools, and school faculty. As a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This piece will discuss the difficulties faced by Japanese learners of English regarding English pronunciation and suggest methods to help learners in different age groups overcome them. It posits that most difficulties stem from the differences in phonology between the English alphabet and the Japanese kana system. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Niall M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. While the English alphabet is phonemic, with each letter representing a single sound, kana is syllabic, with most characters representing a consonant followed by a vowel. This means that Japanese speakers may add vowels onto the end of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Classroom management focuses on ways used to ensure and secure a comfortable atmosphere in the classroom, these are ways the teacher uses to make the classroom conducive for learners, to achieve this task, the teacher must set up rules that eliminate unwanted behavior that get to disrupt learning. Different approaches can be put in place by the teachers too. Achieving his objective while taking into consideration the age and level of the kid's Different teachers will have a different approach in the respect, taking into consideration the age and level of the kids. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ako B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas One of the things I have learned in this course is the importance of motivation. Both teachers and students have to be motivated so that the teaching and learning environment in the classroom can be a fun and enjoyable experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Carol T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are many ways a teacher can motivate the student to learn, and one of the tools is the use of playing games in the classroom. Games are effective because aside from keeping the students interested, they are a great teaching tool. For example, for a beginning student, I would have them play “I spy with my little eye...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Having experienced campus life as a non-native English speaker and foreign student in Canada, I have learnt a few key aspects that affect the overall learning experience in a diverse classroom. The effectiveness and efficacy of the teacher primarily hinge on their ability to engage the students enough to maintain a reasonable level of motivation. I have observed a few ways that would increase the motivation of the students, especially within a classroom full of students from diverse cultural backgrounds and language levels. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jeannie C. By using real-life examples, current affairs, personal testimonies and even the current...  [Read more]