Information Gap

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Urban education can be described as a complicated topic for school reformists in America. With critical issues, such as inadequate funding, lack of resources, and uncertified teachers, the myriad of problems with public education has reached a new high. Many big-city public education systems have turned into melting pots by bringing together members of different racial, social, economic, and ethnic groups. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Crystal H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Per the Bureau of International Information Programs (2011), the...  [Read more]

  This video is part of our ESA Methodology series. The ESA methodology consists of three stages. In this series, we look at the individual purposes of each stage and typical activities for each stage. This second video introduces the study phase of ESA. The purpose of this phase is to cover the actual teaching of the lesson and to check the understanding of that material.The second stage or phase of the lesson is known as the study phase and really the purpose of this phase is to cover the actual teaching of the lesson and to check understanding of that material. Typically in an ESA lesson, the study phase will have two parts. The first phase of the study is to cover the actual teaching component in what's known as the board work and what we try to do in the board work phase is to...  [Read more]

  In this video Linda breaks down the difference between ?anyone? and ?any one?. While this set of words is often confused, the difference is actually quite simple. Watch the video for detailed explanations and examples on the two words. 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. In this unit, I learned about productive skills and how to foster fluency and accuracy in a typical ESA lesson. I also looked at what stages in a typical ESA lesson would most...  [Read more]

  Once we're satisfied that all the students have been engaged and that they've been given the opportunity to say something, we can move on to our study phase. Here, it may be necessary or useful to actually pre-teach some gaps in knowledge that have been shown from the engage phase and those gaps in knowledge may include actual grammar structures or indeed useful vocabulary and it's very important that, before we move on to doing any forms of activity, we check their understanding of this material. So, we need to do some study exercises. It's also very useful if you leave this information up on the board through all that study period. Those study activities can just be the normal types of gap fills or matching activities and, as always, we need to demonstrate those activities,...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas If every single lesson that we undertook with our students was a straight arrow ESA lesson then it is quite possible that the students would be able to predict what is going to come up next. Whilst this might be good for the lower level students, it could potentially become a little bit boring for our higher level students. Harmer considered this and his response was to generate two other types of ESA lesson that we can use to try and generate a little bit more interest. The first of these is known as a boomerang lesson and the second is known as a patchwork lesson. First let us recap the structure of a Straight arrow ESA lesson. This takes each of the three phases in turn, so a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Listening is an important skill in which learners need help in developing their abilities. Listening strategies are so helpful. By giving a learner, tools to listen to the learner can develop more control over his/her listening abilities. Many learners ask “ Teacher, how can I improve my listening?” The truth of the matter is with training from teachers. We can apply strategies in class to help learners overcome the obstacles, which they encounter while listening. The spoken text varies greatly from written text, and these differences can affect the listeners’ understanding. For example, when listening to spoken text the learner must process the information right away, and in some cases, there is often...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Over the course of this certification program, I learned an abundance of information and methodologies, but none as important as the ESA outline; the ESA methodology is, undoubtedly, the best thing I’ve learned from my TEFL course. The ESA procedure provides a myriad of benefits, engaging learners in a series of dynamic activities aimed to create a seamless and effective educational environment. Due to the adept and fluid nature of the ESA methodology, it is easily the most important tool taught to me throughout this program and something I foresee utilizing often in the near future. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Richard H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflonline.net We have seen that the key word that helps us to remember the Present Perfect tense is forms of the word 'have' plus the past participle form of the verb. This ITTT video looks at the three main usages of the Present Perfect. First usage: To talk about indefinite past actions. I have been to Italy twice. / I have eaten snake. Second usage: To talk about unfinished past actions I have lived here for three years. / She has been a teacher since 2010. Third usage: To talk about past actions with present results. I have lost my keys. / I have left my computer in the office. When teaching the Present Perfect tense or any other grammar point it is always important to look for patterns and make it as clear as possible for your students. The courses at ITTT...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas In this blog post, we will take a look at a typical example of a boomerang lesson. First we will recap the structure E  A1  S  A2 Here the students are just going to have a discussion about jobs, what happens at interviews and so on and so forth. During that engage phase what we would hope to do is to elicit some useful language about, jobs, interviews and the types of questions that are being asked in interviews. Some of this information can be put on the board. We do no teaching in this phase, we do not correct any mistakes either, just let the students talk freely. Next, we're going to move immediately into an activate...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Course materials are the ingredients of the class, that if implemented effectively, make it taste good. A teacher can be amazing at instructing but the materials are what will help the students apply the lecture and know if they understood it. It reminds me of when I was in class, listening to my teacher, oftentimes I was really under the impression that I understood what the teacher was saying. When I did my homework though, I found it difficult to apply that information to the exercises. This was often the case when the teacher explained things well, but the materials weren’t personalized and came from a textbook that has been out of date for the past 5 years. Here we’ll go over how to implement course...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Knowing an additional language goes beyond the ability to speak it. It connects people, helps in understanding different cultures and has also been identified as a boost to brain function and increase intelligence. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nagashree C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In the present age of expanding businesses, capturing markets across the globe, establishing offices far and wide, more and more business are following the model of ‘following the sun’ by having their businesses and services available at all times of the day irrespective of the location the clients are in. For this, one of the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Oxford Dictionary defines learning ability as the ability to comprehend or understand and profit from an experience (Vocabulary.com, 2019). The reality is that in any classroom, a teacher will be faced with teaching children of varying learning abilities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Liezl S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Constructivism is a theory about how people learn and acquire knowledge and can be a tool for effective teaching when faced with students of varying abilities. The theory states that people construct their understanding and knowledge of the world, through their experiences and by looking back or...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching a real class, first, we need to mention the rapport between teachers and students. What makes a good teacher and a good learner are tend to be “student-centered” class than “teacher-centered”, which means teachers’ talking time is less than students’. Being a good teacher will always remind and encourage learners about their learning motivations and interests. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Crystal D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Before teaching a class, we need to plan a class and what you expect students to achieve by the end of the class. In a lesson plan, we need a learning objective what do you...  [Read more]

Shirin Sophy Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Regardless of the ESA type applied in a lesson plan(straight-arrow, boomerang, patchwork, and so forth), the activation phase, when the target language is supposed to be practiced and promoted through various techniques and activities, is usually the last stage of every lesson. A well-designed activation can be an essential characteristic of a fruitful lesson which highly affects learners' level of participation during the lesson and their sense of achievement at the end of the lesson. This phase is naturally divided into some steps to facilitate the activation process, including the controlled, semi-controlled, and free practices that are briefly discussed in this post. Controlled...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Receptive skills, reading and listening, are important skills that all students should master when learning a new language. They are important because they surround the world and can be used for purpose and entertainment. In my own experience, I have seen the consequences of underdeveloped receptive skills and have helped to develop my students’ receptive skills in the classroom. With this experience and the information I have learned in this course, I am hoping to continue to develop receptive skills in my students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Chelsea S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As mentioned above, receptive...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas When using the ESA methodology, there are a number of lesson formats available. In the third of this series we look at a Patchwork lesson. What does a Patchwork lesson look like and for what level of student is it most appropriate? Lesson aim: For the students to be able to discuss holidays using vocabulary and conducting a role-play. Student Level: Intermediate (Due to the complexity of Patchwork lessons they should only be used for Intermediate level and above) We start by reminding ourselves of the form of a Patchwork ESA lesson. We start with an engage as always and we will finish with an activate and there will be some combination of E, S and A within the brackets. Starting...  [Read more]

Hadassah Roberts Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Having a growth mindset can be life-changing. As an English teacher, you can teach your students to have growth mindsets, and this will undoubtedly be very helpful to them for the rest of their lives. Hadassah Roberts Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The need to learn a second language is a growing need as international travel and living increases. This is especially true for English teachers. Let's discover the best strategies that will help you when learning a new language. Zareena Younis Destinations Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The most helpful teaching strategy that I learned about in this course was ESA lesson planning. An ESA lesson is one that includes three distinct stages: Engage, Study, and Activate. A successful lesson should include all three components, beginning with an engaging stage and concluding with an activated stage. I plan to use this framework for my own lesson planning because it is flexible, yet has enough structure to establish students’ expectations for how they will learn during every class period. I especially like the distinction between study and activate because it helps me understand the role of different types of activities in a lesson. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rachel S....  [Read more]

Elaheh Rezvani Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Nothing can undoubtedly match the experience of face-to-face classrooms. An offline or physical set of an educational platform is an indispensable part of a student's life since it is essential for their growth in all aspects. However, the potentiality of technology in education also plays an equally important part. Virtual or online learning represents a set of new learning opportunities. Technology gives this opportunity to teachers and students to enjoy more enchantment in lesson plans and provides a multi-dimensional chance to the classrooms. The most positive and primary side of involving technology in everyday education is that STUDENTS became the heart of the online...  [Read more]

Ahmed Taha TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Cooperative learning is one of the successful methods of teaching that enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning skills. Moreover, it encourages the learners to be more dependant and use their language effectively. Hadassah Roberts Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas As an English teacher, you may find yourself accepting the call to teach in a remote village or town in any part of the world where the inhabitants are more or less secluded from urban society. Often you may also find that the house you move into is a dry cabin. Zareena Younis Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]

  So, having elicited this particular structure, what I'm now able to do is to move on to the actual study activities. Typically, they will be in the form of worksheets to check that the students actually understand this information. So, I might prepare three activities. They may not do them all but, for example, I could prepare these three study activities. So, the first one is going to be a fairly straightforward matching activity, where perhaps they match the subject to its correct verb "to be" in that part of the sentence. The second one is going to be a gap fill. For example, I might use this verb here and ask them to complete a sentence using that verb, so that I can check that any spelling changes that take place are correct and the final one is going to be an unscramble,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A motivated student is a student who is eager to learn, and that means they are much more likely to absorb and retain what they are being taught than if they were disengaged or disinterested. This is why it is so important for teachers to foster motivation in the classroom and engage their students to be open to learning before the start of each lesson. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lindsay G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are many different techniques teachers can use to get their students in a learning mindset. Some common and effective approaches are mental warm-ups like word games, vocal activities like singing,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When we start to learn new things as children, we tend to do that with the help of games. That is why in many classrooms of young learners, we find games to be a highly popular medium amongst educators. It is a way of absorbing and processing a piece of information in a fun and educational way. But when we grow up, we somehow forget the necessity of games in the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Anna B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When it comes to learning a second language, children immerse themselves in the learning task much easier and quicker. Adults, on the other hand, find it challenging to absorb the task...  [Read more]

Unlock your potential as an English language teacher with our specialized seminars designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field of English language teaching. Whether you are a seasoned educator looking to expand your expertise or a novice just starting out in the world of teaching English as a foreign language, our seminars offer valuable insights and practical strategies to help you succeed in the classroom. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we are committed to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers around the globe. 1. Enhance Your Teaching Skills 2. Interactive Workshops 3. Expert-Led Sessions 4. Practical Application Our specialized English language teaching seminars are designed to help you enhance your teaching skills...  [Read more]

Unlock your potential as an English language teacher with our specialized seminars designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field of English language teaching. Whether you are a seasoned educator looking to expand your expertise or a novice just starting out in the world of teaching English as a foreign language, our seminars offer valuable insights and practical strategies to help you succeed in the classroom. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we are committed to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers around the globe. 1. Enhance Your Teaching Skills 2. Interactive Workshops 3. Expert-Led Sessions 4. Practical Application Our specialized English language teaching seminars are designed to help you enhance your teaching skills...  [Read more]

Unlock your potential as an English language teacher with our specialized seminars designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field of English language teaching. Whether you are a seasoned educator looking to expand your expertise or a novice just starting out in the world of teaching English as a foreign language, our seminars offer valuable insights and practical strategies to help you succeed in the classroom. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we are committed to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers around the globe. 1. Enhance Your Teaching Skills 2. Interactive Workshops 3. Expert-Led Sessions 4. Practical Application Our specialized English language teaching seminars are designed to help you enhance your teaching skills...  [Read more]

Unlock your potential as an English language teacher with our specialized seminars designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field of English language teaching. Whether you are a seasoned educator looking to expand your expertise or a novice just starting out in the world of teaching English as a foreign language, our seminars offer valuable insights and practical strategies to help you succeed in the classroom. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we are committed to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers around the globe. 1. Enhance Your Teaching Skills 2. Interactive Workshops 3. Expert-Led Sessions 4. Practical Application Our specialized English language teaching seminars are designed to help you enhance your teaching skills...  [Read more]

Unlock your potential as an English language teacher with our specialized seminars designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field of English language teaching. Whether you are a seasoned educator looking to expand your expertise or a novice just starting out in the world of teaching English as a foreign language, our seminars offer valuable insights and practical strategies to help you succeed in the classroom. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we are committed to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers around the globe. 1. Enhance Your Teaching Skills 2. Interactive Workshops 3. Expert-Led Sessions 4. Practical Application Our specialized English language teaching seminars are designed to help you enhance your teaching skills...  [Read more]

Unlock your potential as an English language teacher with our specialized seminars designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field of English language teaching. Whether you are a seasoned educator looking to expand your expertise or a novice just starting out in the world of teaching English as a foreign language, our seminars offer valuable insights and practical strategies to help you succeed in the classroom. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we are committed to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers around the globe. 1. Enhance Your Teaching Skills 2. Interactive Workshops 3. Expert-Led Sessions 4. Practical Application Our specialized English language teaching seminars are designed to help you enhance your teaching skills...  [Read more]

Unlock your potential as an English language teacher with our specialized seminars designed to enhance your skills and knowledge in the field of English language teaching. Whether you are a seasoned educator looking to expand your expertise or a novice just starting out in the world of teaching English as a foreign language, our seminars offer valuable insights and practical strategies to help you succeed in the classroom. At ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training), we are committed to providing high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers around the globe. 1. Enhance Your Teaching Skills 2. Interactive Workshops 3. Expert-Led Sessions 4. Practical Application Our specialized English language teaching seminars are designed to help you enhance your teaching skills...  [Read more]