Intermediate Stories

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reading is one of the key elements for all English learners. By reading authentic stories and books, not only do we learn reading and understanding the text we are working with, but we also expand our vocabulary by discovering new authentic words you wouldn't be able to find in your course books, and more importantly, you can see it in context which makes it easier to remember and use those words and structures in the future. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Julia P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It's important to know which stories to choose based on your student's age and English level. Younger learners would find...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As I've had to study several foreign languages, I've realized many things about what's necessary and helpful in studying foreign languages. And I think many of these things could come under the heading of sensitivity to the culture that the language one is studying comes from, as well as an awareness of one's own culture. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Peter B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One thing I've noticed about much of the course material available for some of the foreign languages I've studied, as well as educational texts on other subjects written in English, is that one can see the culture and cultural...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I took the ITTT online TEFL course not to prepare to teach English as an employee working abroad, but as a volunteer in the United States to teach refugee and immigrant adults. I completed the units a few months ago, but I waited to do this summative task until I could begin teaching classes as a volunteer teacher and reflect on that experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sherri V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I’ve found that teaching ESL as a volunteer in the United States is associated with several factors that may be different from the experience of an employed TEFL teacher abroad. This essay describes key...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Vocabulary has always been one language area about which students usually complain and claim that it impedes language learning. The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether using the context for guessing the meaning of new vocabulary can solve this problem. The learning of vocabulary is an important part of foreign language learning. The meaning of new words is very frequently emphasized, whether in books or verbal communication. And also, English teachers have an important role in teaching new vocabularies. In this research, we will study different kinds of teaching vocabulary by using a dictionary or guessing on the context. Further, the study also attempted to reveal what kind of factors hinder or...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas I have never met a person who is not interested in languages because of their attraction. Learning a foreign language appropriately, correctly, and faster is the concern of most non-native speakers, which propelled them to seek effective methods for learning languages. This process yielded a new field of research called Computer-Aided Language learning or CALL, which is "the use of computational methods and techniques as well as new media for language learning and teaching." Consequently, most modern learning languages focus on technology applications, where using computers and electronic devices plays an important role in the learning process. In this essay, I will solely...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas Flashcard is an indispensable tool that every teacher needs during the studying process. Regardless of the age of the students, it can be used effective equal with young learners or adults. Usually, in the ESL classes, the teacher uses flashcards when they need to teach new or review the previous vocabulary. It’s also one of the easiest ways to add some games into your lesson, cause mostly it doesn’t need special preparations. Young learners especially like flashcard games because usually it’s active games and allow them to have fun during the lesson. There are different types of flashcards, for instance, on one side could be a word or picture on another side – it's the English translation. Those types of...  [Read more]

Desrine Francois TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching English as a foreign language to older adults students comes with its own unique set of challenges. These students are, more often than not, retirees whose professional lives are behind them. Unlike their younger counterparts, they do not need to learn English for educational or professional purposes. So what impels these older adults to attend EFL classes? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of having them as students? Personal growth, social interaction, and continued intellectual stimulation are often cited by older adult students as the main reasons they attend EFL classes. They believe that learning, whether it is a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Reflective teaching is not a contemporary science however, to find evidence of when this science began it would be an impossible task, like accessing the Vatican library. One could presume the first person which taught another something resourceful dedicated some time to reflect on its delivery and considered observing research, and planning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Stephen A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Generally, reflective teaching is the process of self-observation and self-evaluation i.e. looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking about if it works. The aim is to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas When I think of materials in terms of English Second Language (ESL) teaching, I think of a broad range of items, from worksheets to pictures, flashcards to figurines, exercises, tests, and so on. To put 'materials' more in perspective, these are materials needed to deliver an ESL course. I have created course material and training material since 1995, firstly for training artisans in development projects in South Africa, and later from 2001 to 2006 in Wales, training Voluntary Sector groups. For one employer, I created a 'Behavioural Based Safety' course for North Sea Safety Standby Vessels (Offshore operations), which included four...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What are ice breakers and when and where do we use them? In this blog post, we will cover these issues and give actual examples of activities you can use with your classes. Icebreakers are games or activities that are designed to ‘break the ice’. Typically you would use these kinds of games or activities at the beginning of a new school year, when you have a new set of students, or a new class that you don't know and they don't know you. You also can use icebreakers to get your students going at the start of the lesson speaking in English and that's really important as you don't want to come into the classroom and say, “Open your books to page five” and then start studying....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Being an American living in France has given me firsthand experience as to what it is like to struggle with learning a new language. I studied Spanish for six years, in Junior High and High school. Language acquisition was easier then. I can attest to the fact that younger learners learn more quickly. For me, the two major problems with learning French are the tenses and not being able to understand what people are saying. I get stuck in the present tense, often forgetting to change tenses in conversation. I also need to hone up on my listening skills. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Patricia J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of...  [Read more]

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