Romain To English

  Roman is a business communications trainer in Malaysia. Originally from the Philippines, he completed his 120-hour certificate course with ITTT as his first step towards starting a career in English language teaching. In this TEFL review Roman discusses how he found that he learned much more than he expected from the course, including information about classroom management, lesson planning and phonology. Roman also appreciated the great flexibility an online TEFL course provides meaning he was able to study while maintaining an active social life in his spare time. 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...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Japan is a nation that has tried to increase its citizens’ English ability, especially with the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games being held in their country. However, progress has been slow and not fruitful. There are various reasons for this slow stagnation of the nation’s English abilities such as the larger academic system and access to proper education in rural areas. However, I will focus on three main hurdles that Japanese learners of English must face that can impede their English education. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Michael H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. These are the differences in phonology between...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English, like any language, is first and foremost the mother tongue of a person. Languages often are influenced by or entirely derive from migratory groups of people. The original native tongue of France, for example, was Gallic. The Latinized French we know today was only born after centuries of Roman occupation and assimilation. More confusing still, the nation takes its name from the Franks, who were themselves a Germanic tribe which conquered the territory from Rome. Despite this, their native German tongue had an only minor influence on French, as Roman Gaul had a quite large population. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Cole T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas The first thing to bear in mind when we're looking at the category of beginners is that beginners can be of any age and experience, so really what we should do is to break the beginner category down into a number of sub categories. Our first group we may call the absolute beginner, the second group we could have are called false beginners. The next category may be the adult beginners and therefore the category of young beginners and our final grouping called beginners without the Roman alphabet. The absolute beginner as the name implies are those people with no language knowledge of the particular language being learnt, so they've never been taught it and they probably have had no...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This essay seeks to explain how the Japanese ‘Katakana’ and ‘Romaji’ alphabets cause barriers to the introduction of English education in Japanese elementary schools. It will look at how these alphabets affect the pronunciation, writing, and reading abilities of Japanese students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ethan M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The main two, ‘Hiragana’ (the base Japanese writing system) and ‘Kanji’ (Chinese characters), are not relevant to English. The remaining two, ‘Katakana’ (used for ‘borrowed’ words from other languages) and ‘Romaji’ (Roman letters) are often used...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The English language has become so essential in china because the country wants to successfully promote internationalism and keep the lines of communication open for trade and business matters. As one of the global powers, it’s in the country’s best interest to keep afloat of shifting trends in international matters. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ramy M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The government has recognized that English is now the preferred language used for international purposes, and is becoming an increasingly necessary skill for its people to have. So, as an ESL teacher, I must know the problems and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As the world has become more interconnected, particularly with quick international travel, modern communications, and globalized trade, the argument for a “global language” is often used. Arguably now more than ever, a global language or single lingua franca has never been more important. There are many international bodies such as the United Nations, World Bank, and UNICEF, which create a certain amount of pressure to establish a worldwide global language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tim W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In the past, there have been many constructed languages to try and provide a solution to the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Change is coming to the way that English is taught in Japanese public schools. The changes to the curriculum by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) increase the teaching of English at all levels of schooling. The goal of this change is, in the words of Ikuko Tsuboya-Newel, founder and chair of Tokyo International School, “The government has decided that beginning in 2020 all high school graduates must achieve a level of English equivalent to B1” (“Why do Japanese have trouble learning English?”, The Japan Times, October 29, 2017). To achieve that goal, high school entrance exams are expected to include more testing of productive skills in English. Therefore, junior...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The history of the global language or what is thought to be the concept of the global language is not new and the originator of this concept is not those that spoke English. The concept of a global language can be defined by a language that is spoken by a large number of both native speakers and speakers of the language as a second language as well as its widespread geographic circulation. This concept of a "lingua franca" or a language that facilitates the communication of people of varying and diverse backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and creeds has taken different forms throughout history and currently, the lingua franca used predominantly throughout the globe is English. The key factors allowing a language...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Phonology is the system of sounds that exist within a particular language, while phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are produced. One difficulty for all learners of a second language is learning how to produce new sounds by moving the mouth, lips, and tongue in new ways. Several other languages also share the Roman alphabet with English but do not pronounce letters and combinations of letters the same way. These learners need to learn the English phonology so that when they read English, they will know how to pronounce the words they read correctly, and so that they speak English with a more native-sounding accent. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebecca W. Please note that...  [Read more]

  There are two issues that need to be stressed when working with the international phonemic alphabet. First is the fact that we are no longer concerned with how a word is traditionally spelled. Additionally we need to stress that we are only concerned with the sounds needed to correctly produce a word. So rather than numerous spellings, which can often be pronounced in different ways, we have one symbol representing one sound. Once we can isolate a sound, rather than juggling various spellings, we can work with our students on how to say that sound. Doing that successfully is related to manner and place of articulation, which will be covered shortly. To get a better understanding of the phonemic alphabet, let's take a look at our chart. In the bottom half of our chart we have our...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What’s the most difficult part of learning a new language? Is it writing? Perhaps it’s the reading or memorizing new vocabulary? Well for some it’s speaking the new language, specifically when it comes to pronunciation. Every language has its unique ways or pronouncing their vowels and constants as well as how they form their sentence structure. Especially this write up will focus on Japanese English as a Second Language (ESL) students and the difficulties they face while learning English and its pronunciation. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zachary B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First, it helps to understand a...  [Read more]

Gökhan Yilmaz Destinations TEFL Information Turkey is one of the world's top travel destinations and sees more than 40 million visitors every year. Half of Turkey's population works in the tourism industry and lives from national and international tourism. Summer is typically the peak season for visiting Turkey. What attracts most visitors to Turkey are the friendly locals, beautiful scenery, and rich culture and history as well as the mix old modern and tradition. Due to Turkey's huge tourism industry, English is widely spoken among locals, which also means that the opportunities for teaching English in Turkey are vast. Here are 5 reasons to teach English in Turkey. Turkey's geopolitical importance is quite unique in the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I believe it is very important to plan and write down lessons, for the benefit of the students, myself, relieving teachers, and especially while I am an inexperienced teacher. A lesson plan acts as a device for a singular lesson, helps create a series of lessons, and as a record of what has been taught. Self Evaluation Forms will be vital as a new teacher so that I can continuously self improve. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kylie G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When I take the time to write down a lesson, it requires thinking about the level of that particular class and what I want to achieve by the end of the lesson....  [Read more]

1. Introduction 2. Benefits of ESL in Rome 3. Our ESL Program in Rome 4. How to Get Started Are you looking to improve your English skills while experiencing the beauty and culture of Rome? Look no further than our ESL program offered by ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training). Our program is designed to help individuals of all levels enhance their English language proficiency through interactive lessons and practical exercises. Whether you are a beginner looking to build a strong foundation or an advanced learner striving for fluency, our ESL program in Rome has something to offer for everyone. Studying English in Rome comes with a myriad of benefits. Not only will you have the opportunity to immerse yourself in one of the most historically rich cities in the world, but you will also...  [Read more]

  The first group of students we are looking at in this series are the beginners. It is important to understand that beginners can be of any age. This is why we break this category down into the following sub-categories: absolute beginners, false beginners, adult beginners, young beginners and beginners without the Roman alphabet. Find out more about this type of student group in this video. 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. This unit has...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations While many people wanting to teach English abroad move to countries in Asia or Latin America, Europe is also a popular destination that cannot be ignored. Despite stricter visa regulations and tougher job markets for teachers, there are still many places in all parts of Europe that have a need for foreign teachers. Here are the top 10 cities in Europe with the highest demand for English language teachers. Spain is one of the most attractive countries for teaching English abroad in Europe. The country’s capital Madrid has the largest job market for EFL teachers in Spain. While citizens from non-EU countries may find it difficult to secure a work visa in Spain, many teachers are able to obtain a student visa which...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations France is one of the most popular destinations for teaching English in Europe. While a lot of people settle in Paris to enjoy the Parisian lifestyle, there are a lot of other exciting cities in all parts of the country. Here are the top 8 places to teach English in France. Due to local laws and regulations, it can often be difficult for non-EU citizens to secure a visa and work legally in France. However, if you are dreaming of living and working in France, don’t despair. We have a thorough guide to legally teaching English for people outside of the EU. Be sure to check it out here for all the details on how to move to France and teach English. A wine lover’s paradise, Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne in...  [Read more]

Zainab Sadriwala Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Exposure to a language is of prime importance if one intends to excel in it. Like every language, English needs to be practiced in all its integrated skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Vocabulary has always been among a key component of language learning that teachers rely on. The following are 6 great ideas for developing vocabulary in English learners. Students should keep a journal for noting down every new word they learn during the day. It's also a good approach to add example sentences for every new word so that the student knows how to apply it in various contexts. Then, this list of new words should be put into practice by students at the end of the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A large number of obstacles can arise for the students when learning a foreign language. Some of these problems are related to the contrast between the mother language and the learned language. About the differences between L1 and L2, there is plenty of research in the field of contrastive linguistics. Moreover, regarding that topic, many papers can be found comparing English to Japanese with the aim to address the problems of Japanese learners of English. However, other predicaments with the apprehension of the L2 can develop when teachers underestimate the importance of the cultural dimension of the language taught. Concerning that particular impediment, less scientific literature exists. In this essay, the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Setting a solid foundation for any learner is crucial. There are many different factors to consider. The students' age, culture, religion, learning abilities, and difficulties are capable of reading and writing in the Roman alphabet. This is only looking at the learning as an individual. When you have a group of learners, you need to consider things such as the class dynamic, personality clashes, quiet vs. loud, making sure all students are comfortable. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Megan H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When setting up a good foundation for students, you may only...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The word “Globalization” has grown in use, in part due to; the advent of technology, tourism, politics, international trade, and economics, just to name a few. These factors have encouraged more people from different lingual backgrounds to mingle and work together in a world where everything is becoming interconnected. In light of this, English has for a very long time been used as the language to help facilitate globalization. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ian S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I am an individual with dual citizenship who can speak up to seven languages, two of which do not use the Roman alphabet....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In speaking of any language is global, and in our case, particularly English, several categories could be discussed to give us more understanding. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Frederic S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first is the history of the language, where did it originate? If we say English was an obscure German dialect we can also say that without knowing more of the history behind it, there would be no way for us to plot its progression or understand its popularity. The second is the spread of the language, how and why did it occur? The third is economic, what were the factors that propelled its growth,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This will be a discussion aimed at presenting both the advantages and disadvantages of teaching phonetics. We will show how teaching phonetics help create approachability and reinforce language similarities. Inversely we will look at how English suffers from inconsistent phonetic rules and the conflict between words as written and words as said. We will also look at methods to mitigate these issues. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mitchell D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching phonetics help create an approachability towards English. This gives new learners confidence when approaching the language fostering a greater...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Description: When teaching English in Japan, there are a few common problems all learners, young and old, face. Two main issues students face are with grammar, as well as pronouncing and hearing certain sounds. As this course was designed for teaching young learners, in this paper, I will address the issues above and possible solutions as they apply to this age group. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebecca E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Grammar is difficult to learn, no matter where you are from. However, some critical issues for Japanese students,...  [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]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences From my own personal learning experiences, as well as what I have learned from my TEFL certification course, I believe that the seating arrangement used in the EFL classroom can have a major effect on learning outcomes. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daniel B. I always remember one teacher in college because her class stood 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 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...  [Read more]

Enrol for our course in Egypt and experience one of the world’s greatest ancient civilisations. This country really does have a superb heritage and a bustling, thriving present that will enthral you. Choosing this location for your course will afford you the opportunity to teach English in one of the most culturally interesting countries on Earth. Egypt is situated in the North East of the African continent at the mouth of the Nile River which flows throughout the entire length of the country. Egypt covers a huge landmass, much of which is covered by the world famous Sahara Desert. The country has boundaries with the Mediterranean and Red Seas so it has a number of white sandy beaches. The earliest signs of human civilisation known to man are here. These are evidenced by beautiful...  [Read more]

Our TEFL course in London offers you the history, culture and excitement of the United Kingdom’s most famous city. St. Paul’s Cathedral is as spectacular now as it was 300 years ago and Westminster hasn’t lost any of its luster. You really must come and see it for yourself—words alone will never do London justice. The River Thames flows through the city just as it did during the time of Londinium and its Roman settlements. Big Ben, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and more all await anyone who takes our certificate course in this magnificent, majestic city. London also boasts the entertainment district of the West End as well as shopping districts such as Oxford Street, Leicester Square, Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus. In addition to certifying trainees as...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences People of all ages around the world wish to learn English, for varying reasons, and many begin this endeavor at different times in their lives. For teachers, it is important to understand that the approach to teaching English is not painted with a broad stroke across all ages of learners. To ensure that you reach your class in the most effective way possible it is vital to know what level your students are at and also what motivated them to learn English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ilse G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Beginners are not all equal. There are varying sub-levels to the beginning level. As a teacher, it is...  [Read more]