Teach For Fun

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Why are games important? Why do we play games? How do people play games in the class? These are the questions people usually ask. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jessie l. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Normally their concern is what they can learn from the games? In my opinion, playing games in the classroom is not only for fun but also for practicing and reviewing what you have learned. In my class I have always enjoyed playing games, I have used many different games as well. Students may be able to understand a new concept or idea. At the beginning of the class(Engage), you do not have to teach students the grammar in...  [Read more]

  The second conditional is used when speaking about dreams, fantasies and hypothetical situations. This video is specifically aimed at teaching the second conditional in an ESL setting. 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 was a great reminder about conditionals. I really liked the activity ideas in the unit, there were some great examples of activities that would be fun for students and help them learn conditionals and reported speech....  [Read more]

Michela Coticone TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching a new language to children can come with many challenges because there is limited time and sometimes limited attention spans. To effectively teach a new language, children need to have a feeling of confidence in the fact that they can perform what they are being taught, and the element of having fun while learning. Children, just like adults, need repetition to effectively learn a task. Repetition Repetition alias Drilling: Is it an Effective Way to Remember Language Points? will allow a child to mentally prepare themselves for a task that will happen at a certain time of the day, therefore they can begin to anticipate what their...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I came to China 4 years ago to teach English. I have not managed to learn Mandarin in that time frame but I did learn quite a bit about the differences in pronunciation between Mandarin and American English. The most common errors made by Chinese students generally come from the habit of translating to their native language. English and Mandarin share some similarities such as word order and sentence structure which also complicate the issue. In this essay, I will discuss teaching pronunciation, the problems that can occur when teaching pronunciations, and the issues that occur with Mandarin speakers learning English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Paris S. Please note that this blog...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Learning English as a foreign language can sometimes become overwhelming. When people seek to learn English, their reasons can vary immensely. It could be because they want to travel to an English-speaking country, or it is possible that they are interested in English literature, or maybe it’s their job requirement. In any case, their time in the class is important to them. Besides lots of expectations, there are also many inhibitions to overcome, and little time. Games are the most powerful tool to help release pressure, boost motivation and create a fun, friendly, positive learning environment. We want students to focus and take full advantage of the time they are in the classroom, leaving outside any heavy...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences My teaching experience began in a whirlwind. I graduated from college a semester ahead of my class, married, lived with my husband in my sister’s basement for two months, and moved to South Korea. We had no idea what to expect. Sure, we’d read the blogs, talked to the director of our school, and even talked with people we know who had lived and taught in Korea. It still didn’t fully prepare us for what to expect, how amazing it would be, and how hard. We lived in South Korea for 19 months teaching three through seven year olds daily and first through third graders several times each week. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Sarah S. When we first moved to Korea, our head teacher had to teach us how...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Having to organize and hold a winter camp is a daunting task, especially for new teachers who haven’t done it before. For these kinds of English camps, teachers typically create up to 10 lesson plans for the duration of the camp. Winter camps can last anywhere between one week to a month or even longer. The main goal of an English camp is to have a fun and memorable time with the students while practicing their English. However, there is a lot more to an English camp than just playing some games. Since most teachers need to create and prepare their lessons in advance, we have compiled a list of games and fun activities for teaching English winter camp abroad. Props will make your winter camp a lot more fun and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As a teacher who has many years of experience working in kindergarten, I can surely say that teaching English as a foreign language is fun but requires special skills. At that age, children are yet to have their abstract thinking developed, hence teaching should mostly be based on visual aids and games. We must also consider that, apart from their young age, we are dealing with a large group who are very active, unable to stand boredom and are overwhelmingly thirsty for fund and play. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Joseph Niifio T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There is also one more important thing to note: This may...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Children are creative. Bringing games into an English language classroom to incite young learners’ attention and creativity is vital to keeping them motivated and entertained. Several games promote English grammar, memorization, and sentence building. These games can be reproductions of current popular games or manufactured by a teacher. Whichever method is chosen by the teacher there are still simple rules to follow. The game must be explained clearly and concisely, so the students have a full understanding of the game. An example round with the students is an effective way to ensure complete understanding. They can be a useful warmer activity to get students engaged in the lesson plan and bring a level of fun...  [Read more]

Anna Domiczek TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Shifting from a traditional classroom to a virtual setting can be daunting for teachers who do not have experience teaching online. This is especially the case if one has to keep young students engaged and motivated. What are the tricks to instill excitement and interest in preschoolers who do not have the intrinsic motivation to perform to achieve good grades? Their parents’ primary desire is for them to speak like the native and one day go off to an internationally renowned US university or work for a foreign company. Young students are motivated by something else- a desire to have fun in a welcoming environment. In the evolving ESL education market, the English teaching...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I am an English teacher. I am teaching beginner students who are aged from 3 years and a half to 8 years old. My students are very young learners who normally have shorter attention spans, and have not even completely mastered their mother tongue. They are generally amenable to fun games, singing, and drawing. For my students, they start from zero knowledge of English to a very basic knowledge that cannot be quickly or easily activated, but with these levels, success is easy to see and usually good fun. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yuan P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. From what I have learned at TESOL training and day...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences When I was younger, I had a dog that played fetch, walked to the park, and learned new tricks with me. Over time, we created a bond that was irreplaceable and unconditional. One day my dog passed away and three weeks later, my family and I decided to get a new dog. This new dog was friendly at first but hardly wanted to learn anything new. However, I was quite distant from the new dog, to begin with, because I always thought about the good times I had with my previous dog. Afterward, I realized that I needed to move on and create a new bond which I then remembered how my previous dog and I became best friends and how we both learned from each other. It was a high relaxed positive energy, spending a good amount...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas It is a tough task to master management skills for any age, especially the younger ones. Most activities for young learners are games and songs that require an exciting, fun atmosphere for students and an energetic teacher. Therefore, in order to produce a good lesson with lots of fun but still to keep students in the discipline, the teacher must work harder and be very careful and clever in any situation. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Trang Nguyen D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The teacher takes part as a leader, guide, and monitor to manage all activities as well as how much fun/excitement or quietness should be in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I think using games to teach is fantastic if you are using games in your class for the right reasons that are. Using games in your classroom just to pass the time or even games that aren’t relevant to the content you are teaching. There are a lot of advantages to using games as well as some disadvantages. There are a lot of games you can use. Just by doing a quick search on the internet, you will find an endless number of games and explaining how to use them. You can always change or adapt to your students, as well as for the content you will be teaching. Remember when using a game, make sure you are using the right game at the right moment. As there are different types of games. For example, there are games you...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Trying to make your class fun and exciting for young learners can be quite difficult at times. The best way to get around teaching young learners is to add games in each lesson. Kids can learn a foreign language without really trying, they soak up the new language like a sponge. It is up to the teacher to be the facilitator in the learning process and make it happen. To be effective in the classroom you have to be able to engage with your young students. By making your lessons lively and interesting you can achieve just that. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Edgar R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Games during the lesson can...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Songs are very popular in classes for young learners. Children need frequent changes in activities to stimulate their curiosity. Songs are fun and offer a nice way to warm up students and spend out their high-level energy. But songs are likewise an effective way to teach new vocabularies and sentences, improve speaking fluency and develop students’ artistic abilities. Often teachers make use of videos downloaded at YouTube or another online platform, but they can also reproduce songs in a micro-system or even sing or play the song with a guitar or another instrument. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gabriel C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Idioms are great yet a challenging material to teach as they usually are culturally and stylistically influenced. Another problem is choosing a suitable idiom to teach different groups of students. In this blog post, we share ten fun English idioms and three ideas to teach these English indioms in your EFL classroom. To help students understand the meaning of an idiom and to help remember it fast, offer them a visual presentation. Draw the literal meaning of the idiom on one side of the sheet (what it sounds like it means) and the figurative meaning on the other side (what it actually means). If you don’t feel like drawing, use popular memes. This activity can be used with any idioms that have a clear literal...  [Read more]

  This video covers special cases in reported speech that do not follow the typical pattern. This video is specifically aimed at teaching reported speech in an ESL setting. 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 lesson gave me a great refresher on conditional phrases and some ideas on how to teach them to non-English speakers. I love this TEFL course because it is not only giving me reminders and ideas of how to teach English, but also how to...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Do you want your new students to come back again? Do you want students to do homework? Are you looking for fun activities for your online classes? In this live stream, we will look at how to engage and motivate English learners outside the classroom at 100%. Shirin Sophy TEFL Information Alumni Experiences This blog post is a suggested procedure that can be taken into account while teaching productive skills after the engagement phase is applied and learners are ready to start the study phase. Ahmed Taha TEFL Information Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” a quote that exemplifies a major quality that a teacher should be able to express comfortably within their classroom environment. While being able to express imaginative ideas within a lesson plan, a teacher of the English language should possess other qualities that will help advance their student's knowledge. A teacher should remain kind and patient, have a dedication to teaching, be imaginative, should bring a positive and fun energy to the classroom, and make a connection with their class. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dana K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I chose the topic, "How to teach English to children online" because this is ultimately what I want to do with this TEFL certificate. This topic also incorporates a few of the other topics. I will however just focus on teaching children and how I can be the best teacher to them and help them achieve their goals. I will mainly refer to what I have learned in Unit 19, Teaching special groups. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zahn-Mari T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It is my understanding that being teaching for younger students is very rewarding, because not only do you help them develop and grow, you get to see and follow...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas “As an ESL teacher, you may feel that your students aren't paying attention, or participating in class even though you have the perfect lesson plan.” This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Angela G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The thought of playing or using games as a teaching tool inside the classroom may sound intriguing, whether you’re a student, a parent of a student, a tutor, a friend of a student or someone just interested in gaining more insight into either learning or teaching English as a second language. You might be wondering how beneficial and productive games or fun activities would be and the impact they...  [Read more]

  ITTT graduate Emre talks about his course in this TEFL review video. Emre completed the 120-hour online course with ITTT while living in Turkey. For Emre, one of the great things about this course is the ability to study in your own home while still having access to an online tutor. 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. After going through this unit, I think I would be able to teach a very small group of students. Learning about teaching functions...  [Read more]

Shirin Sophy Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The activation 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. Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Do you want your new students to come back again? Do you want students to do homework? Are you looking for fun activities for your online classes? In this live stream, we will look at how to engage and motivate English learners outside the classroom at 100%. Ahmed Taha TEFL Information Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Games and fun activities are a vital part of teaching English as a foreign language. Whether you’re teaching adults or children, games will liven up your lesson and ensure that your students will leave the classroom wanting more. Games can be used to warm up the class before your lesson begins, during the lesson to give students a break when you’re tackling a tough subject, or at the end of class when you have a few minutes left to kill. There are literally hundreds, probably thousands, of games that you can play with your students. EFL games are used to test vocabulary, practice conversing, learn tenses - the list is endless. Also read: The 5 Best TEFL Games For Adult...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Coming into this, course I had a basic understanding of how a teacher prepares for and teaches a class. I had always thought it was easy for a teacher to teach; teacher walks in, teaches and goes home but I didn't know how much work would have to be put into a lesson to make the best out of it, and this is where I learned the best thing during my TEFL/TESOL course. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jason F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The best thing that I learned was understanding how to do an ESA lesson. I never knew beforehand that there was a way to breakdown a lesson and get as much out of it as possible. Knowing...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Teaching English abroad is an exciting career path that thousands of people embark on every year. The first step is usually a TEFL or TESOL certificate and then finding a job in a suitable location. Once you step into your own EFL classroom, you will then be able to use all the skills you learned during the course. However, every teacher makes mistakes every now and again, which is why we have summarized the top mistakes to avoid in the classroom while teaching English abroad to help you out! Yes, teaching English should be fun but if you lose control of your students and they don’t see you as a respectable teacher, there won’t be any learning. It’s a much better strategy to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Ever since I was in elementary school, I have always looked up to teachers. They have inspired me all my life, the role they play in a child's life is one of the most amazing things ever. That is the main reason I decided that I wanted to be a teacher myself. I have a few years of volunteer teaching work and from it, I have learned many things. Some of the main things are discipline, atmosphere, and education. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Christopher C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First, discipline. This is extremely important in the classroom. To have a controlled class who wants to also learn but also have fun is...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas It is effortless to get into a rhythm of teaching a certain way and relying heavily on your resources at hand. As a relatively new teacher, I spend a lot of time with the help (mainly books) I am provided, and in lessons, I teach the content necessary to complete a given objective. I often rely on the readers for additional activities, transitions, and traditional book work. While the students never spend the entire class with their noses in the books, I felt that we were not having quite as much fun as we could. Studies began to feel a bit stale, and interest seemed to be diminishing. So, I decided to conduct a small experiment and...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Teaching English online is becoming a more and more lucrative career for many TEFL and TESOL certified teachers out there. You can work from home or go full digital nomad and travel the world while teaching a couple of classes of English a day. To help you create fun and interactive lessons, we have compiled a summary of 5 amazing props with investing in for teaching English online below. Who doesn’t love playing with plush toys? Having a good selection of the most common foods and animals can go a LONG way when teaching English online. Using plush props is a lot of fun and can be used in so many different ways: you can use them to teach numbers and counting, you can use them to talk about different colors and also...  [Read more]