Teach Taught

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a non-native English speaker, I have experienced what is like to learn this wonderful language. Great instructors made a great impact on my learning because of the quality of lessons they deliver. A high-quality lesson cannot be taught as a master of improvisation. Planning is what made the difference from those wonderful teachers. Planning is also what helps me to have motivated students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Andres G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There weren’t native speakers of English working as ESL instructors. For instance, I thought that I would only learn English with a native speaker. I was wrong,...  [Read more]

  This video is part of our video series on "Evaluation and Testing of Students". In this video, we look at some of the most common general English exams students of English take around the world. EFL teachers often hold classes to prepare the students for these international proficiency exams. 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 taught me about the different ways to teach vocabulary, as well as the strategies used in planning the...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review, Marli from South Africa tells us she is heading to South Korea to teach English now she has completed her TEFL course online with ITTT. To help her as she starts her teaching career abroad Marli has compiled the materials from the 120-hour TEFL course for use in her lessons in South Korea. 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 given me many examples on how to properly manage a class. It’s very important...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas For a native English speaker, it is easy to understand as they are commonly used every day in casual conversation. But for ESL students, this type of informal English might as well sound like Mumbo Jumbo! (Make no sense). That’s because most students are taught proper, textbook English like: “[name of person], are you going anywhere today?” “No. I’m just relaxing at home.” This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mark L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. “Dude where ya hanging?” “Na man just chilling” To an ESL student, the above conversation would be hard to comprehend. The same goes for Idioms. “I am so happy...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The author and motivational speaker Hilary "Zig Zig" Ziglar wrote, "Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment." Drilling is defined as a teaching technique or method used when teaching a new language through extensive repetition by students, also aided through audio, oral, or even optical channels or props. As with other teaching methods, repetitive drilling has both advantages and disadvantages and has been deemed effective and ineffective over the years. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Terese H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Although a teacher's role seems like a simple topic to discuss, it's far more complicated than most people credit for. The role of a teacher is pivotal to the students for a myriad of reasons. Based on how the teacher holds themselves in the classroom, it will directly correlate with the amount each student learns and the amount of respect each student has for the teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Roman S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The teacher needs to be in complete control of the classroom to ensure they have the respect and attention of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during class time. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. Having a carefully constructed lesson plan for each 3-hour lesson allows you to enter the classroom with more confidence and maximizes your chance of having a meaningful learning experience with your students. A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates three key components: Learning Objectives, Learning Activities, Assessment to check for student understanding. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Elorm D. Please note that this blog post...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Through my personal teaching experiences, I have found teaching kids to be both a fulfilling and rewarding endeavor. I have now realized that teaching is something I want to pursue as a profession. Being able to personally connect with the youth of all ages and to have them gain new knowledge has had a positive impact on me. I know that through my teaching engagements I have had a positive impact on my students as well. This is why I believe my personal teaching experiences will help me be successful with TEFL. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Trevor L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In my personal teaching experiences, I...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The use of Games in lesson plans for younger learners of the English Language is something that I think is very important. This is because they are excellent at providing a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere in the classroom. This helps in encouraging beginning students to participate. They also provide a challenge for more advanced students and are an excellent review tool (Ibrahim, 2017). Many types of games can be used in the classroom including board games, guessing games, matching games, and communication games. These can be used to teach vocabulary, grammar and speaking skills. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tania H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The following essay has the objective of explaining the role that parents perform in the education of their children and to address if it is relevant or not. We have been functioning in a society where the school is an unrelated or a faraway universe to what happens at home. Education has also adopted this faraway simulacrum of real-life development in a classroom, where topics are taught without a clear utility for daily and “real-life” use. This has created that not all parents are aware that they are innately life teachers since the moment they welcome a child in their lives. Education does not just happen in a classroom: it is a lifelong process that takes place in every experience lived by a person. This...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I taught high school and college-level Spanish. I taught language for about 20 years. I learned many things throughout my tenure as a teacher. There are many traits and characteristics that I found useful in my career. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Keith B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As a language teacher especially, I had to find new fun ways to make use of everyday items for the benefit of my students. I would incorporate realia, real everyday objects, into the lessons that I taught. For example, teaching foods I would bring as many real fruits and vegetables into the class. I have learned that the more senses you...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas While sentence structure and grammar are the foundation of the English Language, vocabulary is the glue that holds it together. An expansive vocabulary allows students to feel confident in their abilities and communicate more effectively. There are many methods of teaching vocabulary and in each class, the teacher may need to use different methods. This is because each class will be made up of different students each with their own learning style. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Caitlin O. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Vocabulary is important to teach in the very first lessons because it is how students will be able to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences All people are susceptible to boredom and confusion. Either of these or their combination can lead to frustration. Once frustrated, a learner will find it exponentially more difficult to grasp or retain new information. The student’s mind will be elsewhere, unmotivated and uninterested. Therefore, an instructor should make it a priority that each and every student can not only understand the created material but be interested in it as well. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Patrick O. So how does one create engaging and educational material for groups of vastly different people? I believe that the first step is always the same: getting to know the students. On a very fundamental and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Students from many different backgrounds with various skillsets, native languages, cultures, and experiences daily enter my Level 3 Low-Intermediatlow-intermediate Some students come having been exposed to English from a young age watching American television or listening to popular songs. Some of these students feel comfortable speaking in simple, broken sentences but communicating, nonetheless. Others step into the ESL classroom timid and insecure. They’ve just recently learned the Roman alphabet and have difficulty understanding simple directions or piecing words together. Regardless of where students come from and their prior experience with the English language, there are some useful tools teachers can...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The two TEFL courses I took with ITTT provided a comprehensive coverage of English teaching to non-native speakers. The 50-hour young learners course and the 120-hour TEFL course taught language points such as grammar and tense structure. The courses also went into depth on topics related to teaching English such as classroom management and lesson preparation. These aspects are very important to teaching English as well as mastering the English language itself. A skilled teacher must know how to handle different types of classes. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Jeffrey G. This course explained how teaching English requires vastly different methodologies depending on who is being taught. For example,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas What is phonology? Most students have not even heard about it. Whenever I ask my students whether they know or have ever learned about phonetics, the same answers come out, “No, we don’t know about it at all”. It is no wonder they reply like this because there is no phonetic teaching lesson in English classes from KG to high school here in my country. As for me, I got to study about this only when I attended college. Even then, it wasn’t taught comprehensively and I only learned very little. So I couldn’t read nor write phonetic symbols very well. Thus I thought it was the most difficult part of studying English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Thein G. Please note that this blog...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I have experience in Childhood development. I’ve taught over twenty plus years. My experience ranges from infants to school-age children. I have always taught three-year-olds and up. For almost two years, I have had the pleasure of working with children that are 18 months to 24 months old. I am the Lead teacher for our Toddler program. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Judy N. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Although working in a private preschool has helped me in childhood development, learning strategies are also important. The courses that I have taken have helped me learn so much. One of the most important things to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching English one to one can have many benefits for the students as well as the teacher. It is a way to create excitement and provide a motivation to learn that is more personalized to the learner. This individualized way of teaching gives the teacher the ability to discover where their student’s abilities and their interests lay. By being able to know the students on a deeper level, they can help shape their lessons directly to meet the student’s needs. These direct lessons, in turn, can aid in the student’s ability to improve their English. Teaching one to one can also benefit the teacher, as they will only need to plan for the individual student, not for thirty students, and classroom management may be...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences There are several challenges Japan faces when it comes to learning English as a second language. Japanese culture is a bubble. Everything, including their ad signs, TV, games, government, studies, work and even the internet is filled with one language; Japanese. In a world of globalization, where your goods and services can come from literally any part of the globe. Japan is one of the few remaining homogenous cultures where English is still seen as an optional language. As the global economy becomes more global, the English language will likely become less optional, but essential. In addition to the cultural issues, Japan's English curriculum in the school is largely unchanged from the ‘60s according to my...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Without knowing it nor intending it to be, my path has been strongly directed and focused on education and it was since Elementary School that I felt that something was wrong with me in the nowadays education system. After struggling a lot with learning as I was supposed to and believing that I was not smart enough, I finally took a subject at college that changed my thinking. This subject was called Educational Psychology and it was based on the actual necessity of creating a revolution or a change in education. Within the years we have been de-humanizing education at the point that we don’t even ask ourselves what is the purpose of what we are learning or teaching. We have become like side-blinded horses that...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Slang and idioms are an important part of every language and should be taught to ESL students. Colloquialisms are used in daily conversational English, and teaching them to students increases the efficiency of communication and fluency. They also are used in cultural items as well, such as movies, books, and music. Teaching slang and idioms may also prevent misunderstandings between people. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vania J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. While slang and idioms may seem inappropriate to teach students, it makes for better communication. Native English speakers use slang and idioms such as "break a leg"...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In 1983, Dr. Howard Garner presented his theory of multiple intelligences in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1). His theory suggests that IQ, which is a more traditional form of measuring intelligence, is far too limited in its range of testing (1). Although not all of the intelligence included in the theory can be targeted easily when preparing a learning activity, multiple intelligence learning is a good theory to apply to teach English as a foreign language. This is because it can be used to teach at any level, and a strong intelligence can be used to develop skills involving a weaker one. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sidney M. Please note that this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Standing in front of a class, a teacher procrastinates by asking each student random questions and scribbling on the board, but something is wrong. The students seem restless and the teacher looks uncomfortable. The teacher then springs into action by quickly shuffling through a stack of papers on their desk while the students look around blankly at one another. Their attention is dwindling. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Bryce W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Be prepared, and be ready! When teaching, having a clear and concise lesson plan along with backup activities is a must, and there are a few things that should...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The question posed to many of those that are obtaining their certificate to teach English as a foreign language is what are the advantages of having one. This question can have several different answers for many different people. One of the main advantages of obtaining a certificate to teach English as a foreign language is to obtain steady employment. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate David S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching English to those that are not native to the language will be an employment opportunity for the foreseeable future, and the desire for those to learn English has never been so prominent as it...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflonline.net This is the second ITTT video that looks at the structure of the Present Perfect Continuous tense. This time we focus on the question form. Question form: auxiliary verb 'have/has' + subject + been + present participle Have I/you/we/they been teaching for five years? Has he/she/it been teaching for five years? To learn more about the Present Perfect Continuous tense and the other tenses, why not have a look at our other videos online. You may then want to consider completing one of our popular courses. ITTT's courses will equip you with the necessary skills needed to make sure that you can become an effective English language teacher and to be able to confidently teach all aspects of the language. Then the possibilities as to where you can teach are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Nobody doubts that motivated students learn better and assimilate taught contents more easily than non-motivated ones but keeping students motivated and engaged during class is one of the teachers' biggest challenges. Playing games in class, though, seems to be of great help when it comes to engaging, reinforce materials and retain the attention of students. Another positive point is that games can be used at any moment in the teaching process by any level. The usages are diverse varying from teaching to getting feedback, not to mention that having students playing games reduces drastically Teacher's Talking Time turning classes more student-centered. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kelly...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This summative essay will exam the importance of teaching the differences between American English and British English for EFL learners. I will examine the intention behind teaching these differences, and when these teachings should be applied, and to what effect and purpose. This essay will focus primarily on the problems of pronunciation and spelling, which are the two main differences. I am a British citizen, born and raised in London, England, and currently teach at a public high school in Tokyo. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Challis C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The most prominent differences in spelling would be...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Taking a TEFL course allows future teachers to know the basics of teaching a TEFL class. A TEFL course shows the best techniques of teaching a TEFL class, and how to prepare a lesson plan. It also shows how to use a coursebook and how to interact with specific types of classes. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate William T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For many people that want to teach English to foreign students, this will be their first time teaching. The course helps future teachers learn the basics of what is needed to teach a class properly. The course goes over the different parts of grammar, written and oral that are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When teaching a class of students of different ages, genders, religions, and cultures, a teacher must take each of these things into consideration to be sure that all of the students feel that they are being provided with a safe learning environment. Of each of these, one of the most commonly discussed topics that teachers need to be aware of is cultural sensitivity. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rachel O. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are many different situations in which a teacher can ensure that students not only feel that their culture is being celebrated within the classroom but also have an opportunity to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The capacity for learning is present in people of any age and the desire for education and knowledge should be nurtured and celebrated to the best ability of not only the student but the educator as well. Because education is something that people seek out for the duration of their lives, the role and processes of an educator are incredibly diverse and are many times determined by the specific educational situation. One of the biggest determinations of the teaching processes and style arises when one considers the age of her students. Though a teacher may use songs and games when teaching children, her approach to teaching adults would be very different. Young learners acquire information in different ways than...  [Read more]