Teaching About Adjectives

  Moving further down our list of parts of speech, we have our adjectives. Adjectives modify or describe nouns. Basically, they give more information about the noun. Here, we've used a noun such as chair. It could be any old chair. It's only the noun. If we want to describe the noun, we need to use an adjective before it. So, I could say "I have an old black leather chair". Here, we have to be concerned about the adjective order. In this instance, I started with age, as age typically goes before color and then I use the color to go before the material. This is a certain pattern. Depending on the adjectives you want to use, you always have to use certain patterns to which you'll need to be aware of when teaching your class. Another way to describe a noun is by showing possession. We...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas For non-native English student in Spain, specific difficulties may be encountered when learning English. A good English teacher will help a student address those difficulties including, but not limited to, pronunciation, listening, and grammar. A good English teacher to non-native English students requires a solid foundation in the knowledge of English as the student relies on the teacher as the main source of the language. The student looks to the teacher for guidance and direction in order to comprehend English. The teacher must instill trust and display confidence for the student to learn adequately. These are difficulties in teaching English to non-native students in general....  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word esoteric. This word is used as an adjective and refers to something that is either intended for or can only be understood by a certain group of people with a special interest or knowledge. Synonyms for esoteric include abstract, abstruse and obscure. The word originates from the Greek word es?terikos. 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 is about parts of speech. Some examples of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Stories provide a natural and relevant context for the exposure to English language and storytelling built on the children’s innate capacity for fantasy and imaginative play, making it an essential aspect to be integrated into language lessons. Beyond just language skills, students are also able to acquire critical thinking skills such as predicting, hypothesizing, categorizing, sequencing, and inferring meaning through various storytelling activities. Stories are also used to enhance children’s concentration skills and develop moral and emotional intelligence by teaching students to empathize with the characters in the story. Storytelling can be extended to include activities for children to retell, act out,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Sometimes problems may be encountered when teaching students from different nationalities due to varied reasons. When teaching English to students that are culturally and linguistically different from one's own, the teacher must take great care to prepare and identify the specific problems one may encounter as well as be attentive to the problems that occur in real-time. 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 problems an ESL or TEFL teacher may encounter can vary widely but are usually identified in these areas: pronunciation, grammar, and syntax as it pertains to language but also...  [Read more]

  And now let's look at the pronouns. Simply put, pronouns take the place of a noun. We have various types of pronouns. They are personal pronouns, which can either be subject or object. We have reflexive pronouns, relative pronouns and possessive pronouns. With our personal pronouns, we have to decide whether it's the subject or the object. The subject is the doer of an action, whereas the object is the one that receives the action. Subject pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it etc. Object pronouns are: me, you, him, her, etc. In the sentence "Greg hit Pete," the subject of the sentence is "Greg", therefore I would say "He hit Pete," or I could put a pronoun in for the object of the sentence, where "Greg hit Pete", now, I go into "Greg hit him." With our reflexive pronouns, these are...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas When students hear ‘vocabulary’, they may expect to hear the word ‘list’ next. More often than not, we associate the word ‘list’ with ‘boring’! We think of 2 daunting columns of black letters on white paper: one with the native language and one with the target language. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and for teaching young learners, it cannot be that way. Certainly, teaching vocabulary will involve lists that help learners to receive language methodically and thoroughly. But what a teacher does with the vocabulary lists can be creative and fun and, most of all, memorable! This post was written by our ITTT graduate Roxanne L. When teachers hear ‘vocabulary’, they should pair it with the word...  [Read more]

  Another way to approach teaching modal auxiliary verbs is in context, for example, "How to give advice". This is especially useful for students of higher levels that have some knowledge of the various modal auxiliary verbs. 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 is all about modal,phrasal verb and passive voice. this unit teaches about the basic rules and how modals can be express in different ideas such as obligation,possibility and...  [Read more]

  Angelina is from Russia and she decided to take the 120-hour online TEFL/TESOL course. She found the units on teaching methodologies and techniques to be very helpful and she is now able to create and present effective English lessons to EFL students. Her next goal is to find a position teaching young learners. This is her TEFL review. 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 about different parts of English grammar. This is of course...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL/TESOL review video trainees Emma and Angelo discuss their experiences during the third week of their course in Phuket. They outline some of the course assessment components and they talk about their teaching practice sessions and how much they valued the experience. 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 covered the different parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc). It stated each section and subsection; ex. noun-...  [Read more]

  In this ITTT video former trainee Ben talks about his experiences during the final week of his four week TEFL/TESOL certification course and what he plans to do now that he has gained his teaching qualification. 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 as a helpful overview of rules about parts of speech, because it has been a while since I taught English. Especially, I found helpful contrasting possessive pronouns with possessive adjectives...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word ilk. This word describes a person or a thing that is similar to a person or a thing previously referred to. Suitable synonyms for ilk are type, category, sort, and class. 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. Unit 2 grammar of speech gives good explanation of the basic rules that are needed to build a sentence in English language. But I found the two last clauses about Pronouns and...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word filibuster. This word can be used both as a noun and as a verb. As a noun, it refers to a speech that avoids the progress in a legislative assembly while not technically being illegal or unlawful. As a verb, it describes the action of acting in an obstructive manner in legislature. The word originates from the Dutch vrijbuiter meaning freebooter. 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...  [Read more]

  Adrian from Canada is living and teaching English in Japan. In this TEFL review video Adrian discusses what he and his students have got out of his TEFL course with ITTT. Adrian found that taking the TEFL course was extremely helpful in improving his confidence in the classroom. During his regular feedback sessions with his adult students they have noticed the difference taking the course has made to Adrian’s teaching and are appreciative of this. With his new certification, Adrian intends on staying and teaching English in Japan for the foreseeable future. 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]

  And now let's look at the future continuous tense. The future continuous tense is typically used to indicate an action in progress at a particular time in the future. To form this tense in the positive form, we have our subject, here we've used 'Karen', the word 'will', our auxiliary verb our helping verb 'to be' and then the present participle or the verb with 'ing', so 'Karen will be going'. In order to create the negative form, we keep with our positive form but add 'not' in between 'will' and our helping verb 'to be'. Finally, we ask a question by beginning with 'will', then we have our subject being sure to include our helping verb and the present participle: 'Will Karen be going?' Some of the more common usages for the future continuous tense are as follows. We can use them...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'principal' and 'principle'. These two words often cause confusion for English learners due to their similar spelling. The word 'principal' can be used as a noun and as an adjective. As a noun, it refers to a person of authority, like a school principal, the head of a school. When used as an adjective, it means 'leading' or 'primary', like a principal cause or reason. The word 'principle', on the other hand, is only used as a noun and refers to a moral or standard, like the principle of free speech. 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...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Words are an essential part of the structure of English sentences. If we want to speak English as a foreign language, we need to know new words and even progress. Considering a student who needs to know and learn new words as a teacher, we have to answer this question "What impressive ways do you have in teaching ESL vocabulary?" This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yasemin A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First, they notice a new word with help; Secondly, they recognize the name at first with help, then later on their own; and lastly, they can both...  [Read more]

  Which is the best course for me? A typical question asked by prospective trainees. It is not always an easy question to answer as it really depends on one's background, financial situation and time constraints. Where a person wants to teach can also be a factor in the course you select. For example in some regions the 120 hour online course is the basic requirement by employers but in other regions the 4 week in-class course is basic requirement. Contact us if you need assistance in deciding the right course for you. We will be happy to provide you with the relevant information you need to meet your particular needs and requirements. Go to our web site or follow the link above. -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Are you ready to Teach English Abroad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcXD_GNR04...  [Read more]

  Our next main issue is going to be that of giving students individual attention. Here many classroom management and leaving potential discipline problems can be avoided by applying some simple rules to giving your students attention. The first one is to think about the way in which you ask questions. Don't ask questions in a predictable order. If you just go around the class asking questions from one person to the next then the person at the end of the class will know that it's going to be some time before you actually get to them. So try to mix up the way in which you're asking questions. In terms of answers to questions don't allow individual students to dominate all of the answers. One of the things that we can do to help this particular issue is to use the students names as...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflonline.net The teaching idea covered here is one that would be appropriate for adult English language learners. It involves students writing a CV including personal data such as where they were born, their education history and their work experience. This activity could be a precursor to a job interview activity where students interview each other for different jobs using information from their CVs. By taking one of ITTT's TESOL Courses you will learn useful teaching ideas such as the one covered in this video. There are number of options available to study from short 60-hour introductory courses to longer 120-hour TESOL Courses. It is also possible to take ITTT's TESOL Courses in-class at any one of our training centres around the world. Please visit the link...  [Read more]

  This video focuses on the difference between "bored" and "boring". Using those two words incorrectly is a very common mistake, especially for English learners around the world. The word "bored" is an adjective describing the feeling when there is nothing to do or when a person is not interested, for example, "she was so bored that she fell asleep". "Boring" is also an adjective but this word refers to the cause of the bored feeling rather than the feeling itself. For example, "the class was so boring that she fell asleep". Here the class is the reason for the feeling. The same concept can be applied to similar word pairs such as 'interested - interesting' or 'tired - tiring'. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL...  [Read more]

  Absolutely YES! Large numbers of non-native English speakers complete our TEFL courses each year and go on to have successful careers teaching English either in their home country or further afield. In order to successfully complete the course you will need to demonstrate a high standard of English, but it is certainly not a barrier that will stop you from becoming a fully qualified EFL teacher. In many cases being a non-native English speaker can actually be an advantage in the classroom as you have already been through the same experience that your students are currently facing. This can help to build a good rapport between the students and the teacher as they are often less afraid of making mistakes in this situation. It can also provide the students with a real incentive to...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word rhadamanthine. This word is used as an adjective and means showing inflexible judgment. 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. Teaching modals and passive voice will be difficult. At this point most of the English language comes naturally, so it is hard for me to comprehend these very detailed descriptions of grammar and clauses. However, I think that phrasal verbs will be easier to teach. I...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word categorical. This word is used as an adjective and means explicit and direct. It comes from the Greek word kat?goria meaning ‘statement’. 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 is a follow up from 'Past Tense'. I read about the future tense and how to categories sentences knowing which tense the sentence belong to. Future tense is activity or event that has bot taken place as yet...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Who doesn’t love a story? Stories are universal. Stories connect us all. Stories also transcend caste, creed, color, and age. From the beginning of time, to-date the medium may have changed but stories engage us with others because it is easy to see ourselves reflected in them and understand the message conveyed easily. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shaimuna C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching English using stories can be very effective in class. As an English teacher, I have used stories for classroom activities from Year 1 to 6 at the primary school level. The different age groups need diverse styles. Below are...  [Read more]

  In this video we explain the difference in using "bad" and "badly". The key difference is that 'bad' is used as an adjective and 'badly' as an adverb. Therfore, 'bad' describes that something is not good, while 'badly' refers to something that is done in a bad manner, harmfully or in correctly. A good example sentence for 'bad' would be "Jenny had a car accident today. This is bad". Let's look at an example for 'badly': "Austin behaved badly". I'm sure you'll never confuse the two words again. 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...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word catastrophic. This word is used as an adjective and means extremely tragic or horrendous. Some synonyms for catastrophic include tragic and disastrous. The word comes from the Greek word katastroph?, meaning to overturn. 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 was about different types of lessons, theories, methods, and teaching techniques we can use for different levels of students...  [Read more]

Anastasiya Akpinar Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas One of the most popular approaches to teaching is the ESA method. ✅ In this blog post, we will discover how to use the ESA teaching method for online English lessons. Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our TEFL expert shares several useful tips on creating the perfect introduction video for teaching English online platforms. ✅ Check it out and look for students online like a pro! Anastasiya Akpinar TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas ...  [Read more]

  In this episode of Chantelle’s TEFL diary she takes us through her experiences with the second unit of her online TEFL course. Unit 2 of ITTT’s 120-hour TEFL course focuses on parts of speech; nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. As Chantelle points out in her video, having a basic understanding of the rules behind parts of speech is an important part of being an English teacher and is something that many native speakers of English take for granted. Although, as native speakers, we may instinctively know when and where to use the different parts of speech; understanding how to explain the rules to an English learner is a very different matter. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our...  [Read more]

Laura Payne Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Authentic materials are media that native speakers of a language encounter in their everyday lives, which are not specifically created for language students. TV programs, newspaper articles, books, songs, YouTube videos, and more all fall under this term. Incorporating authentic materials into ESL classrooms has numerous merits, but the high language level required to understand these materials often causes teachers to rarely or never include them in classes below an intermediate language level. However, the difficulty of language in authentic materials does not necessarily mean that they have no place in lower-level classes. With some research, planning, and creativity, any teacher...  [Read more]