Teaching English By Design

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Syllabus design is one of the most important parts of developing a business English course. In order to formulate a syllabus, a lot of factors have to be kept in mind. These include the purpose of the course, the language proficiency of the students, the field in which the students specialize, as well as the aims, goals and objectives that you intend to achieve by the end of the course. The syllabus design should represent a logical step by step process to take the students from their present level of proficiency to their desired level. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hina I. Your course syllabus could take various forms. It could be a ‘structural...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas English is the widely used language in the world that used as an official language in a majority of countries, as the main business language and as a universal language for education and tourism. Based on their interests and responsibilities people decide what type of English they should learn and try to find the most suitable course for their personal goals. From another perspective, as English teachers, our obligation is to create a course that consists of materials that help students to reach their goals and allow us to present English in a structured and the most appropriate way. As a result, the problem of syllabus design that meets students' expectations appears. The main aim of this essay is to define what...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Although courses may vary in length, subject matter, level, or approach, a systematic process, a syllabus is essential to plan and structure a course to achieve instructional goals effectively. Teachers will need to design, modify, revise or evaluate a syllabus or rethink and re-examine their syllabi throughout their career. Being a systematic process, syllabus design follows a set of steps and requirements, as outlined in the following paragraphs. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Soundous D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Before starting the syllabus...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching is one of the most important occupations in society. And Even though teachers are not appreciated in many parts of the world, their importance is unquestionable. They build up the next generations and without them, society would eventually fall. Being a teacher requires a specific set of skills. Some people are more talented than others in delivering information or explaining. However, with learning and patience, anyone can be a teacher. These specific teaching skills are divided into two main directions: Design and delivery. In the following paragraphs, I am talking in more detail about them. I am also starting with the definition of a teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate...  [Read more]

  Margaret from Indonesia took the 120-hour online TEFL/TESOL course and had a great experience. She learned a lot about grammar, classroom management, and lesson planning. In her TEFL review, she recommends our training courses to anyone who is interested in becoming an English language teacher. 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 provided a great overview of what will be taught in this course. The detailed Course Content was of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this short essay, I would like to share the differences in teaching YL and Adults. For effective learning, it is important for us, as teachers, to understand how these two groups go about learning. The critical point is the suitable design and delivery of the program. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eddy P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Malcolm Knowles differentiates between teaching adults (andragogy) and Young Learners/Children (Pedagogy). Malcolm Knowles based his theory on 5 assumptions of the way adults learn: He suggests including adults in both the planning and development of instruction. By giving them a voice...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences To many students, the school can feel like more of a chore than a pleasurable experience. Whether it is struggling to pay attention to lectures or to complete homework assignments, all students will lose focus at some point or another. One way to make the learning process more pleasurable is by transforming the classroom into a game-like environment. This does not necessarily mean playing games in class, but it does mean applying similar concepts to the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Heather H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Many of the games we enjoy also happen to build real-life skills such as...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In the existing literature on language education, the terms CURRICULUM and SYLLABUS are sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes differentiated, and sometimes misused and misunderstood. Rodger (1989:26, cited in Richards, 2001:39) makes a distinction between a syllabus and curriculum. According to Rodgers, syllabi (or syllabuses), which prescribe the content to be covered by a given course, form only a small part of the total school program. The curriculum is a far broader concept. The curriculum is all those activities in which children engage under the auspices of the school. This includes not only what students learn, but how they learn it, how teachers help them learn, using what supporting materials, styles,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Every person is unique and every person learns in different ways. Identifying how each individual learns might sound like a challenging task to perform as a teacher. However, there are several tests that institutions and teachers can provide to students in order to identify the different types of learners they have in their classrooms. It is the theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner that shows how people have a variety in ways of learning. Some tests have been designed based on his theory and can be found online. Some of the Multiple Intelligences mentioned by Gardner include, but are not limited to Visual-Spatial, Linguistic-Verbal, Musical, Bodily-kinesthetic and Naturalistic. Through identifying...  [Read more]

Ahmed Taha TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The curriculum has been used in the past as a collection of topics and syllabuses for children and young people to be learned during their school years. However, this definition does not do justice to the wider outcomes required by the real world or to the complexity of what many teachers are actually doing to promote the well-being of children and young people. It fails to define the overall objectives that the program is supposed to serve. Learning is often greatly influenced by when and how success is evaluated and how the effects of measurement are used. Therefore, evaluation needs to be seen as an important part of the process of learning....  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word echo. This word is used as a noun and as a verb. As a noun it refers to the sound caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the speaker. As a verb, it describes the action of a sound being repeated after the original sound has already stopped. The word comes from the Greek word ?kh? meaning ‘a sound’. 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. As an English teacher you...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching business English presents teachers with a degree of freedom that is perhaps not enjoyed by those teaching in, for example, State Schools that have curriculums set by the education arm of Government or other international organizations. Some teachers may relish having the opportunity to design their syllabus while for others it may be something rather daunting. Regardless, gaining experience in the field of syllabus design will likely prove invaluable for a teacher in their personal career development. Several considerations are required when designing a syllabus for a course in Business English and these will be discussed throughout this essay along with the methods and resources necessary for their...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Lesson planning is vital to ensure a smooth lesson. If you are new to teaching English as a foreign language, lesson planning might seem daunting at first. However, after reading through this comprehensive guide, you should already feel a lot more confident! This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Betty S. A lesson plan is like a set of notes. It tells us what we are going to teach and how we are going to teach. A lesson plan is important because of several reasons. Mainly, it is a road map to help the teacher know where s/he is going in the lesson. With a lesson plan teachers are more confident because they know what to do in every step of the lesson. It provides a systematic outline to induce...  [Read more]

  ITTT's 370-hour online Diploma in TESOL course, which includes tutor support, is a research based course that utilizes the internet and other resources to develop a deeper understanding of areas such as, the historical development of English language teaching, syllabus design, assessment procedures, classroom management and so on. The course will provide you with an in-depth understanding of teaching English, it will give you the skills to enhance your own pedagogy and it will be a valuable addition to your CV. 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...  [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]

Mark Crocker TEFL Information Alumni Experiences I have had the privilege of teaching English for 5 years in an Asian university setting, and I am now preparing to move to another country to seek employment. It is quite possible that I will teach English in a business setting in my new country, which is why I took the Certificate in Teaching Business English course. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Todd M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching English has been an absolute joy as I have met many interesting people and learned so much through living in another country. However, the part of English teaching that I struggle with most is...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflcourse.net This video covers the structure and usage of the past continuous tense. This structure of this tense is: Positive: Subject + was/were + present participle. She was working last night. Negative: Subject + was/were + not + present participle. He was not teaching yesterday. Question: Was/were + subject + present participle Was she driving yesterday? The past continuous is used to talk about actions that were in progress at a time in the past. For example: I was watching television last night. One option that may not occur to most TEFL graduates is that of teaching English online. Not only can you earn your certificate online, but you can also earn your wages by teaching English online. ITTT has many different courses available suited to your...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate gives a piece of advice on outdoor activities for better English comprehension. Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This article is devoted to the problem of rapport in an ESL classroom. Our recent TEFL graduate shares their personal experience. Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate shares their experience of working with Japanese students. Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, you will learn how to design a working lesson plan for your ESL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate shares their ideas for organizing a TEFL class. Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this article, you will find out how to use the ESA approach in your TEFL classroom. Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate shares their ideas on how to build rapport with students effectively. Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate gives a piece of advice on outdoor activities for better English comprehension. Elizaveta Pachina ...  [Read more]

Pritam Nagrale Teaching Ideas As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world well into 2021 and shows no visible signs of ebbing, there’s an additional burden that teachers have to face nowadays. And that pressure comes from designing effective lessons for online classes. The new normal, as we know it today, dictates that we stay at home and take every precaution to avoid the contagion. This brings us to a question: How to design effective lessons for an online class? Is it that easy? I will try and answer both these questions in this article while providing six topmost tips that might help you create superb and engaging lessons for your online classes. Let’s begin by exploring the reasons for designing effective online lessons. The...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Oxford Dictionary defines learning ability as the ability to comprehend or understand and profit from an experience (Vocabulary.com, 2019). The reality is that in any classroom, a teacher will be faced with teaching children of varying learning abilities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Liezl S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Constructivism is a theory about how people learn and acquire knowledge and can be a tool for effective teaching when faced with students of varying abilities. The theory states that people construct their understanding and knowledge of the world, through their experiences and by looking back or...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences I chose to take a TEFL course to make me more professional. I am an English teacher and I teach young kids from the age of 4 to 12 in China. I have been teaching kids for around 7 years. I was teaching kids from Grade 1 to Grade 5 in a public primary school in China. Now I teach young kids in a language training center. Teaching in a Chinese public school is totally different to teaching in a private training center. In a public school, what the teacher does everyday is giving the questionnaire to the students and have them complete as many questionnaires as possible. The goal is for students to remember the grammar rules and know how to give correct answers so that they can do well in their tests. So in a public...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Many teachers of the English language, both young and old at secondary school level are faced with the uphill task of designing a course structure. They often find designing a progression as a real Herculean task. As a secondary school student, I took English language courses with teachers who in most cases used just the prescribed textbooks page after page. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Buh Mariette M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Today as an amateur teacher for almost a year now, I have discovered that most teachers shy away from designing a scheme of work because they find it difficult and painstaking. Breaking the...  [Read more]

  So let's take an example of what those drills might involve. So here is an example of a repetition drill. I will model the language and then my class will repeat after me. So "This is a cup." "Spoon" ? "This is a spoon." "Knife" - "his is a knife." Thank you. The reason that it's called or also called the army method is that it was the method adopted by the United States military who had personnel stationed around the world at the end of Second World War and they realized that they needed those personnel to pick up the language very quickly and one of the positive things about this particular methodology is that you do very quickly learn vocabulary. Another positive thing about it is that you quickly learn the correct pronunciation of that vocabulary. However, there are some...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Lesson planning is an essential part of your teaching practice. Moreover, it is vital to be creative all the time. This sample lesson plan will help you to set a perfect lesson for beginners or lower-intermediate students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Michelle M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. List a number of role-play situations that would be appropriate for beginner and low intermediate level students. These role-play situations should include variety with multiple structures for students to exploit. Also Read: Top 10 Places to Take Your TEFL Course in Spring Choose one of the situations on your list and design...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Writing a lesson plan requires putting down a detailed step-by-step guide that outlines the teacher's objectives for what the students will learn during their lesson and how they will learn it. To create a lesson plan, the learning objectives should be identified, activities should be developed, and the materials to be used will also be determined. A lesson plan can exist in the teacher's mind, or written in any format understandable by the teacher. Its purpose is to outline the "program" for a single lesson. It generally helps the teacher in both plannings and executing the lesson. It helps the student achieve a detailed format of learning, and help them get a structured organization of learning in their minds....  [Read more]

Umber Sherjeel Destinations Saudi Arabia has a rich cultural heritage. The old historical buildings, different types of beaches, and deserts distinguish it from other countries. If you come here, you will find yourself enjoying hiking, camping, swimming, and exploring historical buildings and castles. The following are the 11 best places to visit in Saudi Arabia. If you like quiet and exotic beaches, you are in the right place. Clean white sand all along the coast and slow blue waves, gives you the just the right amount of peace. You may also like to go boating and spend days in the nearby hotels. The best part is that it's not at all crowded. It is clean and exotic. Al Duqm beach is known for its clean, soft sand and turquoise waters. Its long...  [Read more]

Charlotte Lam Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas In Hong Kong, the education system is competitive where the majority of people try their utmost to study in a better school. They are also required to learn Cantonese, English, and Mandarin starting from kindergarten. In order to get into a renowned school, the Cambridge examination becomes an important criterion for getting into a famous school, and therefore, Cambridge English lessons become much more popular in Hong Kong city. The Cambridge English exams are designed for different levels of English learners. For children in kindergarten, Cambridge English for young learners is suitable for them. It is designed for children in primary or lower-secondary education. There are...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word "ingenuous". This word refers to an innocent or unsuspecting person or situation. Synonyms of ingenuous include naive, innocent and simple. The origin of the word is from the Latin word "ingenuus" meaning native or freeborn. 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 discussed the teaching receptive skills and the categories of reading and listening. The reasons for reading and listening...  [Read more]

  This video is the first video of our series on conditionals and reported speech. The conditionals are commonly referred to as "if" sentence structure speaking about if this happens then that happens. 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. Conditionals usually start with the word, if.They have two parts which are called a condition,and a result.Reported speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than the exact words they may use...  [Read more]