Teaching Is Like

  The next example is going to be that of a boomerang lesson and remember the structure is like this. So, again, we're going to start with an engage phase and for our engage, the students are just going to have a discussion about jobs. What happens at interviews and so on and so forth. So, during that engage phase, what we'd hope to do is to elicit some useful language about jobs and interviews and the types of questions that are being asked. Then, we're going to move immediately into an activate activity and this is going to involve a role-play. So, we'll break the students into pairs. One will be an interviewer, the other will be an interviewee and they'll generate the language that that role-play will produce. What the teacher can do whilst that is taking place is to go around...  [Read more]

Umber Sherjeel Destinations Alumni Experiences Being in the teaching field for more than a decade and having taught in Saudi Arabia for the last 7+ years, I will give some pointers about my experience here as an English Language teacher. The education industry in Saudi Arabia is very blooming. There are many international schools, colleges, and universities - and the English education field in Saudi Arabia continues to grow and expand. Due to the rapid shift in the education system during the past few years, the country has established an insatiable appetite for ESL English Language teachers. English language learning has become mandatory in pretty much the entire school system. Since English is considered as a key skill for...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I’ve been teaching for almost two years in China as an English teacher. At first, I was only assigned to teach preschool children, due to the sudden leave of their last teacher. I was nervous and didn’t know whether I would be able to teach them. They were very young and were absolute beginners. I had to teach letters with paired vocabularies every lesson. But as soon as I got to know them, all my worries disappeared. They were supportive and eager to learn. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate CONNIE L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I would start my class with the greeting part, by asking students their names and how...  [Read more]

Sahil Gazi TEFL Information Alumni Experiences I was born in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. I had the privilege of being educated at some of the best private schools in town, all of whom followed an industry-standard curriculum for teaching English and other English language subjects. The British Council later adopted this with various examination boards from reputed Universities in the UK. As a student, I experienced many different facets of the education system and spent a few years at a public school also helped me gain perspective on the differences in our education systems and quality. Now I teach English in a foreign country, and looking back helps me reflect on the experience that we had, that my cousins are...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The majority of children turning 5 years old attend kindergarten for two years in preparation for primary school. Some kids enter kindergarten earlier at the age of only four. This actually varies according from state to state and also from country to country. In China, most kindergartens combine childcare with teaching so that the children will develop physically, morally, and intellectually in a harmonious way to get ready for their formal school education. A good environment is assured for the kids to have a conducive place to learn actively. Teaching English in China can be overwhelming considering that English teachers are also assigned to teach kids as young as one year old or even younger. Chinese parents...  [Read more]

  Like many of ITTT's students Chethan had been teaching for some time before taking his online course. In this TESOL review video, Chethan describes how through taking the course he was able to learn new teaching techniques and adapt his approach to improve his English classes. 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. It's very interesting that there is so much study gone into how to give lessons. I'm wondering what kind of methods these videos were...  [Read more]

  When teaching business English classes you are expected to act and teach in a business-like manner. This does not mean that your lessons should automatically be staid and uninteresting but that your activities should be appropriate for and relevant to the needs of your students. Asking the vice-president of the company to stand up and sing ‘I’m a little teapot’ in front of his or her staff is not the best way to approach teaching English to business professionals or to ensure your contract is renewed. 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...  [Read more]

  Would you like to live and work abroad? With a TEFL or TESOL certificate you can work and live abroad, Teaching English as a Foreign Language or Teaching English as a Second Language. Check out ITTT's courses and start a new life with a TEFL or TESOL certification! 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. It is important to understand the methodologies and to teach and let the students understand them especially if english is not their first language....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a new teacher, grammar was initially very difficult for me to teach. It was difficult to demonstrate grammar patterns succinctly. Luckily, the school that I work for has provided help by having an established curriculum. The key to teaching grammar, however, has been teaching variable inputs in otherwise unchanging structures as part of student-centered games. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Stephen W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If I were to teach the pattern, “What does Billy like?/ He likes _____”, then I would have several options. I could read the pattern and have the students listen. This would be ineffective...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas For years I have been thinking about my own personal experience as a student with the different institutions, methodologies, and teaching styles that I have been introduced to within my life to improve as a teacher in education that didn't work for me as a student. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Maria A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I remember two main experiences that clearly demonstrate the importance of consciously working on building rapport with students. When I was in High School, I really enjoyed reading and learning about why we humans are how we are and I enrolled immediately as soon as I knew that an...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I choose" establishing rapport" as the topic of my summary, cause that's my priority and very important to me.establishing rapport is often overlook and undervalued by teachers.basic my own experience, building rapport with your student makes your student value the class more. they more motivated, they participate more. and their focusing class is much better.why? because of the experience I had.in my mind we all can pass the exam to be a teacher if we study hard. but that doesn't mean you can be a "qualified" one. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Doris M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I'm from China, I'm still here. We...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teacher: Hoang Thi Thanh Hue Observer: N/ A Date and time: 19/09/19 Class level: Beginner Room: 201 Expected number of student: 10 This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hue H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. New vocabulary: banana, bread, chicken, cookie, orange juice, milk New structure: I like/ don’t like _____. Teaching aids: a paper bag, 03 real food items, pictures of foods and drink, drawing paper, board, and pens, worksheets Also Read: Can I cancel my contract early when teaching English abroad? For the students to be able to identify and name foods and drinks and talk about their likes and dislike To improve my...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflonline.net This TEFL certification video explores the structure of the present continuous tense. Tense forms have specific structures that TEFL teachers will need to know before they get a TEFL job. Even if grammar wasn't a strong point at school, our TEFL training courses will give you the lessons you need to conduct meaningful and productive EFL lessons. /// -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Are you ready to Teach English Abroad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcXD_GNR04 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- 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...  [Read more]

  Despite the many things the countries in Europe have in common there are plenty of ways in which the customs and cultures differ and each country has its own unique way of doing certain things. As an English teacher and visitor, an understanding of some of the manners and behavior of people in your chosen country can go a long way to improving your experience of teaching English abroad. 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. I know all these tense...  [Read more]

  These two words are often confused by native and non-native English speakers alike. The key thing to remember is that “accept” is a verb and a synonym of “to receive” as in the example “I accepted all my birthday gifts with gratitude”. “Except” on the other hand is a conjunction and a synonym of “apart from”. For example “When Susan travels she packs everything except the kitchen sink”. Remember, “accept” is a verb meaning “to receive” and “except” is a conjunction meaning “apart from”. 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...  [Read more]

  In this ITTT TEFL review video Leanne talks about her experiences in completing the challenging and rewarding TEFL/TESOL certification in-class course. ITTT's courses have been developed over time to ensure that we offer the best professional, practical and effective course as possible. We are confident that our TEFL/TESOL certification will assist in making you a suitable candidate for prospective employers. 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. ...  [Read more]

  Justine took the 120-hour online course without tutor support from ITTT. In her TESOL review video Justine tells us that overall she found the course to be very helpful, easy to understand and easy to navigate. Because she took the course without tutor support Justine made sure that she reviewed the course materials thoroughly to ensure that she understood the information presented and as such feels that she learned a great deal from the course. Justine notes that the response times to any questions she had were promptly answered and would recommend this course to anyone looking for a TESOL 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...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas ESL teachers often encounter difficulties when teaching grammar patterns to students abroad. The following 7 activities for teaching the simple present for the ESL classroom will help your students pick up the tense in an easy and efficient way. This is a very good activity for when you start discussing the simple present and how it’s used for routines and regularities. You can place the students into groups or pairs and have them discuss their daily routines. What do they do in the morning? In the afternoon? In the evening? You can then also have them write up a schedule of their daily routines and share their findings with the class later on in a class discussion. Also read: Top Online Lesson Plan Resources for...  [Read more]

Karah Musani Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching children can be challenging. If you’re teaching an adult, chances are, they’re there because they want to learn. Most children, however, would much rather be watching their favorite TV show, so it’s important to make the class fun and engaging. One of the best ways to do this is with a reward system. Plan a reward system with 4 to 6 rewards and give one to the student periodically throughout the class when they have done a good job. You can use this to reinforce good behavior and to encourage the student to try harder so that they get more rewards. All of my reward systems rely on a whiteboard the students can see. The rewards will be placed on the whiteboard. Here...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As a young child, I was, for some reason, obsessed with the idea of learning French. I tried a couple of languages, including Finnish at some point, but kept going back to French. I have no idea why because I was never exposed to the culture or the language itself at that age. I doubt I even knew anything about the country itself. I think I assumed learning French would make me sound smarter but, the joke's on younger me, I have no skill in French and never have. I tend to struggle with romance languages in general. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nicole H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When I was in high school, my...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflonline.net The teaching idea in this video is for the past continuous involves students miming an action; however, unlike the mime activity for the present continuous students will not be doing the mimes for others to see. Instead they will stop the mime before the other students open their eyes. The students will then have to say what their classmates were doing before they stopped. For example: You were driving a car. You were eating a sandwich. Being able to come up with interesting teaching ideas for what students often see as boring grammar points is an important skill for any English teacher. Taking an online TEFL course with ITTT will give you an understanding of the grammar points that you need to teach when starting out as a new teacher of English and...  [Read more]

  Once we're satisfied that all the students have been engaged and that they've been given the opportunity to say something, we can move on to our study phase. Here, it may be necessary or useful to actually pre-teach some gaps in knowledge that have been shown from the engage phase and those gaps in knowledge may include actual grammar structures or indeed useful vocabulary and it's very important that, before we move on to doing any forms of activity, we check their understanding of this material. So, we need to do some study exercises. It's also very useful if you leave this information up on the board through all that study period. Those study activities can just be the normal types of gap fills or matching activities and, as always, we need to demonstrate those activities,...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences In my past, I have lived in many different countries and language environments. I have come to learn that the best way to gain an understanding of a new language is to be absorbed in it. In countries where English is widely spoken as a foreign language (Scandinavian countries for example), learning the language of the country can be much more difficult. It is uncomfortable not being able to express oneself, so English offers a cane of comfort, but also a disservice. Unless one goes through this part of the learning process where speaking is hard for you and maybe even for your listener, fluency can never be achieved. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eija R. Please note that this blog post...  [Read more]

  http://www.teflcourse.net This video covers the structure of the future perfect continuous. Other videos look at the usage and possible teaching ideas. The structure is as follows: Positive -- Subject + will + have + been + present participle By the end of this week, I will have been teaching English for three years. Negative -- Subject + will + not + have + been + present participle I won't have been waiting long by the time you get here. Question -- Will + subject + have + been + present participle? How long will you have been teaching English in Korea by the time you leave? One thing that worries many people thinking about teaching English as a foreign language is the grammar side of things. Most simply won't have been taught the ins and outs of English grammar while...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Why does the English language break all its own rules and have so many words or phrases that simply make no literal sense? How does one learn such a language like this? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Bridget B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Football in most countries is a game where a ball is kicked around with one’s foot. In American English, this sport is called soccer. The sport of American football has much less to do with the kicking of the foot but yet is still called football. And we still also have soccer and handball. We have many other words in the English language that can be very confusing to those learning...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Motivation refers to a psychological process that gives purpose and direction. Motivation in the classroom helps students to be interested in learning. It's a process involved in the arousing and orientation of someone towards achieving a given goal. As a teacher, motivation in the classroom has a lot to do with my personality. I have to be a role model, a good leader and a good example for the students to follow. I have to listen to each and every student with keen interest, making sure I understand them and give them the attention they deserve. I'll also need to apply discipline as well as compassion. All this will help to maintain and ensure self-confident within the students. In addition, there are certain...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English is one of the most widely spoken languages and it is taught in a lot of countries. Globalization, fast economic development makes many people study English. People learn English for different reasons: business, education, life abroad, traveling, personal interest. Chinese students are not an exception. With the growing economies of China, the need for learning English increased dramatically. What challenges do Chinese students face when learning English? What challenges does the teacher meet teaching Chinese students? What teaching approach can be found? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Darya M. Let’s talk about the most typical challenges when teaching Chinese learners and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I have 3 years of experience in teaching English in a few kindergartens in Beijing, China and some experience in teaching adults in a training center. When I started in kindergarten, it was very difficult because I didn’t have enough information about how to make a proper lesson plan. I didn’t have enough materials, games, songs, and it took me a lot of time to collect all the necessary information for teaching and creating my teaching plan. Without experience, it wasn’t easy for me to build a good rapport between me and my students. It took me a while to build a connection between me and the kids. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lidiia L. Please note that this blog post might...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Songs, what are songs? Merriam-Webster define a song as a short poem or other set of words set to music or meant to be sung OR a single (and often standalone) work of music that is typically intended to be sung by the human voice with distinct and fixed pitches and patterns using sound and silence and a variety of forms that often include the repetition of sections. I will like to emphasize on some major factors that makes songs in the classroom very important in learning a new language and the general upbringing of children. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Banda J. The terms “repetition” and “rhythm” are vital in the classroom, according to psychologists; they claim that “songs...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences TEFL Reviews & TESOL Reviews For ITTT, our community of students and alumni is the most important to us. That’s why we’d love to share what our course grads have to say! This will not only have others make a better decision in whether TEFL/TESOL is for them, but it will also help the ITTT community grow bigger and stronger! The below answers were given from real ITTT alumni who have agreed to share their thoughts for our blog section. Mihaela Camelia Pirvu Spain I took the course because ITTT offers a complete TEFL certification. I especially liked the practical exercises offered during the course. I want to take the Business English course from ITTT in order to acquire professional...  [Read more]