Teaching Table

  In this TEFL/TESOL review, trainee Pam describes her experience with ITTT's in-class course in Phuket, Thailand. She outlines the program of the fourth week of the course. Pam also talks about some of the assessment components of the course and the certificates that are awarded at the conclusion of the course. 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. In this unit, I had learnt the way of how to explain the difference between each modal auxiliary verb....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas So, you’ve just finished a delicious meal of sushi at your favorite sushi restaurant in Tokyo. The waitress comes by and leaves the check at your table, you place your money inside, hand it back, and she shortly returns with the receipt. You proceed to place a generous tip on the table to thank her for her wonderful service, and you show yourself out of the restraint, back to the busy streets of Tokyo. Can you spot something that you shouldn’t have done in this scenario? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zachary B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Most Westerns won’t be able to, as this scenario is perfectible acceptable...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A seating arrangement sometimes called a seating plan is used by teachers to organize their classrooms. It indicates the placement of desks and chairs that work best for both the students and the teacher. Here we will be seeing the different seating arrangements and how each of them affects learning or classroom dynamics. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Emilie J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When we think of a classroom, the usual image that comes to mind is one of a classic class with rows of desks one behind the other. However, if you step into a classroom today, chances are you’ll see a different setup that is...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas We all played them and we all loved them as children. We made them up and we bought them. It is still a large industry today. There are easy ones and hard ones. There are thinking ones and action ones. What am I referring to? Games! From hide-and-go-seek to Monopoly, there are all sorts of fun games to play. So why don’t we incorporate them into our TEFL lessons? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Samuel S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. You can create your games or adapt to the ones you already know and love. They can be used for all kinds of language purposes, from learning vocabulary to conversation starters. They can also...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Although I have spent many years as an English tutor and teacher of children, I always relied on my own innate skill and have never been formally trained. Within my circle, I was the resident expert on the English language, as I was one of the few native speakers. From my own efforts and studies, I developed my own program for my students. I often felt unsure if I was applying the right methods and longed for some formal training. Now I can say that I have learned a great deal from studying the ESA method, and have a better understanding of what good lesson planning and classroom management involves. From my own intuition and experience, I learned to apply some of the techniques and methods presented in this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas This paper will answer the question, "What are five flashcard activities for teaching English to young learners?" Young learners are defined as students attending elementary school, aged between six and twelve. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tristan K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This activity is a great warmer and an effective way to introduce or review vocabulary. This activity works well with both small and large groups. Students sit in a circle with the teacher. The target language is elicited and chorally drilled. The teacher then shows one...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Classroom management is the skill of organizing and managing a class to ensure that students can learn effectively. There are many different methods teachers can use to create an environment that will help students learn, such as classroom arrangement, conducting yourself correctly, grouping students in a sensible way for each task, and also establishing a good rapport with students. The teacher must apply these techniques to create a learning environment for the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Christopher J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT....  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas As a teacher of English as a foreign language, or any subject really, you have to consider the seating arrangement in your classroom. Studies have shown that seating arrangements where the teacher can see the faces of all of the students at all times increase student engagement and are therefore beneficial for their learning. Considering this, here are the best desk arrangements for EFL students that you should try out in your classroom! Setting up the students' desks in single rows is great for teacher demonstrations and independent table work. While this arrangement is very formal and discourages student-to-student interaction, it is highly recommended for the first few weeks of a new class, for example. That’s...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas During the lessons, teachers usually use a variety of materials and teaching aids. One of the most common is flashcards. They have so many benefits: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Oksana K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Flashcards can be used both for learning new vocabulary and for revision. Here are some of the activities with flashcards that I use working with children starting from 3 to 9 years old, mostly beginners. These activities can be changed a little and transformed into activities for older children. After the new flashcards were...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The experience of living and working abroad for sure will give us another vision of the world. If you have been in China, enough you will learn to be more patient and tolerant. Live with another culture is not easy, and we learn how to be flexible. We are different, we live differently, our environment is different, our beliefs, our politeness, our food, etc. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ana P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. “Good morning, how are you today? “- They have never asked each other how are they? Instead, they ask “Ni chi le ma?” Did you eat? These people were starving for so many years, and the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Classroom management is an important topic to be familiar with especially when you are teaching young learners. Bad classroom management skills can result in a very unproductive lesson for you and the students, leaving the students with not much to take home and leaving the teacher exhausted. The main classroom management situation I will be talking about today is managing student behavior. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tarryn-L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first thing we going to look at is what are the results of a badly managed class. Most of the time it is usually one student that is being disruptive or badly...  [Read more]

  This video looks at various teaching ideas for the 'going to' future tense. Pictures are a great tool for lower-level students to look at evidence based on the pictures and making predictions using the 'going to' future. Other ideas might include weather predictions, as well as planning a party or holiday. 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 18 talks more about English grammar. This units examine modal auxiliary verbs and the passive voice...  [Read more]

  This TESOL review is from Biao. He works as an English teacher in China and wanted to improve his teaching skills. That's why he decided the 120-hour online TESOL course. He enjoyed the course a lot and learned new techniques and methodologies. He also found the units on classroom management to be very helpful. 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 find the presentation of the conditionals and reported speech in this unit very helpful, especially...  [Read more]

  This is a TESOL review from Steffie from the Netherlands who decided to take her 120-hour online TEFL/TESOL course to pursue a teaching career in China. Her husband is currently working at a university in China and Steffie also wanted to start working as a teacher there. The course gave her a lot of joy and she learned all the skills and techniques she needs to succeed as a 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 lesson serves more as a...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video Geoff tells us that he has just finished a 120-hour online TEFL course with ITTT. Geoff has been in China for some time and decided to take the course to take advantage of his business background in China. He found the course to be challenging but rewarding with a good combination of video tutorials and online reading. 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 roles or course books and materials in the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When in China do as the Chinese do and so I did. There I was on one delightfully awkward dinner evening with my newly acquired boss and some prominent members of the community. All seated around a circular table, ensuring everyone could make eye contact with each other, there was no hiding here. After some very basic introductions in English, a quick Mandarin joke from my boss and a communal lifting and sinking of drinks, the food for the evening began filling the table from all directions. People began preparing themselves to dive into the unusual looking dishes and so I followed their example. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Don St. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I would like to introduce five flashcards activities which I found fun and practical to enhance a student's vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, listening, and speaking. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate MOHSEN H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This activity is designed to teach vocabulary as well as practice listening. It can be used for teaching various categories (animals, food, fruits, …) or a mix of them. The teacher gives each of the students a set of flashcards and asks them to show him/her the correct card when they hear the item spoken. For example: “Show me a pig” “Hands up if you’ve got a banana” “Stand...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Technologies are constantly evolving and improving. There are literally dozens of new technologies that can be applied to the modern classroom in 2019 that have not yet made their way into mainstream usage. New tech changes the way subjects are taught, how students learn and the way teachers and students communicate with each other. Everything from new types of interactive whiteboards, classroom response systems, use of social media, tablet computers and classroom websites to the more exotic and potentially cost-prohibitive techs such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality(VR) or even holographic projectors are commercially available for use in the classroom. Students in ancient Babylonia and Sumeria...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The class life must be predetermined and must be appropriate for purposes. The teacher is primarily responsible for classroom management and principles. In other words, the teacher is responsible for the learning environment. In this way, classroom life becomes more charming, productive, and useful for the learning environment. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Elif A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first thing the teacher should do to provide the physical and psychological environment required by classroom education. For this, it is necessary to love all students and treat them equally. The teacher is the representative...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences At the cafeteria during lunchtime, a student of mine approached and asked me, “Why did you become a teacher?” Dumbfounded by this brazen question, I did not know what to say. I could have chosen motherhood statements like “I want to make a difference in the world,” “to have a positive impact on my student’s lives, “or that “I love children.” I ended up saying to him, “Well, I am good at teaching.” However, the truth of the matter is, I needed a job and there was an opportunity so I took it. You can say it was fate that called me to be a teacher. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself being a Grade 3 homeroom teacher! After having experienced a variety of jobs in my life from...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are many important things for an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher to consider when designing a seating arrangement for the classroom. Every teacher desires to create an atmosphere where good interaction can take place between the students as well as an atmosphere where attention can be focused on the teacher during times of teacher instruction. Of course, many limiting factors can affect the seating arrangement of the classroom, and the teacher may not end up having the ideal seating arrangement due to these factors. The two primary limiting factors that affect seating arrangement include the class size and the room size. Here we will look at the positives and negatives of a classroom arranged by...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teachers of ESL will often find themselves in charge of a class with students at different levels of proficiency. When this happens, the teacher needs to know ways to adapt and manage the class and activities in a way that benefits all the students. The stronger students could become bored if the teacher caters to the weaker ones, and, reversely, the weaker students could become demotivated and feel forgotten and left behind when they cannot keep up with the advanced students. So how can a teacher make sure all the students get what they need from the class? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Leigh K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Passive voice is something native English speakers can use without much thought but it can be difficult for language learners to master because the switch from active to passive voice is quite an involved process – as many EFL teachers find when they first attempt to present it. Here are some fun activities that you can use in the classroom to help your students practice using this tricky language pattern. Do remember when you adapt these games that not every verb or tense in the English language can be used for the passive voice! This is a tried and tested game that’s been used with the passive voice for a long time. It’s a lot of fun and easily adaptable to past and present tenses, although you may need to be...  [Read more]

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{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "Conclusion","url": "https://www.tefl-certificate.net/faq/is-it-hard-to-get-tefl-certified/#nameh0"} ] ] } In order to be a regular subject teacher in a state school in most countries throughout the world a teaching degree is required. Such degrees are usually three or four years of study dedicated to gaining subject knowledge and teaching skills. The same two areas are covered in any TEFL or TESOL certification course, the timeframe however is greatly reduced. Typically a course may take 120-hours. The teaching of EFL is therefore fairly unique in that it offers you the opportunity to enter the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Twenty years ago as an elementary school principal in a large inner-city school district, the staff and I took great pride in creating what we considered to be an exemplary high-technology school. We believed that technology could serve as an excellent tool for children to develop critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills, deeper conceptual understanding, and the ability to communicate their understanding to others. This new paradigm was called inquiry-based information shifting teaching from a teacher-directed approach to a student-centered approach where the students acquired the skills necessary to access and use information. Of the many new initiatives, we started at this elementary school was a...  [Read more]