TEFL Aristes

  So, we'll focus first of all on a speaking skills lesson and perhaps a starting point for this would be to ask a question which is: Why do we speak to each other? The reason that it's important to ask ourselves this question is that whatever answers there are to this should be present in our lessons. So, why do we speak to each other? Well, there are a multitude of answers to that but when you boil them all down to their essence, they probably actually come down to one or two things. We communicate to each other by speaking because of either a need. We need something. We want something or a desire to achieve something. 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...  [Read more]

  No, TEFL certificates do not expire, they are valid for life. Once you have completed your course, either online or by attending a training center, you will be able to start work straight away or set off on your travels and use it later when your funds starts to get low. A TEFL certificate really is a great qualification to have in your backpack or briefcase as you can use it to earn a good income at any time, in any part of the world. Although your certification will never expire, we do recommend that you continue to develop your skills and knowledge as you progress in your teaching career. Additional courses such as an advanced TEFL Diploma or a specialized certificate in teaching business English or teaching young learners will build on your existing skills, allowing you to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Are there alternatives to punishment? In this essay, we will explore what punishment sought to achieve within a classroom environment versus its applicability when seeking alternatives. Particular attention will be placed on measures that teachers may promote to achieve a class-culture that favors deterrence above sanction. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Aaron T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Before we can understand what punishment promotes and if possible alternatives are available, we must first know what punishment is within the parameters of a classroom. “Punishment involves some kind of unpleasantness or infliction...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A role is a form of duty that one performs. A teacher will adopt a teaching style that typically reflects his or her general personality in some way. If the teacher tries to be someone or something she or he is not, for eight hours a day, it will soon become tedious and very hard work. No matter the style the teacher will be applying, the teacher needs different roles in a classroom given the situation that arises and lesson plan. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate GLADYS N. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are many roles of a teacher. I will list each of them and also give examples that may apply to each role of a teacher....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Today there is an increasing diversity not only in schools but also in other business aspects due to the result of globalization which in general dictates that we must develop more understanding of culture in order to exert true understanding among diverse populations which I believe is the base for maintaining a cultural sensitive class. But before I go in details, it vital to understand the true meaning of Culture, Sensitivity, and Culture sensitivity combined. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ntegyereize C. Culture can be defined as the social behavior and norms found in human societies. It is more considered a central concept in anthropology which includes a range of phenomena that...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Losing one’s temper in front of students is one of the most problematic scenes in classrooms. I remember being a new teacher in a class filled with twenty-six first graders, nothing ever prepared me for that moment, when they all needed to use the washroom or help to open their lunch boxes. The frustration I faced daily, along with little to no coping strategies were ultimately the key elements that helped me decide to never work with very young learners. There are many reasons why teachers lose their temper in classroom settings, but the good news is there are many ways we can regain control and recreate positive learning environments, as we will discuss in this essay. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Throughout the world, different countries have difficulty pronouncing other sounds from different languages. For many native English speakers learning Mandarin, pronouncing the “x”, “sh”, “q”, “ch”, and “z” sounds are not easy obstacles to overcome. Based on my own experience it takes plenty of repetition to master how to pronounce each of these sounds. Chinese students have a similar problem when trying to pronounce certain sounds in English. The three sounds that come to mind are “th”, “v” and the difference between “r” and “l”. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jonathan A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Sitting in a classroom can be such a boring and dull time for children if the teacher is not playful, fun, and creative with the tasks and activities he/she provides. I understand that teaching requires a whole lot of information to be imported into the heads of the students, but I honestly think there are very many paths to the same goal. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hristina M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In my personal learning experience, I have encountered many strategies and techniques and I have found that I, as well as most other people I have had the chance to observe, learn much faster in a relaxed and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas An English teacher must have a good, presentable quality because it's beneficial to the students in all areas of learning, and as a teacher, the student interest should be your major priority. There are some qualities a teacher is expected to possess, in this essay a few will be mentioned alongside its benefits to the students and the teachers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Uwaina O. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. These are personal qualities a teacher is expected to have because students tend to be more comfortable approaching the teacher for guidance when the need arises if they notice the teacher is warm towards them,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Sitting in a classroom can be such a boring and dull time for children if the teacher is not playful, fun, and creative with the tasks and activities he/she provides. I understand that teaching requires a whole lot of information to be imported into the heads of the students, but I honestly think there are very many paths to the same goal. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hristina M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In my personal learning experience, I have encountered many strategies and techniques and I have found that I, as well as most other people I have had the chance to observe, learn much faster in a relaxed and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Have you ever thought of who the teacher is or what the roles of the teacher are? You can ask lots of questions about teachers’ specialties, their roles and their contribution to the students’ lives. Teachers play an important role in bringing up students and building up a safe learning environment for children. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate MELTEM K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As a teacher, we have to define the expectations for our classroom and for future learners. If we decide what we intend to, we can easily conclude and we can establish effective classroom management. During the first weeks of the school, we...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When considering how an ESL student learns the English language, the first aspect of the teaching material an instructor must consider is the vocabulary. Vocabulary, when breaking a sentence into individual pieces, gives a sentence its meaning. Of course, using the appropriate grammar is essential to communicating at the highest level, especially if a student is to be considered proficient to any degree. Regardless of grammar, if a student does not know the basic vocabulary, the message the student wants to convey will never leave the mental painting in the depths of his or her mind. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jordon T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Within a classroom, you will have an assortment of students with different abilities and different styles of learning which can hurt the ability for these students to work and learn together. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate jon k. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As a teacher, it is essential to ensure that all students feel inclusive when in the classroom. If a student feels like they are not learning, or feel like they are not part of the class, they are more likely to not take part, which in turn, slows down the rate in which that student can achieve the objectives of the class. Also Read: The new ITTT Specialized Course...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Some English training centers will require newly hired teachers to observe classes for a certain period of time. During said time, the new hire can become familiar with the general culture and atmosphere of the institutions learning environment. The new teacher can then also learn the rules of the classroom that students are expected to follow. In some cases, the observed teacher may sometimes include the new hire in activities so that the students begin to feel more comfortable with the newly hired teacher. During this period of observation, the teacher can start to establish rapport with students not only inside the classroom but also in passing outside the classroom. During my experiences teaching at...  [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]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas We enter the world of knowledge initially guided by our very own parents! This horizon gets widened through the incomparable role of a teacher. Each one of us steps into the classroom as a toddler to be greeted by an eager, loving, and caring teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eshita P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A teacher’s presence should be warm and welcoming to the students, giving them the comfort and security in a classroom that the toddler is accustomed to at home. Also Read: "Historical Reasons for The English Diversity" A teacher’s punctuality, manners, body language sets an example to his/her pupil...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Becoming an English teacher can present many great opportunities, among such may be learning the skill of navigating issues and culturally sensitive situations unique to instructing students with a wide array of nationalities. Much of this skill comes from learned experience but a teacher who has had proper training and time for adequate research can steer though these issues with greater ease. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brynn G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Putting aside cultural matters for the moment, the strictly linguistic issues that may come to fruition in a multi-national classroom are plentiful. The most...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Over the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of teaching English as a foreign language online for a company called Education First. The format would normally be an internationally diverse group in an audio-only platform. During these sessions, I found that my students from China would have specific challenges in pronunciation that many of my European and Brazilian students would not. I recognized their tendency to add an “a” at the end of words that clearly ended in a consonant. Unfortunately, I was not educated enough in the specific challenges that Mandarin speakers faced in their attempt to learn English. I’m scheduled to begin teaching in China later this year, and it has become clear to me that I...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas One common problem the EFL teacher may confront in the classroom is a group of learners who are confused, intimidated, or anxious. In a word, classroom stress has the potential to significantly hinder the prospects of a successful learning experience. What are some techniques the teacher can employ to overcome this obstacle or to prevent it from emerging in the first place? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brian J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A useful way to begin answering this question is by referring back to the two videos presented in unit 10 of this TEFL course. In the first video, one sees a classroom of confused and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences There is a grander purpose of education in a society and a community. Education is the cornerstone of any social community or society. When you have the education you can understand and have a basis for political, religious, and economic points. Knowing is the basis of existence, remembering holds a legacy. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jessi H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The role of the teacher is to teach students how to think critically and objectively about the world around them, and to have an influence on the world around them. Another important role the teacher has is to teach the methods of learning so that...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I have traveled throughout Asia for some forty-five years, Vietnam is now my home. I always found the younger generations had a thirst for knowledge, particularly English as a second language. The difficulties of acquiring the knowledge under what was a repressive regime have diminished somewhat, but the major stumbling blocks to acquiring good English are the lack of experienced Vietnamese teachers, interaction with English natural speakers, and knowledge of the outside world in general. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Christopher M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Learning English as a second language has now become a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Undoubtedly, English is a global language; it is used in international negotiations, used in foreign-affiliated companies, used to write academic papers, used to set up homepages, and used to perform commands while playing games. The ability to command this global language seems to be convenient and fair because we can make many things possible, including traveling around the world and gathering various kinds of information. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yoriko I. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. On the contrary, we sometimes run into irritating accidents. For example, I live in a multicultural, big city, and I cannot...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A teacher’s job is to teach pupils. While that sounds straight forward the question arises what makes a good teacher. If a teacher teaches all day, the outcome of the work lies in what was being taught. Pupils are taught what the teacher teaches. Now an easy thing to say is, that a good teacher should provide good teaching. But what would be, if the majority of students would not learn anything in a specific lesson, that would be regarded by other teachers as good teaching? The answer, of course, is, that all students are individuals and respond differently to the teaching. Making it dependent on the students, a more practical definition of good teaching is: Good teaching is, which makes the pupils learn and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Lesson plans are a guiding document created by teachers for a specific learning objective for a target group of learners. Lesson plans are essential to every teacher, whether you teach young learners just starting or adult students business language. Lesson plans are necessary because they are a guided plan, visual and written documentation to work from, and a historical record. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jennifer C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Lesson plans are guided plans created for your specific students. It starts with a learning...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Classroom management plays a vital role in developing an educational environment that further invites and encourages good behavior and learning. It is a skill that teachers must-have for not only organizing and managing the class but also to have a friendly, relaxed manner and the most important to maintain discipline. In my point of view, there are some key elements that teachers must consider to avoid disruptive behavior in the class and to engage students in meaningful learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jatinder K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First of all, planning before the lesson starts is a good way to keep...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a teacher, it is easy to get caught up in lesson planning and become overwhelmed with the details of the subject at hand. However, the one thing that cannot be planned out is how a class will take in information. In the classroom, teachers can experience “unexpected.” From a dominant student that wants to answer every question to the student that does not want to engage in the lesson. Classroom management plays such an important part in the classroom and aids in the learning process. If teachers have a great lesson but poor classroom management, then the whole learning objective can be lost. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Heather F. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Firstly, the major difference between Business English learners and other learners is that they are by default adults, which means that you are dealing with people who have a higher degree of maturity, come to learn out of choice vs. being told they must, and have greater attention spans, which means that as a teacher the materials I put together and the challenges I set out for my students must reflect their current reality. Because they are adults and are most probably working a full-time job and coming to learn English in the early morning and evenings, they may be preoccupied with adult issues at home, they may have been out of the educational classroom environment for a long and thus the way that I design the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When teaching English lessons, a teacher will more than likely find themselves in the position of teaching a class with only one student. It is for this reason that it is useful to consider the ways in which a teacher needs to adapt their lessons to be suitable for one to one teaching. It is also useful to consider the advantages and disadvantages of such classes in order for the teacher to be better prepared for any issues that may arise. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Laura W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A teacher should, first and foremost, check the number of students that will be in their class in advance. In this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas What defines teachers’ success? There is no one thing teachers can do to be successful. Success is not defined by just one aspect. Students, the learning experience, classroom environment, the relationship between teachers and their students, assessments, and outcomes can all define the success of teachers and their teaching career. If the students have learned and can apply the lessons they have learned in class to their career, it means teachers have been effective and efficient in teaching what they wanted their students to learn. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rabica Q. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first step...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Today, English has become a common language of people with different native languages in many fields such as science, aviation, communication, and commerce. For this reason, knowledge of English has become a necessity for those who want to pursue an academic career or who want to work in internationally recognized business sectors. This fact puts English in the first place among the officially taught foreign languages in most countries. But which English should be referenced in English education? British or American English? The answer to this question is not clear in Turkey yet. In seeking a heuristic explanation, one can dwell on which...  [Read more]