TEFL Clio

Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas One of the first things you should learn during a TEFL certification course is that delivering interesting lessons goes a long way to keeping your students happy and motivated in the classroom. And, if your students are stimulated by your lessons they are likely to progress quicker, which also makes the teachers job that much more satisfying. So what exactly makes a TEFL lesson interesting? There are many things you can do to make your lessons stand out, but one of the main ways to pique the interest of your students is to focus on things that they can actually relate to in their own lives. In this post we show you 5 great activities based on movies that you can use in the classroom, because everyone loves a good...  [Read more]

  Teaching English abroad is a great way to travel the world and experience other peoples and cultures. As English teachers it is important that we take the time to learn about the countries we choose to live and work in not only to show respect to our hosts but also to help our students to learn more productively. Understanding the cultural or social reasons behind why people in different countries behave or react in particular ways can help us to prepare better lessons and activities for our students and develop better relationships with our colleagues. Being aware of the subtle social cues that exist in any society can mean the difference between a truly rewarding experience and one that you wish never to repeat. When considering regions such as Latin America it can be tempting...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Danielle S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are many ways to manage a classroom, but positive reinforcement is the most effective strategy. Believing in a student is a powerful thing. Often, in countries where English is not the native language, it is difficult to get to know the students' family environment. Each child is unique. Each child is special. Each child needs to be believed in. They have the potential to listen, learn, and behave. Though negative reinforcement isn't the first option, many times, it does...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas What comes to mind when one thinks of an English classroom? Is it organized rows of desks filled with students writing vocabulary and grammar into their notebooks while the teacher talks in the front? This is the classic image of a classroom. A student goes to school to learn what they don’t already know. When teaching English, it can be easy to fall into the trap of rote memorization and reliance on grammar and vocabulary. However, is this method effective? Does this way of learning motivate students to become lifelong learners of a foreign language? It is less useful to teach students many things than to teach them the skills needed to...  [Read more]

Shirin Sophy TEFL Information Teaching Ideas The fact that nowadays, the ESA method is conventional wisdom among all the English teachers around the world highly simplifies and standardizes the process of preparation and lesson planning, specifically for those who are at the beginning of their career path as a teacher. This method simply suggests that every lesson needs to be started with an engagement stage in which the teacher aims to attract students' attention in order to encourage and enhance their active participation during the lesson. Furthermore, the recent textbooks' content is mostly designed based on the ESA method, and there are manifold attractive engagement ideas included in them that teachers can take advantage...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Kinesthetic learners are learners that learn through objects that they can touch and explore. They also learn best by discovering and experiencing and particularly enjoy physical activities that involve getting out of their seat and moving around. Unlike visual and auditory learners, kinesthetic learners can be tough to accommodate in the classroom because of their need to be physically active. Since they need to be active in their learning, they may get bored very quickly if you allow them to simply listen and look at your visual aids or video presentation. As teachers, we must always be versatile and understand how to incorporate different types of learners. Luckily, there are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In recent years, technology has become an integral part of our daily life. Businesses, hospitals, pharmacies, banks, shopping habits, and even our social life, all rely heavily on the use of technology. The education system is certainly no exception. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ayman H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the most obvious advantages of using technology in education is easy to access to information. With online resources being just a click away, students and teachers alike can now have instant access to unlimited learning and teaching resources such as websites, podcasts, electronic books (e-books),...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching a foreign language involves a whole set of different stages and methods that are guided and put into practice by the teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Maria S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If music is a “universal language”, and it is furthermore considered as an element inherent to culture, this link between music and the teaching of language can be explored using the song as didactic material. Often the most playful or innovative moments are the ones that are recorded in the student's memory. Thus, one of the main advantages of using the songs will be the disruption from class routine and the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Course materials are the foundation of an English as a Second Language class, as they are a key component for moving the course forward and are essential for the student’s success. Thus, the materials that an educator selects significantly impact the outcome of the course for teachers and students. Whether choosing a textbook, authentic materials, or created materials it is important for the teacher to consider the benefits, disadvantages and how best to use the materials they have selected. This ensures the creation of an engaging program where they, as educators, may grow along with their student’s English language abilities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rachel M. Please note...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The more a teacher speaks the less attention the learners will pay. Decreasing teacher speaking time can be done with a few practical steps and wonderful teaching methods. It all starts with proper planning. When designing a lesson plan be sure to include assignments and activities that will engage your students and do not call for a teacher dominant role. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Johnelle M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Using activities in the classroom that engage the students is very important. For example, instead of going right into a lecture, using a pass the ball activity allows the students to get engaged...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A critical part of learning a language is being able to understand and use slang and idioms. However, spoken language by native speakers, or language used in authentic material, often does not follow the strict rules and formulas that are taught in textbooks. Also, by their very nature of already being published, textbooks are unable to keep up with the changes in the language as they slowly evolve to incorporate new concepts and ideas. Thus, to be able to effectively teach slang and idioms, the teacher may have to expend some additional preparatory time to select the idioms to be taught and develop appropriate course materials. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Clark C. Please note that...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What do you think of when I say the word “teacher”? When I think of this word, I think of the “teacher when I was a child. The person who talked and I listened. The person who gave me instructions and I followed. I think in today’s environment this word has changed. What does the word “teacher” mean today? We’ll look at what the roles of a teacher are in today’s ESL world in Japan, where I’ve taught for over 14 years. We use many synonyms for the term “teacher”. In elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools in Japan we use the term “ALT” (assistant language teacher) or “AET” (assistant English teacher). In business courses, we use the word “instructor”. In...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences One of the most useful decisions that a teacher can make is the choice to know his or her limitations. Realizing one's shortcomings does not excuse an instructor from conveying the lesson. Instead, this determination means that a teacher needs to employ supporting tools to help reach the students. One such possibility is the use of teaching aids. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Derek G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching aids can provide an educator with an active choice for classroom lecturing. When used correctly, an instructor can use teaching aids to stimulate, engage, and develop a lesson plan in a way that he...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Stepping onto my flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile, I was confident in my Spanish skills. After all, I had taken nearly seven years of Spanish classes in middle and high school. However, when I landed I found, not only did I not understand 80% of what my host family said to me, they couldn’t understand me either. Over the course of my two months there, I came to appreciate the significance of slang in understanding and mastering a language. Even though slang words and usage can vary tremendously throughout the English speaking world, this is not an excuse to avoid introducing slang in the classroom. Being able to identify and understand some common slang words and phrases will help English learners reading...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Computers are becoming more and more common in the classroom. While they should not be relied upon as the main or sole source of teaching, they can be very helpful for students and teachers in the classroom. One of the complaints about Computer-aided language learning (CALL) is that computers can be costly and it requires many of them to teach, but that does not have to be the case. In fact, computers can be cost-effective in that almost all other teaching equipment and their features can be used on one or a few computers. Part I of this essay will discuss the advantages CALL has over other forms of technology. Part II will discuss the useful activities and applications of CALL in the classroom. This post was...  [Read more]