TEFL Homeland

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Foreign language experience is complexed on so many different levels, it is a window into a different culture, often a different country and even a different paradigm of thinking. There is a multitude of language experiences people can have, each with their own intricacies and uniqueness. As a native English speaker from South Africa, living in China has provided me with extraordinary foreign language experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marlan S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Mandarin, the national language of the People’s Republic of China, as many would attest to is extremely challenging. One could argue...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Let us start off with a question. Should you have a TEFL certification to teach English abroad? If you do not. I do recommend you do. These are the six reasons you should. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Devin D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first reason is respect for your future students. It is easy to get distracted by how awesome it will be to live in another country. Unless you have years of experience teaching English, you owe it to your future students to complete a TEFL course. No matter who you are teaching, someone is paying a lot of money for your services. The parents or the student might be paying the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In a globalized and fast-growing world, the English language has grown to be considerably important. But let's analyze a bit further into the topic. The English language is the second most spoken language in the world only after the Chinese mandarin. With English speakers all around the globe, It's been a big part of tourism and other industries around the world. There are many reasons why the English language has grown to be so important in the past few years. The great development of a great powerful and influential country like the United States is one of the main reasons. Media from this country is consumed everywhere and has gained the interest of people from different cultures, languages, and countries. In a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The English language has become a bridge between nations and peoples all around the globe. Many aspiring students and individuals are choosing to pursue English as a foreign language to be able to boost their opportunities in our increasingly global world. Teachers of English are thus in demand all over the world, and those that take overseas positions naturally leave their homeland to live full time in a new country. It is valuable for these teachers to practice cultural sensitivity because the culture is a foundational part of society. Cultural sensitivity in the classroom can also promote a better classroom environment. Moreover, the teacher who practices this can increase their opportunities in the workplace....  [Read more]

Maria del Carme Domínguez Félez TEFL Information Alumni Experiences I moved to Argentina almost 2 years ago now, and, surprisingly to most of my family and friends, I started teaching Catalan in a language school. I say “surprisingly” because they have made fun of my Catalan accent since I can remember, as it is more of a mix of accents put into one. Fun fact: you can’t really tell from which part of Catalonia I am only from listening to me. Although I try my best to speak “standard Catalan” when I teach, my accent does slip away sometimes, which makes it quite interesting. The sentence “all’s well that ends well” comes to mind in this situation. I ended up turning this into an opportunity to teach about the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Being able to communicate in English is probably one of the most beneficial things anybody in the world could be able to do today, especially if you are wanting to work, or simply explore in any field on the international level. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Meara B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It is one of the most widely spoken languages and one of the fastest-growing in the entire world. So much in fact that in many countries English is a required academic course in their school curriculum, sometimes starting from as young as the age of 5 and carrying through to college. I believe that one reason for this, and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Pronunciation is an essential part of the English language. Clear and cohesive speech can create meaningful conversations, meanwhile incorrect pronunciation can lead to misunderstandings. Every, non-native English-speaking country has pronunciation problems. One of the countries which come across with pronunciation errors is my homeland Azerbaijan. It is a lovely country, with nice traditions and people. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Narmina M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are many different nationalities that live in my country. People speak various languages. Our official language is Azerbaijani; however, the...  [Read more]

Shanique Hutchinson Destinations TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Throughout my scholastic journey, I have been exposed to various foreign languages such as: Spanish, French, Japanese and Chinese. Apart from learning the lexical and grammatical structures of these languages, I was apprised of other cultural elements of the countries that spoke these languages through various materials as well as interacting with natives from these territories. This deep rooted love affair with other cultures, specifically languages, stirred my future aspirations to become a cultural ambassador. Fast forward to 2017 - when I applied for the Japanese Exchange Teaching (JET) program in that year, admittedly, my perception of...  [Read more]

Joanna Dineva Destinations Alumni Experiences Traveling for me is more than seeing a tourist sight and snapping a picture for your social media. Traveling is the opportunity to explore the world, immerse myself in different cultures and connect with the people of those cultures. Teaching English abroad has allowed me to do just that. In late 2019 an opportunity presented itself for me to teach English in Beijing, China. I had never been to China before. I had never traveled to Asia before. Having an adventurous soul and nomadic heart that I have, I accept the offer without too much hesitation. At the time of writing this personal experience article, I have lived in China for approximately four months and would like to share...  [Read more]

Christian Davey Destinations TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Once you’ve decided to move abroad for work, I’m sure you’d like to know the pros and cons of the place? Sure, a quick browse online can give you some idea, but it probably won’t go into anything specific or any real depth. Well, look no further as I’m going to give you five positives and five negatives about teaching English in Taiwan. Let’s start with the positives, in no particular order. If you're wondering if Taiwan is safe to loiter or take a stroll on the streets at night, you don't need to worry. Taiwan is one of the safest places in the world, you can go to a restaurant or a coffee shop and leave your belongings, such as...  [Read more]