TEFL Methow

  "In terms of the things that are negative about it, we've already said that it doesn't develop speaking but perhaps the biggest negative point about this particular methodology is that it's very unnatural. Ok, so despite the criticisms of this particular method, and particularly the fact that is unnatural, this particular methodology was in use all the way through the 17th, 18th and 19th century and indeed it's still in use today. However, Gouin in the 1880s and Berlitz in the early 1900s decided that this particular methodology was so unnatural that they wanted to come up with something new. The method that they came up with, they called the direct method. You will also sometimes see it as the natural method. What these two people were saying is that if we wish to learn a...  [Read more]

  Before looking at the methods or approaches themselves, there are some terms that we need to define. These are the approach, the method or the technique. Basically, these are hierarchical. The approach is an overriding set of principles that a method can actually make use of, whereas the technique are the things that we actually do in the classroom to approach that method. So, these three words are going to appear during the presentation. Again, for each of either the approaches all the methodologies we're going to ask four questions. So be it an approach or a method for each of those things: Where did it come from? What's its background? What does it involve when we're talking about actually in the classroom, in other words techniques? What is positive about it? What appears to...  [Read more]

  ITTT has a number of courses that vary in cost, duration and study method. We offer online courses that are studied 100% by distance learning and can be studied in the comfort of your own home and at your own speed. ITTT has a popular in-class four week TEFL certification course that can be studied at one of our international locations. This intensive course covers the principals, theories and methodologies of TEFL and you are given the opportunity to teach local students thus gaining practical experience teaching English in a supervised environment. All teaching sessions are observed by qualified trainers who will provide you with valuable, constructive feedback after each of your lessons. We also offer a combined course which offers the main benefits of both the online...  [Read more]

  The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a system designed by the council of Europe to provide a standardized method of comparing levels of language proficiency represented by the different examinations and assessments throughout Europe and other areas. The system can be used in conjunction with any European language and divides proficiency into six separate levels. Each level of the framework has a description of the abilities needed to achieve that level in speaking, reading, writing and listening skills. The CEFR system is becoming widely known as the European standard for evaluating an individual’s language proficiency. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Student motivation is a student's desire to participate in the learning process. It is the meaningfulness, value, and benefits that an academic mission has to the learner. It is also defined as a student's drive from within which guides, activates, and continues a behavior over time. It is simply a student's willingness, need, desire, and compulsion to participate in and be successful in the learning process. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Phiona T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. There are two types of motivation. They are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Due to repeated failures, many learning disabled (LD)...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teachers may already have a vision in their head of what kind of teacher they will be and what their class will be like. They might imagine how organized their class with being or how well behaved their students are. One thing they must consider before they start teaching is which method or methods of teaching they will use to help their students learn. Each teacher must evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching and be able to adjust their teaching style for one that may be better suited for their particular class. There are many ways to teach a class but which is best and how should teachers be conducting their classes? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kendyl W. Please note that this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching English to foreign-speaking students comes with much responsibility, creativity, patience, and kindness. On the opposite end, learning another language is challenging, requires practice and can be frustrating. To make the teaching and learning exchange seamless there are a variety of lesson structures and independent/ group activities available for teachers to implement into classrooms. Although many methods can be used, grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, and speaking are all important structures taken into consideration as learning the language comfortably and fluently is always the end goal. Throughout this summative task, different methodologies will be paired and compared to find...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas To begin with, I will like to explain what one to one teaching method is all about. One to one teaching is a method involving the teacher and a single learner. In this methodology, the learner has the constant attention of the teacher since he or she is not competing for the teacher’s attention. While learning in a one to one method, strengths and weaknesses are easily identified and are addressed more consistently and fully without the competition of other students for the teacher’s time. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Taiwo B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This method encourages the learner to learn at their own pace...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are a lot of teaching methods. Some of them are more popular, some of them less. But the theme of this summative task is about efficiency, not about the most interesting or the most popular method. So, is drilling an effective teaching method? If we want to ask this question, first, we need to consider the following question: “What is drilling?”. After this, we can discuss the pros and cons of this method. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dmitry S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In short, drilling is a classroom technique that used to practice a new language. In common sense, it involves modeling a word by the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In my extensive and varied teaching career, I have had experience teaching English to a German business group of adults as well as teaching a special stretching course to health-care professionals and athletic trainers. This article compares the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) methodology with two courses I either taught in the past or am still actively teaching. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Susan G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The very first English class I taught was for a German business group of adults at their company office after work in the evening. My employer was a language school, which also...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Throughout history, several different teaching approaches and methodologies have been tried and tested with some being more popular and effective than others. There are various teaching methods and techniques that are employed to help students learn a new language and this critique explains the advantages/disadvantages and effectiveness of some of the more important approaches. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Thomas C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first technique (dominantly used ‘up to the 1960s’) (Lier and Lier, 2001) is the Grammar Translation (or Classical) method based on the translation of words/passages from...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The best thing I have learned from my TEFL course is the ESA method. I discovered this method in Lesson 2 of our course which, for me, is one of the best and useful lessons in the whole course. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Horacio A. In my previous experience, I had learned most of the methodologies explained in Lesson 2, but I had never had the chance to know about this method before. ESA stands for Engage-Study-Activate, the three stages or phases of this method. This method was introduced in 1998 by Jeremy Harmer. It is the most dynamic and creative method, suitable to any level. It is an eclectic method, because it combines the best of previous methodologies used in language...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A method of teaching contains the techniques used by teachers to impart knowledge to students. These strategies are determined partly on the subjects to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. In this task, I will give some examples of different teaching methodologies, compare these techniques, and explain why it is important that teachers, mostly who are teaching in a foreign country should know these methods. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nathalie L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the most effective methods of teaching is ESA (Engage, Study, and Activate); this teaching method allows your student to be...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching styles can vary drastically and no one style is king. Over time and in different parts of the world different styles have risen to prominence while others lose favor. The effectiveness of a teaching style depends on the students, their need, the language they are being taught, the language they are being taught in, and many other factors. Effective teachers will be familiar with different styles and the various methods introduced in each style. They will be capable of creating their own unique style based on what is most effective for their situation. The following methodologies of teaching all have their strengths and weaknesses, most are found to be outdated or overly flawed but we can still learn...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching styles can vary drastically and no one style is king. Over time and in different parts of the world different styles have risen to prominence while others lose favor. The effectiveness of a teaching style depends on the students, their need, the language they are being taught, the language they are being taught in, and many other factors. Effective teachers will be familiar with different styles and the various methods introduced in each style. They will be capable of creating their own unique style based on what is most effective for their situation. The following methodologies of teaching all have their strengths and weaknesses, most are found to be outdated or overly flawed but we can still learn and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Drilling is a teaching method used by teachers, teaching languages or other subjects, all over the world. Generally, drilling involves the teacher saying or modeling something to the class and the students repeating it. There are many ways of using the drilling method. Some teachers may use it sparingly in class while others may use the method so often it becomes the main way their students acquire new information. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Erin D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I believe when it comes to utilizing the drilling method in the classroom an important balance must be struck. Drilling can be a very...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As we all know, students will be eager to learn and be more active during the class if they are properly motivated and interested in the lesson. There is no better way to motivate and engage students to learn a new lesson than the ESA method. ESA method is very useful for students as well as for teachers. With ESA method teacher can present a lesson to the class in a variety of interesting ways. ESA method has 3 stages: Engage, Study and Activate. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Darko R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Engage is the first stage and in this stage, the teacher can use different kinds of methods to inspire and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Every fresh teacher, once starting his or her career, has this question: how should I teach English? What is the best way to organize my classes to make sure students would not be bored and learn something? And how to keep them motivated and enjoy every lesson? I did have all these questions at the beginning of my teaching career, and by trials and errors, I found the approach this TEFL course is based on – ESA. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Angelina G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. My English journey began long before I became a teacher myself - as an ESL student. However, my own experience was not that enjoyable:...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English is learned and spoken by a large number of people worldwide. In Shakespeare's time, the number of English speakers in the world is thought to have been between five and seven million. According to linguist David Crystal, "Between the end of the reign of Elizabeth I (1603) and the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth II (1952), this figure increased almost fiftyfold, to around 250 million" (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2003). It's a common language used in international business, which makes it a popular second language for many. English as a global language has made it impossible for cultural diversity to develop. English is easy to learn, has a high usage rate, is universal in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas It is often claimed that despite the developments and improvements in other sectors the education sector has remained the same and yet be balanced and developed. Some people say that the only thing that has been changed in our classrooms are the green boards to smart boards, whereas, others contradict this statement and explain their reasons by referring to the advancements in teaching styles and methodology. In this essay, I will determine and depict the three most common and used teaching styles in our sector. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ali J## Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas For many years, drilling has been used in foreign language classrooms. This approach to language teaching places an emphasis on repeating structural patterns through oral practice. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jazmin W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When using the technique of drilling, if used appropriately, it can be a very productive and proactive way for students to memorize and retain vocabulary and structural context within a sentence. It could be argued that when learning a foreign language, the thought that repeating phrases correctly lots of times can lead to master that language. Yet, it dials down to a far...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When we start to learn new things as children, we tend to do that with the help of games. That is why in many classrooms of young learners, we find games to be a highly popular medium amongst educators. It is a way of absorbing and processing a piece of information in a fun and educational way. But when we grow up, we somehow forget the necessity of games in the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Anna B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When it comes to learning a second language, children immerse themselves in the learning task much easier and quicker. Adults, on the other hand, find it challenging to absorb the task...  [Read more]

  Rory Cripps describes his own experience as a TEFL/TESOL learner in Beijing, China. ITTT is a professional training organization dedicated to raising standards of teaching and professionalism in the EFL industry. ITTT is committed to: Providing a wide range of courses and services to cater to individual needs. We aim to help you choose the right course for you. 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 seems to be a drilling of the ESA...  [Read more]

  Julia completed the 370-hour Diploma in TESOL and the 50-hour young learners course with ITTT. In this TESOL review video, Julia tells us how studying the courses online and without tutor allowed her the freedom to study at her own pace giving her the freedom to study and look after her two children at the same time. 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 was not very difficult one. It was clear and simple, easy to understand, but not one...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas “The role of grammar is perhaps one of the most controversial issues in language teaching” (Richards and Renandya, 2002, p.145). From the past to the present, there have been so many changes in methodologists’ views on which grammar items should be taught and how to teach them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Man C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In the past, in a traditional classroom, grammatical competence and explicit knowledge of language rules were emphasized. Grammar teaching held such an essential part in language teaching that other aspects became either ignored or downplayed. People assumed that if the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The author and motivational speaker Hilary "Zig Zig" Ziglar wrote, "Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment." Drilling is defined as a teaching technique or method used when teaching a new language through extensive repetition by students, also aided through audio, oral, or even optical channels or props. As with other teaching methods, repetitive drilling has both advantages and disadvantages and has been deemed effective and ineffective over the years. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Terese H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching is a way of imparting knowledge to students. When teaching English imparting in language, it means the teacher will be imparting knowledge about the language to his/her students, according to the level of the student eg starters, elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate or upper-intermediate level. There are many teaching methods and these include gramma translation, presentation/practice/production, communicative language teaching, the silent way, suggestopedia, the lexical approach and audio-lingual method (drilling). This paper will focus on analyzing drilling as a teaching method so that one can weigh on whether it is an effective teaching method or not. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas ESA is a common methodology that teachers use when teaching students another language. It is also a large part of your TEFL certification course. By using the layout of the ESA method to plan your lessons, they will be more structured, organized and effective. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Casandra L. ESA stands for engage, study, and activate. By using ESA, it gives teacher's the flexibility to conduct a classroom in an organized and productive way. ESA is extremely important when it comes to teaching, because it keeps the students interested, motivated, and eager to learn more. That is why all teachers, especially new ones, should learn the ESA method when teaching students a new language. The first...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In our everyday life we try to teach someone something, as in life we use different methods to explain something to someone, it is the same for a teacher. We spend every day as teachers and learners. We don't have to be students to learn and we don't have to be teachers to teach. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Medha R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The source of learning doesn't have to be one human giving a lesson to another; it can be something new we learned from a book, the internet, a newspaper, etc. However, we owe it to another human being that we have within us the capacity to teach, it can vary from a life skill...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Drilling refers to the teaching method by which students repeat words or phrases that are said by the teacher. With this learning method, the teacher fulfills his or her role as a model by being the source of correct English pronunciation and vocabulary. Students are then prompted to emulate the words and phrases in a repetitive manner. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Chrisantia B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Drilling is often used in the study phase (which mostly focuses on language construction) of a lesson to ensure that students are using correct pronunciation. It is done either as a choral which means that the entire...  [Read more]