TEFL Nambe

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ ] ] } Acronyms are an essential tool used in all professions and technical writing. They are powerful tools to reduce word content. However without knowing what the acronym stands for, they can form a barrier to understanding. In the ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching world there is certainly no shortage of acronyms. Here we look at a few and one in particular, TEFL. Some useful teaching acronyms are: ELT: English Language Teaching. This is a general term for teaching English and applies to the teaching of English to both native and non-native English speakers. ELL: English Language Learner. This is a general term for anyone learning English and applies to learners of...  [Read more]

  Alveolar sounds get their name from the fact that the alveolar ridge is being used. Again, that ridge is just behind the front top row of teeth. Here the tongue is on or very very near the alveolar ridge. It's typically the tip of the tongue or what's just behind the tip of the tongue, called the blade of the tongue. Here, we're talking about sounds such as ?t? and ?d?. If you say them at home, you can tell the tip of your tongue is on that alveolar ridge. Again, that's ?t? and ?d?, as well as sounds such as ?s? and ?z?. Again, the blade of the tongue is just near that alveolar ridge but it is very near nonetheless. The two other sounds that make it into this category is the ?l? sound, where the tip of the tongue is very clearly touching that alveolar ridge, as well as ?r? or the...  [Read more]

  So, the document itself needs to contain some general information about the class, for example the name of the teacher, the date and time of the lesson, what level of class is being taught and in what room, how many students are we expecting, this is important, when we've got things like photocopying and materials to do, what is the context of the lesson, in other words, what is the lesson actually about, what vocabulary or grammar point is this lesson covering and sometimes it's also useful to write out what the focus of the lesson is. So, in effect, the context of the lesson is telling us the grammar point, for example, that might be the present continuous tense, whereas the focus is telling us how we're going to go about teaching it. Another example to illustrate this: Let's...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Everyone and everything that exists in this world have what it is called or known by, and that automatically is the name of that person or that thing. We can then define a noun as a name given to persons, places, animals, objects, substances, qualities, actions, and measures. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate NICODEMUS U. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This is a name given to each member of a group of persons or things that share some common characteristics. Examples: car, television, girl, boy, house, man, book, cup, student, home, watch, leg, hand, clothes, cap, goat, pen, chair, bulb, pencil, door, window, fan, marker,...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences A major consideration for any teacher is going to be building and maintaining rapport. The importance of rapport is that within our communicative activities we're asking the students to talk to each other and if they feel comfortable with each other and with us, then that interaction is much more likely to be useful. One approach is to consider two stages of the teaching we are involved in. The first stage could be called “the start of the course” and the second stage called “throughout the course”. Considering the first stage, to help build rapport at the start of the course, it's very useful if we ask the students to create a name card and to make that name card...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas After doing some research online and asking some of my friends who are experienced teachers, I have compiled a list below of what we believe to be the five favorite flashcard games. Until I am a practicing teacher myself, I cannot come up with my favorite list and it would also, of course, depend on the age and ability of the students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alessandra F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This is a classic game from our childhood and always guarantees to make everybody laugh. The way it works is, you place a flashcard on each chair, and there is one number of chairs less than there are students. You...  [Read more]

  Let's begin our examination of parts of speech with nouns. Nouns are our naming words. They name a person or people, such as Jack, Jill, brother, Prime Minister. We have a place or places such as kitchen, Tokyo. Things or the things around us: pen, light, camera. We have our concepts and ideas: beauty, democracy. These people, things, places and concepts fall into two basic subcategories. Those subcategories are countable and uncountable. As their name suggests, the differentiation here is whether or not we can count our nouns or if we cannot count them. We have our countable nouns: dogs, pens, are two examples. The very nature of the words means that we can count these nouns one dog or 5, 10. Then, we have our uncountable nouns. The nouns that cannot be separated: music, bread....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The idea of flashcards is essentially very simple. They are meant to introduce vocabulary and review existing vocabulary already learned in the classroom. Other than this, flashcards can be placed around the classroom for students' reference when performing activities. They may be used in drilling activities as well but this may also get boring for the students, and should be mainly used for sparking creativity and classroom games. Some of the possible flashcard ideas include, and are not limited to the following; This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hussein D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Name cards are made for the students...  [Read more]

  It is very important that whenever we?re doing an activity that we use the students names wherever possible when we're asking for feedback and so on and so forth. There are a number of benefits to using the students? names and they can include helping to actually organize the class itself, certainly to acknowledge when a student has given the correct answer and so forth, to indicate who should respond, rather than just asking a general question to the whole class. By using the names we can ask an individual to respond to that particular question. One point to note here is that if you are going to ask an individual student it is very useful if you put their name at the end of the question. This is useful because if you start with their name then all of the other students know that...  [Read more]

  The idiom "itchy feet" refers to the need to leave or a feeling of a need to travel, for example: Watching an airplane pass by is giving me itchy feet. 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. What a wonderful overview of building the foundations of a class. There are two areas that I will start implementing when I start my new literacy class: Ask a question and then say the name of the student. Don't ask if they understand but rather ask them to...  [Read more]

  Sonia recorded this TEFL review after completing the 120-hour online TEFL course from ITTT. The course has given her more confidence as a teacher as well as the chance to develop her skills in the profession. As a new graduate, Sonia is now looking to teach in China where she can put her newly learned teaching abilities to use and start her career as an English teacher abroad. 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 we learned the needed...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video Mike describes his experience with ITTT. He successfully completed his four week TEFL/TESOL Certification course in Phuket, Thailand. He also talks about how he now looks forward to taking up a teaching position in a new country. A TEFL/TESOL Certification from ITTT entitles you to unlock the door to any one of a number of TEFL/TESOL jobs worldwide. Teaching overseas allows you to experience many different cultures and you will be paid for that experience. To find out more about teaching English as a second language and the courses that are available at ITTT visit our web site or follow the links above. 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...  [Read more]

  The Business Language Testing Service (BULATS) refers to one of the world’s leading providers of language assessments and examinations aimed at students, employers and job applicants in business related fields. The service offers a range of testing programs that assess an individual’s language proficiency in English, French, Spanish and German. The system is widely used by higher education providers to assess the abilities of course applicants. It is also used by private and public sector companies for testing the suitability of job applicants or existing employees for certain foreign language positions. 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]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I am from the United States and my native language is English. I am currently living in the Philippines, so I have been encountering language issues a lot lately. I have desperately been trying to learn Tagalog, and it is a major challenge. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gabriel T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Along the way, I have had a lot of help from the native Filipinos that I live with and whom I now call my family. I have asked myself, "How did they learn English so well and what difficulties do they still have with English?" Because English has so many contradictions and strange nuances I have decided to do my...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Walking into a classroom for the first time can be an intimidating experience! It can be even more intimidating if the teacher has moved to another country to teach English, as communication can be quite a challenge. Also, the teacher is often in an unfamiliar environment and dealing with cultural differences. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Janet K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. So what makes a good teacher? Well, personality-wise, a kind and patient person who loves teaching and has a lively and entertaining personality would be an ideal candidate. Of course, a good knowledge of the subject and an ability to create a good...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information Having a good relationship with your students has many benefits as a teacher. They will become more interested in your lesson, they will learn a lot more and it creates an overall comfortable classroom environment for both the teacher and the students. However, it’s often easier said than done to build rapport with those in your class. So how do you do it? This article highlights the 5 best ways to build rapport with your TEFL students. Our TEFL certification courses also teach you useful techniques and methods to further build rapport for your students. We’ve all had that teacher or professor who doesn’t bother learning our name and just goes around calling everyone “you”. Did you enjoy taking their...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Walking into a brand-new class, especially as a new teacher, can be very intimidating. Being prepared with the proper principles, tools, and attitude goes a long way when dealing with the first-class up through to the final exam. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mark R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Relationships matter. Building a relationship with your students is the basic foundation of teaching. If a teacher does not have a relationship with their students, then having students succeed in learning will be infinitely more difficult. The best way to communicate anything is through the basis of the relationship. If you...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas In this blog post on crucial teaching skills we will look at the specific skills of: Pronunciation, Grammar knowledge and Teaching methodology. Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Ice breakers as the name implies are activities (often games) used to introduce the teacher to the students, to each other and vice-verca. These activities allow the group to get to know each other in a friendly, fun atmosphere as we will describe. Ice breakers can be used for all levels of ESL student. Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Two classifications of ESL materials are Authentic and Non-Authentic (or created). What is the difference between what are called authentic and created materials? Authentic materials as the name implies are actual materials that are created for any reason outside of the classroom. Examples of authentic materials would be things like, newspapers; those are generated for the general public and they're certainly not generated for the use in the classroom. However they can be used within the classroom. Other examples would be things like songs and poems and even things such as brochures and magazines and indeed menus from restaurants. So these are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The first job as an English teacher abroad is a challenging change, especially if the country you are choosing to work is culturally different from your home country. There are so many differences between one country and other but usually, those differences look bigger when the place you move belongs to another political and social organization mode. My experience as an English teacher in China has allowed me to see these huge differences between western culture and the Asian world. In the following essay, I will try to point out the main cultural challenges that a teacher I had to face and how this may become a sensitivity source inside the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Maria...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Destinations If you want to be a TEFL teacher around the world, it is important to make sure you are as well prepared as you can possibly be before entering a classroom. It is equally important to have a good understanding of the country and culture you are hoping to make your home while you are teaching. Below we look at some important aspects of etiquette in different countries in Middle East. The Middle East is an area with a reputation of modest conservatism and while this differs in degree from country to country, visitors are generally expected to behave in ways respectful to the Islamic faith of the region. It is polite to bring a gift to someone’s house if you are invited. When eating, only use the right hand as the left is...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In my experience gained the past few years, one of the most challenging experiences for me was to effectively teach beginner students. Since all my students were absolute beginners (learners who have had no contact with English at all), I had to find ways to make the learning effective, differently to teaching false beginners, who have some form of understanding of the English language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alida K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. To further add a challenge to my teaching methodologies, all my learners were very young. This essay attempts to describe the most effective methodologies I applied when...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences I never thought I needed to take a test to teach English before doing the TEFL course. Graduating from an all American boarding school to doing my undergrad in Denver, Colorado and using my time off to teach English in India I did not think a test would benefit me in any way. It was not until I was required to attain a teaching certificate in the country of Thailand where I did my research and decided upon taking the TEFL. There are two main reasons as to why I think the TEFL would benefit anyone: 1. Time efficient and 2. Educational. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Karen R. Out of the very many courses offered I took the 60-hour TEFL course. Taking this course was perfect as time was of...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT TEFL Information There is no need to give your marital status or the number of children you have on your TEFL/TESOL CV. Just your name, D.O.B., nationality and contact information is sufficient. Bear in mind that if you are from a non-native speaking country, you would be better off not putting your nationality on your CV. Make sure you have an appropriate email address. The funny one you use with your friends and family is probably not appropriate for your TEFL/TESOL CV. It is easy to create a free email address to use solely when applying for jobs and using one based on your name is a good idea. Also read: The Top Hiring Seasons for Teaching English Abroad Be sure to include a clear objective. This will necessarily change as your...  [Read more]

  Just to finish the sectional materials, we'll have a look the difference between what are called authentic and created materials. Authentic materials, as the name implies, are actual materials that are created for any reason outside of the classroom. So examples of authentic materials would be things like newspapers. Those are generated for the general public and they're certainly not generated for the use in the classroom. However, they can be used within the classroom other ideas would be things like songs and poems and even things such as brochures and magazines and indeed menus from restaurants. So these are materials that all can be used within the classroom but they have not been created for that purpose, whereas creative materials, as the name implies, have been produced...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas No matter how well-prepared a teacher may be, every classroom is different, which means each student is different, and each teacher needs to be able to adjust and be able to establish rapport with the new class. For some teachers, working in a foreign country may cause them to feel uneasy; however, a teacher needs to overcome this feeling to be successful in the classroom. Indeed, building rapport with all students will help. Although this is a continuous process throughout the term, the key to establishing a friendly learning environment starts on day one. Thus, the best way to build rapport is to know the students’ names and interests by the end of the day or week (depending on class size). This post was...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Establishing Rapport is important because it plays an important part in helping the class be successful, enjoyable, and engaging. If the teacher has established rapport, the students are more likely to feel comfortable, which will result in the students being active and participating in class lessons. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Angela H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This may sound simple and obvious, but it is very important to learn your student's name. For a teacher, this can be difficult especially if there are numerous students in the classroom. Learning the student's name can help to facilitate two-way...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas People say that language is a tree and the vocabulary is the leaf of that tree. Therefore teaching vocabulary items are indeed an essential part of any English learners’ growth. Especially for younger students, who are motivated to learn the basic words, they need to get by in the language. There are many different ways to teach vocabulary. Using flashcards is one of the most suitable media in teaching vocabulary. Because learners can easily memorize and understand the meaning of vocabulary through flashcards. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Huong Hoang T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Students sit in a circle with a...  [Read more]

  A first example of a teaching idea for the present simple tense will be a classic activity called 'Find someone who'. Here, we will be trying to find someone who has a general truth such as the ability to play a musical instrument or the fact that they have a brother and a sister. This results in students going around the room asking questions in the present simple tense, such as 'Do you play a musical instrument?' 'Are you a teacher?' 'Do you have a brother and a sister?' The answers resulting will also be in the present simple tense. They will be generally 'Yes I do,' or 'No I don't.' The students will go around trying to find somebody who fits the general truth and when they do, they will write their name in the appropriate space. The students will mill around the room for...  [Read more]