TEFL Rowe

  The next thing we should look at is how our consonants are arranged for the top two rows we have P and F at the left side of our chart and G and J at the right side of our chart. They're arranged this way because if we analyze the way we speak we're using the front of our mouth to use these sounds as in ?p? and ?f? and I'm using my lips and my teeth to produce those sounds and as we move to the right on the chart slowly but surely we're making those sounds it towards the back of our mouth. We can use the examples of ?g?. The sound ?g? is produced further back in our mouth than ?p?. The next thing we'll notice about our chart is that some of our symbols are shaded. Notice that none of the symbols in the vowel sections are shaded but only a few are in the consonant section. The...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas One important factor to consider when teaching English abroad is how you arrange the seating in the classroom. Space in a classroom can be limited at times so it's important to maximize what you have available. There are multiple ways to arrange a classroom and knowing which ones will provide the most benefit is important. To ensure the best environment for the students and teacher it is essential to have an understanding of the options, as well as when and how to use them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alex C. As a rule a classroom will generally consist of at least four walls, an entrance, a surface to write on and desks for the students. Even with only...  [Read more]

  Place of articulation deals with the placement of the vocal organs when producing a sound. Before we can cover the particulars of places of articulation, we'll need to take a look at the various vocal organs and their locations. Moving from the front to the back we'd begin with our lips. We can use both lips in order to create a sound or we can use one of our lips with one of our rows of teeth, usually the top, in order to produce another sound. We also have other sounds, which use both of the rows of teeth. Further back we have what's called the alveolar ridge. That's the bit of the mouth that may get burnt when we're eating a pizza that's a bit too hot and the cheese burns just behind there our top two teeth. That again is the hard bit just behind our top teeth, called the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A seating arrangement sometimes called a seating plan is used by teachers to organize their classrooms. It indicates the placement of desks and chairs that work best for both the students and the teacher. Here we will be seeing the different seating arrangements and how each of them affects learning or classroom dynamics. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Emilie J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When we think of a classroom, the usual image that comes to mind is one of a classic class with rows of desks one behind the other. However, if you step into a classroom today, chances are you’ll see a different setup that is...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are many important things for an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher to consider when designing a seating arrangement for the classroom. Every teacher desires to create an atmosphere where good interaction can take place between the students as well as an atmosphere where attention can be focused on the teacher during times of teacher instruction. Of course, many limiting factors can affect the seating arrangement of the classroom, and the teacher may not end up having the ideal seating arrangement due to these factors. The two primary limiting factors that affect seating arrangement include the class size and the room size. Here we will look at the positives and negatives of a classroom arranged by...  [Read more]

Kevin Cullen Budget and Salary How much money do I need? Determine your costs to get TEFL certified and your running costs until you get your first teaching paycheck. The TEFL Budget Planner is a tool to estimate your total costs to become TEFL certified and then begin working as a teacher. Its spread out over three months as that’s a conservative plan to complete your one-month in-class TEFL course, interview and secure a position, begin teaching and final get your first paycheck at the end of your initial month. As most all schools pay at the end of the month, we’re assuming—conservatively again—that it’s at the end of the third month when you will start to receive income. Some may receive a partial paycheck in the second month, but...  [Read more]

  In this ITTT TESOL review video a group of students discuss their experiences during their TESOL/TEFL course in Corinth, Greece. They outline some of the components of the course including the teaching practice that the course provides. ITTT's Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification qualifies you to teach English overseas. Having your TEFL certification is a first step to exploring countries and new destinations around the world, experiencing new cultures and being paid for the experience. 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...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas Flashcard is an indispensable tool that every teacher needs during the studying process. Regardless of the age of the students, it can be used effective equal with young learners or adults. Usually, in the ESL classes, the teacher uses flashcards when they need to teach new or review the previous vocabulary. It’s also one of the easiest ways to add some games into your lesson, cause mostly it doesn’t need special preparations. Young learners especially like flashcard games because usually it’s active games and allow them to have fun during the lesson. There are different types of flashcards, for instance, on one side could be a word or picture on another side – it's the English translation. Those types of...  [Read more]

  So now we'll consider the actual classroom arrangements themselves in terms of the physical desk layout. There are possibly three main types of arrangements that are used within classrooms and we're going to indicate the desks here as being boxes and the arrangements of the students within those desks will be blue crosses. So here we have the desks ranged in rows and the students sitting within those rows. The second arrangement could be the use of horseshoes or semi circles and finally the use of individual desks. So for each of these arrangements what are the potential advantages and disadvantages of arranging our seating in this way? Let's take the rows first of all. One of the potential advantages is that it does give the teacher the opportunity, if it's arranged correctly,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Flashcards are considered to be an effective means to introduce new vocabulary in the ESL classroom. They are vivid, easy-to-use and they are considered to stimulate active recall method which helps us to retain the vocabulary for long periods. Some teachers consider that flashcards can to be used for young learners only. In my opinion, even adults will benefit from using flashcards. They can help to reduce TTT while introducing new vocabulary, can be used as a revision activity, and when adapted, can even be applied to practice vocabulary in complex grammar structures. Flashcards are easy to find. You can buy ready-made flashcards, use cutouts from old magazines or draw your flashcards. You can even ask your...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences With the end goal of working in a Japanese kindergarten or pre-school, I decided to take the Teaching English to Young Learners certification course to accompany the TEFL course I recently completed through ITTT. Even though I knew the skills necessary for teaching young learners would differ from teaching learners of other ages, I found a lot of useful information in this course specifically regarding the topic of classroom management. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Melissa M. For context, most teaching environments for entry-level teaching positions in Japan involve a foreign teacher working alongside a native Japanese teacher. That being said, with the proper certifications and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching techniques are a crucial aspect within the classroom and encompass all the different ways to take important information that a learner requires in understanding a specific topic and projecting it across a classroom/skype in a way that all the learners will listen, comprehend and apply. Teaching techniques come in many different forms. They can be in the form of simplistic games or the form of choral repetition. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brendan S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Different teaching techniques target different and specific areas of the subject and in the case of a TEFL teacher, the teaching...  [Read more]

Lydia Pincott Destinations Alumni Experiences “But...why are you here?” It’s a phrase often uttered by Japanese, confused about what your reason could be for straying from the usual temples of Kyoto, shops of Shinjuku, and street-food of Osaka. The beaten path in Japan is pretty great and worth exploring thoroughly, but if you’ve done it, or feel like you’ve done it from seeing other people’s pictures, these 3 destinations are for you. Take a 4-week in-class TEFL/TESOL course in Japan and get a headstart in your teaching career! Picture this: Sandy beaches with perfectly turquoise waters stretching out as far as the eye can see, cafes with fresh, flavorful food just waiting to be devoured, and cheerful locals happy...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Classroom management is the skill of organizing and managing a class to ensure that students can learn effectively. There are many different methods teachers can use to create an environment that will help students learn, such as classroom arrangement, conducting yourself correctly, grouping students in a sensible way for each task, and also establishing a good rapport with students. The teacher must apply these techniques to create a learning environment for the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Christopher J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT....  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'aisle' and 'isle'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. The word 'aisle' is a noun and describes a passage between rows of seats in a church, in a theater, an airplane or between shelves in a supermarket. A suitable example sentece for the word 'aisle' would be: The aisle was crowded with people looking for seats. The word 'isle' is also a noun but has a very different meaning. It usually refers to a small island, such as here: The pirates were in search of the lost isle for buried treasure. As you can see, once you know the meanings of the two words, you will not confuse them as their meanings are very different. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas To answer the question of what is effective classroom management it is firstly important to define what is meant by “classroom management”. ITT defines classroom management as: “the skill of organizing and managing the class, having a friendly, relaxed manner and maintaining disciple” (page 2, unit 5, ITT course content – which is also referenced throughout the below essay) To best answer this question, we shall now break this definition down into 3 parts before providing an overall conclusion at the end of the essay. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Joe S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Classroom organization and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Practicing conversational skills is often daunting for students. However, with these awesome activities, you’ll engage your students in speaking quicker as they will like the tasks. Jenga is a favorite stack game to millions of people. Your students will get excited as soon as they see the blocks. For this activity, you need to customize the blocks a bit by writing 1 ice-breaking question on each piece. Students need to pull a block and answer the question before putting it on the top of the stack. You can adjust this game to online classes by using online Jenga. Also Read: Can I teach English as a foreign language online? Before the lesson, brainstorm as many personal characteristics as possible (e.g.: have a...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences From my own personal learning experiences, as well as what I have learned from my TEFL certification course, I believe that the seating arrangement used in the EFL classroom can have a major effect on learning outcomes. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daniel B. I always remember one teacher in college because her class stood out from all of the others. In her Greek history class, we were forced to place our desks into the form of a circle a vast majority of the time. She warned us from the first day that this would be a class far different from the normal teaching style. She told us that this style would help ensure we stay engaged, listen to others as well as her, and would help to keep us...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas From both my experiences as well as what I have learned from this course, I believe seating arrangement in the classroom is very important. I remember always remember one teacher in college because her class stuck out from all of the others. In her greek history class, we were forced to place our desks into the form of a circle a vast majority of the time. She warned us from the first day of her class that this would be a class far different from the normal teaching style. She told us that this style would help ensure we stay engaged, listen to others as well as her and would help to keep us accountable for our previous reading assignments. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Daniel B. Please...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences How to motivate and keep the students interested in learning the English language? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Richard B. To teach at the Kindergarten level the teacher has to be mindful of keeping students' attention and maintaining order. It is important to have structure and routines. To ensure the students are comfortable, happy and engaged while learning and practicing English there needs to be a balance between patients and strictness. To keep their attention, it is good to enlist fun little games to help maintain order in the class. It is important to understand your students. At this level they have a short attention span so a detailed lesson plan is crucial. To make learning fun...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas When I had completed approximately thirty percent of the TEFL course I decided to go to a local school here in the North East of Thailand, where I live, and my friend, who is a Canadian national, is the English teacher at that particular school. I had already arranged with him, that I would take his English lesson acting as a visiting English trainee teacher, and he would assess me. I gave a lesson to the students in the English language sentence structure. On completion of the lesson I approached my friend and asked his assessment of my teaching abilities, and he replied that I taught to a satisfactory standard apart from the fact that, I was a little bit nervous and the students didn’t speak much at all. Although...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Learning English is often a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be boring or something to trudge through. By making English lessons fun and engaging, the students will be more motivated to learn the subject matter. Some ways that the teacher can make learning fun include playing games and turning activities into contests with positive reinforcements like prizes or additional game time. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Matthew S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Flashcards are wonderful educational tools in the classroom. Learning with flashcards can be a fun and interactive educational experience for both children and...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Teaching speaking skills is an important part of an ESL class. Sometimes, entire conversation classes are established that focus solely on speaking. Here are 7 great games for your ESL conversation class. Write down the names and key points about five celebrities and assign them to the same amount of students in your classroom. One by one, a student enters a “party” with another student playing the host. The host must then find out the identity of each guest by having a conversation with everyone. Have your students stand in a circle. Choose a specific grammar point and have the first person asks a question using the grammar structure. The student then throws a ball to another student who answers the question...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The classroom management is obviously one of the major skills of the teaching experience any teacher might have in his/her career as it is the path he/she makes for less or more than a year with the same students who are going to learn from him/her; it is then the skill of organizing and managing the class with a friendly and relaxed manner and above all maintaining discipline. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Olinga D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Managing a classroom has its requirements every teacher must go through, from the first eye contact with the students, he/she must find the best way to establish rapport with...  [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]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas The teacher’s role is to catch the interest of the students and to give them confidence. Getting the students involved in the lesson will also help to prevent most of the disciplinary problems. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marie Alice C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first thing is for the teacher to try to know his students. Knowing their name is, of course, necessary to get their attention or indicate who is to answer the question, but the teacher should also try to know their surroundings. The students will be more willing to participate if the topic has been carefully chosen to fit their interests. Making sure that...  [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]

Shirin Sophy TEFL Information Teaching Ideas How the seats are arranged in a classroom can convey numerous implicit messages about the pedagogical approaches and methods employed in a specific school and the teacher who works there. A well-designed seating arrangement not only facilitates the interaction between the teacher and the learners but it also enables the students to interact together, which is a paramount feature of a student-centered class effectively. There is a wide variety of interaction patterns that each can be appropriately applied considering the aim and objective of a lesson and the ongoing task; however, a well-adjusted seating arrangement may pave the way for the flow of the information during the lesson...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What’s the most difficult part of learning a new language? Is it writing? Perhaps it’s the reading or memorizing new vocabulary? Well for some it’s speaking the new language, specifically when it comes to pronunciation. Every language has its unique ways or pronouncing their vowels and constants as well as how they form their sentence structure. Especially this write up will focus on Japanese English as a Second Language (ESL) students and the difficulties they face while learning English and its pronunciation. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zachary B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First, it helps to understand a...  [Read more]

  So how do we actually make best use of the course book? Well, just a couple of factors that you need to keep into consideration when using these types of material, use the course book to help you create a balanced lesson in terms of the range of skills that are being taught and the actual types of material within that the grammar or vocabulary. Secondly, don't use it all the time, particularly with things like activities, we can create our own materials and we can tailor those materials much more specifically to the actual class that we're teaching. As very often the actual creations in the book are very general, we can make our own materials much more specific. The third thing you need to be aware of is that you can't always rely 100% on the information that's presented in those...  [Read more]