What Classes Do I Need To Become A Teacher

Catia Pereira dos Santos Teaching Ideas What kind of teacher do you want to become? Can you picture it in your mind? Well, I did it! When I first started my journey as a Portuguese and English online tutor, I asked myself this question and it landed me on a few ideas which are also present over some units of the ESL teachers course. I've been a student for a while, and I am still today. This year, I merged in the education field, taken this bright decision had brought me a lot of joy. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Catia P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. During my TEFL/TESOL teacher course lessons, I recognized some of the do's and don't's of my past...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Some English training centers will require newly hired teachers to observe classes for a certain period of time. During said time, the new hire can become familiar with the general culture and atmosphere of the institutions learning environment. The new teacher can then also learn the rules of the classroom that students are expected to follow. In some cases, the observed teacher may sometimes include the new hire in activities so that the students begin to feel more comfortable with the newly hired teacher. During this period of observation, the teacher can start to establish rapport with students not only inside the classroom but also in passing outside the classroom. During my experiences teaching at...  [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 Alumni Experiences Deciding whether to teach individuals or group classes can be difficult. There are many similarities as well as differences. The perusal of these two kinds of classes led to charting each difference and similarity. Many of the differences fell under three categories. These three major differences between teaching one-to-one and groups are the class set up, students’ goals/motivations and available activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jade B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching individuals can be nerve-racking itself; the class consists of just the teacher and one student. The traditional dynamics of a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I was extremely overjoyed when I saw this as one of the options for the “Summative Task”, because I have been teaching EFL online for about a year and a half, and EFL in general for about two years. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nelson A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I had already been teaching EFL classes for about one year when a friend of mine introduced me to the company he worked for which specialized in online teaching. Before then, I had heard very little about online teaching. The way he explained it sounded intriguing and I was eager to see what teaching online was all about. Fast forward a couple of weeks...  [Read more]

Laura Payne Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas I am currently working as an Assistant Language Teacher in Japan. Before I began this job I assumed that because Japan has a largely homogeneous population, all of my classes would be monolingual. However, I was wrong in this assumption. In addition to my Japanese students, I have many students who are Brazilian or Filipino. These students largely do not use Japanese as their mother tongue and have to learn both English and Japanese as a second language. This diverse student population, in addition to my work experiences and studies, has taught me a lot about working with both monolingual and multilingual classes. In the few monolingual classes that I teach, it is fairly easy to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching can be a very fulfilling and enjoyable occupation. It is, however, also filled with a lot of challenges. The workload can be high, the hours long, the course material may be difficult, and the students themselves can make a lot of difficulty for the teacher. As most teachers will attest there will be students who are difficult to deal with. They can be unmotivated, distracted, tired, or even purposefully disruptive. Many teachers have quit the profession because of unruly classes. Many more teachers have lost their temper and ruined a class because of this. There are, however, many ways to manage unruly students. Sometimes, they even become the very best students. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Rhea Latchu Alumni Experiences What if I told you it is totally possible to combine your passion with your dream? Well, it is. You see, for as long as I can remember, I have always had the dream to travel and wander around this globe. Then approximately four years ago, I discovered a passion within me that I didn’t even know existed: teaching! And that is how my journey working as an EFL Teacher began! Teaching English for many presents the opportunity needed to become an expat. To live the expat life. This was certainly the case for me. When I accepted a volunteer position as an English Teacher in Chile four years ago, it wasn’t (initially) to accomplish my life long goal of becoming an English teacher. Yes, I had some interest in being able...  [Read more]

Caroline Chartier Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Being a teacher is more than teaching the subject matter that you are paid to deliver. We have a lot of impact on the kids that enter through our classroom doors and reside in our halls. Teaching is made easier when a teacher forms a strong connection with her students. Now, a teacher will not connect with every one of her students- some students just do not care about school, do not care about teachers, or simply like other classes better. However, making those connections with specific students will help you as a teacher have a better classroom and strengthen relationships with the rest of your class. You're spending most of your time with your students inside the classroom....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas One of the things we should remember about when coming to the classroom, that this place can become a battlefield: a battle can happen between students, between the teacher and students, with the English language, and the most difficult one - a battle with yourself. These were my thoughts when I started teaching. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yulia M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When you just start your career as a teacher you may know (in theory) or may not know (even in theory) what should you do in your first class, what kind of behavior to choose and how to react to the students’ behavior. But every mistake - no...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Cambridge dictionary defines troubleshooting as the process of discovering why something does not work effectively and making suggestions about how to improve it. In TEFL as in any other foreign language course, teachers are faced with lots of situations that make troubleshooting necessary. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Olivia L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. And the reason why it is an essential part of TEFL is due, in great part, to the fact that humans make up a primary part of the equation. Humans, in general, feel a profound need to forge associations with each other through social inclusion and as a result,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Until now, I have been an English teacher for 6 months. Before that, in 2016 I was a teaching assistant. That is my part-time job. And this is a journey even though I have not yet taken a TESOL class but I am still confident that I can become a teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tieu T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For the first half of the year, I was an assistant tutor for the preschool. I had very little contact with kids before so I was very confused at the time. I told the teacher that I couldn't make them obey. She is a master of special needs education. She told me to play with them and not to care about...  [Read more]

Alina Martinez Alumni Experiences Let's be honest, Covid sucks. It uprooted us from our daily lives, and now working from home has become the growing platform for income. I thought I would hop on the homebound train and become a Teacher for QKids! If you want to learn more, read on, my friend! My name is Teacher Alina, and I will cover the following: What is QKids, requirements, pay/scheduling, my experience so far, and conclusion! Qkids is an Online Teaching platform based in China. QKids provides everything a teacher will need to run a successful classroom from engaging characters like Koby Koala and Momo Monkey to providing many different features to guide your students along. QKids also connects Teachers with over a million young learners...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a teacher, we often find ourselves daunted with the task of capturing our students’ interests and also equipping them for the future. Not only do we seek to train better students, but we also want to produce better citizens, workers, and future teachers. Teaching is still held the same purpose throughout all these years: bettering our future through the lives of our students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Madison R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Although our methods need to continually be more thought-provoking, entertaining and motivating, our objective has not changed. We need to incorporate storytelling into...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas While there are many things a teacher can do to prepare for the classroom, the way students interface with their teachers is something that can be both difficult and spontaneous. Building rapport with students is crucial to maintain a high level of energy and focus throughout a class session. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Matthew P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Even though a teacher may have an entire lesson planned out, if students do not feel comfortable participating in front of their teacher, the pace of the class becomes stilted. A well-constructed lesson plan may be filled with fun activities for the students,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I came to China about a year ago now, I left America with just the items in my backpack and enough money to eat for a few days. Coming to China was the biggest change I have had in my life (for the better) and it has opened my eyes to many opportunities I could potentially pursue. I came here alone to meet my best friend and his uncle, who runs an English school with foreign teachers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate mitchell c. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. My best friend’s uncle suggested I go to college and get my TEFL to become an English teacher for him. All my life I had never imagined I would ever become an English...  [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 If someone would have asked me 10 years ago what would I do once I finished University, it would have never crossed my mind to tell them that I would become a teacher. The process of becoming a teacher started when I began to look for part-time jobs while I was studying the Language at Hanoi University. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Anay M. G. My English skills were poor, yet I had good basic knowledge of the language due to years and years of continuous study. Being non-native to the English language, I had to deal with learning English since primary school all the way until high-school. At that time, I didn’t appreciate very much the work of my teachers, I thought the English...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Intelligence has been defined in many ways, including the capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be described as the ability to perceive or infer information and to retain it as knowledge to be applied towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context (Wikipedia, 2019). This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Stephen A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. At a cosmetic level, language fluency and accuracy, that segregate socio-cultural groups is inconsistent with contemporary thought of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” - Mark Antony. I have a tall tale to tell you. A story filled with unspeakable horrors that make men dishonor all they have stood for; that pushes the statement “it is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both”- Machiavelli. To tales of living in a land down under and learning the language of the locals and communing with them in a peaceful manner. Before ending with a tale as old of time, which is empires rise and fall, similar to teaching materials that are created and become outdated. If we are to succeed we must evolve or we will just get caught up in the churn with the changing tides. Let us begin with what truly motivates the world of men....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This summative essay will exam the importance of teaching the differences between American English and British English for EFL learners. I will examine the intention behind teaching these differences, and when these teachings should be applied, and to what effect and purpose. This essay will focus primarily on the problems of pronunciation and spelling, which are the two main differences. I am a British citizen, born and raised in London, England, and currently teach at a public high school in Tokyo. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Challis C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The most prominent differences in spelling would be...  [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 Teachers are experts, tutors, mentors, superiors, masters, organizers, models, etc. that “rule”, lead or guide students in their learning. They bear the important responsibility of leading the learning of their students towards success (meeting goals). They have a position that requires constant attention and responsibility, usually towards a group and they always need to adapt themselves to the classes and cultural differences. In the many roles and responsibilities that teachers may face, how can they not be nervous about the multiple approaches they could take and the multitude of problems that could appear in their future classes? Especially new teachers, how can they increase their confidence in the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Lesson planning is an important skill and resource for teachers with benefits for the teacher, the students, and the institution accommodating them. By implementing this technique teachers are equipped with a guide that can instill confidence for themselves, as well as clarity for their students and employers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jason T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the primary and more evident benefits of lesson planning is that it creates a clear structure for the lesson. This means that the teacher and students are aware of the focus of each session, which would increase the likelihood of successful...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas When starting a teaching career, it is necessary to be aware of the different difficulties groups of learners one will encounter. This includes young learners, beginners, multilingual, adults, and many more. Each group has a different class attitude and learning ability. While there are hundreds of different teaching activities and styles, not all of them will work with each group. It is important to distinguish the most useful from differing classes. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kellyann E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When speaking of adult...  [Read more]

  Our next consideration is that of giving instructions to our students. In order for those students to effectively carry out an activity, we need to make sure we have given clear and unambiguous instructions. It's also very important to check that the students understand the activity before you start. If you've done that work correctly then the teacher shouldn't need to say anything once an activity has started because the students are very clear about what they're supposed to be doing. So some ideas when giving instructions. As we've mentioned use simple language. Secondly, rather than trying to explain an activity, then do a demonstration which is visual. Thirdly, try to use wherever possible common words that come up within every activity. These would be things like ?look?,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A confident teacher would have a positive impact on his or her students’ achievement, attitude, effective and even socio-emotional growth (Wang, 2016). A teacher's confidence clearly influences a student's learning, thus it is necessary that a teacher develops confidence as he or she progresses in his or her career. Some teachers easily develop their confidence but some struggle to have it. In my 14 years of teaching, I have established the following principles in order to develop confidence, be it facing my students, dealing with their parents, communicating with my peers or even talking to my higher-ups. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rhea A. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Where do I begin? I have learned so much from my 60-hour TEFL course with ITTT. I have learned about everything from what it takes to become a great teacher and of course what not to do in the classroom. I also learned a lot about what makes a student a great learner. I believe this is very important as well since good learners progress more rapidly in the class. That rapid learning makes good learners and most of all more successful students. In turn that builds confidence in the teacher on behalf of the students. Of course, the teacher ends up with more confidence in their teaching abilities too. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Michael A. The goal is for the student is to learn English and I believe...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences If you’re thinking about starting your EFL teaching career, the first thing you should do is taking a TEFL course. It helps you decide where to teach, as it contains information about differences between students from different countries and regions, i.g. Asia and Latin America, as well as information on how to work with students’ cultural backgrounds. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vladimir P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If you have prior experience in teaching, though it’s useful to refresh your knowledge because it’s important basics you should know. Moreover, you can find some new information, i.g. how to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning English has become a necessary extra-curricular activity for many students in China. Since China has become a global giant as a result of her rapid economic development, many parents have picked up the momentum in raising their children’s proficiency in English. From learning and studying the TESOL and Young Learners’ sessions, there are three areas of hurdles observed. They are learning environment, technical differences, and students’ mindsets. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Angela W. Although English is taught to children since pre-school years, many students do not have the exposure to this foreign language outside of the classroom. There is no encouraging learning...  [Read more]