What Happens During Hanukkah

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  In this ITTT video former trainee Ben talks about his experiences during the final week of his four week TEFL/TESOL certification course and what he plans to do now that he has gained his teaching qualification. 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 as a helpful overview of rules about parts of speech, because it has been a while since I taught English. Especially, I found helpful contrasting possessive pronouns with possessive adjectives...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A teacher must be confident in the classroom so he or she can keep control over it and make sure that the students look up to him/her as an example for their English journey. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tatiana M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As a teacher, you have to know and understand clearly anything you are trying to teach to your students. This, apart from showing respect to your students, make the teacher feel confident about what is coming out of his/her mouth and the activities he/she decides to release in the classroom. It will make the teacher feel that the class has a purpose and that it is to communicate...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A teacher must be confident in the classroom so he or she can keep control over it and make sure that the students look up to him/her as an example for their English journey. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tatiana M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As a teacher, you have to know and understand clearly anything you are trying to teach to your students. This, apart from showing respect to your students, make the teacher feel confident about what is coming out of his/her mouth and the activities he/she decides to release in the classroom. It will make the teacher feel that the class has a purpose and that it is to communicate...  [Read more]

  This TEFL review was recorded by ITTT graduate Surangi. Surangi took the TEFL course with ITTT because she wanted to become an English teacher. She found the course introduced her to aspects of teaching that she was unaware of such as interaction between the teacher and students, lesson planning and discipline. The course also gave her the chance to refresh her knowledge of English grammar. Surangi is currently teaching children in her local neighbourhood and is looking forward to taking the Certificate in Teaching English to Young Learners course with ITTT to help her be a better teacher for her students. 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...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Two and a half years ago, if my friends and family had asked me what kind of job I wanted to do or what kind of career I wanted to pursue, I never would have said the words ‘English teacher’. Maybe it was because I was too shy as a kid and teenager growing up, and I never used to see myself as a figure that people would look up to or trust while learning something new, but I have learned that life changes you with its own experiences and the way you see things. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sara B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Now, when people I know ask me if I am happy or satisfied with what I am doing with my...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas If every single lesson that we undertook with our students was a straight arrow ESA lesson then it is quite possible that the students would be able to predict what is going to come up next. Whilst this might be good for the lower level students, it could potentially become a little bit boring for our higher level students. Harmer considered this and his response was to generate two other types of ESA lesson that we can use to try and generate a little bit more interest. The first of these is known as a boomerang lesson and the second is known as a patchwork lesson. First let us recap the structure of a Straight arrow ESA lesson. This takes each of the three phases in turn, so a...  [Read more]

Charlotte Lam TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Changes in school are a very common situation, especially during these days when there is so much uncertainty in society—for instance, the pandemic situation, the economy, etc. We have experienced a lot of changes in school, including school suspension, online teaching, teaching during the pandemic, etc. In this post, I will outline how to cope with changes and what you can do to have a successful change in school. Change happens so quickly in class—for example, changes to the curriculum, tests, teaching methods, or school schedule. If we see such a big demand for change, we would usually feel scared because we don’t know where to begin...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Without knowing it nor intending it to be, my path has been strongly directed and focused on education and it was since Elementary School that I felt that something was wrong with me in the nowadays education system. After struggling a lot with learning as I was supposed to and believing that I was not smart enough, I finally took a subject at college that changed my thinking. This subject was called Educational Psychology and it was based on the actual necessity of creating a revolution or a change in education. Within the years we have been de-humanizing education at the point that we don’t even ask ourselves what is the purpose of what we are learning or teaching. We have become like side-blinded horses that...  [Read more]

Mudita Yajnik TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Setting up the classroom is often overlooked by teachers - but it's oh-so important! In this blog post, we take a look at the importance of the ESL classroom setup. Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What are some of the most important reasons for planning our lessons? Covering these ideas will then inform us as to what we should actually put on our lesson plan. In this blog post, we cover both these aspects of lesson planning. Federico Riva TEFL Information In this blog post, we will consider three different categories of speaking...  [Read more]

Mudita Yajnik TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Setting up the classroom is often overlooked by teachers - but it's oh-so important! In this blog post, we take a look at the importance of the ESL classroom setup. Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What are some of the most important reasons for planning our lessons? Covering these ideas will then inform us as to what we should actually put on our lesson plan. In this blog post, we cover both these aspects of lesson planning. Federico Riva TEFL Information In this blog post, we will consider three different categories of speaking...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What are conditionals? In simplest terms, they say “if this happens, then that happens”. They're commonly referred to as ‘if' sentence structures’. In this blog entry we're going to introduce conditionals. What are conditionals? In simplest terms, they say “if this happens, then that happens”. They're commonly referred to as ‘if sentence structures’ because they often contain the word ‘if’. There is variety of patterns that we use depending on the situations that we're talking about, depending on whether the situation is factual or completely impossible, and anything in between. There are five typical patterns that are most commonly taught when teaching English...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The country of choice I would like to speak about is China. I have been teaching in China for about a year at all levels. Several problems face English learners in this country ranging from the use of prepositions, modal auxiliary and the male and feminine pronouns. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mandella Elorm A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. ESL learners especially adult learners happen to have a persistent problem with the use of he/she, most students start speaking about a male character and then midway start using she to represent this male character and this happens interchangeably during oral lessons but never...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas When the aroma of gingerbread and eggnog is in the air, you know it’s time to translate your love for the most beautiful season of the year into your TEFL classroom with winter ESL activities! While this is the perfect time to embrace winter in TEFL destinations with changing seasons, it’s also ideal to educate your students living in places with tropical temperatures and other cultures about the holiday celebrations. Here are 7 amazing winter and Christmas ESL activities your students will love! Tell your students to imagine the following: You wake up in your bed and look out the window when you see a brightly decorated Christmas tree. It’s cold and even looks like snow is slowly falling from the sky. The...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The following essay has the objective of explaining the role that parents perform in the education of their children and to address if it is relevant or not. We have been functioning in a society where the school is an unrelated or a faraway universe to what happens at home. Education has also adopted this faraway simulacrum of real-life development in a classroom, where topics are taught without a clear utility for daily and “real-life” use. This has created that not all parents are aware that they are innately life teachers since the moment they welcome a child in their lives. Education does not just happen in a classroom: it is a lifelong process that takes place in every experience lived by a person. This...  [Read more]

  So what we're going to do is to run through a series of methodologies that were created mainly in the 1900s that adopted the idea that language learning should be much more communicative, much more natural. The first one is called audiolingualism and it's also called the army method because of where it was developed. Basically, psychology, during the 1950s and 60s, was building up new theories about behaviorism. Perhaps the most famous experiments that were done in this particular area were by Pavlov, where he was showing that most animals undergo a stimulus response mechanism and he had a series of famous experiments, where by ringing a bell, he could cause a dog to salivate, that would be his response, in the expectation of getting some food. This behaviorist idea of stimulus...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Self-confidence is not an easy trait to gain, especially when we talk about teachers. Self-confidence is obvious and easy to observe from all people, whether students or other teachers. When the teacher has a lack or weakness in self-confidence, their students or their coworkers will see that during the explanation, when she/he talks in front of the students and answering some questions in the class. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Walaa S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Self-confidence is also associated with creativity, whenever the teacher is confident of himself/herself then, he/she will show the creative aspect of...  [Read more]

  This particular methodology is known as a straight arrow ESA lesson. If every single lesson that we undertook with our students was a straight arrow ESA lesson then it is quite possible that the students would be able to predict what is going to come up next and whilst this is good for the lower level students, then it could potentially become a little bit boring for our higher level students. So what Harmer did in his ideas about ESA, was to generate two other types of ESA lesson that we can use to try and generate a little bit more interest. So, the other two types of ESA lesson that we can follow: The first is known as a boomerang lesson and the second is known as a patchwork lesson and what we're going to do is to have a look at those other types of ESA lesson in a little bit...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a teacher – and it does not matter if you teach kids, toddler, teenagers or adults – you have to think about a wide range of things: the content of your classes, class troubles and discipline, the evolution of your students skills, time management in terms of your classes and in terms of the content development in a period of time, students assessment, schools/professional compromises (either if you work in a language school or if your area a private teacher), how to create a nice learning environment and so on. These are only some of the things that a teacher – in the first years of his/her career or for an experienced professional – has to manage in his/her teaching routine. This post was written by...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Since my childhood, I have been frequently asked the same question "what kind of teacher do you want?" At different life stages, I have different answers. When I was a kid, I would say a teacher who dresses neatly and smiles nicely; when I was a teenager, I would prefer a "cool" teacher as a good teacher, who behaves differently from other boring and stereotyping adults; until I grow up, I think a good teacher should have sound subject knowledge, be fair and consistent with all of the students as well as being sensitive to the students’ reactions and providing necessary support, and until now I know being a good teacher has nothing to do with his/her appearances and dressings. This post was written by our...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Being a teacher for the first time, I was very nervous about the type of students I would have in my class and how their behavior would affect the classroom environment and the students around them. Before starting teaching, I was mainly worried about middle and high school students. I was afraid they wouldn’t be interested in the games that we would play in class and that they would just be on their phones. However, I was wrong- at least partially. The students don’t use their phones during class, due to strict rules and also having a teaching assistant, which left me feeling very relieved. I was worried about having to tell students not to use their phones and ending up having to confiscate them. The...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In the classroom, a teacher's dedication, confidence, and eagerness are often contagious, and the same is true with the lack of these things. If a teacher is enthusiastic and energetic, their students will be as well. Mostly, experienced teachers know how to make the classroom friendly, pleasant and enthusiastic for the students. But does it apply to the new teachers? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Puneet K. I remember 3 years back when I grabbed my first job; I was going to face a class of 20 students. Self-doubts and questions were racing around in my mind; what would I do on my first day of class? Will the students listen to me? 'How will I manage the class?' Just thought of...  [Read more]

  The idiom "elbow room" refers to having enough room to move in or having the ability to act freely, for example: The concert was so crowded that there was hardly any elbow room at all. This means, there were so many people at the concert that you could barely move. 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. Conditional and Reported Speech could be two of the most difficult parts for students, even higher level students. Enormous mistakes and errors...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas In this blog post, we will take a look at a typical example of a boomerang lesson. First we will recap the structure E  A1  S  A2 Here the students are just going to have a discussion about jobs, what happens at interviews and so on and so forth. During that engage phase what we would hope to do is to elicit some useful language about, jobs, interviews and the types of questions that are being asked in interviews. Some of this information can be put on the board. We do no teaching in this phase, we do not correct any mistakes either, just let the students talk freely. Next, we're going to move immediately into an activate...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Establishing rapport with students is a crucial part of any successful teacher because it allows teachers to teach their students more effectively and in different ways. Rapport is defined as, "the ability to maintain harmonious relationships based on affinity...is more colloquially thought of as what happens when two people “click”—they connect, interact well, and respond to each other favorably" (Weimer, facultyfocus.com). This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Dominic D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. This "click" is the ability of a teacher to connect with a student to ensure that motivation is always kept high. If a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Lesson planning whether it be for an English lesson or any other subject is one of the most important tasks of a teacher. Lesson planning can be time-consuming for the teacher but will cut out several complications during the lesson and after. In the end, it is worth the extra time to put together a lesson plan or plans. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shinae P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Below is a few reasons why a teacher should plan his/her lessons. These reasons are not all the reasons there are as to why you should lesson plan but they are the reasons I believe are the most important: * To make sure you are...  [Read more]

Mudita Yajnik TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What’s the best way to find out what your students know? Or, how much they’ve been paying attention, or what you need to revisit? Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas ESA is a three-stage methodology where each of the letters represents a particular phase of the lesson. The first one being called the Engage phase, the second the Study phase and the final one the Activate phase. Tamara Jennings Teaching Ideas Are you an English teacher and trying to find suitable material for your lessons? This blog post focuses on media influences in...  [Read more]

Mudita Yajnik TEFL Information Teaching Ideas What’s the best way to find out what your students know? Or, how much they’ve been paying attention, or what you need to revisit? Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas ESA is a three-stage methodology where each of the letters represents a particular phase of the lesson. The first one being called the Engage phase, the second the Study phase and the final one the Activate phase. Tamara Jennings Teaching Ideas Are you an English teacher and trying to find suitable material for your lessons? This blog post focuses on media influences in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As an Early Childhood Educator, circle time is really important. It provides a great opportunity for language practice, it is fun and students enjoy it. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ligia O. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Circle time can start at the beginning of the day as it is a great way to greet students and set goals for the day. Teachers can have a specific space in the classroom for circle time. Some have rugs and give each student a specific place to sit down. Greeting students is a great opportunity to sing and practice English. The teacher greets every student and students greet each other. The song must be the...  [Read more]