What Is Functional Language

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences There are many course structures available now for teaching English. However, there are problems there to be solved. Problems are like some students find memorizing words and grammar all the time are boring; some find learning English itself is meaningless; some find they can’t talk and use it after learning all grammar from grammar practice books; some students are so nervous to talk that they kill the “communication and thinking tool” in its cradle; some even hate it after several tries of learning. However, English’s not to blame for the problems. Neither the things described by English nor grammar is. Resources are littered casually within the mind, they need to be kept in personalized rows by...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In the existing literature on language education, the terms CURRICULUM and SYLLABUS are sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes differentiated, and sometimes misused and misunderstood. Rodger (1989:26, cited in Richards, 2001:39) makes a distinction between a syllabus and curriculum. According to Rodgers, syllabi (or syllabuses), which prescribe the content to be covered by a given course, form only a small part of the total school program. The curriculum is a far broader concept. The curriculum is all those activities in which children engage under the auspices of the school. This includes not only what students learn, but how they learn it, how teachers help them learn, using what supporting materials, styles,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The introverted Nathaniel struggled immensely through primary, high school, college, and music school. His first battle was learning how to read. At this point, no one knew he possessed a learning difficulty. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nathaniel F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Although he had an impressive spoken vocabulary for a boy, when he looked at words on a page he could not match them to their sounds, therefore pronunciation was not possible. This struggle with phonetic decoding was overcome over a few years by reading books borrowed from the library, tracing the words with a finger while listening to the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Business English Teacher needs to consider how to structure and develop a course for students. Because students in a Business English setting are working professionals, they typically will have specific needs and learning objectives that a teacher will have to cater to. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jan S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Knowing how to structure and develop an ESL class for adult, Business-English students involves first finding out what motivates the students to learn English, and also what their English ability is upon entering the course. This involves two steps that can be undertaken simultaneously....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas It is an undeniable fact that English nowadays has become the most influential language in the world. Many throughout the world seek to learn it as knowing it is now a must to find a good job or find good opportunities in one’s life, which is why we can find countries that are rife with various English courses. This is especially true in Turkey. Where English is in high demand as everyone in the country is starting to realize its importance. It is also worth noting that the vast majority of the country do not have adequate English skills, especially in speaking, mastering said skill is a dream for many Turkish people. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Melisa N. Please note that this blog...  [Read more]

Catia Pereira dos Santos Alumni Experiences After becoming a certified teacher in English as a second language, I put together a few reasons and benefits why students and EFL teachers around the world should become even more grammar-friendly. Why learn English grammar? What are the benefits of learning it? Grammar is right where accuracy lies! It's the key to speaking any foreign language fluently. It plays a significant role in communicating, especially nowadays, with the extensive use of the internet and social media. Having solid grammar knowledge makes the differences and gives you the freedom to add real meaning to what you want to say. Learning the English language structure works like this: once students know the basic rules, accuracy is...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas So you’ve got your TEFL certificate in hand and landed your dream teaching job abroad. Once you’re at the school, it’s time to prep for your classes. More often than not, teachers are expected to create their own course syllabi for their different classes. Here is our guide to writing your first TEFL syllabus. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Zirui P. The syllabus of a course is the frame of what the course is. It tells the students and the teacher what is being taught in the course as well as in what order it is being taught. This is especially true in language learning, as different types of syllabi will indicate what is being learned. There are many types of syllabi for language learning. Depending...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There is a saying that goes ‘Old dogs can’t be taught new tricks’. However, recent advances in cognitive science prove the concept of brain plasticity or neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to continuously re-wire and change throughout the life of a person. This ability can be observed in the brain healing from injuries and can also be applied to ordinary brain activities like learning. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Cherryl T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As I have learned in this course and experienced in actual practice, almost all adults learning business English are working and studying at the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Designing the syllabus of a course is one of the greatest challenges a teacher has to face and undertake way in advance to the actual implementation of the said syllabus – and before the actual beginning of any language course. When a teacher starts to plan a syllabus, he/she may not even have an exact, clear and set idea of what is expected of him/her and the students to achieve and complete during and by the end of the course. Still, planning is essential as it can save a lot of time for everyone involved, eliminate many problems, and provide the teacher with a framework and a starting point for plans and modifications. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zalán Palotai-K. Please note that...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Syllabus design is one of the most important parts of developing a business English course. In order to formulate a syllabus, a lot of factors have to be kept in mind. These include the purpose of the course, the language proficiency of the students, the field in which the students specialize, as well as the aims, goals and objectives that you intend to achieve by the end of the course. The syllabus design should represent a logical step by step process to take the students from their present level of proficiency to their desired level. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hina I. Your course syllabus could take various forms. It could be a ‘structural...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Merriam Webster dictionary defines Business English as: “English as used in business”. While concise, this definition is of limited value to a teacher. This essay will attempt to expand on this definition in the context of English teaching. A more thorough examination of business English will precede an overview of teaching business English before concluding with a modified definition. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Christopher B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It is important to note that the use of business English is not confined to countries whose primary language is English and multinational companies and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Unlike many other countries, India does not have a national language. There are over 30 official languages spoken in India. English has been adopted by the government for judicial and administrative proceedings, and most Indians have a functional understanding of English. However, many Indians struggle to learn and use English effectively. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tejaswini K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Native languages influence pronunciations of English syllables/words, e.g. people who speak north Indian languages usually pronounce the word ‘here’ as ‘hare/hair’, people from the east often...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The role of a teacher is constantly changing throughout the day. The teacher’s role can be influenced by: the lesson, the students, and the circumstances that might arise during a classroom session. Teachers frequently perform various roles when teaching students, some of these roles include: instructor, facilitator, mentor, psychologist, counselor, and policeman. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Giuseppe T. The role of instructor is the role most people associate with teachers of any subject – sometime referred to as the expert or the “knower” of a certain body of knowledge. This portrays teachers as being all-knowing figures, with the expectation of having access to a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Which ESL/EFL students should learn the formal language, and how much should they learn? How much emphasis formal language should have in different students' curriculum depends upon several factors and is an objective consideration, as we'll see below. Teaching English as a formal language, to varying degrees, is standard in virtually all ESL/EFL curricula. Most aspects of English are taught at graduated levels of complexity and at appropriate times. For example, all ESL/EFL students will learn very early on what a noun most basically is -a person, place, thing, or idea. Pronouns might be taught next, followed perhaps only eventually by what a noun adjunct is. Formal language is taught similarly, beginning perhaps...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Let's think about a definition of the word 'game' and try to find it in dictionaries or encyclopedias. We will see that apart from amusement value, a game is considered to be a valuable educational tool. Undoubtedly different games are used mainly to entertain and bring fun, and only the secondary aim can be perceived as having teaching or educational significance. Whether students can or cannot understand the teacher's hidden purpose in applying games during a lesson, the process will bring fun, relaxation, and interaction. At the same time, the result will be meaningful and long-lasting. This post was written by our TEFL certification...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching business English presents teachers with a degree of freedom that is perhaps not enjoyed by those teaching in, for example, State Schools that have curriculums set by the education arm of Government or other international organizations. Some teachers may relish having the opportunity to design their syllabus while for others it may be something rather daunting. Regardless, gaining experience in the field of syllabus design will likely prove invaluable for a teacher in their personal career development. Several considerations are required when designing a syllabus for a course in Business English and these will be discussed throughout this essay along with the methods and resources necessary for their...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Many language learning theories are proposed based on certain linguistic theories. In fact, knowledge in linguistics lies at the root of understanding what language learners can learn, how they learn and what they learn ultimately. Therefore, linguistics has always played an important role in the studies of language acquisition and learning. For example, as Ellis (1994:1) points out, “whereas much of the earlier second language acquisition work focused on the linguistic and, in particular, the grammatical properties of learner language and was psycholinguistic in orientation, later work has also attended to the pragmatic aspects of learner language and, increasingly, has adopted a sociolinguistic perspective....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences About a year and a half ago, I began a part-time job teaching English in Japan. The school I taught at, Sunny Club, was a small cram school run in the first level of a two-story home. The physical space could accommodate only 20 students at a time, and it meant that there was very little room to breathe during lessons. While the small size was a hindrance at times, working for Sunny Club was one of the most fulfilling experiences that I have had. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate MARY T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. At Sunny Club, I taught students whose ages ranged from 5 or 6 to 40 years of age. Working with these...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Parents are the first teachers a child interacts with, from age zero to around three or four years when the child is exposed to early childhood education at schools. The parent role at this point is very critical for educating the child in; the culture of the society, religion of the family, the first language of the family and educational mentors among the family. Infants at this age are normally very keen on the happenings on the surrounding, and so they tend to model the behavior of the parents or the caregivers. Parents can help the infants feel secure and protected by playing with them. Infants can learn to build social connections when the parents let them be held by other people when they are around....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In 1945, globalization boomed and developing countries in Europe and Africa were quickly realizing that to become technologically advanced, English was the language to pursue as it was establishing itself as the international technological language. The first textbook to be published to educate students in a specified field of English was The Structure of Technical English (Herbert, 1965), which opened the door to the development of textbooks based on register analysis. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nicholas P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Strevens (1997) described the phenomenon of teaching Language for Specific...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas It’s my dream to be a teacher since I was a little girl. It’s so lucky, I became an English teacher after I graduated from school. I like my job, I always prepared a lot before my class, such as materials, flashcards, teaching plan and so on. Because I hope my students will enjoy my class and gain knowledge through my class. I heard that a good teacher must be a good actor. I really impressed by this sentence, it always reminds me, no matter how tired you are and how sad you are, once you enter in the classroom, you must be full of energetic and keep a smile. Through my teaching experience, if you want to be a good teacher, I think not only just read books and ask students to do drilling work, but also...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas We live in an ever-changing world that is becoming smaller, more connected. Communication is faster and more diverse than ever. Computers, cell phones, and social media have increased the speed of communication. Therefore, the need for people to respond quickly and the language that has become synonymous with international communication is English. Thus, the demand for learning the language is increasing at a constant rate. But though people may have the need, they may lack the confidence to take on a new language fully. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Katherine R. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Self-confidence has been seen as a major contributor to a person learning a language. As a teacher and a counselor, I agree with Jack Welch’s quote: Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do because then they will act. Confidence exists of three realms: who I am, what I can learn, and what I can do. These are steps that can be taken to help Chinese Business English students improve confidence in these realms. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate William N. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Self-confidence is the total of attributes which enable the use of acquiring knowledge and application of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Child Development is a complex topic and can be described with a myriad of approaches formulated by scientists, psychologists, therapists and teachers alike. These approaches can break this topic down for those of us who work with children so that we may have a framework for what we are observing. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Karen A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Theories can also be used to help explain to us the various factors that impact a child so we can feel empowered to understand or help. Methods give us the tools to do so. Sometimes, we use theories or methods for career preparation, to give us a basic...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas English is the widely used language in the world that used as an official language in a majority of countries, as the main business language and as a universal language for education and tourism. Based on their interests and responsibilities people decide what type of English they should learn and try to find the most suitable course for their personal goals. From another perspective, as English teachers, our obligation is to create a course that consists of materials that help students to reach their goals and allow us to present English in a structured and the most appropriate way. As a result, the problem of syllabus design that meets students' expectations appears. The main aim of this essay is to define what...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences English language learners at high school and college levels in Mongolia face a variety of structural and cultural difficulties that often prevent them from moving beyond an intermediate or even-low level in spoken and written English. This post will look at a few of the core issues and examine some of the ways to help improve the type of instruction provided in Mongolia that could prove beneficial for future language students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ariel W. First and foremost, teacher training in areas like lesson-planning, teacher/student talk time, impromptu speaking and writing activities, and classroom management needs to be improved. This problem stems directly from the...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas Although teaching English as a Foreign Language can be a fun and rewarding job, it can also involve a fair amount of hard graft when it comes to planning and delivering high-quality lessons. With this in mind, why not use all the tools at your disposal to ensure your lessons are engaging and effective? The use of technology and online resources is a cornerstone of EFL lessons worldwide and using whatever means necessary to achieve the best results is generally encouraged by most forward thinking employers. Lesson planning is a major part of a teacher’s life, so anything that can help the process along can only be a good thing. However, it is not only planning that can be aided by technology. In this day and age there...  [Read more]