What To Teach First When Teaching English

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences As an English teacher, we have to learn many ways of teaching. One of the most important skills is to learn how to plan a lesson. For writing a lesson plan, some teachers like to use formal plans, some take down notes while others write details into their notebooks. So, what exactly is a good lesson plan? Four aspects should be taken into consideration. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mudi S. First and foremost, what is a lesson plan? A lesson plan is a plan that you make for the lesson you want to teach. It is an aid to planning which you need to write down what you want your students to achieve at the end of the lesson, how can you teach the lesson and how can you control the time....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Trying to gain confidence in the classroom is a hurdle that all new teachers must face when first starting. Every teacher I’ve spoken to, tells me about the horror they felt when they stood before their very first classroom full of students. As for myself, I am a teacher in training enrolled in an Elementary Education Bachelors program. In my program, we get a lot of practice creating lesson plans and teaching various subjects to our class. This practice has helped increase my confidence in teaching, but I still remember the first exposure I had teaching to children in an educational environment. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eric W. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

  Massir is from Tunisia and has been teaching English in Omar when he decided to take our 120-hour online TEFL certification to advance in his career. He was able to use the techniques learned in his classroom and saw significant improvements. 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. On the lesson plans, there are so many details that I haven't thought about. And it is a new idea for me that not to plan TOO detailed. And also there should be self -...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Even though I am currently teaching, I found lessons from my TEFL courses to help build onto my already growing teaching career. Being a first-time teacher can be stressful, especially if you have no prior knowledge or experience before. Even though I have been teaching for only three months, my courses gave me many insights and suggestions on improving myself to create a positive learning environment. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Angela S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the first things that my TEFL course taught me was my students' attitude...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences It is true that in life, the road to success is not a clear straight upward path; rather, it is more of an obstacle race. A teacher’s life looks simple from the outside. Why, she just wakes up early, wears her uniform, goes to school, and does what any other teacher does. It looks pretty straightforward, but my personal experience has been anything but. From a teenager unsure of her future to a high school English teacher, my work life so far has been perfectly imperfect. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Pia M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. 2007: I entered the university with a small blue patch on my tie, signifying my...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Why is the incorporation of storytelling and singing vital when teaching English to young learners? When a teacher is faced with the – sometimes daunting – task of teaching English to young learners, he or she must pause and consider a few things. First of all, if it is the first time a teacher is confronted with young learners, they must adapt their teaching approach. As with any new course, the teacher must evaluate his or her teaching approach. Who are the learners? What level are they at? How do I, as the teacher, reach the student, gain their attention and trust? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Therese B....  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas When you teach English as a foreign language it’s important to pay attention to details that we sometimes ignore when communicating with other native level speakers, either in spoken or written English. Some people have got into the habit of writing in uppercase/capital letters, use abbreviations, and don’t think much about punctuation. We also tend not to be too critical of people’s spoken English as long as we get the point across. ‘There’s a lot of cars on the road today’ is grammatically incorrect for example. We also tend to enjoy speaking when we should be letting others speak. This is a particular issue in the classroom when you should be maximizing student talk time and minimizing yours. Here are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Effective teachers not only possess expertise in content knowledge but they are also great classroom managers. If teachers cannot manage their students then they cannot teach their students. Learning will only take place when the classroom is well managed. The first day of school is the most important day for teachers to create 'rules' in the classroom. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nikki D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Classroom management must happen on the very first day of school can be effective and successful. An effective teacher manages to create a 'task-oriented' environment in the classroom. Teachers should...  [Read more]

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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 Alumni Experiences In the past few years, teaching English as a second language on the internet has gained a lot of reputation for English teachers around the world. The convenience of only needing a stable internet connection and a computer to go to work sounds far more pleasing than going to a school or other institution to teach a couple of hours per day. Additionally, online teaching provides opportunities for English teachers to travel to new destinations while still being able to work as a freelancer. Consequently, teaching English to children online, in different parts of the world, must be one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. However, many obstacles need to be overcome to be a successful English teacher for...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As the 60 hours, TESOL course is coming to an end, I have started to think back to my first teaching experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Joyce C. When I was a university student, I decided that it was a good idea for me to find part-time work as an English tutor or teachers assistant so I could get the first-hand experience in teaching. I began teaching a 9-year-old girl who attended the local school in Hong Kong. Her name is Charmaine. Her mother was concerned about her English writing abilities, as she often made grammar and spelling mistakes during homework and tests which caused her grades to suffer. Charmaine was quite shy and her self-confidence had been damaged due to...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Teaching the English language to total beginners is a challenge for any teacher - but it’s so worth it! English teachers abroad are regularly faced with two possible situations: A) teaching English to a class with zero knowledge in English (often young learners), or B) having to integrate a new student into your class who has never studied English before and now he/she has to pick up the language quickly. Where to start? Many teachers panic when having to teach total beginners of English because no matter how much you learned about teaching English in your TEFL certification course, the reality often looks quite different. However, there are a couple of easy techniques and tips for teaching absolute beginners in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences When I first made the transition from primary school to university, I knew that my lesson plans were clearly going to have to change. As I began to come up with ideas for my new job, I was disappointed that most of the content I previously used had no place in the university. Games, such as Hangman and Pictionary, worked excellently in capturing the interests of my young students, but I didn’t think these childish games had any place in a university classroom. I found out weeks later how wrong I was when I used Pictionary at the beginning of one of my courses to ‘preview’ the vocabulary we would be covering in class that day. I discovered that day that games can support a lesson if the educator...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When you select information to teach in your lesson, you need to think about what level the students are at and how well your lesson fits into what they already know and what they need to know. When you begin teaching it can be quite difficult to know what students are likely to comprehend at each level and few EFL teachers follow the same students from beginner to advanced level. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shorena B. Beginner-level students aren't necessarily children. Many people discover a need or desire to study English later in life. Students at beginner level can't speak or write accurately in the present simple and present continuous tenses. Those who know some words in English...  [Read more]

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Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Each of us has our own story to tell especially with the different experiences that we have with the different people, classes, and countries we have been to teach. In this blog post, I am discussing some of the topics related to my personal teaching experience, including teaching classes containing a wide variety of ages. It will also touch on teaching styles, roles of the teacher in the classroom and how I motivate students to make the learning more fun and engaging. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Arlene T. Teaching classes of a wide variety of ages is quite challenging and exciting at the same time. Challenging in a way that I have to be more creative in executing my lessons so that...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What does it mean to learn a language? Generally, when we talk about learning a language, we mean a process that starts with a person not knowing a language but ends up knowing it, regardless of the number of languages a person might already know. Of course, this is an overly simplified definition, but it gives us a decent starting point. So why are our experiences and the mental image of acquiring our first language so different from one of learning a foreign language? In this essay, I will consider the perceived difference between first and second language acquisition. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eszter E. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When it comes to an ESL (English Second Language) class, the first thing we should remember is that non-native speakers are normally deprived of the level of confidence they need to fulfill their learning potential in its entirety. This is why it’s important for a teacher to provide them with an appropriate background at a stretch of a lesson, favorable atmosphere and an opportunity to move at their own pace. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Valentina V. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. It goes without saying that not only students, who learn a second language, can be rather short of confidence but they may also feel...  [Read more]

  Now, let's take a look at the present continuous tense. The continuous tense is used to talk about actions in progress at the time of speaking or around the time of speaking. The first thing to notice with the continuous tense is that we must use the verb plus '-ing' form, also known as the present participle. You'll see it in any continuous tense, especially with the present continuous. We have three different forms of this tense. First, we have the subject 'I' used with 'am teaching'. Then, we have 'you', 'we' and 'they are teaching'. Finally, we've got 'he', 'she' 'it is teaching'. The 'am', 'are' and 'is' are forms of the verb 'to be' and here with this tense is used as an auxiliary verb or a helping verb. In order to form negative sentences, we simply add the word 'not'...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas There are many important personal qualities that an English teacher should have. The first I believe is an English teacher should have is great communication skills. As an English teacher, you are communicating with people who want to learn the language. A teacher may not be able to communicate with them through the language they are learning so a teacher must utilize other communication skills to be an effective teacher. Meer states, “If a teacher's communication skills (verbal, nonverbal, and visual, which involve speaking, writing, imagery, body language, and the organization of ideas into understandable structures) are good, they can convey knowledge with better skill and results” (Meer, 2018). With the use of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Young children, even when they are learning their native tongue, learn the words before they learn how to apply them correctly and as a result, children often make mistakes in their grammar, however, even when they do, it is mostly the vocabulary or the order of the words which still provides a degree of context which makes the message they intend to convey understandably and thus susceptible to improvement. It is exactly because of this fact that in this essay, I would like to dive into teaching vocabulary. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Johnny B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. About teaching vocabulary, I could say that...  [Read more]

Karah Musani Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas I started teaching online two years ago. With no training, it was a bumpy start. If there is one thing I want you to take away from this post, it’s this: relax. It gets better. Be ok with not being great when you start. Teaching is a craft. No amount of school can fully prepare you to teach. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t study before you start teaching. Studying can help you be better equipped when you do start. But there is an intuition you have to develop when you begin teaching. You will learn with practice how to connect with your students, how to identify what areas they are struggling with, and how to best teach different concepts. Odds are, your first classes...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A teacher’s personal qualities play a huge role in the success of their students! One of the best things I learned from this course was what makes a good teacher, and what a good teacher needs to be aware of when teaching EFL. Depending on whom you ask or what website you look at, you will get different thoughts and opinions on the qualities an English teacher needs to have. In this essay I am going to talk about the personal traits I believe are the most important and why. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sarah R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The central quality of an English teacher is that they care about their...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are about 6500 spoken languages in the world today. 11 of those are here from my home country of South Africa. The most spoken language of them all is Mandarin. Language is what defines us. It is what divides us. It what we are taught and brought up to understand and one day pass on to the next generation. It is like being a unicorn. When there are none left, you will only read about it in books and professors who learned and studied about it. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jacq-Pierre B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. But as time went on, people started to migrate to other parts of the world and taking their language...  [Read more]

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Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This paper will discuss the benefits of teaching slangs and idioms to students learning English as a second language. It posits that both are necessary to fully use and understand the language, and will look at when it would be appropriate to introduce them to different types of students and how they might be incorporated into lessons. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Niall M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Both slang and idioms are natural parts of the English language; however, textbooks are usually lacking in them, due the fact that they cannot be updated quickly enough to keep up with the change of language or because it...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Creating a positive, healthy relationship with students might not be first on the list in people’s minds when they thinking of “Teaching 101.” However, establishing rapport with students is crucial for achieving learning success in the classroom. Students who are learning the English language may be apprehensive to try (and sometimes fail) to speak in front of their peers or to express their ideas in new ways. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Samantha A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The importance of practicing grammatical structures and fluency to be able to communicate with people in English is a large part of...  [Read more]