Whiteboard Activities

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Interactive whiteboards have been around since the turn of the millennium. They have been implemented and studied in multiple ESL classrooms, primary schools, and language centers in order to find the best practices. The American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) acknowledges the importance of using technology, such as the interactive whiteboard, to support and enhance classroom-based instructions (Segni & Davidson, 2019). In order for the interactive whiteboard to be used effectively to take advantage of learning opportunities and support children’s learning, it is important to use it skillfully in education. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate William N. Please note...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Unless you are working in some really impoverished regions of the world, the chances are you will have access to some form of classroom technology. This may be as basic as a chalkboard and tape player or as advanced as a class of children with tablets that connect to an interactive whiteboard. In this article I look at some of the most common forms of technology that you are likely to encounter in the TEFL classroom. Interactive whiteboards or IWBs are large touch sensitive boards that can be used both as a traditional whiteboard and a large computer screen. They enable you to connect your computer or the computers of the students to the whiteboard in order to show images, video, access...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This unit focuses on the different uses of teaching equipment and what to take into consideration while choosing the adequate teaching equipment. Of the many named in the lesson, I have selected 3 to discuss in further detail. The whiteboard, the DVD player, and online resources. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these, and for a teacher to have an efficient lesson, it is important to manage these resources. By managing these aids, we can fully use them to improve our classes. 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. As an ESL teacher, the whiteboard is unequivocally necessary...  [Read more]

Hoàng Minh Huy TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Due to the pandemic, distance learning has replaced traditional classroom instruction worldwide. Teachers in Hong Kong are attempting to find ways to instruct their students while at home under quarantine. To help you stay inspired when instructing online, I'm going to share some enjoyable games and activities to play with kids using Zoom in this post. If you've never used Zoom, you must give it a try with your students; you'll be pleasantly surprised. Because students are staying at home in a cozy environment rather than attending actual classes in schools, teaching through an online platform makes it very challenging to manage the class. Therefore, establishing ground rules...  [Read more]

Juan Pedro Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas I remember the first time I sat in front of a computer waiting for my online student to arrive. I had already been teaching in-class for about two years, but this was my debut in the unknown online waters. In the current world, online teaching has gained more popularity due to the pandemic. Yet, a few years ago, when I started with it, online teaching was not so common for me. After over four years of expertise with in-class teaching and over three years in online teaching, I can share some insights about the main differences I have found with you. For me, student participation is one of the most influential differences between in-class and online teaching. When I am teaching in a...  [Read more]

Charlotte Lam Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Due to the pandemic, distance learning has become the new form of teaching all over the words. In Hong Kong, teachers are trying to figure out ways to teach their students while having quarantine at home. In this post, I’m going to share some fun activities and games to play with kids by using Zoom so that you won’t run out of ideas when teaching through an online platform. If you’ve never used Zoom before, you must try it with your students, and it definitely surprises you. Teaching through an online platform makes it very difficult to manage the class because students are staying at home in a comfortable place rather than attending real classes in school. Therefore,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Technologies are constantly evolving and improving. There are literally dozens of new technologies that can be applied to the modern classroom in 2019 that have not yet made their way into mainstream usage. New tech changes the way subjects are taught, how students learn and the way teachers and students communicate with each other. Everything from new types of interactive whiteboards, classroom response systems, use of social media, tablet computers and classroom websites to the more exotic and potentially cost-prohibitive techs such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality(VR) or even holographic projectors are commercially available for use in the classroom. Students in ancient Babylonia and Sumeria...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The capacity for learning is present in people of any age and the desire for education and knowledge should be nurtured and celebrated to the best ability of not only the student but the educator as well. Because education is something that people seek out for the duration of their lives, the role and processes of an educator are incredibly diverse and are many times determined by the specific educational situation. One of the biggest determinations of the teaching processes and style arises when one considers the age of her students. Though a teacher may use songs and games when teaching children, her approach to teaching adults would be very different. Young learners acquire information in different ways than...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Computers are becoming more and more common in the classroom. While they should not be relied upon as the main or sole source of teaching, they can be very helpful for students and teachers in the classroom. One of the complaints about Computer-aided language learning (CALL) is that computers can be costly and it requires many of them to teach, but that does not have to be the case. In fact, computers can be cost-effective in that almost all other teaching equipment and their features can be used on one or a few computers. Part I of this essay will discuss the advantages CALL has over other forms of technology. Part II will discuss the useful activities and applications of CALL in the classroom. This post was...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching aids have become fundamental for teachers in all types of classrooms. These aids serve in honing the students’ reading skills and comprehension, keeping the class from becoming boring for the student, and presenting material in practical ways that can be applied in everyday activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Katrina K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Being organized plays a big role in teaching, no matter what the subject is. Part of being organized is knowing how to use your resources. The teacher may have a dozen wonderful teaching aids, but if the teacher doesn’t know where they are, or must spend...  [Read more]

1. Introduction to Web-based Tools 2. Benefits of Web-based Tools for TESL Educators 3. Popular Web-based Tools for TESL Educators 4. How ITTT Can Enhance Your TESL Experience In today's digital age, web-based tools have become indispensable for TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) educators. These tools offer a wide range of resources and functionalities that can enhance the teaching and learning experience for both teachers and students. Whether you are a seasoned TESL professional or just starting out in the field, incorporating web-based tools into your teaching practice can greatly benefit you and your students. The use of web-based tools in TESL education comes with numerous advantages. Firstly, these tools provide access to a wealth of teaching materials, resources, and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Classroom management deals with role flexibility, organizing and maintaining discipline. The student’s confidence and learning effectiveness will depend on the teacher’s classroom management skills. The teacher must know when it is time to be firm or when to leave students alone. The level of firmness depends on the age of the students. Overall, it is best to keep a controlled environment at the beginning then tail it off with a relaxed environment especially with kids or younger learners. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Victoria G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the disciplinary methods of classroom management is...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The importance of a pre-planned lesson cannot be understated, having a plan is paramount to the success of the lesson and to achieve the desired teaching point in a structured way. Lesson plans act as a guide within a lesson so it should not be too complex in nature but should have enough detail to direct the teacher on the sequence and timing of the lesson. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gerard L. Depending on the experience of the teacher, it may be more heavily relied upon with a newly qualified teacher who is still finding their feet in the classroom, whereas a more experienced teacher is more likely to review it now and then. Although the lesson plan is a guide to the lesson it...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas For nearly a year, I have taught four to six-year-olds residing in the outskirts of Beijing. My students do not sit at desks. They instead sit side-by-side on a line of chairs, all of which face an interactive whiteboard complete with pre-designed flipcharts. As my students are still learning essential words for everyday English use, drills and flashcards are crucial within our lessons. However, drilling can quickly lose a young learner's interest. To remedy the monotony, I have used the following five activities: One-Step, Monster, Bomb; Hopscotch; Fly Swat Race; Tic-Tac-Toe; and Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament. Each game proved to be an...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Speaking activities are essential for English learning as they give a chance to learn new linguistic points, including grammar and real-life listening skills. Unfortunately, teachers often omit communicative tasks in the classroom because they feel that it is difficult to manage them. There is also a lack of time to practice speaking; many course books provide ESL speaking activities only at the end of a unit. The educational system requires reading and writing skills to succeed in tests, so the value of communicative speaking is often underestimated. In this blog post, we offer you 5 engaging ESL speaking activities for English learners to enhance their communication skills....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas During the lessons, teachers usually use a variety of materials and teaching aids. One of the most common is flashcards. They have so many benefits: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Oksana K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Flashcards can be used both for learning new vocabulary and for revision. Here are some of the activities with flashcards that I use working with children starting from 3 to 9 years old, mostly beginners. These activities can be changed a little and transformed into activities for older children. After the new flashcards were...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As technological advances are made in the world the ways to teach English and the resources available to us expand in the classroom setting; from computers, laptops, and interactive websites to cameras, projectors, and even robots that understand spoken language. As introduced in the TEFL course, in particular, unit 17: equipment and teaching aids, there are many pieces of technology we can utilize in the classroom to make learning more interesting and motivate students or simply aid teachers in presenting listening and speaking material. As suggested in research conducted by Mistler - Jackson and Butler Songer (2000), students learning science using a technology involved course resulted in highly motivated...  [Read more]

Anastasiya Akpinar TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The Covid-19 pandemic began all of sudden and covered the world with silent panic and frustration. Quarantine rules provided by governments influenced all social spheres of life, including education. Schools were closed, and the teaching process was stopped. A solution was quickly found: universities, schools, and even pre-schools started giving lessons online. Most of them use the same application for online studying – ZOOM. Why, among so many other video-communication applications, do most of us choose Zoom for teaching? Let's have a quick summary of the tool. The Zoom application was designed for online business meetings and...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The following activities may be adapted for use as warmers, engage activities, structured practice or free practice style activities. They may also be adapted for level and age. The first one is really simple but can be one of the best activities to improve grammar. Some students even at the higher levels are lacking automatic habits, which are really important for grammatical skill. Basically this activity is a grammar drill and it is supposed to be used as a warmer or as an ice-breaker activity. The main objective is to help your students automate some grammatical skills. An example would be to use this activity to practice different forms of verbs, for example ‘do’ versus...  [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]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When a class is managed well, there is a minimum of disruptions that distract from learning. This is more of an issue in a class for children, as opposed to adults. Nevertheless, in all classes, maintaining the comportment of the group to facilitate learning is the objective of sound classroom management techniques. Furthermore, it is also important to develop cordial and friendly relations with learners on an individual basis, and with the class as a whole. Having a rapport with students, and creating a classroom community that is based on shared rules and norms that are understood and reasonable for everybody, is an essential part of classroom management. When accomplished, this creates a classroom culture that...  [Read more]

Kavinna Batra Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Technology is something that is coming strong! Teachers need to incorporate technology besides from online resources. Teachers can use trusted online resources and different applications to keep students more engaged and to enhance the traditional ways of teaching. Online assessments, grading software, and virtual lesson plans can help teachers save a lot of time. There is a range of tools that can be used in a classroom to support student learning, ranging from traditional to high-tech options. For instance, index cards, posters, whiteboard, audience response systems (e.g. clicker technology), 3D printing, Google collaboration tools, and wikis. Instructors have become experts...  [Read more]

  Using games in your lessons is a great way to liven up the class and get students excited and interested in using English in the classroom. Not only do they provide a welcome break from the usual activities, they also help to create a relaxed environment where even the most reluctant student can be persuaded to take part. There are many games that can be used in the TEFL classroom, from simple games that only require a pen and a whiteboard to more elaborate board games. There are some games that have been specifically designed to be used in English language classes, while other, everyday games that we usually play for fun can also be adapted to be used with your students. You can even create your own games! Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas As a student, there were many different kinds of ways my own teachers helped me understand difficult subjects. These teaching methods helped me then tutor and mentor young children and adults and I will also pass them on to my future students in Asia. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nikolai S. Bringing dull academic concepts to life using visual and practical learning experiences helps students understand how their schooling applies to the real-world. Examples include using an interactive whiteboard to display photos, audio clips and videos, as well as encouraging your students to get out of their seats with classroom experiments and local field trips....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Young learners and adults have different needs and goals in the classroom. Young learners want to be engaged and have rapidly changing activities while adult learners will enjoy a more serious classroom setting. It is the job of the teacher to ensure that these needs are met for both age groups. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Preston M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If a teacher is teaching classes with young learners, visual cues are very important. Many young learners are not able to read at all or can read very little, so young learners need to be using material that is picture based. When the teacher is preparing...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are many reasons why classroom management skill sets are really important for the basics of teaching generally. It effectively helps build a great classroom atmosphere for everyone in it as well as create rapport between the teacher and the student. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Amelie R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Few of the most important skills the teacher needs to acquire are the special details towards their eye contact, gesture, and the voice, as it is can determine the outcome of the class. It is essential for the teacher to always have good eye contact technique which will help in a number of ways...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences “Why do I have to take a TEFL course?” I asked this question when my daughter suggested to me to enroll in this course. Having decided to say goodbye to my current job as an international homeroom teacher, I am now embarking on a new journey of applying abroad for a teaching position at an international school. Thanks to the Americans who defeated our Spanish colonizers way back the 19th century, they brought their educational system to the Philippines. Ever since I started school, I have been taught the American way using the English language as the medium of instruction. However, even if I am learned in English, I have to get a TEFL course to prove my competence in the English language. So here we are....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A TEFL course isn’t a must to teach English, but it has its benefits. Today many schools require English teachers to have TEFL certificates, especially in China and other Asian countries. Online TEFL course has twenty units, each one of them teaches about different topics and allows the examinee to improve their teaching skills. The first unit explains what makes a good teacher and how a good teacher should behave in the classroom. It also explains what makes a good learner and what the teachers can do to help those students who have difficulties. A teacher has different roles during the lesson, sometimes he has to take control and lead the lesson, sometimes he has to organize the class for certain...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teachers often need to spend a considerable amount of time planning and preparing lessons when there is a new study program. The task is exciting, yet somewhat overwhelming, for a new teacher responsible for a completely new course. Experienced teachers often re-use materials from their previous courses, but even they require regular overhauls and updates. Firstly, one has to select and find content to support the coursebook or course materials. Secondly, one has to assess the facilities and classroom equipment to find out what is the best way to use, deliver, and present the supporting materials to the students. These materials can be visual objects, audiovisual files, sound files, paper-based materials, computer...  [Read more]