Beginner Meaning

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word firebrand. This word has two different meanings. The first meaning is quite literal and describes burning wood. The second meaning is rather figurative as it refers to a person who is usually inflicting change as a result of being passionate about a certain topic or cause. 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 has enlightened me about teaching special groups, which include...  [Read more]

Introduction:Listening is the ability to identify and understand spoken language. Listening is a receptive skill. The receptive skills used in language acquisition: listening and reading enable the productive skills: speaking and writing (Saricoban, 1999). Listening is the communication skill used most often in the assimilation of information and the most neglected in foreign language teaching (Norris, 1993). Effective listening is dependent upon the listener's decoding skills, i.e. the listener's ability to make sense of the message. For foreign language learners accurate and intelligent listening is a necessity. A good teacher will enable intelligent listening by enhancing her student's decoding skills.Unlike written and spoken evidence, successful listening is more ...  [Read more]

  The first part of my study phase is going to be the board work and I'm going to use the information that I generated in the elicitation part of my engage phase to move on to the actual board work. What I'm going to do is to show the structure of this particular tense. So, the phase study I'm expecting to take about ten minutes on this particular part and, again, the interaction will mainly be the students talking to me. So, how am I going to achieve that with this information? Well, we could ask the students to have a look at the sentences themselves and to tell us what they can see. If we look at each of the first words in here, then at this level, I should hopefully be able to elicit from my students what each of these words have in common and they may well give an answer that...  [Read more]

I am a ?Purist? at heart. For me the only acceptable, the only correct, the only ?propah? way to speak (and spell) English is as illustrated in the Encyclopedia Britannica ? the British English, so to speak. I have always been a staunch champion of Dr. Doolittle and all the other guardians of the English language. However, being a teacher of the English language, I can no longer turn a blind eye to the ?globalization? of English, which is - ?now a mish-mash of words incorporated from over 350 languages, and is still undergoing constant change, with hundreds of words/phrases coming into existence every year, some fading away, but many finding their way into dictionaries and thesauruses! One can pronounce words in many different ways and still be understood!! The...  [Read more]

What are the challenges and rewards for teaching beginner students' The most difficult challenge is the keep them focused. Each student has different reasons, motivation, and goals when they start to take language lessons. It is very important for the teacher to learn and evaluate the students, so that, they will be placed in the right level of classes and attention that they require to stay focused to what they are learning.Young students come to class because of their friend or parents' choice. Also, their attention does not last for a long period of time. Hence, the teacher must make the lessons fun and interesting to make it effective. Adult students come to the class because they want to; possibly they may want to visit different countries, able to speak the language for...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word caparison. This word refers to decking something out in rich decorative coverings, usually used for horses. This word found its way into the English language through the French word caparasson who took it from the Spanish caparazón meaining ‘saddlecloth'. 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. I remember how much trouble understanding past perfect had caused me before I finally got it. It...  [Read more]

If you have never taught English to complete novices before, the prospect of spending an entire lesson speaking with students who don't comprehend a single word you say may seem frightening. Teaching absolute beginners differs from teaching other courses, as any ESL teacher will tell you. It can be difficult, but it may also be one of the most enjoyable and gratifying language levels to teach. Every new word your students learn is important at this level, and the greatest approach to teaching it is to be as creative and funny as possible. Generally, teaching the letters and numbers should be one of your first priorities. You will lay a solid foundation for everything else your students will learn by teaching them the letters and numbers at the start of the course. Ascertain that your...  [Read more]

I am a 'Purist' at heart. For me the only acceptable, the only correct, the only 'propah' way to speak (and spell) English is as illustrated in the Encyclopedia Britannica ' the British English, so to speak. I have always been a staunch champion of Dr. Doolittle and all the other guardians of the English language.However, being a teacher of the English language, I can no longer turn a blind eye to the 'globalization' of English, which is - 'now a mish-mash of words incorporated from over 350 languages, and is still undergoing constant change, with hundreds of words/phrases coming into existence every year, some fading away, but many finding their way into dictionaries and thesauruses! One can pronounce words in many different ways and still be understood!! The emergence of so ...  [Read more]

Since we expect, D.v., to be in Bangkok, Thailand, from this January to May to teach English it seems quite appropriate to explore some of the challenges that we may encounter. During our previous year in Chiang Mai our Thai landlady came monthly to collect our rent money and always stayed to visit for an hour or so to practice her English. She consistently expressed frustration saying that ?my English has gone back to my teacher.? This probably rather common problem seems to stem from the Thai educational system?s approach to teaching English in the classroom. Typically English is taught from the earliest grade in school along with Thai, classes are often quite large, 30-40 students or so, and the style of instruction is by rote. It is hard to imagine that the ...  [Read more]

Since we expect, D.v., to be in Bangkok, Thailand, from this January to May to teach English it seems quite appropriate to explore some of the challenges that we may encounter.During our previous year in Chiang Mai our Thai landlady came monthly to collect our rent money and always stayed to visit for an hour or so to practice her English. She consistently expressed frustration saying that ‘my English has gone back to my teacher.’ This probably rather common problem seems to stem from the Thai educational system’s approach to teaching English in the classroom. Typically English is taught from the earliest grade in school along with Thai, classes are often quite large, 30-40 students or so, and the style of instruction is by rote. It is hard to imagine that...  [Read more]

Home > Articles I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it... So you've decided you want to teach English as a foreign language... There are many different practices that could be used for good classroom management and as with all techniques these need to be adapted to your own classroom, taking into account the age, culture, and personality of the class as a whole, and of you as a teacher... Classroom management requires a positive relationship between the teacher and the student... I believe that Classroom Management is the key component in any educational setting... I?m sure ?Classroom Management? holds many different meanings for many different people... Classroom management is a teacher?s ability to organize and control ...  [Read more]

If you are bored with the everyday grind and want a new life that is full of travel and adventure, TEFL could be the perfect option for you. First you need to choose the right TEFL course to suit your situation and then work your way through the training. Once you have completed the course and you have your TEFL certificate in hand you will be ready to head overseas to start work as an English language teacher in the country of your choice. These acronyms are used when referring to training courses that English language teachers undertake, as well as the certification they receive upon completion. TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. As these terms are essentially the same, they are often used...  [Read more]