How To Be An English Teacher

  In this TESOL review, Ben from South Africa talks about his experience of taking an online TESOL course with ITTT and how he is looking forward to starting his teaching career overseas now he is a qualified English teacher. Earning a TESOL qualification with ITTT gives you the opportunity to see the world while also earning a living. 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 was about four tenses: past simple, past continuous, past perfect,...  [Read more]

General educational psychologists believe there are three main sources of motivation for students, and these directly apply to students of the English language. First, a student’s personal, natural interest in a subject, called “intrinsic satisfaction,” influences their natural affinity for learning more about the materials covered in a class. Second, the teacher’s perceived expertise, the prestige of the school, and/or the future impact on employment prospects, called “extrinsic reward,” defines for the student how much he/she is likely to benefit from learning English. Finally, when students are successful in a given task – whether this be a simple activity, a test or the overall course – they combine satisfaction with reward...  [Read more]

Teachers play an important role in today?s society, as they work hard to train the minds of the future. How can we know as parents and even teachers whether or not the needed skills are being developed? With almost any job or career that one would embark on, a level of training and observation is needed. Even jobs that a student may take during a summer break from school require some level of training and observation. The observation of ones teaching practice and skills as a teacher are equally if not more crucial. Even though the benefits seem to be obvious there is also a dark side to the practice of observing other teachers. Peer observation may be used by an institution as part of its quality assurance procedures. In this model, teachers are asked to ...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accelerated TEFL Course and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: Z.H. China said: During my study in new zealand, I benefit a lot not only from the course, but online tutor as well as the teachers in excel college. From this course, I have learned various teaching methods and techniques such as ESA, boomerang and patchwork. I have also learned how to prepare and plan a lesson effectively. I have learned it is important to be respectful to students and attitude and manners are equally important in a teacher?s job. I?ll try to be a creative teacher and keep...  [Read more]

I have had the opportunity to order all material to be used by our school for the last 6 years. During this time I have been astonished to see how many different resources are available for the teacher.While it has been a valuable aid for new, inexperienced teachers I found that other more experienced teachers preferred their own material to all the resources available. Most experienced teachers commented that if they only use material supplied by the publisher, their individual teaching skills were taken away. This has presented a problem where management expected teachers to teach according to the prescribed material and use resources presented to them.However, I feel that although all this material is available and the teacher basically does not have...  [Read more]

  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. Unit 20: Troubleshooting: This is the final topic of the entire course which discussed how to troubleshoot/correct common problem situations that most of the teachers if not all may encounter in the classroom and how to deal with them. As an English Teacher to small children in a country where English is extremely difficult for them, this course is a big help to strengthen my experience and strategies to teach...  [Read more]

What does Teacher Career Development and completing a TEFL course have in common' Me. I am an elementary school teacher who wanted to develop her career by learning how to teach English overseas. In signing up for this course, my goal was to obtain a certificate and go teach abroad. I had not planned on having a course book of English grammar that I could use in my 5th grade classroom. Without thinking about it I was able to develop my skills as a Language Arts teacher, as well as gain confidence in a subject I was not very familiar with. I found myself developing as an educator and completing the TEFL course all at the same time.In Unit 1 of the online TEFL course, it talked about what makes a good teacher and their roles. 'A good teacher should really love teaching. A...  [Read more]

A balanced approach to using a combination of created and authentic materials can be beneficial to both the students and the teacher in an ESL classroom.Created materials can be either a previously published course text or something the teacher has specifically created to supplement a lesson. Often students will expect some published materials such as a course book and view it as a form of security as well as a way to gauge their progress, i.e. how many chapters of the book they have completed. Published course materials have generally been tried and tested before release and thus are graded to a level suitable for the students and contain a balanced mix of vocabulary, grammar and skills exercises. As well, they can be very useful in pointing out certain structures or language...  [Read more]

'Why should I take a TEFL course' I love children and I love teaching. isn't that enough' It's quite possible that I'm not the only person that ever entertained such thoughts, and even now I look back and shake my head. Yes indeed, a love for the people and teaching are absolutely necessary in order to be a truly successful teacher, but as I have realized, there is so much I would have been sadly unprepared for if I had gone into it without the TEFL training! Being a good teacher involves really knowing your material, and the students will be able to sense if teachers aren't really secure in their knowledge. It will also convey the thought that maybe the teacher doesn't care enough about what they''re doing to put serious effort into learning it first themselves. I'll just...  [Read more]

Although it is theoretically possible to teach the English language without any form of training or qualifications, something that was quite common in years gone by, it is now almost universally accepted that the ability to speak a language has little bearing on an individual’s ability to teach it effectively to others. This change of attitude among school directors and education departments has led to the development of TEFL certification courses that are designed to give native and non-native English speakers the skills and knowledge they require to provide effective language instruction to their future students. So what does a TEFL course actually teach you? The mere mention of English grammar is often enough to strike fear into the hearts of potential EFL teachers. Ask any native...  [Read more]

I am writing about motivation in the classroom, for the purpose of addressing the problem for teachers and to give some strategies that can be used to assist the teacher to overcome the problems.As a novice teacher I can only imagine the nightmare of having a class room full of unmotivated or demotivated students. This in itself is the motivation for me and why I choose this subject to write about. I believe that if the class is motivated the subject will take care of itself.It is believed by some that the student teacher relationship is that of power and that we should concern ourselves with the fostering of learner motivation, as it is considered to be the most effective and proactive, so to speak, power relationship. Of course levels of motivation will vary from student...  [Read more]

BACKGROUNDOne of the major problems that a language teacher faces is how to deal with errors. It is generally agreed that correction is a part of the language learning process; however, over-correction can be a factor in demotivating students and making them reluctant to use and/or continue studying the language being learned. Therefore, the issue of how and when to correct is a very critical issue for teachers of a foreign language.ACCURACY ACTIVITIESWhen the aim of the lesson is accuracy, errors are usually corrected immediately. Attention to mistakes during this part of the lesson improves the chances of accuracy during the fluency stage (Mumford and Darn 2005). One way to indicate incorrectness is to ask the student to repeat what he/she has said. Another way to indicate ...  [Read more]

  The idiom "all ears" means that someone is very keen to hear what you have to say and you have his/her full attention. For example: Why are you crying? Tell me, I'm all ears. In this case, the person asking really wants to know the reason for the other person to be upset and crying. 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. Teaching modal auxiliary verbs, the passive voice, relative clauses and especially phrasal verbs may be quite a challenge for a...  [Read more]

General educational psychologists believe there are three main sources of motivation for students, and these directly apply to students of the English language. First, a student?s personal, natural interest in a subject, called ?intrinsic satisfaction,? influences their natural affinity for learning more about the materials covered in a class. Second, the teacher?s perceived expertise, the prestige of the school, and/or the future impact on employment prospects, called ?extrinsic reward,? defines for the student how much he/she is likely to benefit from learning English. Finally, when students are successful in a given task ? whether this be a simple activity, a test or the overall course ? they combine satisfaction with reward and are likely to be more motivated to ...  [Read more]

  In this ITTT TESOL review two students from America describe their experience during their TESOL/TEFL course in Corinth, Greece. They describe how the course has given them the skills and confidence to begin their careers as language teachers. ITTT's courses include 120 hours of professional training given by our highly qualified and experienced trainers who are all committed to providing the best possible tuition. During the course trainees are given 6 to 10 hours of observed teaching practice with real 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 that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured...  [Read more]

  The idiom "cold shoulder" means treating someone with coldness or ignoring someone. Our example is as follows: Anna is giving me the cold shoulder. She must be angry at me. 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. In the first unit of the course, I feel I have learned just how crucial the student-teacher relationship is in teaching a foreign language. When a teacher forms this healthy relationship with a student, it is easier to cater lessons to a...  [Read more]

It would be nice to think that an ESL teacher could enter the classroom with a friendly smile, the appropriate warmer and a well- planned lesson, and the result would be a room full of students progressing continually in their language skills. However, with a task as great as learning English as a second language, the experience is rarely that easy. Learning English has its’ own unique difficulties, and it profits the ESL teacher most if these challenges are explored and prepared for before entering the classroom. One such challenge is students with learning disabilities; when it is believed that a student has a learning disability, teachers must consider diagnosis and appropriate teaching methods.It can be hard to make the decision to evaluate students for a learning...  [Read more]

Lesson planning is one of the most important but controversial aspects of teaching. Some teachers and educationist are of the opinion that it is very important to make a detail plan of what they are teaching. They spend hours and hours making a daily or weekly plan. Others are of the opinion that it is simply a method devised by the administration to keep the teachers in lengthy but useless paperwork. I personally think that a good plan is like a good movie or a piece of music. If a good movie or music is made keeping in mind all the important aspects like rhythm , tempo, beat etc it will always hold the attention of the viewer or the listener. In the same way a good, well organized lesson plan will keep the students interested in what they are doing. An ill prepared...  [Read more]

Grammar is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of the English language. It is the study of how the four main forms of a language: text, sentence, word and sound, are arranged to communicate a message accurately. Even though grammar is one of the crucial areas of English, the importance given to teaching it has been of great debate for some time. Some pedagogical theorists and practitioners question the necessity of teaching grammar and argue that English could be taught to non-native English speakers without grammar having to be the focus of a lesson. In 1622, a schoolmaster called Joseph Webbe argued that grammar could be mastered ?by exercise of reading, writing, and speaking?all things belonging to Grammar will without labour,?thrust themselves upon...  [Read more]

Lesson planning is one of the most important but controversial aspects of teaching. Some teachers and educationist are of the opinion that it is very important to make a detail plan of what they are teaching. They spend hours and hours making a daily or weekly plan. Others are of the opinion that it is simply a method devised by the administration to keep the teachers in lengthy but useless paperwork.I personally think that a good plan is like a good movie or a piece of music. If a good movie or music is made keeping in mind all the important aspects like rhythm , tempo, beat etc it will always hold the attention of the viewer or the listener. In the same way a good, well organized lesson plan will keep the students interested in what they are doing. An ill prepared lesson plan...  [Read more]

For the purpose of this article I assume that there is absolutely no difference between TEFL and TESOL, they are both a means of teaching English to people who do not have it as their first language. So why do people think to themselves sitting at home, maybe I will train to be a teacher, but not a regular teacher that we all grew up with at school. But someone who teaches the English language to non English speakers in foreign countries. Well the reasons are varied but almost everyone can identify themselves with at least one. Some realize that the jobs they work in are not quite what they thought they would do growing up. So in search of excitement and something more worthwhile they sign up to TEFL. Others like myself are really gypsies and have a great urge to...  [Read more]

  Mira is from Australia and completed the 120-hour online course without tutor support with ITTT. In this TEFL review she tells us how the flexibility offered by ITTT’s online course meant that Mira was able to complete the course at her own pace, fitting her study time around her busy work schedule. She completed the 20 units within four and a half months. Mira has learned a lot from the course including lesson planning, student assessment, vocabulary and grammar and is looking forward to putting all she has learned to use in the classroom. 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....  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Cambridge Online Celta Courses and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: C.H. - China said: As time goes by, I have spent over five months on taking this course since December last year. Frankly speaking, I really appreciate the TEFL course which offers me lots of beneficial and practical teaching methodology, and this content plays a crucial role in my teaching career. Firstly, it gives me scientific guidance in terms of the teaching theory. To be specific, I become much clear about what roles a teacher needs to play at the different stages of a lesson...  [Read more]

  Kim is living in America and in this TEFL review she discusses the 120-hour online TEFL course with tutor support and videos from ITTT. Kim took the course without any prior teaching experience and was initially worried that she would find the course very difficult to complete. In the end she found the experience to be very enjoyable with plenty of information provided in the online course materials. Kim also found the tutor support and feedback to be helpful and would definitely recommend the course to those planning on teaching English. 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...  [Read more]

  People often confuse "its" and "it's". "Its" can be a possessive pronoun or possessive adjective indicating ownership. "It's" is the contraction of "it is". In the example "It's great to see the dog play with its toys", "it's" at the beginning is a contraction while "its" at the end is a possessive adjective used to express ownership of the toys. 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. In Unit 1, I have learnt about the different types of learners...  [Read more]

Presuming that you have already done a bit of research into teaching English as a foreign language, you will probably already be aware of the basic role of an EFL teacher, i.e, to teach non-native speakers to speak, read, and write in the English language. However, there is a whole lot more to the role of an EFL teacher than simply standing in front of the class and teaching vocabulary and grammar. Your exact role will depend on the individual employer and the environment where you are actually working, but there are several things that will be expected of you in most situations. For many teachers the most time consuming aspect of the job is planning and preparing lessons in advance. While teachers with plenty of experience can often get by with minimal planning as they will have taught...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video trainee Amy talks about her experiences with TEFL in China. Regardless of the course or the course location ITTT offers quality, professional training and you will be given the skills and tools you need to begin your exciting career teaching English abroad. 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. Rapport between the teacher and students (and between the students themselves) plays an important part in determining if a class...  [Read more]

When training to teach English as a foreign language, or any other subject for that matter, at some stage the need arises to examine what exactly it is that makes someone a good teacher. After all, if you do not know the qualities you should possess, how are you to become one? The TEFL International handbook provides a summary of teachers? own suggestions of the characteristics required, and lists personality traits such as patience and kindness, and skills such as the ability to motivate, understand and entertain (1). The handbook uses this list to surmise that a good teacher is one who ?cares about his/her teaching, but cares more about the learning of the students? (2). If the students? needs are therefore the number one priority, then self-analysis on the part of...  [Read more]

When training to teach English as a foreign language, or any other subject for that matter, at some stage the need arises to examine what exactly it is that makes someone a good teacher. After all, if you do not know the qualities you should possess, how are you to become one' The TEFL International handbook provides a summary of teachers' own suggestions of the characteristics required, and lists personality traits such as patience and kindness, and skills such as the ability to motivate, understand and entertain (1). The handbook uses this list to surmise that a good teacher is one who 'cares about his/her teaching, but cares more about the learning of the students' (2). If the students' needs are therefore the number one priority, then self-analysis on the part of the...  [Read more]

Are you looking to start a fulfilling career as an ESL teacher in Toronto? Pursuing a certification in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) can be the perfect first step in achieving your goal. ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training) offers comprehensive courses that can equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the field. In this guide, we will explore how you can become an ESL teacher in Toronto, the benefits of obtaining a TEFL/TESOL certification, and how ITTT can help you achieve your career aspirations. 1. Why Choose a Career as an ESL Teacher in Toronto 2. Benefits of Obtaining a TEFL/TESOL Certification 3. How ITTT Can Help You Become an ESL Teacher 4. Getting Started on Your ESL Teaching...  [Read more]