Ita Group Careers

  The first group of students we are looking at in this series are the beginners. It is important to understand that beginners can be of any age. This is why we break this category down into the following sub-categories: absolute beginners, false beginners, adult beginners, young beginners and beginners without the Roman alphabet. Find out more about this type of student group in this video. 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. The unit was an easy ready,...  [Read more]

An understanding of the concept of group dynamics provides valuable insight into the processes involved in a successful group lesson. This awareness can assist the TEFL teacher in identifying what stage the group is up to and the direction it is taking, ultimately enhancing the cohesiveness of the group and the learning experiences achieved.One of the most well-known and widely used theories of group dynamics is Tuckman’s (1965) four-stage model of the “Group Cycle”. This represents a sequence of processes that are not necessarily in order, but which are linked to and determined by each other, and seem to be readily observable in groups. The stages of “forming”, “storming”, “norming”, and “performing” are identified by...  [Read more]

Humans have worked in groups since the beginnings of civilisation however it is only in the last century that research has focused on the dynamics that occur in group encounters and a deeper understanding of the way individuals behave in a group setting has emerged.The term group dynamics implies that individual behaviours may differ depending on an individuals current prospective connections to a sociological group (wikipedia.org, 2006). The effect of group dynamics on task performance can vary in either a positive or a negative manner depending upon the disparity of group members, the cohesion towards mutual objectives and the control exercised by the group leader and accepted by individual members. Cunningham, (2000) contends that the greater the in-group identity the greater the...  [Read more]

There are many different paths on the road to becoming a teacher. As a college student in the United States it seemed there was only one: get certified in your state and start teaching. However, as I explored the idea of teaching internationally I found that as many teachers as there are, there are almost that many different paths to becoming, and developing your career as, a teacher.There are a few ways to become a certified teacher in the United States. Someone looking to be a teacher can get certified in college with only one year of student teaching after graduation, or she can enroll in a post-graduate masters program at a university. Either way, extra work beyond a simple undergraduate degree is necessary. In order to teach in the International School community, a teaching...  [Read more]

Teaching students in groups is very common in most classrooms. If the group is fifteen or forty they still have the same needs and problems that all students have. Teaching groups is a very large topic so this essay will concentrate on a few certain topics that will be based on research and the experiences that I have encountered while teaching English to large groups. I will concentrate on three areas the first is using choral repetition as to encourage students to use English. The second will be concentrating on using group work to help all students to contribute to the class and the last is limiting the use of the native tongue while doing group work.Some students do not have the confidence to participate in class, due to many reasons, so Choral repetition helps to produce student...  [Read more]

An understanding of the concept of group dynamics provides valuable insight into the processes involved in a successful group lesson. This awareness can assist the TEFL teacher in identifying what stage the group is up to and the direction it is taking, ultimately enhancing the cohesiveness of the group and the learning experiences achieved. One of the most well-known and widely used theories of group dynamics is Tuckman?s (1965) four-stage model of the ?Group Cycle?. This represents a sequence of processes that are not necessarily in order, but which are linked to and determined by each other, and seem to be readily observable in groups. The stages of ?forming?, ?storming?, ?norming?, and ?performing? are identified by Tuckman and an additional stage of ?mourning? / ?sojourning? was...  [Read more]

Hong Kong’s and Macau’s pre-eminent English educational institution Headstart Group Ltd. is Hong Kong’s and Macau’s pre-eminent English educational institution. We are dynamic, driven and a market leader in the industry. We provide bespoke English curriculum development, in-class and after-school English programmes, UK study tours, teacher training and native-speaking English teacher (NET) recruitment services for our clients. We serve more than 270 schools and universities, and are well-known for our superior quality of services all round.  [Read more]

Humans have worked in groups since the beginnings of civilisation however it is only in the last century that research has focused on the dynamics that occur in group encounters and a deeper understanding of the way individuals behave in a group setting has emerged. The term group dynamics implies that individual behaviours may differ depending on an individuals current prospective connections to a sociological group (wikipedia.org, 2006). The effect of group dynamics on task performance can vary in either a positive or a negative manner depending upon the disparity of group members, the cohesion towards mutual objectives and the control exercised by the group leader and accepted by individual members. Cunningham, (2000) contends that the greater the in-group identity the greater the...  [Read more]

Anyone who is thinking about teaching English abroad has most likely received a response along the lines of "Oh, how fun, but what will you do when you get back?" Some people believe that teaching English as a foreign language is not a "real job" but rather something that people do to pay off student debt or simply for fun before settling down into a "normal" job and lifestyle. Many people decide to teach English abroad for these reasons, but there are also many who have made a successful and lucrative career out of it. Yes, you can pursue a long-term career as an EFL teacher. For the vast majority of people who travel abroad to teach English, it all begins with a simple desire to see some of the world while earning some money. After a while, many people realize that they enjoy and are...  [Read more]

Anyone who has considered teaching English abroad has probably had a reaction from a friend or family member along the lines of “that sounds like fun, but what will you do when you get back?” In some quarters, teaching English as a foreign language has the reputation of not being a ‘real job’, just something that people do to pay off student loans or simply for fun and adventure before settling down into a normal job and lifestyle. There are many people who do choose teaching abroad for these reasons, but there are also plenty who have made a successful and lucrative career out of TEFL. YES, you absolutely can have a long-term career as an EFL teacher. For the majority of people who head overseas to teach English, it all starts with a small idea to see a bit of the world while...  [Read more]

There are many different paths on the road to becoming a teacher. As a college student in the United States it seemed there was only one: get certified in your state and start teaching. However, as I explored the idea of teaching internationally I found that as many teachers as there are, there are almost that many different paths to becoming, and developing your career as, a teacher. There are a few ways to become a certified teacher in the United States. Someone looking to be a teacher can get certified in college with only one year of student teaching after graduation, or she can enroll in a post-graduate masters program at a university. Either way, extra work beyond a simple undergraduate degree is necessary. In order to teach in the International School community, a teaching...  [Read more]

  There are many different types of groups of students that you will encounter when teaching English as a foreign language. This video introduces you to the five different types of student groups. 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 identified how to effectively use verbal and non-verbal communication in a classroom setting. It also recognized different student grouping (with its advantages and disadvantages) and classroom arrangement suitable...  [Read more]

  Within the teaching of ESL throughout the world, there is a whole spectrum of the types of groups that you may be involved in. It's worth breaking those types of groups down to have a look at some of the more specific things we need to do when we're teaching those groups - and this is what this video focuses on. 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 feel that I have learned to understand more than just to help and move on. Children needs more...  [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 good teacher is...  [Read more]

There are two broad categories of situations in which non-native English speakers may learn English. Multi-lingual classes are with students from various nationalities normally in a country where English is the native language. This may be considered as teaching 'English as a Second Language (ESL). Monolingual classes are usually in the students' home country and this context is 'English as a Foreign Language' (EFL). In multi-lingual classes the students are living in an English speaking country and are exposed to the language, either for a limited period of time or permanently. In class they must use English to communicate even if there are some other students with the same native language (L1). The teacher will probably ask them to sit separately, and even if he/she speaks their native...  [Read more]

Teaching students in groups is very common in most classrooms. If the group is fifteen or forty they still have the same needs and problems that all students have. Teaching groups is a very large topic so this essay will concentrate on a few certain topics that will be based on research and the experiences that I have encountered while teaching English to large groups. I will concentrate on three areas the first is using choral repetition as to encourage students to use English. The second will be concentrating on using group work to help all students to contribute to the class and the last is limiting the use of the native tongue while doing group work. Some students do not have the confidence to participate in class, due to many reasons, so Choral repetition helps to produce student...  [Read more]

There are two broad categories of situations in which non-native English speakers may learn English. Multi-lingual classes are with students from various nationalities normally in a country where English is the native language. This may be considered as teaching ?English as a Second Language (ESL). Monolingual classes are usually in the students? home country and this context is ?English as a Foreign Language? (EFL). In multi-lingual classes the students are living in an English speaking country and are exposed to the language, either for a limited period of time or permanently. In class they must use English to communicate even if there are some other students with the same native language (L1). The teacher will probably ask them to sit separately, and even if he/she speaks their native...  [Read more]

  The next category we are looking at in our series on teaching special groups in ESL are individuals. Teaching individuals, or one-to-one, forms a large part of the ESL market. Find out the positives, negatives and tips in this video. 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 this unit, I learned about developing good rapport between myself and the students in the classroom. This is very important because it will indicate how the lesson will flow and how the...  [Read more]

  Our next consideration is going to be how we actually group our students. There are perhaps three types of grouping arrangements that we can consider and within those we'll have a look at the potential positive and negatives of those particular arrangements. So firstly, what arrangements can we use? We could arrange our group as a whole class so all of their activities will be done as a whole class. They could be working as individuals and the final grouping arrangement we'll consider is that of small groups or indeed the use of pair work. So for each of these types of arrangements what are the potential positive and negatives with that type of arrangement? For the whole class certainly one of the main positive features is that it gives that class a sense of belonging. Secondly...  [Read more]

  Our next category in our series of teaching special groups in ESL is English for specific purposes. This video focuses specifically on teaching business English. How is business Enligsh different to general English? Will you be able to teach business English? Find out in this video. 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 Two focused on the grammatical aspects of speech. It is clear that grammar will be one of the toughest topics to teach, in my...  [Read more]

  The next category we are looking at in our series on teaching special groups in ESL are young learners. We consider students aged 2 to 16 young learners. Find out the positives, negatives and tips when teaching young learners in this video. 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, Troubleshooting, was focus on some of the most common problem situations that teachers can encounter in the classroom and also suggest ways of dealing with them. In fact,...  [Read more]

In the words of one-to-one pioneer, Peter Wilberg, ´One-to-one teaching is different´. http://www.oxfordtefl.com/teacher_development_courses/certificate_one _to_one_teaching(Teaching one to one: Mark Powell, oxford TEFL.) Most TEFL courses and language schools are geared towards teaching students in groups, so many teachers find it difficult to adapt there skills to one to one teaching. Many, perhaps most, of the personal and pedagogical skills we have developed as language teachers relate almost exclusively to working with groups. It has been suggested that most students prefer one to one teaching as opposed to being taught as a group. For teachers it can prove very challenging, as expectations tend to be high from the students view point, students and...  [Read more]

  Yuliia from Ukraine had been working as a lawyer before deciding to change careers and become an English teacher. In this TEFL review video, Yuliia tells us that she learnt a great deal of new information about English teaching from her course. She plans to use her certificate to teach English as a foreign language 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. In this chapter, the focus was getting the reader more involved with the equipment the teacher...  [Read more]

  In this ITTT TESOL review video a group of students discuss their experiences during their TESOL/TEFL course in Corinth, Greece. They outline some of the components of the course including the teaching practice that the course provides. ITTT's Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification qualifies you to teach English overseas. Having your TEFL certification is a first step to exploring countries and new destinations around the world, experiencing new cultures and being paid for the experience. 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...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video another group of trainees share their experiences during the TEFL/TESOL four-week in-class course in Corinth, Greece. They talk about the challenging and rewarding aspects of the course. ITTT's in-class course covers grammar, phonology, teaching methodologies, and lesson preparation techniques. You will also be given the opportunity to teach real students. Our course will give you the confidence to stand up in front of a class of students, we will also teach you how to plan lessons and help you to create and select activities and teaching materials that will make your lessons interesting and productive. 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...  [Read more]

Nowadays, we live in a communicative society where people need to have many skills in order to become part of society and to integrate in it successfully. People need to know how to work as a team, since part of the requirements for many jobs is the ability to work together and share ideas. Cooperative learning is one of the major strategies of introducing these communicative skills to pupils of every level. The combination of cooperative learning, task-based learning, and the use of authentic materials can promote communication skills, where one of them is speaking. All of these components are widely used around the world with a tremendous success in EFL classes. Review of Literature Cooperative LearningVarious names have been given to the cooperative learning method of teaching and...  [Read more]

At ittt we are dedicated to providing all the support you need throughout your TEFL career. We are always available to offer advice on everything from which course to apply for, right through to the application process for the jobs of your choice. Our support services are available for as long as you need us, even after you have completed your certification. Once you have earned your TEFL certificate and find yourself teaching in your own classroom, we will still be available for support and advice wherever you are in the world. You can contact us at any time for help on any subject, including practical assistance with things such as lesson plans and job contracts etc. As practicing teachers ourselves we are well aware of how intimidating your first job in an unfamiliar country can be....  [Read more]

  In this TESOL review a group of international students describe their experience during their four week TESOL/TEFL course in Corinth, Greece. Having a TEFL/TESOL credential is a means of combining work and travel. Our intensive in-class TEFL certification courses last for four weeks in a variety of exciting locations around the world, and have a very practical emphasis. 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 19 focuses on teaching special groups. The...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video a group of international TEFL students share their experiences during the four week TESOL/TEFL course in Corinth, Greece. ITTT's four week in-class courses are intensive but you will still have sufficient time to explore the local area, meet lots of new people and experience the local culture. 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. What I liked about this unit is that it talked about the use of media in the lesson. Film and music...  [Read more]

It is certainly possible to travel overseas and work as an English language teacher if you have children. However, there are several things to consider before deciding whether it is the right option for you and your family. Wherever you are in the world raising children can be an expensive proposition, so before you head off to teach English abroad you need to be sure that it is financially viable. As pay levels vary greatly from one region to the next, where you plan to teach is one of the most important decisions you will have to make. Europe and Latin America are both very popular destinations for ESL teachers, but it is not easy to earn enough to support more than one person in these regions. In contrast, across Asia there are several countries such as China, South Korea, Taiwan and...  [Read more]