Online Grammar Courses

  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. Phonetic is the most tough, different ways of using it is been explained.Its a good way in teaching an individual sounds and it can be fun both to teachers and students. Pronunciation is a must and it is been very nicely explained in this chapter.Most pronunciation a a result tends to concentrate on individual sounds it is also an integral part of teaching. Intonation carries a message in the sentence. it depends on...  [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 6 covers past verb tenses, and I learned the past simple, past continuous, past perfect, and past perfect continuous tenses. Each form and its affirmative, negative, and question variants are covered along with proper uses and common student errors. After learning about the past tenses, I feel I have a better understanding of present tenses and why students are so susceptible to making mistakes with verb tense in...  [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. This topic deals with areas of STRESS, RYTHM, INTONATION and the International Phonetic Alphabet. This unit has provide much insights on the linguistics aspect that we have taken for granted or learnt subconsciously from our environment. I know them but I would not be able to teach nor explain them to a non-native speaker. Every part of this unit is difficult and much time has been needed to digest the content. Not...  [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. I have learned more of a breakdown of the different roles that teachers play. I also learned some of the differences between adult and younger learners. I have begun to be aware of some cultural differences and differences in teaching styles for learners of different experience levels. This has helped me develop a mental framework for how to teach learners of various backgrounds, ages, and experience levels. I can also...  [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 14, Course Book and lesson Material was a very interesting and useful unit. This unit conveyed many different ideas for lesson planning and activities. After reading this unit I learned that authentic and created materials can be very useful in the classroom. For example, the students will find the lessons more meaningful and relevant. Of course, planning accordingly will help the students gain confidence and keep...  [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. This unit shows the actual teaching demonstration. Proper and not proper approach in executing the lesson is depicted in the videos. It clearly shows the do's and don'ts on teaching approach. It gives us ideas on how is the proper execution of lessons on such a kind of students. As a teacher I gained some ideas in teaching strategies employed by the demo teacher. I have noticed that ESA procedure is clearly followed...  [Read more]

Teaching grammar can be one of the most frustrating aspects of an English teacher’s job description. Teaching grammar can be divided into two categories, declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge can be summed up as knowledge about a thing such as the rules of grammar whereas procedural knowledge is being able to apply the knowledge to communicate effectively. To illustrate the difference declarative knowledge would be being able to understand the instruction manual on how to assemble a bicycle where as procedural knowledge would be what you demonstrate when you actually put the bicycle together. Being good at one does not necessarily make one good at the other. Many of us native English speakers can use our native tongue correctly but can not explain...  [Read more]

'A recent study suggests that teaching grammar to schoolchildren has no discernible effect on their writing skills, so why should it be of any more use in the ELT classroom'' asks Luke Meddings in an article on Friday February 4, 2005 in the Guardian Unlimited.Following a research project funded by the Department for Education in the UK reviewing 100 years of research into grammar teaching, a report was published on 19th January 2005 concluding that teaching grammar does not help young pupils either write more fluently or more accurately. Luke Meddings makes the point that, if this is the case, teaching grammar is likely to be no more useful for second- language learners than for first language learners.It seems to me that the conclusion drawn about teaching grammar and its lack of effect...  [Read more]

There are many different methods to teach grammar, but this essay will present the three that might be the most effective in retaining student interest. 1.Situational Presentations2.Text and Recordings3.Test Teach Test 1.Teaching grammar via Situational Presentation In order for grammar to have meaning, it needs to be placed within a context. For instance the preposition 'beside' has no meaning to a student unless it's placed within a context. Using a model sentence such as the 'The bread is beside the toaster' gives the word a basic context. Situational presentation refines the context and thus the meaning by building a 'situation' around the model sentence. It can be presented in three stages with the following example of teaching prepositions based on an airplane ride.Stage 1 ' Discuss...  [Read more]

Many new teachers are intimidated by the prospect of having to teach grammar. There are several reasons for this. Many of us aren't that familiar with grammar rules to begin with, the many exceptions make English grammar a complex subject, and finally, grammar just isn't that exciting to most teachers or students. For these reasons, there can be a tendency to question whether teaching grammar is really that important in the first place.So, is teaching grammar important' I believe it is. Ed Swick says, 'The rules of Grammar for a language learner are like the rules of the road for a driver. In order to be able to drive properly and maneuver with other drivers, you have to know the rules that everybody goes by' This is true of language to. If you follow the rules of grammar you can express...  [Read more]

  And now it's time to have a look at our first grammar unit. Grammar in its widest sense is the structure of a language. We as speakers of the language can structure our language without a problem. However, as teachers of the language we need to be able to better analyze the grammar and the grammar that exists within statements that we make. These basic parts of grammar are called parts of speech. Each part of speech has a certain function within a sentence. Our example sentence here is "My older brother lives in Tokyo." Each one of these words is a certain part of speech, which we'll have a look at in just a minute but let's just think about the words within this particular sentence. We have ?my?, indicating whose brother it is, we have "older", indicating which brother it is....  [Read more]

  The purpose of grammar translation then is to basically translate between L1 and L2 and vice versa. So, we could take a simple example. Let's imagine that our native language was English and our target language was French and let's assume that we want to translate a document from French into English. Let's take a simple sentence. Here's a sentence in French "Ouvre la fenêtre" and we'll add "s'il vous plaît" at the end. What we want to do is to take this L2 and translate it back into English. Now, if we have a reasonable knowledge of French then we may well know that this particular verb "ouvre" "to open" translates directly and this female form of the and finally the fenêtre "Open the window" and this polite form of "please". This is all very well if the two structures that...  [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. I was extremely excited to learn about all of the websites I have at my disposal. I was starting to get nervous about where I could find materials to start teaching students. I learned that schools will normally provide the teacher with a coursebook, workbook, and teacher's resource book. I also learned that being prepared for board work, and using the overhead projector is very important to keep things running...  [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. This unit covers the future tense. In addition to the simple, perfect, continuous, and perfect continuous forms it also includes the "going to" future tense. The unit also clarifies possible confusions or problems students can have between future tenses and present simple/present continuous tenses. When you have to actually study this material it can be confusing even for a native speaker. After this unit's examples...  [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. The information provided in this Unit is very useful for my future career development and diversification of my knowledge. I've learnt about essential roles of the teacher and responsibilities of the learners. In this Unit was clearly explained importance of cross-cultural differences of the international students and that teacher must ensure respect levels maintained related that matter.In this Unit i understood how...  [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. The students in the second video responded well to the visual aids, even though they were adults. Simple, interesting lessons about simple things, like animals, still kept them interested throughout. It was interesting to see how they responded to the second lesson, that most English speakers would think was a child's lesson, but the more complex lesson plan of the first video left them confused and insecure. This was...  [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 19 deals with teaching special groups. Specials groups are beginners, young learners, business english, multilingual and monolingual, and individual student. In this lesson I was able to learn the best approaches and activities that I can use to a certain type of group or student. This module includes the factors that I need to consider in teaching special groups.↵↵In this unit I was able to anticipate...  [Read more]

On this page you will find a selection of English grammar related videos taken from our Ask Linda series. Each video features our grammar expert Linda explaining a common grammar issue that can often cause confusion among students and teachers.  [Read more]

Teaching grammar can be one of the most frustrating aspects of an English teacher?s job description. Teaching grammar can be divided into two categories, declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge can be summed up as knowledge about a thing such as the rules of grammar whereas procedural knowledge is being able to apply the knowledge to communicate effectively. To illustrate the difference declarative knowledge would be being able to understand the instruction manual on how to assemble a bicycle where as procedural knowledge would be what you demonstrate when you actually put the bicycle together. Being good at one does not necessarily make one good at the other. Many of us native English speakers can use our native tongue correctly but can not explain the...  [Read more]

A recent study suggests that teaching grammar to schoolchildren has no discernible effect on their writing skills, so why should it be of any more use in the ELT classroom?? asks Luke Meddings in an article on Friday February 4, 2005 in the Guardian Unlimited. Following a research project funded by the Department for Education in the UK reviewing 100 years of research into grammar teaching, a report was published on 19th January 2005 concluding that teaching grammar does not help young pupils either write more fluently or more accurately. Luke Meddings makes the point that, if this is the case, teaching grammar is likely to be no more useful for second- language learners than for first language learners. It seems to me that the conclusion drawn about teaching grammar and its lack of...  [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. This unit was a bit too brief, but indeed a good listing of various issues. I think it should be presented earlier in the course, as some issues have already been covered in other units, and it would be a nice break from the grammar lessons. I have found that the use of English or native, by students and teachers, varies often, and while good to suggest it, it may depend on the school's policies. As for listening...  [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. This unit made me reflect on how natural these parts of speech have become to me as a native speaker, at least so far in their usage. It is much more difficult to explain the "why" of grammar and that will be an ongoing learning experience. Additionally, I was struck by the long lists of words and tenses that must simply be memorized as I've never really considered that about the English language. I imagine it is even...  [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 13 is about coursebooks and lesson materials.Some teachers swear by them,some despise them.Materials can be devided into 2 groups: authentic and created materials.Authentic ones are real and more motivating.Created one are designed by the teacher to supplement or replace course book materials.Ulike authentic ones,they can be graded to the level of the students.Course book advantages and disadvatages.Best use of...  [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. This unit focuses on a variety of issues relating to the four different language skills that students need to learn and practice in the classroom, i.e. speaking, writing, reading and listening. It looks at the importance of each individual skill, how to structure a suitable lesson to address each subject and the relevance of accuracy versus fluency within the context of a lesson. This unit also builds on previous...  [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. I found the discussion of different types of analyses in a Business English context (e.g., needs analysis, placement tests) to be helpful. Right now I’m teaching English at a hospital (5x1-hour sessions to 5 different departments). With this structure, there’s not a lot of time for needs analysis, but if the hospital asks me to continue on, I will try to plan in a needs analysis lesson for the students. I...  [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. The content of this unit which is about past tenses seem to me important for the chronological order of events and actions. Put simply, the verb tense gives us the ability to talk about past actions that were ongoing or completed or before another past actions. It must be borne in mind that in a given situation or in accordance with the time, one should use an appropriate past tense so as to maintain effective...  [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. I've learned about methodologies which are grammar, audio lingualism, presentation, practice and production, task based learning, communicative language teaching, community language learning, the silent way, suggestopaedia and the lexical approach.↵↵There is a also a study approach in classes which is engage, study and activate (ESA). There are also different kinds like The Straight Arrow ESA lesson, The...  [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. This unit focused on the needs and development of young learners in a very brief format. As an adult, it is difficult to remember how I 'acquired' my knowledge around language, so I find the idea of teaching very young learners to be very intimidating. Personally, I feel I need to do some supplemental reading and research on the language development concepts presented, so I have a more thorough understanding....  [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 the...  [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. it seems to me vocabulary and language albeit they say grammar in the unit are interwoven. yes they did use the tree branch leaf analogy - but I think the tributary mainstream seaway is a better one. I liked this unit. it actually steered you into the meat of the course. look as far as I am concerned people like me who speak english fluently have difficulties with the tenses and other stuff. even the unit authors point...  [Read more]