TEFL Glen Allan

Here I was, waiting to teach a 'Lets Learn English' session with the Pacific and Asian newcomers to Australia. I was to continue the conversational English lessons with them. The attendees were looking forward to the class. I could tell this by the enthusiasm in their greeting as they arrived and by their hunger to learn in previous sessions. What's more we were having fun as we journeyed into the English language together. What's the biggest problem these students have I thought' The simple answer is 'the peculiarities of the English language, or more specifically'words. So what are words anyway' They're just sounds or noises that we utter after all. Unlike lower animals we may not bark neigh, moo, roar, purr or growl, but we do react instinctively to what's happening around...  [Read more]

There is something about Volunteer Teaching that is very appealing. I have always been interested in it. Now I have undertaken the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course, it is actually a possibility, not just a thought. You can get invaluable experience using TEFL in schools from Monterrey to Mombassa. There are also some amazing volunteer projects available and opportunities for TEFL graduates to pursue. If you have the time and the desire, there is no better way to experience a country's culture than to live and work with their people. In many circumstances, you are helping some of the world's most underprivileged people to learn language skills that could make a real difference to their lives, not to mention the future prosperity of their...  [Read more]

  Gleb took the 120-hour online TEFL course with ITTT. After researching which course would be the best for him to take, Gleb chose the course from ITTT as it offered the best value for money. In this TEFL review, he mentions that the course has a lot to offer beginner teachers with teaching tips and different methodologies covered. Gleb was pleasantly surprised at the practical nature of the course and highly recommends it. 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....  [Read more]

In the TEFL classroom, it is important to recognize that cultural differences exist both between teacher and students, and between different students in a multilingual classroom. These differences have the potential to create problems, such as misunderstanding or uncomfortable situations. This article will discuss these issues and suggest ways they can be dealt with or prevented. Lisa Delpit discusses challenges of teaching in a multicultural society. Although she is referring to multicultural students in the United States, the issues she discusses are very relevant to teaching English as a foreign language abroad or in an English-speaking country. Some of these issues are: failure to recognize cultural differences and problems that might arise because of these differences,...  [Read more]

I can imagine a classroom full of students using their PEDs (portable electronic dictionaries) while the teacher stands nearby listening to the beeps and electronic voices translating various words. It gives me pause to think of the possibility of these machines dominating the language learning experience. As PEDs are fast replacing the dictionary, teachers are divided as to the value of its use in the classroom. For many individuals, PEDs are not cost effective and they require batteries. They are fragile devices subject to being dropped and ruined. As fast as they are predicted to be, it is actually not time efficient when using the device. By the time the student has used the stylus or punched in the tiny keys, it is quite likely the teacher has found the word in...  [Read more]

The worldwide market for teaching English abroad covers dozens of countries and many types of employer. In some situations it is normal to complete the recruitment process before leaving home, including an interview conducted via Skype or phone. However, in many of the most popular destinations employers prefer to recruit their teachers via face-to-face interviews on the school premises. While each interviewer will have their own criteria for choosing the right candidate, there are a few simple steps you can follow to give yourself the best chance of securing the job. It is said that it only takes seven seconds to form a first impression, so it is vitally important that you get the basics right to avoid blowing the interview before it has even got going. Rule number one is simple:...  [Read more]

Teachers everywhere can attests to the fact that motivating students is not an easy task. One really has to work hard, be persistent and be creative at the same time in order to even attempt to motivate an unwilling student. Despite the difficulties encountered, motivation is a crucial component involved with teaching any student. A student's desire to participate in the learning process will essentially determine whether he/she will succeed or fail. The reasons for a student's motivation can vary a great deal, however there are basically two types of ways in which a student can be motivated. They can either be intrinsically motivated, which means they take part in the activity for their own enjoyment and for their own learning benefits, or they can be extrinsically...  [Read more]

During the late seventeenth century while James, Duke of York, was renaming New Amsterdam. The vowel ' as in 'man' was lenghtening in certain contexts. In words like 'laugh' and 'path' and 'pass' wich end in unvoiced fricatives, in words like 'dance'and 'plant', which end in a nasal and an s or t, and in words where the ' was followed by r, that short vowel began to grow long. The older pronunciation of 'dance was d'ns, wholly acceptable today to english speakers outside the cultural area dominated by London, then it became d':ns. It was not until the nineteenth century, that this long ' decided to migrate to the back of the mout and become the α: which is charachteristic of southern speech today. It is a source of mockery, or reluctant admiration, among provincials and...  [Read more]

Howard Gardner?s (1983, 1998) multiple intelligences theory (MIT) postulates the existence of eight intelligences on the basis of ?distinct sets of processing operations applied in (culturally valued) activities?. These are linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal. According to Berk (2003), MIT is a view of how information-processing skills underlie intelligent behaviour. The information processing perspective basically views the human mind much like a computer; a symbol manipulating system through which information flows and regards cognitive development as a continuous process. Gardner defined intelligence in terms of distinct sets of processing operations that allow individuals to solve...  [Read more]

Howard Gardner’s (1983, 1998) multiple intelligences theory (MIT) postulates the existence of eight intelligences on the basis of “distinct sets of processing operations applied in (culturally valued) activities”. These are linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal. According to Berk (2003), MIT is a view of how information-processing skills underlie intelligent behaviour. The information processing perspective basically views the human mind much like a computer; a symbol manipulating system through which information flows and regards cognitive development as a continuous process. Gardner defined intelligence in terms of distinct sets of processing operations that allow individuals to...  [Read more]

There is something about Volunteer Teaching that is very appealing. I have always been interested in it. Now I have undertaken the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course, it is actually a possibility, not just a thought. You can get invaluable experience using TEFL in schools from Monterrey to Mombassa. There are also some amazing volunteer projects available and opportunities for TEFL graduates to pursue. If you have the time and the desire, there is no better way to experience a country?s culture than to live and work with their people. In many circumstances, you are helping some of the world?s most underprivileged people to learn language skills that could make a real difference to their lives, not to mention the future prosperity ...  [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]

Today, all teachers are faced with the ongoing challenge of working to make their teaching more effective. Whether they teach traditional students or EFL students, teachers must develop their skills to best meet students´ educational needs. We have a fairly clear idea today of the skills teachers should seek to develop. According to Robert Slavin, "research on teaching has made significant strides in identifying teaching behaviors associated with high student achievement" (Slavin, n.d.). These teaching behaviors include "essential teaching skills," which are "basic abilities that all teachers, including those in their first year, should have to promote order and learning" (Eggen & Kauchak, 2004, p. 579). The Key Teacher Skills include Preparation, Attention, Clarity,...  [Read more]

Job interviews are notorious for causing anxiety, but if you know what to expect and you prepare accordingly you should find they are not as bad as you are expecting. The essential nature of any interview is to show that you are confident in your teaching ability, keen to get started, and able to fit into the existing workforce. By doing some research and planning in advance, you should be able to demonstrate all of this and land the job on the spot. The worldwide market for teaching English abroad covers dozens of countries and many types of employer. In some situations it is normal to complete the recruitment process before leaving home, including an interview conducted via Skype or phone. However, in many of the most popular destinations employers prefer to recruit their teachers...  [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. In this unit, I have learnt much about past tense. This tense has some similarities with present tense, but it is related with past time periods. This unit focuses on four patterns in the past tense:past simple, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous. In each category, it covers form, usage, common mistakes/errors, and sample activate teaching ideas.Students should pay attention to the verb...  [Read more]

Our unique instructional videos provide an invaluable addition to the TEFL training experience. These extracts from our 120-hour course with tutor support cover many aspects of teaching such as English grammar and lesson planning.  [Read more]

What is it really like to take a TEFL training course with ITTT? Take a look at these video testimonials that feature course graduates describing their own unique experiences.  [Read more]

In these videos our grammar expert Linda demonstrates how to correctly pronounce a wide variety of common and not so common words that you might encounter in an English language classroom. Come back regularly as our Ask Linda series is frequently updated.  [Read more]

In order to become a great teacher, you should be familiar with the most important terms used in the classroom and the ESL world. The video glossary below covers the most widely used acronyms to help you get a head start in ESL.  [Read more]

Whether you want to teach in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America or Europe – each country has its own benefits when it comes to teaching English as a foreign language. Take a look at the infographics below and find out more about ESL and the different regions.  [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]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accreditation Affordable TEFL 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: K.H. USA said: I?ve definitely learned how useful a lesson plan can be, especially for thinking back on a lesson you?ve taught and making it better. I like the way the template is set up to make you think about what could be problematic in a lesson, as well as the way it breaks the lesson into manageable chunks. I also learned a lot about grammar, and can sympathize with learners who are struggling with grammar problems! I know I struggled with some of the exercises in the course, even...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - 140 Hr TEFL 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: I. R. South Korea said: I have been teaching for 10 years, but I have never taught english as a foreign language. My field of expertise lies in Music, especially Singing and Body-voice-integration. My students have almost always been students who are taught in english but whose mother tongue is something different, and if I knew what I would gain from this course I would have taken it ten years ago. Throughout the course the information provided on tenses and grammatical structures and language function...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accreditation Fastest TEFL 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: Al, Ireland said: Al, ireland This course has taught me to take the time to really understand new information and to look from a teachers and a student?s perspective in order to achieve the best results when planning lessons. I have gained confidence in my abilities and it has also taught me a lot about my own language! I now intend to look for work abroad, whether it be in france, where I am currently, or further I don't know but I believe I am much better equipped for whichever direction I...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - 2 Weeks TEFL 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: G. M. South Korea said: Upon starting this course I had very little idea as to what to expect. I had been teaching english for several years without any formal training of any kind, sort of making it up as I went along. When one enters a job without any formal theory or training, there are weaknesses and blindspots that are hard to identify and tackle. As my education was originally technical, it offered me little to no help with this. I did not know how to organize and execute a class so that the...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accreditation CELTA TEFL 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: K.F. Australia said: When I first made the decision to make a career out of teaching english as a foreign language, I thought the basis of the lesson would be teaching the students key words that would assist them in making sentences. Little did I know that there is much, much more to the english language than a native speaker realizes. As children, native speakers of english listen to the people around them speak and can pick up on the structure of a sentence, they hear the intonation...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accreditation Easy TEFL 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: LF, USA said: I have learned many things from this course. I have learned how truly complex the english language can be and how overwhelming or confusing it may seem. Having to learn parts of the english language again helped me see things from a student perspective. Even as a native speaker I had trouble. It is important to observe and understand my students and their learning style. Providing variety and learning what my students are interested in is a great way to make sure students are...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accelerated TEFL Cities 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: G.E. Australia said: Before commencing this course I was under the impression that the most important factor in teaching was the actual course material and the passing on of correct knowledge. Since doing this course I have come to realize that no single factor is more important than other factors that influence the overall efficiency of the classroom. The classroom dynamic, teacher/student interaction and student psyche are just some of the important factors that must be understood and...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accreditation Inclass TEFL 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: ES, Turkey said: The first main acquisition of mine from this course is that a teaching can be done in a very productive way by using its respective teaching style. As you can create your own lesson plan, the more you are creative, the better it is. In addition to this its efficiency derives from the company?s recommendation relating to the sources in terms of all of their either books? or websites? being of good quality. The crucial significance concerning a language is, its structure for...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Accreditation Advanced TEFL 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: J.X. USA said: I think that these ittt courses were very fruitful to me. Why? Well because it taught me how to think and see further than I use too think and see things. It opened new ways to teach and new creativities in my mind to keep and use when I would have the opportunity. I think the most challenging for me is not that I don?t have enough creativity because as an Art studio myself, I?m almost never out of ideas and imaginations, but these courses taught me and shown me how to use...  [Read more]