Three In Different Languages

  Did you know that you can complete an ITTT online course in the comfort of your own home and at your own pace? In this TEFL review video George talks about his experiences as an ITTT online student. ITTT offers a variety of TEFL/TESOL online courses. For example, for teachers who are considering working with younger students, ITTT offers the Certificate in Teaching English to Young Learners. Young learners can be one of the most rewarding of all groups to teach and ITTT's course will provide you with the tools to be an effective classroom teacher. To find out more about this course and other TEFL courses ITTT offers simply follow the links above. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word anemone. This word is used as a noun and refers to brightly colored flowers of the buttercup family. The word comes from the Greek word anem?n? meaining 'windflower'. 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 had three different sections. The modal verbs, the passive voice and the phrasal verbs. This unit reminded me the basic rules when using modals, as well as teaching ideas to...  [Read more]

  In this video Linda breaks down the difference between "look", "see" and "watch". The differences surrounding these three words can be quite difficult to understand for non-native English learners. However, this video looks at the three words in detail breaking down exactly how to differentiate between them. 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 14 is about different ways of evaluating students'levels and progress.There are a number of...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word ilk. This word describes a person or a thing that is similar to a person or a thing previously referred to. Suitable synonyms for ilk are type, category, sort, and class. 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. According to J.Harmer there are three main areas which teachers need to know about the pronunciation - intonation (as variation in vo;ume and pitch), sounds and stress. As for my opinion...  [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 about the present tense. EFL teachers believe there twelve tense in all, which is quite different from Asian and Slavic languages on this aspect.There are three times in English: the past, the present, the future. Each of these times has four aspects: simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous, so twelve in all. This unit focuses on four present tenses: the present simple,...  [Read more]

  The next item that we're going to consider is the use of resource books. There are many different types of resource books available and within those books there tends to be a general pattern and typically the resource book pack will come in a three book series and typically that three book series will be in the form of the student book, a workbook and a teacher's resource book. So for example here are those three books for this particular series called ?Total English? and in the student book the type of information that we can gain from here is the actual background to the teaching points themselves plus some additional information in terms of short worksheets and so on and so forth and tape transcripts at the end for listening activities, which these days often come on a CD...  [Read more]

  Cameron from the USA moved to Mexico and started teaching English before taking her TEFL course with ITTT. In this TEFL review Cameron tells how she decided to take the course to help her improve her teaching skills as she had no prior teaching experience before moving to Mexico. Cameron took 23 days to complete the 20 modules of the course and the ability to study at her own pace was something that really suited her study style. One of the main benefits of the course for Cameron was the tutor support. During the course she was able to contact her tutor with any questions that she had and receive helpful feedback and explanations in a timely manner. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our...  [Read more]

In order to be a regular subject teacher in a state school in most countries throughout the world a teaching degree is required. Such degrees are usually three or four years of study dedicated to gaining subject knowledge and teaching skills. The same two areas are covered in any TEFL or TESOL certification course, the timeframe however is greatly reduced. Typically a course may take 120-hours. The teaching of EFL is therefore fairly unique in that it offers you the opportunity to enter the teaching profession in a very short time, compared to the regular teacher training process. There are a number of ways in which TEFL certification can be obtained and these fall into three different categories. Online courses: As the name implies these courses are done via a computer or similar device....  [Read more]

  Before we move on to the final methodology for today, let's just recap and see where we are at this point in time. We're looking at different learning methodologies. Each of those methodologies takes its premise from being somewhere on this particular spectrum of ?nature versus nurture? and where we are on this spectrum gives us a starting point for the background or theory to that particular methodology. So, we?ve had a look starting in the 17th century and the classical method and moving on as the ideas of psychology developed to various methods, such as audiolingualism, the silent way, Suggestopedia and TPR. Each of these showing a development as knowledge about learning increased and each of these takes a different starting point on our English spectrum. Below you can read...  [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 covered the future tenses, including their form and usage. The unit not only helped to develop my understanding of the different expressions that can be used in expressing future situations, but has also helped to solidify my understanding of the present and past tenses and similarities between the three. The future tenses would be a particularly fun unit to teach, prompting students to look to, plan...  [Read more]

Like the people of other nations, Thai people face many problems when trying to learn English; some of these problems are cultural and some are more rooted in the many obvious differences between the two languages. Different age groups or students of different levels may not always face the same problems. A class of intermediate children is likely to have different problems to those of an adult class of beginners. One issue that can be quite frustrating as a teacher is rooted in the Thai culture of not wishing to lose face. This often leads to students being shy and unresponsive in class. They are scared of making mistakes in front of their peers as this would cause them to lose face. Another issue that is based on culture and can also be frustrating for a teacher is a tendency...  [Read more]

  "They're", "their" and "there" are three words that are often used incorrectly. "They're" is simply the contracted form of "they are". "Their" is a possessive and indicates ownership of something. "There" indicates a place. Due to the Internet and instant messaging, the three words have been icreasingly used incorrectly. However, if you'd like to use them correctly, you should keep their meanings in mind. When trying to decide which word to use remember that "they're" = they are, "their" = ownership and "there" = place. 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...  [Read more]

  Olga form Russia took the 120-hour online course with ITTT and is now teaching English in China. In this TEFL review video Olga gives us brief look at one of her classes. The students are studying animal vocabulary and are obviously enjoying themselves. 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 covered seven different areas in the future tense of the English language. The first four were in a similar breakdown and the past and present...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word uxorial. This word is used as an adjective and describes things or habits relating to a wife. The word comes from the Latin 'uxor' meaning wife. 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. Very informative unit. I've gave classes to young learners before, more specifically to children and now the most of my students' age range is between 8 to 17 years old and all what it says here about is...  [Read more]

  In this TESOL review video Eva from Germany talks about the reasons why she decided to do ITTT's 120 online TEFL/TESOL course with tutor support and how happy she was to achieve her certification. Eva also outlines the many benefits she gained from the course and how she is now planning to further enhance her qualifications by completing ITTT's Business English course. 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 three...  [Read more]

  This presentation is going to focus on the use of course books, materials and teaching aids. There are many materials that we can bring to our classroom that will help with the teaching of our lessons and these include, though they're not limited to, things such as the wipe board, similar to the one that we're using here, various types of visual aids, created or bought worksheets, the use of cassettes CDs and DVDs and the use of video and in these classroom materials, we can also include things such as dictionaries and course books, various types of resource books that we'll have a look at and other materials such as photo copiers, computers, OHPs. So what we'd like to do is just to take a general look at some of the issues relating to each of these types of materials. Below you...  [Read more]

'Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common.'Diversity plays an important role in the classroom just as it does in an ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem is made up of many parts with subtle or obvious differences, whose interactions strengthen the whole. The classroom is also a diverse environment, where students differ in many aspects but can work together towards a common goal: learning. Students may vary in the manner in which they learn, but a good teacher integrates a variety of appropriate activities to accommodate these differences in learning so that the class as a whole is strengthened. Learning modalities can be categorized by the different ways an individual can intake and understand new material (Kang 2005) and should be taken into account when a teacher...  [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...  [Read more]

For the inexperienced teacher of TEFL, the question of what to teach presents a very scalable hurdle. There is the matter of dividing the material into different lessons, gauging the students' levels and progress, and making sure what is being taught is relevant and technically accurate. However, for the native speaker who can always fall back on their own intuitive knowledge, these are not real problems. The true challenge, then, comes when a new teacher must determine how to teach their classes. There are a multitude of different TEFL-teaching methods for a teacher to choose from. Though most of these will ultimately be left by the wayside, it is important to gain an understanding of each before the teacher decides which is right for them. The first teaching method ...  [Read more]

'gIf the English language made any sense, catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.'h (Doug Larson) Before delving into problems facing Thai students learning English I'fll outline some of the positives. Many students prefer farang (foreigner) teachers partly due to a more informal teaching style, but also because a speaker of the native tongue can address pronunciation issues in a way that a non-native speaker cannot. Added to this a lifetimes knowledge of conversational English is more relevant than the rigid, sometimes rarely used, vocabulary and structure of textbooks. Native speakers are employed extensively in schools, businesses and colleges throughout Thailand. Initially the main problem facing students is that the Thai alphabet is entirely different to the Roman...  [Read more]

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology. Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented? The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is ...  [Read more]

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology.Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented' The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is subdivided into...  [Read more]

Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common.? Diversity plays an important role in the classroom just as it does in an ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem is made up of many parts with subtle or obvious differences, whose interactions strengthen the whole. The classroom is also a diverse environment, where students differ in many aspects but can work together towards a common goal: learning. Students may vary in the manner in which they learn, but a good teacher integrates a variety of appropriate activities to accommodate these differences in learning so that the class as a whole is strengthened. Learning modalities can be categorized by the different ways an individual can intake and understand new material (Kang 2005) and should be taken into account when...  [Read more]

  In this ITTT TEFL review video Irina from Russia shares her course experiences. Irina was already teaching in her country but decided to complete ITTT's 120 hour online course in order to enhance her work in the classroom and to learn more skills. Thousands of people from all walks of life and from different backgrounds have become graduates of ITTT. Many of our trainees are practicing teachers who decide to complete one of our courses in order to become more effective 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. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can...  [Read more]

  In this video Linda explains the differences between "assure", "insure" and "ensure". They not only sound similar, but those three words also make an outcome sure but they are in no way interchangeable. "Assure" is used to speak out a promise or say something with confidence, for example "I assure you that he is a great lawyer". "Ensure" is used to make something certain, such as here: "Please ensure that you will be home at five o'clock today"."Insure" means to protect an object against risk by buying an insurance policy from an insurance company, like here: "I insure my television because it was expensive". Once you have realized the three different meanings and usages, there is no way you'll confuse them again. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one...  [Read more]

gIf the English language made any sense, catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.?h (Doug Larson) Before delving into problems facing Thai students learning English I?fll outline some of the positives. Many students prefer farang (foreigner) teachers partly due to a more informal teaching style, but also because a speaker of the native tongue can address pronunciation issues in a way that a non-native speaker cannot. Added to this a lifetimes knowledge of conversational English is more relevant than the rigid, sometimes rarely used, vocabulary and structure of textbooks. Native speakers are employed extensively in schools, businesses and colleges throughout Thailand. Initially the main problem facing students is that the Thai alphabet is entirely different to the...  [Read more]

EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language and is to almost all purposes the same as ESL, English as a Second Language. These two are also equivalent to ESOL which means, English to Speakers of Other Languages. For each of these terms, when we talk about the teaching of them, we add a ‘T’ to the front of each acronym and hence we arrive at the terms TEFL, TESL and TESOL. As they are basically the same we will refer to just one from here on, TEFL for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language and EFL for English as a Foreign Language. Almost all TEFL teaching positions require a minimum qualification of a 100 to 120-hour TEFL certification. Courses provided to cover this certification are usually delivered by one of three methods, namely, onsite courses, online courses and combined...  [Read more]

The English language was created in England. Throughout history, this language has spread to many parts of the world. It is used as a link language for International business and diplomacy. According to Madhukar N. Gate, it has taken thousands of words from other languages such as French, Latin, German, Greek and so on. We can even find Sanskrit words in English. For example: Guru and Pundit are two Sanskrit words used in English. English grammar is quite simple, in many languages nouns have grammatical gender which makes some verbs and adjectives change. This doesn?t happen in English. The adjective ?big? is used with all nouns such as man, woman, child, book etc, as well as applying to both singular and plural nouns. Counting large numbers in English is very simple. For...  [Read more]

The English language was created in England. Throughout history, this language has spread to many parts of the world. It is used as a link language for International business and diplomacy.According to Madhukar N. Gate, it has taken thousands of words from other languages such as French, Latin, German, Greek and so on. We can even find Sanskrit words in English. For example: Guru and Pundit are two Sanskrit words used in English. English grammar is quite simple, in many languages nouns have grammatical gender which makes some verbs and adjectives change. This doesn't happen in English. The adjective 'big' is used with all nouns such as man, woman, child, book etc, as well as applying to both singular and plural nouns.Counting large numbers in English is very simple. For example,...  [Read more]

Motivation is fuel for learning. What motivates us to learn what we know' The answer to this question creates a foundation for our subject matter, which in the end will determine the permanence of that knowledge. As TEFL teachers, we should all look at our own experience as students and analyze what motivates us in a classroom. Let’s look to personal experience for evidence of the impact motivation has on the permanence of a foreign language and examine three main motivators for learning a new language: recognition, curiosity, and necessity. In school, we study for recognition. When I studied French at the university, I memorized many terms simply for the grade I desired; however, I was not able to communicate with French people I met. For many students the...  [Read more]