What To Do Instead Of Teaching

  Connected speech is also an important element of phonology and it's involved in joining words together in an effect to make our speech more efficient. Some might say it's a product of being lazy but nonetheless it's what we all do and we want all of our non-native speakers to speak as naturally as possible, so we have to be aware of these things. Here are a few of the more common examples. We have linking, dropping, changing and extra lettering. An example of each would be with linking, we link our words together so that they almost in effect become one word. Instead of saying ?What do you want to do,? we typically will say ?Whatdoyou want to do?? Then, we can also have dropping. Rather than pronouncing each and every consonant, we can sometimes, especially in certain accents,...  [Read more]

Have you ever had trouble with a student unwilling to participate in the classroom, a student that no matter how hard you to inspire seems to remain unmotivated? This type of occurrence is very common in the classroom today. There are always the students that seem to be unmotivated, regardless of what positive encouragement you provide for them. There is no single formula to cure unmotivated students (David, 1993), but with the proper techniques and thinking, every student can be brought to participate in the classroom. There are many reasons a student may be unmotivated. Think about when you were in school; did you really want to be there learning? Most of us would have rather been outside playing, or hanging out with friends. Students go through many...  [Read more]

What will get in your mind if somebody will tell you about teaching? Isn?t it lesson planning? Most of the teachers despise this job, why? Well, the hardwork of thinking in creating your own materials. A lot of teachers are struggling in this aspect of the teaching side especially inexperienced. Lesson planning is a skill that is skill that is learned in much the same way as other skills. This skill aid the teaching learning process easy. Obviously, it takes a lot of thinking and practice to acquire this skill. It needs a lot of organizing your thoughts and for the first time doing this stuff is really hard. One will encounter a lot of mistakes but as the old adage goes, ?Practice doesn?t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.? A teacher should not give up ...  [Read more]

'Red is rojo. Green is verde. Blue-Azul, Negro-Black'? As a high school student I opted to take a foreign language course in Spanish. Honestly, I do not remember a lot of the language (and I even took four years!), but what I do remember are those elements that were taught through the use of song. The example above is sung (and continues) in the tune of ?Are you sleeping?? In this same course we became familiar with a few popular Latin American songs; one such song was ?Amor Prohibido? by Selena. I may not be able to recall the meaning of all the words in the song, but I can still, nonetheless, successfully sing through the entire song with correct pronunciation. My experience and current research have shown me the immense power that songs can have in the...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about Cheapest 120 Hrs online TEFL certification 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: S. V. - USA said: This course has provided me with a good review of the english grammar and has given me the opportunity to reflect on my teaching. I feel more confident now that I can walk into a classroom and teach english instead of french. I found that the lesson plans I had to design were very useful and really helped me think about how to introduce various concepts. The hardest lesson to design for me was the one with the video. I am very familiar with french movies and...  [Read more]

Classroom management requires a positive relationship between the teacher and the student. A teacher, who has a good rapport with their students, will have a better outcome. Respect for each other, will prove positive in both the relationship and study.Obstacles to this rapport may involve the classroom set up, which can create problems, such as with rows. The students, at the back, are disadvantaged. Dr. Scott Mandel Pacoima (Middle school) states ''the further back you go, the more discipline problems there are with visual, oral and physical stimulation from the teacher is increasingly diminished,,,'1.An alternative, he suggests, is to arrange the chairs and tables into a three sided box shape. In this fashion, every student is in the first row and the teacher...  [Read more]

Have you ever had trouble with a student unwilling to participate in the classroom, a student that no matter how hard you to inspire seems to remain unmotivated' This type of occurrence is very common in the classroom today. There are always the students that seem to be unmotivated, regardless of what positive encouragement you provide for them. There is no single formula to cure unmotivated students (David, 1993), but with the proper techniques and thinking, every student can be brought to participate in the classroom. There are many reasons a student may be unmotivated. Think about when you were in school; did you really want to be there learning' Most of us would have rather been outside playing, or hanging out with friends. Students go through many biological changes...  [Read more]

  There are some other classroom management issues that we need to consider and they may include issues such as writing on the board, giving students individual attention, the use of teacher talk time, the way in which we should give instructions to our students, the building and maintaining of rapport with our students, and finally the one that perhaps most new teachers particularly spend a lot of time worrying and thinking about, is the issue of classroom discipline. So what we'd like to do is to take each of these in turn and look at some of the major issues surrounding these classroom management issues. 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...  [Read more]

Classroom management requires a positive relationship between the teacher and the student. A teacher, who has a good rapport with their students, will have a better outcome. Respect for each other, will prove positive in both the relationship and study. Obstacles to this rapport may involve the classroom set up, which can create problems, such as with rows. The students, at the back, are disadvantaged. Dr. Scott Mandel Pacoima (Middle school) states ??the further back you go, the more discipline problems there are with visual, oral and physical stimulation from the teacher is increasingly diminished,,,?1. An alternative, he suggests, is to arrange the chairs and tables into a three sided box shape. In this fashion, every student is in the first row and...  [Read more]

What is E.S.A? E.S.A stands for engage, study, activate. E.S.A is a teaching method developed by Jeremy Harmer. The engage phase is used for getting the students to think and talk in English and is also a good way to ease into a lesson. Introductions of the teacher and each student one by one around the classroom gets everyone involved and inspires confidence for students as well as the teacher. Some of the engage activities are: introductions around the classroom, games such as a-z animals, countries, things, places etc. Discussions such as what do you like/dislike, music, stories or pictures. Trying to draw the language out of the students keeps them well engaged and focused taking them into the study phase. The study phase is generally the bulk of the lesson...  [Read more]

What is E.S.A' E.S.A stands for engage, study, activate. E.S.A is a teaching method developed by Jeremy Harmer.The engage phase is used for getting the students to think and talk in English and is also a good way to ease into a lesson. Introductions of the teacher and each student one by one around the classroom gets everyone involved and inspires confidence for students as well as the teacher. Some of the engage activities are: introductions around the classroom, games such as a-z animals, countries, things, places etc. Discussions such as what do you like/dislike, music, stories or pictures. Trying to draw the language out of the students keeps them well engaged and focused taking them into the study phase.The study phase is generally the bulk of the lesson focusing on the ...  [Read more]

What will get in your mind if somebody will tell you about teaching' Isn't it lesson planning' Most of the teachers despise this job, why' Well, the hardwork of thinking in creating your own materials. A lot of teachers are struggling in this aspect of the teaching side especially inexperienced.Lesson planning is a skill that is skill that is learned in much the same way as other skills. This skill aid the teaching learning process easy. Obviously, it takes a lot of thinking and practice to acquire this skill. It needs a lot of organizing your thoughts and for the first time doing this stuff is really hard. One will encounter a lot of mistakes but as the old adage goes, 'Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.' A teacher should not give up trying even if...  [Read more]

  Our next consideration is that of giving instructions to our students. In order for those students to effectively carry out an activity, we need to make sure we have given clear and unambiguous instructions. It's also very important to check that the students understand the activity before you start. If you've done that work correctly then the teacher shouldn't need to say anything once an activity has started because the students are very clear about what they're supposed to be doing. So some ideas when giving instructions. As we've mentioned use simple language. Secondly, rather than trying to explain an activity, then do a demonstration which is visual. Thirdly, try to use wherever possible common words that come up within every activity. These would be things like ?look?,...  [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]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Canadian Based Online TEFL 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: A.B . - Scotland said: Knowledge and understanding of grammar has improved Expanded ideas of how to make lessons fun and interesting while developing students? abilities Think the 2 week practical course will help put these into practice and help work towards being a good TEFL teacher A.D ? USA I can't even put into words how much I feel like I have accomplished in participating in this program. I started with this program to get a taste of what it may be like to teach...  [Read more]

Due to the anonymous nature of the internet there are always a few unscrupulous characters looking to make easy money, and the world of ESL job recruitment is no exception. Although the overall quality of schools and the contracts they offer varies greatly, the truth is that most advertised jobs both good and bad are totally genuine. To avoid the small percentage of positions that are not what they seem, it is recommended that you always follow these simple rules. The single best defense against job scams is to ensure you thoroughly research the teaching market in your chosen destination. If you are fully aware of the typical salary, expected benefits, working hours, and normal visa requirements, you should have little trouble spotting potential scams. Remember, if it sounds too good...  [Read more]

Findings in many of the past studies do indeed suggest that small- sized classes are indeed more effective that larger classes. The benefits of smaller classes are endless, but what about those instructors that have no choice in the matter? Many scholars have come up with strategies in order to help those that are presented with the larger class and want to make it a success. Along these lines, many feel that it isn?t always the size of the class, it is the quality. Students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have expressed their opinion that the instructor has more of an impact on the quality of the class than the size itself (oic.id.ucsb.edu/). And in order to make the classroom a quality learning environment, many individuals,...  [Read more]

Findings in many of the past studies do indeed suggest that small- sized classes are indeed more effective that larger classes. The benefits of smaller classes are endless, but what about those instructors that have no choice in the matter' Many scholars have come up with strategies in order to help those that are presented with the larger class and want to make it a success. Along these lines, many feel that it isn't always the size of the class, it is the quality. Students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have expressed their opinion that the instructor has more of an impact on the quality of the class than the size itself (oic.id.ucsb.edu/). And in order to make the classroom a quality learning environment, many individuals, including...  [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 are many different companies that offer courses (to varying degrees of credibility) to those wishing to be a teacher of English as a second/foreign language. Generally, these companies offer two types of courses: online and onsite. Online courses are those that are taken over the Internet ' in which the company emails the students their coursework, and offers an online tutor for assistance; onsite courses are TEFL Courses that are taken on the premises of the company generally in a teaching location in a foreign country. These courses are conducted in the same manner as a high school or college course. There are advantages and disadvantages to both course types, and these will be explored in this paper.Taking a TEFL course online has a few distinct ...  [Read more]

Intent of the paperThe purpose of this paper is to examine what strategic competence is, the levels at which it functions and the utility value of such techniques to the development of an overall communicative competence. It also debates whether it is ethical to teach strategies instead of concrete language competence.'Children can discover for themselves what they need to know , however, in order to get what they want they have to ask' observes June Bowser(1993). Oral communication encompasses asking, replying, discussing, debating etc.. Surprisingly, this is what our students are wanting, outside the class, in real life situations. Does this mean that our communicative language teaching methods do not work' Why are our learners inadequate in communicating with others...  [Read more]

Pronunciation problems happen when speaking a second language because most people are used to hearing and making sounds only exist in their mother tongue. For example there might be many sounds in your mother tongue and English that are similar.Some however,are only partially similar and others are totally different.When you hear or trying to say the partially similar or totally different sounds it?s easy to make mistakes because you are used to hearing and making sounds in your mother tongue.It is important therefore,to make yourself aware of how sounds in a different language are made and practice listening to them and saying them as much as possible. To make language sounds we move our jaw,tongue,lips and the vocal cords in our throat in a number of different...  [Read more]

To Teach, Travel, Work and Live abroad! says the ITTT website. Indeed, the main reasons for wanting to be a certified TEFL teacher are most probably these. If you are a student, to travel the world, discover different cultures, meet new people and learn the local language. If you are an office employee, frustrated by the routine and bored with your job, to escape to China or Japan to teach and learn about Buddhism. If you are an experienced teacher, to give a new dimension to your teaching. If you want to help others, to do volunteer work in Africa.There are a multitude of personal and professional reasons that may motivate people from all walks of life to do a TEFL course. For me it was to be a real teacher. This is my story.I am a native English speaker, but have lived in...  [Read more]

Children and teenagers (with their own special problems) have very high energy levels and it is inevitable that from time to time the teacher may have to deal with disruptive behaviour. As with all students the mood of the class and the individuals within that class will be determined by many external factors. For example: family life, peer group associations, individual personality traits. The behaviour and attitude of the teacher is perhaps the single most important factor in a classroom and can thus have a major effect on discipline.(ITTT unit 19 Class discipline/management)Defining effective managers as those teachers whose classrooms were orderly, had a minimum of student behaviour, and had high levels of time on task and ineffective mangers as those whose classrooms ...  [Read more]

Inspiring a high level of motivation among students of all ages and maintaining it, is an ongoing challenge for even the most experienced and skilled teachers. One thing is certain, the motivation of a student has no connection to the matter being taught, but can instead always be reliably linked to the reasons why the student is learning the matter and how (Barrakeet, 2005, p 73- 74).Knowledge of human learning, and the factors influencing human learning, has increased dramatically over the past 100 years. From early thoughts by Psychiatrists Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung between 1900 and 1920, arguing that we are born with a wealth of knowledge through a connection to a collective unconscious (Jung,1962), and that our motivation is based entirely around instincts (Freud,...  [Read more]

We have good news if you are interested in teaching abroad but are hesitant to settle down in one place: Teaching is one of the best-paying online jobs from home and one of the fastest growing career paths for remote workers. The best part about online teaching jobs is that you can not only get paid to speak English, but you can also find opportunities to teach English online with no prior experience. If you want to travel while earning money for speaking English, check out the best-paying online teaching jobs that you can do from anywhere in the world using your laptop. Preply is an online language learning platform that allows students to work with their preferred tutor at their own pace and on their own time. Preply, in general, invites any enthusiastic individual to join their...  [Read more]

Perhaps the most important aspect of successful teaching is the ability to motivate. Motivating students can be especially difficult if the students are not attending class willingly or if the subject matter is dry. Unfortunately, there is no single magical formula for motivating students. Many factors affect a given student´s motivation to work and to learn (Bligh, 1971; Sass, 1989): interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence. Yet regardless of the challenges, every teacher needs to find effective methods for inspiring pupils to learn. Though teaching techniques vary, I believe there are three critical practices that one will find in any class of motivated ...  [Read more]

The use of songs in the ESL classroom can be a fun and innovative way of covering a range of English language topics. Songs can be used for vocabulary, grammar, dictation, pronunciation (stress and intonation), phonetics, speaking, writing, listening, integrative skills, and many other ESL points. Furthermore, songs can invite the non-native speaker into the English speaking culture. For instance, pop music gives the learner a taste of what is trendy at the moment. Meanwhile, the lyrics to classic rock songs can give a sense of history and the attitude of the country at the time of recording (for example, ?Give Peace a Chance,? John Lennon, 1969). Additionally, children?s songs are crucially important for the young...  [Read more]