Ah Hah Moment

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 Linda Dunsmore Visa and Legal Step-By-Step Guide to Legally Teaching English in China If you are interested in teaching English abroad, you probably quickly realized that China is one of the largest job markets for TEFL teachers at the moment. Truth is, China has over 300 million English learners and schools are hiring constantly. This large demand for qualified teachers leads to high salaries and great benefits to attract teachers to make the move. China is a great place to work in if you're a new teacher and if you have experience in the field. However, it is key to understand the country's current visa regulations and the local preferences of schools to be able to teach English in China. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Step 1: Understanding The Visa...  [Read more]

Overview of All English Tenses - Present Tenses Overview - Present Continuous   Our second example sentence 'I am playing football at the moment.' is the present continuous tense. This has a different structure as the subject 'I', the verb 'to be' in the present tense 'am', 'is' or 'are' plus the verb with an '?ing' on the end. So here: 'I am playing football at the moment.' Whereas the present simple tense is used to talk about habits routines and facts, the present continuous tense is used to talk about actions in progress at the time of speaking or around the time of speaking. Our third example sentence is the present perfect: 'I have played football twice this week.' Here, the structure is the subject 'I', auxiliary verb 'have' or 'has' plus the past participle. The past...  [Read more]

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Why I Love Teaching English as a Foreign Language Abroad - A TEFL Alumni's ESL Story When I started teaching English 25 years ago, I honestly did not know what I was doing. I naively assumed that it was enough to know the language myself. But soon I came to understand, that there was definitely more to teaching. Table of Contents Different needs and motives of students Requirements I had to meet Special moments Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post This post was written by our ITTT graduate Karin W. Different needs and motives of students My first student ever was brought to me at the tender age of eight months and his mother's aim was to get him accepted in a bilingual kindergarten....  [Read more]

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How Might Language Teachers Productively Blur the Line Between Tasks, Games, and Testing? In the following essay, I consider something like a continuum from task to the game to assessment, but only in the bookend learning moments of "input" and "output." I often think of learners in my classrooms as a gray box—not quite a "black box," the inner workings of which are completely mysterious, but a thing into which we only ever have uncertain, provisional insight. We can do all sorts of theorizing about language acquisition and psychometry but will never have anything as exact as a litmus test. However accurate my notion is, it motivates me to focus on things that are much more knowable and observable: the inputs and outputs of a...  [Read more]

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The Most Distinct Differences between American and British English When it comes to learning English, non-native speakers can feel quite torn on whether they should learn British English or American English. They have their similarities, but can contrast each other strongly. The differences can be confusing for English speakers as well. The diversity in spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary can really throw you off. In this article, I will be focusing on these three topics. Let's explore spelling, shall we? Table of Contents Important Spelling Differences Differences in Word Choice Same Word - Different Pronunciation Other Things to Consider Are you ready to teach English abroad? Listen to this blog post Related Articles: This...  [Read more]

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Building Reading Awareness in Children Among my most cherished childhood memories takes me back to the moment when it was time to choose a new book to get lost in before bedtime. I was lucky enough to have a bookshelf in front of which I would sit and, I thought, let the book choose me. Sometimes the calling was immediate; sometimes it took longer. I picked up random books, read the back, and smelled them; sometimes I read the first page, anything I needed to do until I found the perfect connection. Reading was one of my favorite moments of the day. Most of the time, the book I picked would be so perfect for the moment in my life that it would take all my attention the next morning. Table of Contents My Experience Reading Activities...  [Read more]

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English as the Language of the World from a Traveler’s Perspective After dedicating more than 3 years of my life to travel and seeing 60 beautiful countries across 6 continents around the world, I have come to realize that the English language is the missing link in what would bring people and nations together. It was at a hostel in Bosnia and Herzegovina sometime last year when I decided I wanted to teach English to people from different parts of the world. I was speaking to an American volunteer at the hostel and she had been teaching English for more than 2 years already. The first thing that attracted me about the profession was the fact that it was a great way to earn money remotely while traveling around the world. But...  [Read more]

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The Main Principles of Building Confidence in the ESL Classroom A learned language isn't something to be kept on a shelf, slowly collecting dust, forgotten like any other book or relic. It must be held close and treasured, and used so that it is an extension of oneself. For true understanding, all the aspects of a language must be carefully developed until mastery. There are diverse aspects to practice in every language; the inflections and accent understanding of listening, the pronunciations and cadence of speaking, the grammar and structure of writing. Despite all these various skills and the pieces that compose them, they all come from the same source and the same primary skill, one that...  [Read more]

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Key Factors to Increase Confidence in The Classroom I will never forget my first day in front of a class of students, and especially the night before the first lesson. I did not sleep much and spent the night planning and organizing every single detail, I remember even training the "teacher face" in front of the mirror. The morning the crucial moment arrives, and I find myself in front of sixty eyes looking at me and waiting. There are probably stress and expectations from both sides. It is at this precise moment we do not want to misstep, and want to start the lesson confidently. The confidence is a quality expected from an adult in the position to lead a group of students, but is it indispensable? How important is confidence in the...  [Read more]

Sun, 08 Sep 2019 Dan Sloat Destinations Alumni Experiences Why I Did Volunteer Teaching in Nepal and You Should Too Volunteer teaching in Nepal is thoroughly rewarding! The need for engaging and enthusiastic teachers is so great and the positive impact you can make, even in a short period, is significant. Personally, I had a modest classroom of 16 students comprising a broad range of ages and competency. Those kiddos were quite a handful, but being their teacher was an incredible privilege. Their maturity was striking and yet, at the end of the day, they are still growing boys. They would get rowdy at times and often pulled pranks on each other. I loved their curiosity, their excitement for learning, and their playful spirits. Between lessons they would often draw pictures for me. I...  [Read more]

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences How Learning a Foreign Language Makes You an ESL Student’s Best Friend My first language was French –-the language of my Cajun-born mother. She wanted to pass on her cultural heritage and therefore spoke to her first-born child, me, only in French. However, once I was put into kindergarten and was unable to communicate or understand any of my teachers or classmates, my parents reverted to English because they feared to set me back in school. Table of Contents Personal Experience Different Learning Modes Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Madeleine K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs...  [Read more]

For vs Since - English Grammar - Teaching Tips   In this video, we break down the difference between the usage of "for" and "since". Both of these words are used when talking about time, which is why they often cause confusion for many English learners. However, the difference in the usage of the two words is actually qutie easy. The word "since" is used when referring to a point or exact moment in time, such as in this example: I have been living in this house since 2005. The year 2005 is a point or exact moment in time and therefore, we need to use 'since'. "For", on the other hand, is used for a period or duration of time, such as in this example: I have been living in this house for 12 years; 12 years is a duration of time, and therefore we need to use 'for'. As you can see, all...  [Read more]

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A Teaching Career as a Future Goal Are you pondering about becoming not only a teacher but a successful and great teacher? There is a lot of information, books, and many experienced teachers that one can get the information from and be able to learn key tricks to become a successful teacher. Table of Contents Are you pondering about becoming not only a teacher but a successful and great teacher? Here are five supporting points that can help any teacher to enhance their careers. Believing in your student Take risks by being innovative in your lessons Being a good communicator by understanding your audience Showing empathy to your student is a powerful skill that all successful teachers possess. Do you want to teach English abroad?...  [Read more]

Achieving TEFL Diplomas Check out tefl tesol about Achieving TEFL Diplomas 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: Check out ITTT's Blog Posts A.A. & J.S. - India said: Role of the teacher students tend to copy the behavior and mannerism of the teachers. The teachers? entire personality is a reflection on the minds of the students. If the teacher is honest, leads a balanced and disciplined life, the children adopt these virtues as an ideal conduct unconsciously. The ideal teacher is one who through his thoughts, words and deeds, gives an impression of an honest upright life which can serve as a role model...  [Read more]

English Teachers Needed Immediately in Spain Date posted:2022-01-22 | Writer: INK Lingua | Email: [email protected] INK Lingua is an educational centre with more than 30 years of experience, placed in Miranda de Ebro, city in the north of Spain, very near to big cities such as Bilbao, Vitoria, Burgos or Logroño.We are an academy that is especialized in languages learning. At the moment, we have English and French teachers, for groups of kindergartens', kids, teenagers, adults and business classes in factories.At the moment we are looking for new teachers for this Academic Year and, also, for the summer.Unfortunately we can only hire teachers with EU passport, TIE or work visa. So that is the only requirement.Anyway, TEFL/TESOL or other certification for teaching would be highly...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Future Tenses - Will vs. Going to When to use "will" and when to use "going to" for expressing the future is a very confusing concept for some English learners. Both of these terms refer to the future but there is a slight difference between them. Let's take a look at the differences in the infographic below.   When to use "Going to"  The structure "be going to" is normally used to indicate the future but with some type of connection to the present. It can be used in the following situations: 1. When we have already decided or we INTEND to do something in the future. (Prior Plan) The decision has been made before the moment of speaking, for example:   2. When there are definite signs that something is...  [Read more]

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Competence Between British English and American English Many people who speak English are aware of the fact that American English and British English are similar yet different. There have been many debates about which one is better or correct. Some ways of speaking might be different if one would be speaking British English compared to American English. Table of Contents Spelling Rules Naming Phonetics Knowing the Differences Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Camilla R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Spelling Rules British English has used its way of spelling words...  [Read more]

TEFL in Turkey - Konya Date posted:2005-11-28 | Writer: PRODEM International School of English | Email: [email protected] We are running a language teaching center in Konya, Turkey, and would like to work with you if you are interested. The details about the contract will be delivered to you on your response to this message. Here I include some information about our school. Prodem International School of English is a language-teaching center in Konya, TURKEY. It is a private sector establishment under the control of the Ministry of National Education, which means that you will be employed here officially. It is also the representative of David Game College Group (England) and a recognized test center of Oxford Language Center. Student Profile: We teach students from the age of eight to...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Present Continuous Tense: Definition & Useful Examples in English Let's explore the present continuous tense in English with useful examples! Learn the definition and how to form the present continuous tense with this infographic.   Present Continuous Definition   The present continuous is a verb tense in which the action is on-going/still going on and hence the name "continuous". We use the present continuous tense to talk about actions that are happening at this current moment.     Are you interested in teaching English as a foreign language? Get your TEFL certification with ITTT. Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Check out ITTT's Blog Posts  [Read more]

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Why Reading is a Skill to Teach in ESL Education Readers are for sure leaders, not just merely for the fact of reading, but for the thinking process that comes with reading.As an individual, I love reading. I love the smell of the book paper. The tiny letters and turning another page is something that I enjoy deeply. However, I didn't become an avid reader by chance. I become a reader because I was born in a family where reading was a natural thing. My father was a university professor and was reading all the time. My mother, an accounting expert, used to read laws and regulations to ensure that her work is respecting the law. Table of Contents Perfect Role Model Boost of Creativity Reading at...  [Read more]

Review from TEFL Student Nikki   Nikki is from Cape Town, South Africa, and she enjoys working with children. As she wants to travel to different parts of the world, she decided to combine her passion for travel and helping others. She recently took our 120-hour online TEFL/TESOL course and had a great experience. As Nikki is traveling at the moment, she was unable to study TEFL/TESOL at a specific institution in person. That’s why she enjoyed the flexibility of our course and the chance to study the course from anywhere in the world. She is excited to start her first teaching position abroad and cannot wait to live abroad. Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Check out ITTT's Blog Posts  [Read more]

Sun, 07 Jul 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Necessity of Slang and Idioms in ESL Studies Language is an organism that changes as the people using it changes. No living language sounds as it did 1,000 years ago, nor does any use all the same words that were used within it 100 years ago. Just as it is a very different experience to live in a body than it is to study one, so is it powerful for students of a foreign language to be invited to live in a language rather than only learn about it. The endless auditory phenomena of English, such as the "hootin' and tootin'" interjections of Appalachian people or the booming discourse of an African-American preacher, cannot be understood by other peoples unless they are exposed to the context these phenomena were nurtured in....  [Read more]

Fri, 17 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas A Simple Guide on Establishing Rapport From The Very Beginning I have been teaching ESL classes professionally for two years. In addition to this experience, I have several years of experience as a volunteer teacher/mentor with ESL students. Through my experiences, I have learned that importance of establishing immediate rapport in the classroom. In this short article, I will talk about why it is vital to establish rapport from the very first day between the students and teacher as well as among the students. I will offer advice from my own experience of teaching both young learners and adults. Table of Contents The First Impression Introduction Choice of Activities Positive Environment Are you ready to teach English as a foreign...  [Read more]

Golden Opportunity - English Idioms   The idiom "golden opportunity" refers to a chance that is likely to be rewarding and successful, for example: The low price for the house is a golden opportunity we must not waste. The price for the house is very cheap at the moment, so we should buy it before the price increases again. 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. Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Check out ITTT's Blog Posts  [Read more]

Gaia Oliviero Gaia is an Italian ESL teacher based in Helsinki, Finland. At the moment she is working remotelyand teaches English to Chinese children from home, but she is more than ready to jump-start her career as an ESL teacher in a school setting. A passionate traveler, she doesn't know where life will take her in the next years... perhaps to China? To Japan? Or back to Italy? Read my articles What it's Like to Teach English Online: An Online Teacher Reveals Her Secrets! | ITTT | TEFL Blog Gaia Oliviero TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Do you want to know what it's like to teach English online? In this blog post, an online teacher reveals her secrets, sharing everything you need to know about starting your own career in teaching English online!  [Read more]

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Why Reading is Considered an Important Skill to Obtain Readers are for sure leaders, not just merely for the fact of reading, but for the thinking process that comes with reading. Table of Contents Personal Point of View Teaching Reading Is Reading Still Popular? Benefits of Reading Teacher's Responsibility Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gentiana H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Personal Point of View As an individual, I love reading. I love the smell of the book paper, the tiny letters and turning another page is something that I enjoy deeply. However, I didn't...  [Read more]

Mon, 02 Sep 2019 Dorothy Brown Smith Destinations Alumni Experiences Ten Things I Have Learned During My First Year Teaching in China I have always wanted to travel and go abroad. I talked about it with family and friends on many occasions. When the opportunity came for me to teach in China, I immediately said, "NO!" I was thinking of traveling to places like South America, France, Italy, Greece, etc. because I had romanticized these places in my mind from what I had seen on television and read about in magazines. China was not even a thought in my mind! The opportunity kept coming to teach in China. I would see advertisements, run into people who had just came back from China. I even met someone studying Chinese to be an interpreter! I kept running into people who had some kind of...  [Read more]

TEFL in Latvia - Riga Date posted:2006-05-17 | Writer: R&V Language Centre | Email: [email protected] Â Riga?s leading language school is looking for native-speaker English language teachers to start in Sep-Oct 2006. EU passport holders only. Our School, trademark ?R&V?, has been offering English language courses since 1994 and at the present moment it is one of the leading language schools in Latvia and the Baltic States.   For more deatils and to apply contact: R&V Language CentreSkolas iela, 4RigaLV-1010Latviae-mail: [email protected] web site: Contact us 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...  [Read more]

TEFL Positions in Russia and Siberia Date posted:2009-09-06 | Writer: Windsor English Language School | Email: [email protected] Windsor English Language School is looking for TEFL teachers for the following positions: 1) EFL/ESP Teacher position in Moscow Minimum requirements: * Candidates be natives from the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand * Hold a College/University Bachelor’s Degree or higher * Hold a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL / TESOL etc) The following would be an advantage: * Have some experience of working in business, legal, finance, engineering contexts in order to support your teaching. * Between 1 and 2 year’s teaching experience. 1) We offer: * 9/12 month contract with full academic support. * Full in-house academic support...  [Read more]

Thu, 16 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Common Troubles of the Chinese Students You’ll Definitely Notice English is one of the most widely spoken languages and it is taught in a lot of countries. Globalization, fast economic development makes many people study English. People learn English for different reasons: business, education, life abroad, traveling, personal interest. Chinese students are not an exception. With the growing economies of China, the need for learning English increased dramatically. What challenges do Chinese students face when learning English? What challenges does the teacher meet teaching Chinese students? What teaching approach can be found? Table of Contents 1. Motivation 2. Education 3. National character 4. Language difference 5. Grammar 6....  [Read more]