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7 Awesome ESL Conversation Activities to Really Get Your Students Talking - TEFL Blog
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
7 Awesome ESL Conversation Activities to Really Get Your Students Talking
We all know what it's like to teach a class with reluctant students who don't want to talk. It's like pulling teeth. However, with these 7 awesome ESL conversation activities, you can really get your students talking!
Table of Contents
Listen to this blog post:
1. Ice Breaker Jenga
2. Get To Know You Bingo
3. Mystery Party Guest
4. 20 Questions
5. Create a Game
6. Apples to Apples
7. Choose Your Victim
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Listen to this blog post:
1. Ice Breaker Jenga
For this activity, you simply use a tumbling block game such as Jenga and write 1 simple ice... [Read more]
7 Go-To Activities For Your ESL Conversation Class - TEFL Blog
Thu, 06 Aug 2020 Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
7 Go-To Activities For Your ESL Conversation Class
Listen to this blog post:
As an ESL teacher, getting your students talking can be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. English learners often lack the necessary confidence to speak openly and freely in English. The following activities are perfect for getting your students out of their shells!
Table of Contents
Listen to this blog post:
Here are 7 go-to activities for your ESL conversation class.
1. Dialogue
2. Role-Play Change-Up
3. Interviews
4. Tag Team Role Play
5. Mystery Partner
6. Problem Solved
7. Creative Improvisation
Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language?
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Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials!
Here are... [Read more]
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Giving feedback is one of the most important parts of being a teacher. Here are 5 great ways to give your students feedback for a successful learning environment.
7 Awesome ESL Conversation Activities to Really Get Your Students Talking
Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
Check out these 7 awesome ESL conversation activities that will really get your students talking and help them learn English in no time!
Top Tips for Teaching English One-on-One
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One of our TEFL alumni has shared with us his tips when teaching one-on-one English lessons. Check them out in this post.
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In this blog post, you will find information on appropriate rapport building strategies to get your students to enjoy ESL classes.
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Although Russia has one of the highest demands for English language teachers in the world, it is often overlooked. However, there are many reasons why we think you should seriously consider Russia as a TEFL destination, and here are our top 5.
7 Awesome ESL Conversation Activities to Really Get Your Students Talking
Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
Check out these 7 awesome ESL conversation activities that will really get your students talking and help them learn English in no time!
Top 10 Places to Take Your TEFL Course in Spring
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Approaches to Teaching English Vocabulary to ESL Students
Elizaveta Pachina
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In this blog post, you will learn several ways of teaching new vocabulary to ESL students.
7 Go-To Activities For Your ESL Conversation Class
Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
As an ESL teacher, getting your students talking can be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. English learners often lack the necessary confidence to speak openly and freely in English. The following activities are perfect for getting your... [Read more]
10 Tips When Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Children - TEFL Blog
Fri, 26 Oct 2018 Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
10 Tips When Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Children
Most EFL teachers abroad will - at some point in their career - teach children. The English education market catered to young learners is a billion dollar business and many countries hire teachers to fill this need. What you can do to brace yourself besides taking our 50-hour specialized TEFL course in Teaching English to Young Learners is to take the following 10 tips to heart.
Table of Contents
Listen to this blog post:
Don't Think it's a Piece of Cake
Involve Your Students in Hands-On Activities
Don't Talk for Long Periods
Children Learn Through Personal Interactions
Cater to Multiple Intelligences
Review, Review, Review
Encourage Self-Correction
Use Learned Information... [Read more]
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T.V. - Canada said:
Classroom Management Classroom Management is a skill that all teachers have to have. esl teachers have a more unique situation than a regular teacher though when most of your students don?t know how to speak English. There is no one way to manage a classroom but there are key elements that have to happen in every ESL classroom in order for learning to happen. Teachers have to be able to make students feel confident about themselves and their learning... [Read more]
Last posts written by Linda from: 12
Linda Dunsmore ITTT TEFL
Linda is a passionate traveler, language learner and TEFL teacher. After spending some time teaching in China, she moved to Korea in 2015. She now calls South Korea her home.
Read my articles
7 Amazing Back-to-School Ideas for Your ESL Class | ITTT | TEFL Blog
Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
Schools are starting again and students and teachers flock back to the classroom. Check out these simple and powerful back-to-school ideas and your students will surely remember this first lesson of yours for a long time!
7 Go-To Activities For Your ESL Conversation Class | ITTT | TEFL Blog
Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
As an ESL teacher, getting your students talking can be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. English learners often lack the necessary... [Read more]
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For ITTT, our community of students and alumni is the most important to us. That’s why we’d love to share what our course grads have to say! This will not only have others make a better decision in whether TEFL/TESOL is for them, but it will also help the ITTT community grow bigger and stronger!
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Teacher in a Classroom as a Conductor in an Orchestra - TEFL Blog
Tue, 28 Jan 2020 Elizaveta Pachina
Alumni Experiences
Teacher in a Classroom as a Conductor in an Orchestra
Although teachers might not want to be the central focus of the class, they should be ready to overtake two or more roles to help bring about well-established balanced classes. Nowadays, most of the successful ESL classes are becoming less concerned about the teacher's talking time inside the class as much as the students'. However, a teacher remains the students' role model and a person whom they always look up to. Accordingly, it is of pivotal significance that teachers get to know the various roles that they may or may not play during a class. To clarify, managing, organizing, promoting and assessing are four of the most important roles a teacher would wish to play.
Table... [Read more]
How to Learn Classroom Management Skills and Implement Them at Work - TEFL Blog
Mon, 10 Feb 2020 Elizaveta Pachina
Teaching Ideas
How to Learn Classroom Management Skills and Implement Them at Work
Classroom management deals with role flexibility, organizing and maintaining discipline. The student's confidence and learning effectiveness will depend on the teacher's classroom management skills. The teacher must know when it is time to be firm or when to leave students alone. The level of firmness depends on the age of the students. Overall, it is best to keep a controlled environment at the beginning then tail it off with a relaxed environment especially with kids or younger learners.
Table of Contents
Eye Contact
Grouping
Seating Arrangement
Discipline
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The Relevance of Teaching Methodologies in Real Practice - TEFL Blog
Wed, 12 Jun 2019 Elizaveta Pachina
Teaching Ideas
The Relevance of Teaching Methodologies in Real Practice
A method of teaching contains the techniques used by teachers to impart knowledge to students. These strategies are determined partly on the subjects to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. In this task, I will give some examples of different teaching methodologies, compare these techniques, and explain why it is important that teachers, mostly who are teaching in a foreign country should know these methods.
Table of Contents
ESA Methodology
PPP Methodology
Effectiveness of the ESA Method
Deeper Understanding
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Listen to this blog post
This post was written by our TEFL certification... [Read more]
How to Decrease Teacher Speaking Time - TEFL Blog
Thu, 26 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina
Teaching Ideas
How to Decrease Teacher Speaking Time
Traditionally, education in the classroom has largely employed a teacher-centred approach. Focus is on the teacher who talks, rather than on the students, who exclusively listen and are discouraged from collaboration.
Table of Contents
Student-Centered Approach
The ESA Method
Peer Feedback
Corrections
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Christie T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Student-Centered Approach
In recent years, however, more emphasis has been given to student-centred education: instructors share classroom talk time with... [Read more]
Top 10 Mistakes of an Online English Teacher - TEFL Blog
Mon, 11 Jan 2021 Elizaveta Pachina
TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas
Top 10 Mistakes of an Online English Teacher
Ever since online English teaching became a common means of delivering lessons, every online English teacher must strive for excellence to guarantee their students' best learning experience.
Table of Contents
1. Imbalanced Lesson Planning
2. Lack of Equipment
3. Poor Lesson Design
4. Inappropriate Teaching Content
Lack of Interaction and Personalized Approach
Increased Teacher Talking Time
Insufficient Lesson Flow
Distractors
Not Enough Feedback
Miscommunication With Students and Parents
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Last posts written by Linda from: 192
Linda Dunsmore ITTT TEFL
Linda is a passionate traveler, language learner and TEFL teacher. After spending some time teaching in China, she moved to Korea in 2015. She now calls South Korea her home.
Read my articles
Teaching English in the Czech Republic - The Salary and Budget Guide | ITTT | TEFL Blog
Linda Dunsmore
Budget and Salary Destinations
The Czech Republic is a popular destination for EFL teachers wanting to teach English in Europe. If you are interested in joining other English teachers in the country, check out this guide on salary and budget for a teacher living in the Czech Republic.
Top 10 Things to Know When Moving Abroad to Teach English | ITTT | TEFL Blog
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Where can I get free TEFL lesson plans? - ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ TEFL FAQs
Where can I get free TEFL lesson plans?
For educators in the TEFL field, having a structured lesson plan is a key to successful teaching. While some prefer crafting their own, others benefit from readily available online resources. Leveraging free online resources not only saves time but also offers insights into diverse teaching strategies. If you are looking for free TEFL lesson plans, there are numerous online platforms worth exploring. Here is a curated list of recommended sites where you can access these invaluable resources:
Table of Contents
Where can I get free TEFL lesson plans?
UsingEnglish.com
TEFL.NET
The British Council
Lanternfish ESL
ThoughtCo
BusyTeacher
English Is a Piece of Cake
The Internet TESL Journal
iSLCollective
Online English Expert
Off2Class
Where can I get free... [Read more]
3 Tips On How to Set Up a Friendly Environment Where Students Do Not Get Along With Each Other - TEFL Blog
Thu, 04 Jul 2019 Elizaveta Pachina
Teaching Ideas
3 Tips On How to Set Up a Friendly Environment Where Students Do Not Get Along With Each Other
Learning is a process that can take place even in ''non-friendly'' environments. Everything can be made out to be a competition between students and mistakes can be the shame of the ones making them. Group work and pair work can be replaced by a teacher talking time and individual work. English language lessons though as all language lessons are important for communication and this need and will for communication first take place in the safe environment of the class, so that later on, it can extend out of the classroom, in real life.
Table of Contents
Listen to this blog post:
1. Work on the same goals
2. Work on the class dynamics
3.... [Read more]
The Impact of Local Culture on Education in Laos - TEFL Blog
Mon, 15 Apr 2019 Mark Crocker
Alumni Experiences
The Impact of Local Culture on Education in Laos
The local cultural environment undoubtedly plays a crucial role in a community's education system. When specifically talking about developing countries, it is unavoidable to include Laos among those with a strong cultural background. Although Laos can be considered a fairly small country, it surprisingly contains more than 45 different ethnic groups, most of which boast their own traditions, culture, and language. This is a peculiar context that certainly needs to be taken into consideration when talking about education development. In a country like Laos, where old traditions and beliefs are still strongly followed by the community, the education system tends to absorb many of the... [Read more]
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Fri, 27 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina
Teaching Ideas
What are Good Storytelling Activities for the Classroom?
Stories are sometimes excellent resources in the ESL classroom. They can get the students talking and thinking in English about favorite fairytales or other stories they know or create themselves. With this, they can be creative while developing their own stories in class. This can lead to excitement and motivation. There is an endless supply of stories suitable for all ages and levels that could be used to develop English Language skills. And, hopefully, no shortage of imagination in the students to create unique stories.
Table of Contents
Resources
Useful Activities
Other Materials
Teachers' Creativity
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
Related Articles:... [Read more]
TEFL Alumna Shares Her Best Lesson Planning Tricks - TEFL Blog
Thu, 05 Mar 2020 Elizaveta Pachina
Teaching Ideas
TEFL Alumna Shares Her Best Lesson Planning Tricks
Lesson planning is an important skill and resource for teachers with benefits for the teacher, the students, and the institution accommodating them. By implementing this technique teachers are equipped with a guide that can instill confidence for themselves, as well as clarity for their students and employers.
Table of Contents
Benefits
Points to Remember
Ways to Solve Anticipated Problems
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jason T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Benefits
One of the primary and more evident benefits of... [Read more]
Glossary of ESL Cooking Terms - ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ITTT
Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!
Glossary of ESL Cooking Terms
This page has a glossary of ESL cooking terms several tasks for you to do to help you remember these vocabulary words. Being able to cook is a useful skill, and it is also good to be able to talk about food and cooking. It is also a great topic to talk about with EFL students around the world because everyone likes to eat. The vocabulary on this page will let you explain about cooking and the kitchen.
Talking about eating, cooking and food in general is a great skill for English learners because it's something everyone does and can related to. The following five activities are perfect for brining cooking into the EFL classroom.
1. Describing Food
Start off with this vocabulary... [Read more]
Where can I get free TEFL lesson plans? - ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ TEFL FAQs
Where can I get free TEFL lesson plans?
Having a meticulously constructed lesson plan is an essential tool for any educator. It provides a roadmap, without which the trajectory of a lesson can go astray rapidly. Although as you amass experience, you may find that you don't need to invest as much time in detailed planning, in the early days of your teaching career, a robust plan can make the difference between a smooth, successful class and a chaotic one. A comprehensive lesson plan enables you to articulate your learning objectives, organize your time efficiently, prepare the required materials and equipment, and anticipate potential issues along with their solutions. A well-prepared plan serves as your guide, ensuring you navigate each phase of the lesson without undue stress or wasted... [Read more]
7 Great Games for Your ESL Conversation Class - TEFL Blog
Fri, 04 Oct 2019 Linda Dunsmore
Teaching Ideas
7 Great Games for Your ESL Conversation Class
Teaching speaking skills is an important part of an ESL class. Sometimes, entire conversation classes are established that focus solely on speaking. Here are 7 great games for your ESL conversation class.
Table of Contents
1. Mystery Party Guest
2. Choose Your Victim
3. Ice-breaker Jenga
4. 20 Questions
5. Apples to Apples
6. Get to Know You Bingo
7. Create A Game
Are you ready to teach English abroad?
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1. Mystery Party Guest
Write down the names and key points about five celebrities and assign them to the same amount of students in your classroom. One by one, a student enters a "party" with another student playing the host. The host must then find out the identity of each... [Read more]
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TEFL Alumni Interview with Mihaela Camelia Pirvu
Linda Dunsmore
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For ITTT, our community of students and alumni is the most important to us. That’s why we’d love to share what our course grads have to say! This will not only have others make a better decision in whether TEFL/TESOL is for them, but it will also help the ITTT community grow bigger and stronger!
Top 5 Ideas For Your EFL Digital Lesson Planner
Anastasiia Ovchinnikova
TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas
In this blog post, our TEFL student shares their knowledge of teaching online lessons. She talks about 5 things important for digital classes and their effectiveness. Read this blog post to be ready for... [Read more]
Equipment and Teaching Aids: How to Organize Your Class Properly - TEFL Blog
Tue, 29 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina
Teaching Ideas
Equipment and Teaching Aids: How to Organize Your Class Properly
This unit focuses on the different uses of teaching equipment and what to take into consideration while choosing the adequate teaching equipment. Of the many named in the lesson, I have selected 3 to discuss in further detail. The whiteboard, the DVD player, and online resources. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these, and for a teacher to have an efficient lesson, it is important to manage these resources. By managing these aids, we can fully use them to improve our classes.
Table of Contents
Whiteboard
DVDs
Internet
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate... [Read more]
Online Teaching: ✅ 7 Activities to Enhance Your Online ESL Lesson with Miro - TEFL Blog
Wed, 18 Nov 2020 Elizaveta Pachina
TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas
Online Teaching: ✅ 7 Activities to Enhance Your Online ESL Lesson with Miro
If you have already switched to online ESL teaching, you've definitely been using an online board. There are many good options out there, but I prefer using Miro over the others. Miro is a convenient online whiteboard with lots of fun and interactive tools to use during the class and outside.
Table of Contents
Listen to this blog post:
1. Small Talk
2. Mood Board
3. Picture Comics
4. Kanban Table
5. Mindmap
6. Stickers
7. Emoji reactions
Are you ready to switch to online ESL teaching? Take a TEFL course to stand out!
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In this blog post,... [Read more]
Reasons to Obtain a TEFL Certificate Even if You Have Teaching Experience - TEFL Blog
Tue, 24 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina
Alumni Experiences
Reasons to Obtain a TEFL Certificate Even if You Have Teaching Experience
I am an experienced teacher, so why should I complete a TEFL course? A personal reflection on my experience, and how it has benefited and informed my teaching practice.
Table of Contents
Career Importance
Surprising Discovery
First Teaching Experience
Teaching Abroad
Obvious Benefits
ESA Methodology
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Melanie W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Career Importance
I didn't sign up for this course by choice. I was forced to do it by my employer. After many years of... [Read more]
The Best Teaching Ideas for TEFL Teachers from: 360
The Best Teaching Ideas for TEFL Teachers
7 Easy Ways to Make Money Online as an English Teacher
Elizaveta Pachina
Budget and Salary TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas
This blog post was written by an ITTT TEFL expert who shares 7 ideas on how to make money online as an English teacher. Online EFL market is boosting this year due to the global quarantine, thus, there are new ways to implement your skills and get profit sharing your personal EFL teaching experience.
3 Apps for Digital ESL Lesson Plans
Elizaveta Pachina
TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas
In this blog post, our TEFL expert shares 3 useful digital apps for ESL lesson plans. You will learn about Evernotes, Trello, and Notion, a 2020 favorite planning app. Create your own system... [Read more]