How Can We Make Our English Class More Interesting

Thu, 30 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Ways to Teach Vocabulary Effectively Vocabulary, as one of the three main elements (The other two are pronunciation and grammar) of a language, is essential in language acquisition. Teaching vocabulary is always being a great concern for any English language course. Quite a lot of teachers are really focused on how to make a vocabulary lesson more interesting and memorable for students. New vocabulary has to be introduced in such a way as to capture the students' attention and place the words in a practical way. Table of Contents How to teach vocabulary interesting and memorable How to enlarge students' vocabulary Practice makes perfect Are you ready to teach English to ESL students all over the world? Related Articles: Listen to...  [Read more]

Wed, 06 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Why Establishing Rapport is Important for You and Your Students Ever have someone try to establish rapport with you? When we think about it carefully, the answer is affirmative. You need to build rapport with people to make friends. To do business with establishing rapport, as well as sales. Establishing rapport makes things much easier than you don't. Imagine meeting someone for the first time and you are not interested in him. What is your next move？Obviously you will end the conversation with him? Let us focus on the importance of building rapport in class. Table of Contents Teaching success Building rapport early Pros and Cons Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was...  [Read more]

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Stories for Teaching English to Different Groups of Students Reading is one of the key elements for all English learners. By reading authentic stories and books, not only do we learn reading and understanding the text we are working with, but we also expand our vocabulary by discovering new authentic words you wouldn't be able to find in your course books, and more importantly, you can see it in context which makes it easier to remember and use those words and structures in the future. Table of Contents Younger Students Teens and Adults Resources Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Julia P. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Principles of Acquiring Teaching Skills How can I be a good teacher, that is the question that we, as prospective teachers should be working on and should never stop asking ourselves. It is important, first of all, to know what makes for a good teacher. What kind of skills do you actually need to succeed in your goal and what things should you keep in mind walking towards it. Table of Contents First of all, the main thing should be the willingness to become one. Emphasis on the student is one of them, the most important one actually, from which we can build our way up to being what we call a "good teacher". Now let us go over the definition of what makes for a good student. Age is an important factor to keep in mind while...  [Read more]

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 Federico Riva Teaching Ideas Top Tips for Playing Games During the ESL Class Learning foreign languages is a very exciting and very responsible deal. A significant role in teaching foreign languages, in particular, English, belongs to games in the classroom. Games enhance students' mental activity, helps them consolidate material of the lesson, therefore it's a very important activity. The developing value of the game we can find in itself, because where is a game - there is emotion. Where is emotion, there are attention improvisation and imagination. Table of Contents How to Implement Games? Teacher's Part Examples of Games Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ivan S....  [Read more]

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching Approaches That Implement Music and Songs The English language is the most spoken one as a second language in the whole world. It has become the international language of business, science, technology, international relations, and diplomacy. Table of Contents Why Use Songs? Boost of Motivation Here are six steps for making a song the focus of the class Ice-breaker Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course today! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Askarbekkyzy K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Why Use Songs? Songs can be used to develop students' listening skills. They improve listening skills 'because...  [Read more]

Thu, 28 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Self-Reflection: From Failure to Great Teacher The year was 1992, I was going to my first English class. I was so excited to begin. I'd always wanted to learn that language. The movies, music and everything I loved the most was in English. I was ten years old, my whole class was the same age, but the only thing I didn't know was they were much ahead of me. The course placed me in a classroom with kids that were already speaking English since they were six years old. They spoke all the time and I couldn't understand anything. I felt so disappointed and ashamed, I couldn't even comprehend the difference between him and her. Even my teacher made fun of me. As a result, I got out of the course after lots of swollen eyes and arguments...  [Read more]

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How to Deal With Problems That Learners of English Face in China Nowadays, English is becoming more and more popular and significant in China because of globalization. In big cities, parents send their kids to all kinds of organizations/schools to study English in their early three years. Some capable parents even use English as their communicative language from the first day the baby was born. No matter how early Chinese starts learning English, it's still not our mother language and the atmosphere is still in Chinese, which makes learning English not as easy as those in English countries. Table of Contents Different Dialects Aims of Learning Useful Methods 1. Environment 2. Role Model 3. Games 4. Family guidance Do you want to...  [Read more]

Thu, 23 May 2019 Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences Key Ways to Motivate Students from Young Learners to Adults As we all know, motivation is a core aspect of teaching and learning a language. Lack of motivation is perhaps the biggest obstacle that we face as students and teachers. If a student lacks motivation, he/she will not pay attention in the class or will simply find it boring. At the same time if a teacher lacks motivation to teach he/she will be unable to attract students' attention and give them all they need. Let us be honest and say that intelligent students are those, who always eagerly attend class and enjoy the process. Here we need a highly motivated teacher who is willing help them. In this article I divide students into several categories because different situations...  [Read more]

Fri, 07 May 2021 Pritam Nagrale Teaching Ideas Top 6+ Tips to Design Effective Lessons for Your Online Classes As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world well into 2021 and shows no visible signs of ebbing, there's an additional burden that teachers have to face nowadays. And that pressure comes from designing effective lessons for online classes. The new normal, as we know it today, dictates that we stay at home and take every precaution to avoid the contagion. Table of Contents Reasons for Effective Online Lessons 6+ Tips to Make Your Online Lessons Effective Keep It Simple Narrate Own Experiences Engage Parents in Learning Assign More Projects Hold Online Debates on Lessons Never Use Newsreader Mode More Tips to Design Effective Online Lessons In Conclusion Are you...  [Read more]

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences The Best Thing I’ve Learned While Taking A TEFL Course I have been a teacher with 51 Talk for three years now and to improve my career and teaching skills I have learned some things on this TEFL course that will help me brush up my skills in teaching. Though I have been a teacher's aid before, as well as a bright student who used to tutor others during my school years, it was now that I realized how hard teachers used to work for us to become good learners in school and understand the subjects. Table of Contents ESA Methodology of Teaching Classroom Management EFL Games Listen to this blog post Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Saba S. Also read My...  [Read more]

Should we teach culture in the EFL classroom? Put simply, language is a verbal expression of culture which means that culture clearly has to be seen as an important part of language learning. Although it is important to learn the vocabulary and grammar of English during lessons, to truly grasp what the language means to native speakers it is vital that EFL students learn as much as possible about the culture of English speaking nations. The good news is that students generally love learning about cultural issues, whether it is music, films, books, and TV, or other things such as food or fashion. So, how can we incorporate culture into our EFL lessons to make them interesting and productive? Use authentic materials Authentic materials can be anything that native English speakers might use...  [Read more]

Mon, 06 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How To Create Interesting Teaching Materials Legendary musician Paul McCartney once said, or rather sang, "When you've got a job to do you've got to do it well. You've got to give the other fellow hell." I don't believe anybody wants to be the middle of the road teacher, who just gets through each day, though I have seen many teachers who are. Before I started, I asked myself what makes the best kind of teacher and who were the best teachers in my life? There are many styles of teacher, but the answer I came to is the inspiring style of teacher – the teachers who made me WANT to learn and to go out and read and study on my own. The way they did that was by using their skills to make learning interesting and irresistible. Table...  [Read more]

Thu, 07 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas What is Motivation and How to Increase it in the ESL Class? I think being a teacher it is not only to study. This profession includes so many roles such as being a friend, parent, psychologist, etc. It depends on many factors like age, nationality, size of the group of students, or individual student. One more very important factor is motivation. To find out why motivation plays a key role in building rapport between teacher and student first we need to define the meaning of it. Table of Contents Definition OBSERVE REVISE INVOLVE ENCOURAGE Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Alina S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas ESA Method and Why You Should Use it As we all know, students will be eager to learn and be more active during the class if they are properly motivated and interested in the lesson. There is no better way to motivate and engage students to learn a new lesson than the ESA method. ESA method is very useful for students as well as for teachers. With ESA method teacher can present a lesson to the class in a variety of interesting ways. ESA method has 3 stages: Engage, Study and Activate. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Engage Study Activate Types of ESA Lessons Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course today! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Darko R. Please note that...  [Read more]

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 8 Simple Ways to Implement New Technology in Your Teaching to Benefit From It In 2019, it is difficult to imagine an ESL lesson without the use of modern technologies. Every tutor, language center or school tries to use audio and video presentations, interactive whiteboards, smart toys and so on. With the help of modern technologies, the learning process becomes more interesting, dynamic and informative. It is promoted by the developing market of educational services, growth of the competition, and also inquiries of students. In this article, we will try to find out how a modern teacher can use technology in his lesson. Table of Contents 1. Plan Before You Go 2. Breaking News! 3. Look And Listen 4. Make it Fun 5. A Star Goes...  [Read more]

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 5 Things a Teacher Should do to Succeed in Classroom Management In a large class of 40 or 50 students, it is not easy for the teacher to take responsibility for coordinating the activities, attention, and study of so many students. Students are the most rapidly developing people in their life stages. Potential for development and plasticity. How to carry out class management at primary school and improve students' overall quality is an issue every teacher must face. Therefore, it is necessary to make a series of classroom management rules. Table of Contents 1. Create a set of requirements to students 2. Encourage 3. Create the environment 4. Teaching approach 5. No teachers' pets Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL...  [Read more]

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas 5 Activities for Using Movies in the ESL Classroom One of the first things you should learn during a TEFL certification course is that delivering interesting lessons goes a long way to keeping your students happy and motivated in the classroom. And, if your students are stimulated by your lessons they are likely to progress quicker, which also makes the teachers job that much more satisfying. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Silent Movie The Prediction Game Vocabulary Match Guess the Dialogue Guess My Movie Are you ready to take your students to the movies? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! So what exactly makes a TEFL lesson interesting? There are many things you can do to...  [Read more]

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Kind of Motivation Important for an ESL Classroom When starting any class, if you expect that your students will be motivated to learn a new language, at first, you have to be primarily motivated and enthusiastic. We have seen that we can have self-motivated students and also reluctant students, it's the teacher's role to make the best to involve providing an interesting and pleasant class when you show passion to the subject that you are teaching, it can be contagious for most students, who will model your positive behavior. Table of Contents Teacher's Part Daily Routine Outer Motivation Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate...  [Read more]

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Motivation as the Core of Students' Learning Process All students from around the world have various ways of feeling inspired and motivated within the classroom. Examples of reasons in which students may feel unmotivated can be from lack of interest in learning the English language, uninteresting or 'boring' classwork given from the teacher or overcoming difficulties that the student may be coming across whilst learning the language. All of these aspects are possibilities of ways in which students can feel unmotivated to learn English and I am going to explain how we as teachers, can control this issue and help each learner within the classroom. Table of Contents Downsides of the Learning Process How Can Teachers Help? Types of...  [Read more]

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 Anastasiya Akpinar Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching Online: ✅ Tips For Giving Video Homework It has become usual for students and teachers to communicate only via computer screens for the last year. All of us have faced a number of problems when studying or teaching online: Table of Contents Overcoming the initial shock Consequences Old, Good, Forgotten Make your own teaching videos Creating your own project Chain reaction More Tricks Try video projects in your online class! Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! Overcoming the initial shock It took society around half a year to get used to a new teaching system. However, it took much more time for the teacher–student communication to get back to...  [Read more]

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Lesson Planning for Structured ESL Classes The lesson plan is a structure of the course that you will give to your students, a clear guide as to what you want to achieve and how you are going to do it. A good lesson plan generally consists of learner objectives, personal aims, language points, procedure, phase, and interaction, etc. It is of great importance because it can help teachers to have confidence in class, make the class go more smoothly and help to improve the course. Table of Contents What is lesson planning for? Lesson flow Course effectiveness Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yanfen G. Please note that this blog post might...  [Read more]

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Best Ways to Teach New Vocabulary to Young Students One of the things of the English language that can make English hard to get to grips with. Vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with reading comprehension and reading achievement. Vocabulary is required for students to achieve cognitive academic language proficiency. All good reasons to make sure that your vocabulary teaching is interesting, useful and effective. Table of Contents The Good Ways To Teach Vocabulary Set achievable goals What should we give to students with a new vocabulary What the right FCs are When teaching FCs for young learners, I follow these steps These are some activities I often use when teaching with FCs: 1. Charades 2. Picture word match race 3. Flash...  [Read more]

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Top Strategies for Effective Teaching of Grammar Type in "teaching grammar effectively" into Google and the reader will be confronted with pages and pages of advice/frameworks/theories on how to effectively teach grammar. Table of Contents 8 Do's and Dont's for Effective Grammar Instruction 8 things to avoid Alternative Approach Theory Explanations Examples Exercises Supplementing the coursebook Carry-over 7 tips for effective grammar instruction Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: Most of the content does acknowledge that there is no "golden rule" for effective grammar teaching before imparting their particular key rules or areas that should be incorporated into teaching grammar. This post was...  [Read more]

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Secrets of Managing Equipment and Teaching Aids When I started teaching I just used to get into the class and start teaching straight from the textbook for the whole lesson with no variation whatsoever. I used the textbooks like they were a highway code. At first, it was all good and my lessons were moving along fine, but then after a while of teaching the same group of students, I found that they began to lose interest in my lessons. Table of Contents My surprising observation practice How can teaching aids help? Modern aids vs. outdated aids Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course today! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Fungai M. Please note that this blog post might...  [Read more]

Thu, 21 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences MI Theory Implementation in an ESL Classroom There are many types of multiple intelligences such as (Visual intelligence-Musical intelligence – Kinesthetic intelligence – Verbal intelligence – interpersonal & intrapersonal intelligences … etc.) we must take care of our students' types and design our lesson according to their intelligences. The verbal intelligence involves knowing which comes through language. Mathematical intelligence uses numbers, math, and logic to understand any topic. Visual intelligence represents knowing through shapes, patterns, and pictures. Intrapersonal intelligence is showing people who prefer to work individually. Also, kinesthetic intelligence is based on physical...  [Read more]

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching Bigger Groups vs. Individual ESL Learners One of the main differences between teaching groups and individual students is the lesson plan. Table of Contents Teaching One-to-One From a Learner's Perspective What do Teachers Think Lesson Plan for Group Teaching Students Abilities Students Peculiarities Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: Several factors need to be considered when planning a lesson for a single student: The aforementioned factors should be taken into account even when teaching groups but in one-to-one lessons they are crucial. Considering that the whole lesson is dedicated to one individual, material covered should be graded to his/her exact level to achieve the best...  [Read more]

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Acquiring Teaching Skills as Part of Professional Development From my teaching experience of teaching English to foreigners of other languages, I had never realized how important it was to learn different teaching methods and skills. I did not major in teaching nor anything related. I majored in Business Administration and simply was allowed to teach ESL in another country where I was not raised, and I did it. Nowadays I compare these skills taught and how different I was teaching back then, that I am so willing to start teaching again, but with these newly acquired skills, I learned. I can remember several experiences in my teaching days that I committed many mistakes that this lesson taught me how to avoid, i.e. how not to talk...  [Read more]

Accredited TEFL certificate Check out tefl tesol about Accredited TEFL certificate 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 T.G. - U.S.A. said: Teaching one to oneWhen most esl students start learning English for the first time, they typically start lessons in a group setting. The biggest reason for this is that they usually start learning English in the Elementary or Middle school. The students are accustomed to studying in groups from an early age. This group classroom dynamic is something that is continued in most English school because there are many advantages to it. However, in...  [Read more]

Wed, 08 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences When is the best time to use songs in a classroom for young learners? I was an English teacher in Japan for over three and a half years. In that time, I gained a lot of experience teaching young learners. My students were aged from two to fourteen. As I taught these students, I learned a lot about how songs can be used effectively in the classroom. Songs can be used to teach sentence structure, routines, vocabulary, and help aid the understanding of instructions in the classroom. Table of Contents Learning path Young children Lesson flow Transitions School kids Teenagers Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Megan B. Learning...  [Read more]