How To Become A Teacher For Free

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Troubles Faced by Students from China When Learning English If you think of Chinese ESL students it is safe to assume that most teachers would immediately worry about how they should teach phonics to Mandarin speakers. It is also true that the media has portrayed the Chinese accent as one of the most challenging to understand or even get rid of. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Graciela G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Personal Experience Usually, the first thing you will notice as an ESL teacher, speaking from experience, is the difficulty Chinese ESL students face when it comes to the pronunciation of certain English sounds. In this essay, I...  [Read more]

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 Rhea Latchu Alumni Experiences How can Teaching and Traveling be Blended? What if I told you it is totally possible to combine your passion with your dream? Well, it is. You see, for as long as I can remember, I have always had the dream to travel and wander around this globe. Then approximately four years ago, I discovered a passion within me that I didn’t even know existed: teaching! And that is how my journey working as an EFL Teacher began! Teaching English, the Ticket to Being an Expat Teaching English for many presents the opportunity needed to become an expat. To live the expat life. This was certainly the case for me. When I accepted a volunteer position as an English Teacher in Chile four years ago, it wasn’t (initially) to accomplish my life long goal...  [Read more]

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How a Teacher Influences Students and Classroom Atmosphere There's no doubt that the quality of the educational process significantly depends on the teacher. And therefore the teacher plays the leading role here. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ivan K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. What are the qualities that a good teacher should have? Teacher’s Personality There are many of them. First of all, in my opinion, it's the personality of a teacher that has the main impact on the way he/she leads the educational process. Such personal traits as confidence and self-perception, emotional control, creativity, сommitment, and determination make a...  [Read more]

Fri, 04 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Why English Matters Today English is everywhere. It is the world’s lingua franca. Out of 7.5 billion people, 1.5 billion speak English and just 360 million of them are native speakers, that is to say, that English is by far the most commonly studied language. It has become the global language for business, science, technology, aviation, advertisement, cinema, music, education, and so much more. How did it become so powerful? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Philippa K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The History of English The answer lies in history – after 1945, when the world was recovering from the biggest and most horrific conflict,...  [Read more]

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Art of Teaching Younger EFL Students I have 3 years of experience in teaching English in a few kindergartens in Beijing, China and some experience in teaching adults in a training center. When I started in kindergarten, it was very difficult because I didn’t have enough information about how to make a proper lesson plan. I didn’t have enough materials, games, songs, and it took me a lot of time to collect all the necessary information for teaching and creating my teaching plan. Without experience, it wasn’t easy for me to build a good rapport between me and my students. It took me a while to build a connection between me and the kids. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lidiia L. Please note that...  [Read more]

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences How I Changed Careers From Being a Nurse to Teaching English in China I might not have realized it before since I was busy studying and just trying to achieve my short term goals but I believe that my mother has been an inspiration for me to become a teacher. I could remember seeing kids at home being taught by my mom and she used pictures to identify certain shapes and animals. My mom was a regular housewife then. She taught only for fun and to make my brother and I be more engaged in learning things with the company of our friends, our playmates. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Marie M. “I thought that I didn’t have what it takes to become a teacher.” I remember how I strived hard to be able to be...  [Read more]

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Reasons Why Teachers Need to Build Rapport With Their Students While there are many things a teacher can do to prepare for the classroom, the way students interface with their teachers is something that can be both difficult and spontaneous. Building rapport with students is crucial to maintain a high level of energy and focus throughout a class session. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Matthew P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Students’ Comfort Even though a teacher may have an entire lesson planned out, if students do not feel comfortable participating in front of their teacher, the pace of the class becomes stilted. A well-constructed...  [Read more]

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Games and Their Influence on English Acquisition Diane Ackerman coined the phrase “play is our brain’s favorite way of learning” and we have discovered tough various studies and examples of how play in and out of the classroom improves learning skills and encourages involvement. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebeccah G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Motivation Level Within the classroom teachers have discovered that using games can increase motivation and can benefit students in a variety of ways. It is often found that students will pay more attention, become more motivated to learn and be more inclined to participate. While we know...  [Read more]

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas English as a Global Language: Why is it an Important Skill to Have? Communication through complex language is a uniquely human trait that allowed for the development of society and culture in the human species. Over the past several decades, humans have moved into an era of a globalized society. Part of “society” is sharing a language; therefore, a globalized society should have a shared language. While there are still many cultures across the globe and thousands of languages being spoken, English has gained a place of global dominance. The recent rise in technology has created avenues for instantaneous communication between people thousands of miles apart. With the internet playing an extremely important role in how humans...  [Read more]

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Should Chinese ESL Students Have Explicit Phonetic Instruction? During nine years of teaching English as a Second language, I have discovered how important phonetics is in learning the correct pronunciation of the English language, and in fact, in any language. Derwing and Munro (2005) emphasize, “It is essential to have an accurate understanding of the target language phonological system to enhance the quality of pronunciation". This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mark B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. We should look at some of the problems that L2 learners have when trying to produce accurate L1 language patterns. A vast majority of...  [Read more]

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Education in China: What a Prospective EFL Teacher Should Know The experience of living and working abroad for sure will give us another vision of the world. If you have been in China, enough you will learn to be more patient and tolerant. Live with another culture is not easy, and we learn how to be flexible. We are different, we live differently, our environment is different, our beliefs, our politeness, our food, etc. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ana P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Habits and Traditions “Good morning, how are you today? “- They have never asked each other how are they? Instead, they ask “Ni chi le ma?” Did...  [Read more]

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How Important is the Difference Between American English and British English for EFL Learners? This summative essay will exam the importance of teaching the differences between American English and British English for EFL learners. I will examine the intention behind teaching these differences, and when these teachings should be applied, and to what effect and purpose. This essay will focus primarily on the problems of pronunciation and spelling, which are the two main differences. I am a British citizen, born and raised in London, England, and currently teach at a public high school in Tokyo. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Challis C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences 3 Main Differences between One-To-One and Group Teaching Deciding whether to teach individuals or group classes can be difficult. There are many similarities as well as differences. The perusal of these two kinds of classes led to charting each difference and similarity. Many of the differences fell under three categories. These three major differences between teaching one-to-one and groups are the class set up, students’ goals/motivations and available activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jade B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Individual Tutoring Teaching individuals can be nerve-racking itself; the class consists of just the...  [Read more]

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences How Teaching Groups is Different from Teaching Individual Students A TEFL teacher will encounter a lot of different things throughout their career and the sizes of the student population are no exception. There are two different types of lessons, group and one to one. While group and one to one lessons are no better than the other, one may excel in some areas where the other one isn’t as strong at or the teacher may have to adapt their teaching style. The number of students in the classroom will affect how the lesson is carried, creates challenges and opportunities for the teacher, and affect student development. The teacher must consider these points to create an effective teaching and learning environment for all included....  [Read more]

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences What is the best thing I've learned from my TESOL course and how it reinforced my will to become a teacher As far as I can remember, I always wanted to become a teacher in a foreign country. The most thrilling part about it was to convey knowledge to others and extend my own cultural awareness. When I heard about TEFL online courses after graduating from university, I immediately thought it would be the best option for me in order to achieve my greatest dream. After the completion of this course, I will move to Tokyo with the strong will to teach English to all different types of students, regardless of their age or current English level. Now that I am almost done with my TEFL online course, this post will take a look at my...  [Read more]

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Science of Building Confidence in Students Confidence - how many times we’ve heard about it. That it’s important, that we should have it, that we should build it, that we should help students or any other people develop it. But what does it mean? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Iuliia S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The essence of confidence It’s been always difficult to explain what is it, as it’s something that comes from feelings of well-being, acceptance of yourself, belief in your abilities, skills, your own experience. I would say it’s a ‘self-power’, that lets you move through any difficulties, helps you to grow and...  [Read more]

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching Strategies to Enhance Self-Confidence in Students for Speaking Speaking is the most frequently used language skill. Moreover, English has attained an important status on the international level and become a lingua franca among speakers of languages. This encourages EFL students to learn it. They want to become proficient speakers. However, some psychological factors prevent them from achieving their goal, among them is a lack of self-confidence. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Joseph K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. According to Whitaker (1995), “every learner requires first and foremost: to be noticed, to be attended to, to be...  [Read more]

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Is It Normal To Praise Students? We all love to be told when we have done something great, completed an assign tasked or even given a simple compliment such as a good job or well done. Within any teacher-student relationship, praise is of course quite normal and very important as it will not only help to motivate and encourage the student to try harder but also will help them to relax and get more out of the lesson given. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Liza I. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. How does praise work? Effective praise always seems to provide the students with a kind of positive and powerful reinforcement which helps them to...  [Read more]

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Personal Teaching Experience - How I Became a TEFL Teacher Until now, I have been an English teacher for 6 months. Before that, in 2016 I was a teaching assistant. That is my part-time job. And this is a journey even though I have not yet taken a TESOL class but I am still confident that I can become a teacher. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tieu T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Assistant Tutor For the first half of the year, I was an assistant tutor for the preschool. I had very little contact with kids before so I was very confused at the time. I told the teacher that I couldn't make them obey. She is a master of special needs...  [Read more]

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The Most Common Problems Students in Laos Face When Learning English Learning a second language is never easy but the problems that each learner faces are not all the same. Sometimes the grammar of your first language is completely different from your second language. There might be sounds you do not know how to make because your first language does not have them. You might have limited access to fluent speakers of the language you are learning. All of these are true for Lao learners trying to acquire English as a second language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mary A. “Teaching students new vocabulary and how to pronounce it requires patience and creativity.” The national language in Laos is called...  [Read more]

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 3 Ways How to Be a Good Teacher Without knowing it nor intending it to be, my path has been strongly directed and focused on education and it was since Elementary School that I felt that something was wrong with me in the nowadays education system. After struggling a lot with learning as I was supposed to and believing that I was not smart enough, I finally took a subject at college that changed my thinking. This subject was called Educational Psychology and it was based on the actual necessity of creating a revolution or a change in education. Within the years we have been de-humanizing education at the point that we don’t even ask ourselves what is the purpose of what we are learning or teaching. We have become like side-blinded...  [Read more]

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. In this article, we will consider ten common mistakes that English teachers make when teaching online. 1. Imbalanced Lesson Planning This problem is fundamental to both in-class and online teaching. When it comes to distant learning, it is more challenging to choose a suitable approach. Some teachers tend to include too much information, which influences the overall quality of the materials. Others prefer to focus on more particular points in terms of one session but...  [Read more]

Fri, 08 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Top Tips for Gaining Confidence as a Teacher Learning a new skill can be difficult, and applying that skill can be even harder. Now teach that skill to someone else so they can adeptly apply it, and there might be people who become intimidated by such a task. However, teaching is a rewarding skill and there are several ways to improve a teacher’s confidence in the classroom. Although not an all-encompassing list, a few ways teachers can improve their confidence is through proper preparation, building rapport with students and self-reflection. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Courtney N. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First of all, having...  [Read more]

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 Gianluca Costa TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Do You Like to Travel? Become a TEFL Teacher! Many people have the dream to travel the world. However, it's hard to travel a lot unless you're rich or work for a big international company offering your business trips, right? What do you do about a visa, and what if you don't speak the local language? Fret not; it's actually easier than you think to find a job in an exciting foreign country. If you are a native English speaker or speak English fluently, why not consider a job teaching English abroad? How to become a TEFL teacher English teachers are always in demand in countries where the English language is not the native language. Before you start your travel, you should consider getting TEFL qualified by...  [Read more]

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Many Roles of a Teacher At the cafeteria during lunchtime, a student of mine approached and asked me, “Why did you become a teacher?” Dumbfounded by this brazen question, I did not know what to say. I could have chosen motherhood statements like “I want to make a difference in the world,” “to have a positive impact on my student’s lives, “or that “I love children.” I ended up saying to him, “Well, I am good at teaching.” However, the truth of the matter is, I needed a job and there was an opportunity so I took it. You can say it was fate that called me to be a teacher. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself being a Grade 3 homeroom teacher! After having experienced a variety of jobs in my life...  [Read more]

Fri, 01 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Creating English Learning Environment Outdoors What outdoor activities can help when teaching English? Literally any outdoor activity you can imagine can be of great help when teaching English. There are many different words and phrases that are used in specific types of situations and there is only so much role-playing and slide-show presenting you can do in the classroom. Sometimes taking the lesson outside is the best way to teach your students how certain words and phrases are used in particular scenarios. When you bring the lesson outdoors, students can start to make the mental connections in their brains between what they have learned in the classroom and experiences in reality. This post was written by our TEFL certification...  [Read more]

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Ways a Teacher Can Interact with Students in Class What is the role of the teacher? To meet the needs of the students, teachers will need to take on multiple roles in the classroom. Staying in one role for too long can hamper a student’s ability to learn. The lesson will become stagnant. As the stages of lesson progress, it is important for the teacher to change roles along with the type of activities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Diane T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Control Throughout the lessons, some activities will be more student-focused and others that will be more teacher-focused. It is good to have a mix of both. A role such as...  [Read more]

Wed, 22 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences 7 Reasons Why Troubleshooting is Essential for TEFL Teaching The Cambridge dictionary defines troubleshooting as the process of discovering why something does not work effectively and making suggestions about how to improve it. In TEFL as in any other foreign language course, teachers are faced with lots of situations that make troubleshooting necessary. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Olivia L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Problem Research And the reason why it is an essential part of TEFL is due, in great part, to the fact that humans make up a primary part of the equation. Humans, in general, feel a profound need to forge associations...  [Read more]

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Rules of Phonetics and Phonology in ESL Teaching In my experience tutoring students in English as a foreign language, the most overlooked learning points were undoubtedly phonetics, phonology, and their connection to pronunciation. Occasionally, there would be a few students who specifically asked for materials that would allow them to perfect or improve their English accent. Some students even requested to receive tutoring in different accents such as the Australian accent. No matter what the request was, it became clear to me over time that the missing link when teaching pronunciation was its connection to phonology and phonetics. From this point on, I became incredibly interested in this topic. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Why Should We Teach Our Children Through Stories? As a teacher, we often find ourselves daunted with the task of capturing our students’ interests and also equipping them for the future. Not only do we seek to train better students, but we also want to produce better citizens, workers, and future teachers. Teaching is still held the same purpose throughout all these years: bettering our future through the lives of our students. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Madison R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Teaching Methods Although our methods need to continually be more thought-provoking, entertaining and motivating, our objective has not changed....  [Read more]