I Don't Speak Chinese

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences 4 Things To Keep in Mind When Teaching EFL in a Kindergarten As a kindergarten teacher working in China I have a lot of experience dealing with students, fellow teachers; Chinese and foreign, management and parents. Table of Contents Potential problems you might face in a Chinese kindergarten You can call on other foreign teachers for advice and support Getting to know your students will help you teach them Parents like to be involved Start your journey as an English teacher in China today! Related Articles: Listen to this blog post A few years ago I came to China to learn Chinese. To pay for my living expenses I started teaching young learners. Pretty soon I got a full-time job in a kindergarten and I fell in love with the work and I...  [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]

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Reasons for a Lack of Confidence in English Students from China Many Chinese students face the common problem that although they spent 10 years studying English at school, they can't pronounce an English sentence correctly, and they are not confident enough to communicate in the language. Table of Contents Challenges in Developing Productive Skills Drilling Family Background Personal Issues English Environment Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mengru W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Challenges in...  [Read more]

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Personal Teaching Experience in China and Russia In this topic, I will be talking about my own "Personal Teaching Experience" in two Asian countries that I've had the privilege to work in and teach such as, China and Russia. So you might want to ask yourselves, What's the difference between teaching Chinese and Russian students? Well honestly there is a huge difference so let's get started. Table of Contents Culture Assistance Personal Experience Teaching Materials Teaching Methods Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jhonatan J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Culture First...  [Read more]

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Global Benefits of English as a Second Language At a very early age, I was amazed by the sounds of English. I used to listen to songs in English while one of my parent's friends was cleaning his car. He used to play them out loud and I wanted to know what the lyrics said. Several years later I had the chance to go to China to be part of a cultural exchange program to learn Chinese. My accepting interview was completely in English rather than Chinese or even my native language Spanish. All paperwork was done in either Spanish or Chinese depending on where I was. Either here in Latin-American or on the other side of the world, the medium of communication was English. Table of Contents Personal Background The Importance of Learning...  [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". Table of Contents We should look at some of the problems that L2 learners have when trying to produce accurate L1 language patterns. We also have to take into account the students. Chinese students are very reluctant to speak in a classroom setting. So what pronunciation mistakes are most common? Do you...  [Read more]

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Problems for ESL Learners in China The English language has become so essential in china because the country wants to successfully promote internationalism and keep the lines of communication open for trade and business matters. As one of the global powers, it's in the country's best interest to keep afloat of shifting trends in international matters. Table of Contents Governmental decision Spelling Pronunciation Singular / Plural Aspect Gender Articles Lack of opportunities to practice Word order Individual differences Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ramy M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences How English as a Mother Tongue influences Foreign Language Acquisition When I chose this topic, I asked myself what a foreign language is. Is it just a language spoken in another country that's not similar to one's own? Or does a language spoken in another city or district in one's country qualify as a foreign language? According to Wikipedia, a foreign language is originally from another country than the speaker. Table of Contents English as a Mother Tongue French Experience Exposure to Chinese Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nafuna M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of...  [Read more]

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Personal Teaching Experience in a Chinese Training School I have been an English teacher in China for roughly 3 years, one of the biggest challenges I face every day is the look I get from the children when they see me for the first time. I stand out a mile away (blonde hair and blue eyes) so they are either very eager to speak to me or they are petrified. Table of Contents Responsibilities Benefits Drawbacks Classes Structures We have 3 levels: Age Groups Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jeanne H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Responsibilities As a training school...  [Read more]

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How to Help Chinese Native Speakers to Follow English Grammar Rules in Speaking Grammar is the rules governing the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in a natural language. Simply put, grammar is the general rule of a language. Language is logical; grammar tells us in which order we say words. It's about how words become phrases; how words and phrases become sentences and how sentences become language. Table of Contents The Essence of Grammar Different languages have different grammar rules How to teach grammar (EFL: how to teach Chinese students English) Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Yang S. Please note that this blog post...  [Read more]

Tue, 14 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences How I learned Basic Teaching Skills in China I have been working in China for more than six months now and it's been a very interesting time for me not just to learn more about the country and its people, but also to enrich my teaching skills and grow professionally as a teacher. Table of Contents Specific Approach Assistance Teaching an extremely large classroom Total physical response Do you want to teach English in China? Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Evgeniya S. Specific Approach When I arrived in China, I hardly knew anything about specific features of teaching in that country, so I thought that the knowledge I had was quite enough to handle the classes in kindergarten or primary...  [Read more]

Wed, 08 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Pronunciation Challenges Students Face in China Every learner of a foreign language may face pronunciation problems now and then. Languages that belong to one language group have more in common in phonics and are usually easier to learn to pronounce correctly. But such languages as English and Chinese are so different, that Chinese learners (and I bet English speaking learners of Chinese too) often have many difficulties in pronunciation. Table of Contents State of the problem Common pronunciation errors How to correct pronunciation problems Learn how to teach pronunciation effectively! Related Articles: Listen to this blog post: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Evgeniya S. State of the problem I have...  [Read more]

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Useful Teaching Ideas for EFL Kindergartens in China Working as an English teacher in the kindergarten is very entertaining and challenging, as the teacher will deal with the children who don't have even a basic knowledge of English, have the very short attention span and very different in terms of their behavior. Before I moved to China, I haven't prior experience in teaching the kindergarten level students, because I always thought that teaching the young learners would be annoying, hard to discipline and far too energy-consuming. So what I had learned was just through my own experience. Table of Contents My Experience Rapport Building Lesson Planning Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course today! Related Articles: ...  [Read more]

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Essential Role of Grammar Grammar is not only about vocabulary and sentence structure but also can improve our communication and ability of logical thinking. Table of Contents Why learning grammar? Misconceptions How to learn a language effectively? Functions of grammar How to improve grammar? Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Meiheriayi M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Why learning grammar? Some people always ask a question that what is the point of learning grammar? Foreigners never learn grammar, but they speak better English than us when they travel abroad. Also...  [Read more]

Wed, 06 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What Challenges do Chinese Learners of English Face in their Studies? Teaching English in China has become very popular for ESL teachers and many are looking for job opportunities in China. Finding a teaching job in China isn't too hard but working with Chinese students can be quite challenging. Table of Contents Grammar Challenge Pronunciation Challenge Environmental Challenge Cultural Challenge Generation Gap Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate VIKTORIIA H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Grammar Challenge Chinese grammar is very different from English and many Chinese...  [Read more]

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 Sabrina Segal Alumni Experiences 5 Tips For Raising a Trilingual Child Language skills begin in the womb when a fetus's hearing first develops, they begin to listen to the language of their mother. Once the baby is born they recognize their mother tongue. Though, a baby is born with the ability to learn any language and multiple languages. When babies hear a word repeatedly their brain forms neural connections, which is a step towards their speech. The brain of a child is like a sponge. It retains so much information that by the time a child reaches 3 years of age, their brain has formed double the amount of connections that adults have. Young children learn language through simple exposure. It is possible to learn a language later on in life but the process is...  [Read more]

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas What Are The Differences Between Foreign Language and Mother Tongue Acquisition? I chose this topic because I have first-hand experience with my trilingual child. She is 3 years old now, we are a couple of Romanians living in China, and my husband is a middle school English teacher. My daughter was born in China and I can both speak Chinese. 'What language will my daughter learn first?' Was one of the questions that haunted me and I thought it would be the greatest challenge of motherhood. Well, the reality proved me wrong – it was the easiest task and now my daughter can speak perfect English, she can understand and speak Romanian very well and she understands Chinese and can speak when she has to. Table of Contents There is...  [Read more]

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching Speaking to Chinese English Learners The following essay is a summative task for my TEFL certification course. I have chosen the topic "Problems for learners in a country of your choice" and the country of focus is China. In the essay, I would like to answer the question "How to help Chinese learners improve their conversation skills?" Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: State of the problem Phonetic System Chinese Censorship Culture Ways to Teach Speaking Intonation and Stress Speaking Activities Motivation Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course today! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nastja S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent...  [Read more]

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Common Struggles of the Chinese Native Speakers Learning English Most researchers agree that the learner's first language influences the pronunciation of the target language and is a significant factor in accounting for foreign accents. So-called interference or interference from the first language is likely to cause errors in aspiration, stress, and intonation in the target language. Table of Contents Phonetics Unusual Sounds Language Structure Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vesna A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Phonetics Some Chinese students tend to have...  [Read more]

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching Monolingual vs. Multilingual Groups: What You Need To Know A multilingual class is a class where the learners speak a variety of first languages. A monolingual class is a class where all the learners speak the same first language. I have been working in international school setting for over 13 years. The classes are multilingual classes where students come from different cultures and English is the common language for them to communicate with their teachers and classmates. Table of Contents Common Difficulties Common Culture Exposure to English Mother Tongue Are you ready to take a TEFL course? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post By contrast, English classes in local schools and universities in China...  [Read more]

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences 5 Big Problems for English Learners in Beijing, China It is generally agreed that education is one of the most important issues in every country these days and China is no exception. Table of Contents English is a must to enter better schools and find better jobs in China. Overcrowded classes lead to nonexistent English practice. The Chinese education system doesn't focus on English. Mandarin Chinese and English have very few similarities. The teacher student relationship isn't very close-knit. Are you ready to teach English in China? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ekaterina G. It's a well-known fact that China is the most populated country in the world with a...  [Read more]

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This is What I Learned from my Online TEFL Training The most widely used language throughout the world is English. Some countries use English as an official language. English is a major subject In China. Most of the Chinese students start to learn English from primary school or middle school. In recent years, more and more students start to learn English from kindergarten. They put a lot of time and effort into learning English. The majority of Chinese students learn English for over 10 years. But there is a strange situation. They still can't speak English fluently, even though some simple English conversations. But they can get high scores in the exam. Why is it? Because Chinese students are too stupid? Or not hard-working? No!!!...  [Read more]

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences What is it Like Teaching EFL in a Kindergarten? The majority of children turning 5 years old attend kindergarten for two years in preparation for primary school. Some kids enter kindergarten earlier at the age of only four. This actually varies according from state to state and also from country to country. Table of Contents "Teaching EFL in a kindergarten is really challenging." "Teaching Kindergarten is like a Rollercoaster Ride!" Don't rely on Translations Preparation is key! Truly, teaching is a rewarding job. Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post In China, most kindergartens combine childcare with teaching so that the children will develop physically, morally, and intellectually in a...  [Read more]

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Drastic Problems of Chinese Learners in English Language has always played an important role in communication between people. Today, in the globalization, the importance of mastering a foreign language has become increasingly prominent. English is the most widely used language in the world. Table of Contents English Status in China Reasons for Low Results in English Economical Challenges Differences in Two Languages Cultural Background Lack of Proper Study Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Xiao W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. English Status in China In the 21st...  [Read more]

Fri, 29 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Common Learning Difficulties Faced in ESL Settings Learning is always hard especially learning something new such as English learning. English is a different new language compared with Chinese, so when we are learning, definitely we will meet all kinds of difficulties in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Table of Contents Most beginners think listening is the most difficult part of English learning. Speaking can be improved dramatically from zero in a short time but it's quite difficult to speak accurately. For most Chinese people, English reading is not as difficult as listening or speaking. Writing is always the hardest part of English for Chinese students. Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course today!...  [Read more]

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Common Speaking Challenges in China I came to China 4 years ago to teach English. I have not managed to learn Mandarin in that time frame but I did learn quite a bit about the differences in pronunciation between Mandarin and American English. The most common errors made by Chinese students generally come from the habit of translating to their native language. English and Mandarin share some similarities such as word order and sentence structure which also complicate the issue. In this essay, I will discuss teaching pronunciation, the problems that can occur when teaching pronunciations, and the issues that occur with Mandarin speakers learning English. Table of Contents Pronunciation Intonation Phonics Do you want to teach...  [Read more]

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information 6 Things You Will Miss Out On If You Don't Teach English Abroad Teaching English abroad is one of the most interesting career paths one might take up. You get to move to a new country and even get paid for it! However, too many people are unsure whether teaching EFL is right for them. This article highlights 6 things you will miss out on if you don't teach English abroad. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Trying new things Meeting new people from all over the world Seeing things from a different perspective Enjoying Freedom Gaining Independence Change of routine Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post: Trying new things When routine becomes a ball and chain, you know it's time for...  [Read more]

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Most Effective Vocabulary Teaching Methods I think vocabulary is something that should be taught at the very beginning of the course. When you're starting with a brand new language, the hardest part of learning a foreign language from scratch is vocabulary building. This is because when one starts a new language, they typically don't know where to start. For example, should they learn how to say "Hi, how are you?" first, or should they learn some of the more substantial, yet basic vocabulary terms, such as "I give" "I eat" etc? At what point should you introduce grammar? Table of Contents Language Learning Experience Using a Target Language to Deliver New Knowledge Core Vocabulary Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL...  [Read more]

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Why Does ESL Education Impacts Language Acquisition? I'm a non-native English speaker who never once benefited from an effective ESL program in her entire school years. It's rather ironic that I became an ESL teacher and taught English for six years, essentially preaching what I had never practiced myself. Table of Contents My Personal ESL Experience Working as an ESL Teacher International Marriage Motivation Challenge First Language Acquisition Do you want to teach English abroad or online? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Somy L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [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]