Languages More Difficult To Learn

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching English Pronunciation to Students from Japan In my experience teaching elementary and junior high school level English in Japan, several different pronunciation problems appear frequently. The Japanese phonemic inventory is smaller than English's phonemic inventory, and the sounds present in each language differ from each other quite dramatically. Because of this, it can be difficult for native Japanese speakers to learn and master English pronunciation, but there are a few teaching techniques that can help students overcome this difficulty. Table of Contents Consonants Challenge Non-Existent Sounds in the Native Language Vowel Challenge 3 Methods to Work on Problems 1. Visual Representation 2. IPA Phonetics 3. Pronunciation...  [Read more]

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences There Is No L (And Other Differences Between Japanese and English) Throughout high school and college, I mainly focused on learning how to speak Japanese as my second language. Unlike English, Japanese is a fairly phonetic language. Two of its three writing systems, hiragana and katakana, are phonetic. This makes it easy for foreigners to learn because each syllable, also known as sound clusters in some circles, is almost always said exactly how it is spelled. The third writing system, kanji, is not and, as such, is much more difficult for foreigners to learn because kanji are essentially pictures that describe their meaning. They are much more difficult to learn and use in everyday speech. Table of Contents Differences in...  [Read more]

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Commonly Mispronounced Sounds by Chinese Native Speakers Throughout the world, different countries have difficulty pronouncing other sounds from different languages. For many native English speakers learning Mandarin, pronouncing the "x", "sh", "q", "ch", and "z" sounds are not easy obstacles to overcome. Based on my own experience it takes plenty of repetition to master how to pronounce each of these sounds. Chinese students have a similar problem when trying to pronounce certain sounds in English. The three sounds that come to mind are "th", "v" and the difference between "r" and "l". Table of Contents Difficult Sounds Replacing the /v/ sound with the /w/ sound Replacing the /l/ sound with the /r/ sound Do you want to teach...  [Read more]

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Main Problems of ESL Learners From Japan Regardless of the Japanese government's efforts to increase the number of foreign tourists to be a tourism-oriented country and to have been retaining compulsory English education for decades, Japanese people still have a reputation of being bad at English. The average TOEIC and TOEFL scores for Japanese are one of the worst among advanced nations. South Korea was also one of the worst in the past, but they are getting better and better these days. However, there are still some obstacles for many Japanese English learners to get over. Table of Contents 1. First, there are very few teachers in Japan who can teach students how to speak and write English with confidence. 2. Secondly, the...  [Read more]

Fri, 22 Feb 2019 Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences 3 Common Pronunciation Problems for Students in Peru Difficulty with pronunciation is likely something that every EFL teacher will face at one point or another in their career. Every language in the world has different ways of pronouncing different words/ letters. In addition to this, most speakers of other languages have heavy accents that can make pronouncing English words very difficult. This can be a challenge when teaching English as a foreign language. It can be especially challenging because not all learners around the world will face the same problems. Students in Vietnam will likely have different pronunciation problems than students in Kenya and students in Brazil will likely have different pronunciation problems than students...  [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]

Rate TEFL Courses Check out tefl tesol about Rate TEFL Courses 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 H.K - Korea said: Pronunciation problems for KoreansMost EFL students find pronunciation the most difficult aspect of English language; pronunciation of English is very versatile because depending on stress, rhythm, and intonation, the meaning of a sentence can totally change. Majority of language students share problems pronouncing s endings, ed endings, stress, timing, articulation, intonation, rhythm through use of contractions, blends, flaps, pitch, inflections, linking(3)....  [Read more]

Tue, 14 May 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What You Need to Know About Japanese Students' Challenges Before Teaching in Japan Japan is a country with a long history, deep tradition, and vibrant culture. Within this culture sits the Japanese language. At first, being a spoken language and then adopting the Chinese Writing System, Japanese has grown and changed into what it is today. If you look at all languages, most Western languages originate from a set family, such as Romance Languages (which became today's Spanish, French, Italian, etc). But Japanese (as most Asian languages) was formed from entirely different roots. These fundamental differences mean that the method of learning these languages has a lot to do with memorization and repetitive practice of the Chinese...  [Read more]

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The World Status of The English Language A global language is a language spoken internationally, the most popular one being English. It is learned by many people as a second language. Table of Contents Word Origin Global Communication Language Structure Cultural Importance Challenges For Learners Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Damian B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Word Origin A big part of the lexical units in the English language was taken from German, Latin, French, and other European countries. People think that languages have a strong relation between...  [Read more]

Fri, 15 Mar 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences What You Need To Know When Teaching Beginner Students From the 60-year-old successful businessman who has never studied English to the third grader who is learning it for the first time in a school setting, each student has their own motivation and background. Their unique experiences will dictate what they bring to the table and be a factor in their success or difficulty in learning English. Understanding what brought the learners to the classroom, will help a teacher tailor the lessons to be most beneficial to her students. This includes understanding their culture to a certain extent, specifically as it relates to faux pas or misunderstandings that could arise in the classroom setting. Table of Contents Defining the Difficulties...  [Read more]

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas My Vietnamese Experience: Challenges for English Learners in Vietnam I have traveled throughout Asia for some forty-five years, Vietnam is now my home. I always found the younger generations had a thirst for knowledge, particularly English as a second language. The difficulties of acquiring the knowledge under what was a repressive regime have diminished somewhat, but the major stumbling blocks to acquiring good English are the lack of experienced Vietnamese teachers, interaction with English natural speakers, and knowledge of the outside world in general. Table of Contents The Importance of English Elementary levels tend to be more difficult to teach, as they usually consider the class as a social event, more of a relief from a...  [Read more]

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Ways to Encourage ESL Students: Common Fears and Challenges This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Michela C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Table of Contents I'm afraid of making a mistake But it's too difficult/easy I'm very shy/insecure How will I know if I'm getting better? What can I do to be a good student? 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! I'm afraid of making a mistake You are in a classroom with people that have the same level of linguistic skills as you and your teacher is there to help you, not to judge you. Mistakes...  [Read more]

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teacher’s Self-Analysis: Which Aspect to Improve for Better Teaching A teacher's job is to teach pupils. While that sounds straight forward the question arises what makes a good teacher. If a teacher teaches all day, the outcome of the work lies in what was being taught. Pupils are taught what the teacher teaches. Now an easy thing to say is, that a good teacher should provide good teaching. But what would be, if the majority of students would not learn anything in a specific lesson, that would be regarded by other teachers as good teaching? The answer, of course, is, that all students are individuals and respond differently to the teaching. Making it dependent on the students, a more practical definition of good teaching is: Good...  [Read more]

Companies Online TEFL Check out tefl tesol about Companies Online TEFL 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 B. B. - USA said: Course ExperienceI have to admit that this course was far more challenging than I had imagined it would be. I had thought to myself: ?I speak English and I am a writer on top of it. I have a good sense of what is proper and improper. How difficult can it be?? But the fact is, I had no idea how many rules the English language had and I certainly had no idea how to teach them. It was an eye-opener to learn how a single word can change the meaning of a...  [Read more]

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Why Games are an Integral Part of ESL Classrooms Learning an unfamiliar language is no easy feat and with the globalization of the English language, more and more people are faced with the task of learning English to better their lives. It is no secret that English is one of the more difficult languages to learn given its many peculiarities and the lack of clues to pronunciation. This makes learning English not only more complicated but often frustrating for students who have difficulties understanding certain concepts. This is where games can have a huge impact. Table of Contents Motivation and Interest Confidence Needs Useful Materials Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written...  [Read more]

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Easy Solutions for Problems Faced by Japanese Students in English Learning a second language can be difficult and depending on the learner's mother tongue, it can present challenges unique to a certain group of people. More specifically, there are several unique challenges for Japanese native speakers who are learning English and vice versa. English can be difficult for Japanese native speakers for various reasons such as difficulty distinguishing certain sounds, the use of katakana to teach English words, and drastically different sentence structure. Table of Contents Difficult Sounds Vocabulary Typical to Japanese Only Sentence Structure Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was...  [Read more]

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 5 Simple Ideas on Teaching Grammar I think of myself as having been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to learn other languages at a young age. I was taught French in primary school and at home, I learned or acquired Spanish. At school, I remember my language teacher being very textbook-oriented and she focused and followed the book to the "T". I picked up easily on the grammar because I had already learned Spanish at home and I was also very keen to learn foreign languages, especially French. The grammar didn't seem difficult or boring to me at all because I had already been exposed to the language at a very early age. However, many students didn't feel the same way I did and had difficulty with the subject and therefore,...  [Read more]

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Struggles of Teaching Difficult English Language Patterns There are many different types of peculiarities when concerning the English language, and this essay is aimed at the difficulties in teaching those peculiarities to learners that are not fluent in the English language. It can be difficult for native English speakers to progressively learn the subtle nuances as children graduating to young adults and navigating complexities of the language as adults; deciphering whether or not these peculiarities warrant further investigation or retention based on usage and context. These oddities of the English language can be exponentially more difficult for those attempting to learn the English language as a second language, having fully...  [Read more]

College Best TEFL Check out tefl tesol about College Best TEFL and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: Check out ITTT's Blog Posts A.O. - U.S.A. said: Problems facing different nationalitiesSpeakers of other languages have various difficulties learning English that differ based on their native language. The more different the native language is from English, the more likely there will be various difficulties. Speakers of korean, a non-European language completely different from English, have their own unique set of challenges when learning English as a second language. As the two languages have no similar...  [Read more]

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 Federico Riva Teaching Ideas How Teachers Benefit From a Second Language Learning Experience Language acquisition is not an easy feat for anyone at any age, whether you are learning your first language as a baby or your fourth language as an adult. Learning foreign languages will always be difficult however, having a teacher that understands the challenge with first-hand knowledge, can make a huge difference to students. Table of Contents Ways of Acquiring Languages Alumni Experience Career Opportunities Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Randi B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Ways of Acquiring Languages...  [Read more]

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences What Problems South Korean Students Face While Learning English Koreans take education very, very seriously, yet there are many problems for learners in South Korea. Society deems those who are not good at studying as lazy, and good for nothing, therefore most students study to death. Literally. They go to school extremely early, finish around noon, and then stay at a cram school until late at night. They repeat the same routine over and over again every single day. They even have to study during vacation. This results in students that do not study because they are motivated or because they want to, but simply because they are forced to, and if they do not, they can't enter the college they want or land the job they've always...  [Read more]

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Active Approach to Motivating Students When it comes to learning English, some students already have a strong source of motivation. This could be for many reasons, such as a desire to move to an English-speaking country, to be able to communicate with English-speaking friends, or even simply because they enjoy the language and culture. Table of Contents Motivation and Age Games and Other Activities Considering Students' Interests Choosing Learning Resources Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Julianna W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Motivation and Age When teaching...  [Read more]

Achieve TEFL certificate Check out tefl tesol about Achieve 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.H. - U.S.A. said: Problems for English students in Mexic?Quiero hablar Englés. Puedes enceñarme?? (I want to speak English. Can you teach me?) Living in a small tourist town in the northern part of Mexico, I have been asked this question many times. For the people living in a state that borders the united states, speaking English becomes a valued asset. Here in Creel, business owners want to be able to communicate with the tourists that come into their...  [Read more]

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas How to Teach the Correct Pronunciation of L, R, V, and F Many students of English as a Second Language (ESL) find that, of the many struggles they have with the language, pronunciation is the most difficult to master. Table of Contents Working on Fluency Difficult Sounds: Part 1 How to Teach? Difficult Sounds: Part 2 How to Teach? Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Listen to this blog post Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sophie M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Working on Fluency Pronunciation is an extremely important ability to have to sound more fluent in English. By gaining the knowledge and skill of...  [Read more]

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The 4 Most Important Reasons Why Is English So Challenging for Chinese Learners In this blog post, I plan to examine why English may be such a challenging language for Chinese speakers to master, namely in comparison to their European peers. For the purpose of this examination, I will focus on four main aspects, from quite glaring differences to other aspects that some may not initially consider: written language, grammar, vocabulary, and language exposure. Table of Contents Chinese does not use an alphabet for written language Grammatically, Chinese and English stand worlds apart Challenges with vocabulary Exposure to English is very limited in China Are you ready to teach English in China? Related Articles: Listen to this blog...  [Read more]

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 Laura Payne Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas "Authentic" English: 3 Tips for Implementing Authentic Materials in Language Classrooms Authentic materials are media that native speakers of a language encounter in their everyday lives, which are not specifically created for language students. TV programs, newspaper articles, books, songs, YouTube videos, and more all fall under this term. Table of Contents 1. Take advantage of pre-teaching. 2. Focus on a single language point and give your students a clear goal. 3. Vary the role authentic materials play in your lessons. Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language? Related Articles: Incorporating authentic materials into ESL classrooms has numerous merits, but the high language level required to understand...  [Read more]

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Readers Are Leaders: How to Instill a Love for Reading in Children? Children usually prioritize their joy and prefer rewarding activities. They are more interested in reading when it is rewarding and beneficial to them. Interestingly, children learning a second language find it easier to learn reading compared to those who are learning to read for the first time. This is because young second language (L2) learners have already experienced that reading can be interesting and entertaining. By making reading in a second language interesting, students are likely to be motivated. Table of Contents Text Difficulty and Vocabulary Support Setting Achievable Reading Goals Tailoring Reading Material to Children's Interests...  [Read more]

Fri, 08 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The Difficulties of Learning English as a Native Japanese Speaker Learning another language is one of the most powerful tools for connecting people around the world from different cultures. Opening an immeasurable amount of opportunities, learning English has many benefits including but not limited to expanding career options, exercising another part of the brain, and improving the ease of traveling to a foreign country. However, particularly for natives of Eastern countries, learning English may be very difficult due to the exoticism of sounds, writing, pronunciation, and structure. While Japan is unique in a sense, having a booming influence of Western culture after World War II, native Japanese learners face difficulties in...  [Read more]

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Am I Too Old to Learn a New Language? If you're a native language speaker, you've likely heard the phrase, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". There has been little evidence found to support this claim, but the belief persists. Many adult learners believe that it is too late for them to learn a new language. If you are teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language you may find yourself teaching a class of adult learners. Adult learners differ in many ways from young learners, and one such issue you may encounter is a doubt from the learners that they are capable of picking up a new language now that they are no longer children. Though the style of learning and the issues encountered will inevitably differ from those of...  [Read more]

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Most Common Issues Faced by English Learners in Japan Given the increase in globalization during the late 20th and early 21st centuries and the growing inter-dependencies of domestic economies within the international marketplace, English, as a primary language medium for conducting international business arrangements, has become an increased priority both socially and within the business environment. However, notwithstanding the importance of English fluency within contemporary society, Japan and Japanese English learners face difficulties when trying to achieve competency. These difficulties and issues can be shown by the 2018 EF English Proficiency Index which ranked the English level of Japanese learners as rank 49 out of 88...  [Read more]