English Teacher Articles

  Here are some tips on completing your parts of speech worksheet. When providing examples for each part of speech, five one-word answers will suffice for almost all of them. However, we'll need to clarify this for the gerunds. This is basically due to the fact that what you've written can either be used as the main verb in a sentence, that would be the present participle, or can be used as the gerund. For example the word "playing" wouldn't be enough, as it can be used both as the verb or the gerund. So, an example sentence such as "I like playing poker." would suffice rather than simply the word "playing". Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units...  [Read more]

Teacher Career Development Wikipedia® states that the study of career development looks at how individuals manage their careers within and between organizations and how the organizations structure the career progress of their members. This is alluding to the fact that professionals and organizations are in a partnership. This definition fails to mention the importance and influence of colleagues throughout the lifetime of a career. It is the freedom and support that is given to the teacher by her employer and colleagues throughout the lifetime of her career that can create the feelings of happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment, to not have this can lead to a career that is discarded only to search for something that may not be as rewarding. So what happens to teachers when the...  [Read more]

TEFL Lemon began in 2014 as an ESL blog on the WeChat platform in China, quickly becoming the biggest ESL blog on WeChat. TEFL Lemon provided English teachers with ELT articles to read and share, as well as free ESL lesson ideas, ESL games and fun speaking activities which TEFL teachers could use in their classes. English teachers in China could also download free ESL flashcards on a variety of themes. Following their success on the WeChat platform, in 2018, TEFL Lemon decided to build their own website to offer their ESL Flashcard Games for Kids, ESL Warmers, ESL games and speaking activities for teens and adults for free to TEFL teachers around the world. You can visit their website here. Not only do TEFL Lemon offer teachers brilliant ESL games and teaching ideas, but they also have...  [Read more]

  Before we go into looking at the actual receptive skills lesson, if we were thinking about what potential problems there could be in these lessons. So, what things could go wrong in a reading lesson? Well, firstly the students when they are reading in a language that is not their native language, they tend to read every word as a separate piece and by reading word to word it?s very difficult to get an overall impression of what that particular text is saying. Secondly, the sentence length in a lot of articles that we will get will be very long and many of our students will not be used to that structure of language. So, here it's important to have a think about the way in which the text has actually been written and will it be fairly easy to read. The final thing is the actual...  [Read more]

Using Drama to Teach English as a Foreign Language This brief article will highlight what is meant by the term ‘drama’ before moving onto look at why drama is a ‘…very effective weapon ‘(Boal, 1979:ix) in the classroom. It will then add to this information a number of influential factors that will demonstrate why drama should be considered as key strategy in teaching English as a Foreign Language. Drama holds an array of interpretation and definition. For the purpose of this article I refer to drama as a process of learning and adhere to Booths description that ‘In its broadest term drama covers a wide range of techniques which incorporate interaction, movement, vocal action and mental concentration’ (Booth). In this sense ‘Drama’ is not about creating a spectacle or...  [Read more]

Please find below a selection of independent research articles written by our trainee English teachers. These articles were written while our trainees were completing their teacher training certification. Please click on any of the categories below to view individual articles in full.  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "Where can I get free ESL lesson plans?","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/where-can-i-get-free-esl-lesson-plans/#nameh0"} ] ] } For teachers seeking free ESL lesson plans, there are several reputable online resources that offer a wide range of materials suitable for various teaching levels and contexts. Websites such as UsingEnglish.com provide over 1,000 lesson plans available for download in PDF format, catering to diverse teaching needs. Additionally, the British Council and TEFL.NET are excellent sources for comprehensive lesson plans. Lanternfish ESL, ThoughtCo,...  [Read more]

Teaching one-to-one Teaching English as a foreign language can be done one of two ways: teaching a group of students or by teaching on a one-to-one basis. It’s estimated that up to 40% of TESOL teaching is done one-to-one, however teachers find it increasingly difficult to find relevant material, advice and assistance on the method. Nicola Meldrum argues that teaching one-to-one “unfortunately is not covered much in ELT discussion” and that ‘It is somehow assumed that teaching English as a foreign language means organizing huge groups of students, while the reality is that one to one is a normal and significant part of our teaching lives”. Teachers are in effect left to their own devices; however this doesn’t stop the concept of teaching one-to-one being an effective and...  [Read more]

Problems facing students from Vietnam How to deal with the difference. How does it function in my life. What do I hope my students will do according to these problems. There are three “circles” where I have to deal with these differences; In a classroom you have to discover and understand; to open up is exciting. There are differences of opinion, ideas, race, social class, spending your free time. Home and at school; different work methods and characters. Different education forms. In a classroom everybody has to try to accept and not to judge too quickly and ask yourself a question: Where do those differences, conflicts, discrimination etc. come from? Try to understand why people think differently. Differences can be exciting in the classroom, school culture, types of education. The...  [Read more]

  The ITTT Blog is a one-stop shop for all your TESOL related news, reviews, and information. The blog has hundreds of articles to browse through, all written by our own TESOL experts and some of our many course graduates who are now working as English language teachers all over the world. Among the many posts, you will find sections on visas and work permits, salaries and budgets, and a vast amount of teaching ideas. One of the most popular sections focuses on teaching destinations. Within this section you will find a wealth of information regarding the most popular teaching spots and some that you might never have heard of. Our TESOL course graduates play a big role in keeping the blog full of up to date and interesting information. Browse through their posts and you will...  [Read more]

Problems for learners in a Country of your choice: Italy In this paper I will address the issues I face as a teacher from the context of living and working in Italy, as well as the common problems my students encounter while learning and speaking English. I also want to draw attention to the input culture and society has on language, and look at how these factors influence dynamics within the classroom. Of course, it is nearly impossible to view ones self outside your own given cultural perspective, so as a result of this I will also be discussing my own assumptions on how I "imagined" people might act, compared to the reality of the situation. Often I neglect to take into account these differences, simply because I was raised in America, where I am used to a different set of cultural...  [Read more]

Games in the Classroom Teachers and researchers have moved away from the separation of linguistic skills as the best and only way to instruct students learning other languages. Today, more emphasis is being placed on purposeful games in the classroom which create a more carefree and fun environment for its learners. This method, when carefully chosen, produces confidence, creates competition and teammanship, and promotes a desire to win the prize...which is fluency of a 'once' strange language. In the end, everyone wins, since the goal is fluency of a foreign language with a teacher who becomes the hero, because she makes her lessons meaningful and entertaining at the same time. Games can be wonderful communicative device in the classroom setting and should be a central part of educating...  [Read more]

Should Students Be Allowed to Use Their Native Language in the Classroom When I first began teaching lessons during the TESOL Course I found myself almost automatically saying to the students, “English please,” after all it is an English class. However, I began to question myself about whether or not this was “correct” practice or if the students should in fact use their native language to assist them in the learning process. After doing some research I found the TESOL Law Code of Ethics. The Law of Ethics provided many vague and open-ended ideas. It suggested things along the lines of, “The foreign language teacher shall direct her whole professional effort to assist the students to develop his/her second language speaking ability.” It also mentions that TESOL teachers are to...  [Read more]

Online vs. Onsite Courses Becoming certified to teach English as a second language can be done onsite or online. On online course was the most efficient, economical and in many ways the superior way for me. This article explains my background and situation. It also touches on the process I went through to get to this, the final lesson. Online is not for everyone. It takes an open and creative mind to step into the world of computers and electronic tutors. An imagination and discipline were keys to my approach. Imagination was profound when I would take time away from class and Google some blogs about teaching English. Dave’s Café was just one of these places where you could find endless discussions on the joys and perils of teaching English in other countries. These stories were the...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word canoodle. This word is used as a verb and describes the action of kissing and cuddling amorously. The origin of the word is widely unknown. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. It is a great lesson to review the parts of speech. For example, eating healthy is a good habit. Eating is gerund. Healthy is adverb. Is is a verb . A is indefinite article. Good is adjective and habit is a noun.i need...  [Read more]

  This TEFL review is from Stephanie. She is from the United States and recently completed our 120-hour TEFL/TESOL course online. She thought that all the units were very helpful as it definitely provides a comprehensive foundation of teaching English as a foreign language. She had a good time taking the course overall and recommend this course to anyone looking to work in the field of teaching English as a foreign language. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next....  [Read more]

  The next idea we're going to consider is the use of visual aids and visual aids can include some examples such as real, objects, which we call realia, the use of pictures and photographs and also the use of models. So let's consider some of the ideas surrounding the use of visual aids. Well, why are they useful? Well, first of all the use of a visual aid can reduce teacher talk time. It's very much more simple just to show a real object than to try to describe it so that we could just ask the students ?what is this,? and they would say ?this is a pen,? rather than trying to actually describe it. Again if we were trying to show examples of fruit and vegetables rather than to try and describe them why not use an actual model and this is going to be much more visually stimulating...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word whodunit. This word describes a mystery or detective story that can either be a movie, a book, a play or anything to that extend. It is basically a short form of the words Who has done it?, meaning who is the criminal / murder in the story. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. This unit outlines some of the personality traits and roles teachers and students need in order to become...  [Read more]

  So, some of the ways in which we can avoid these problems occurring in the first place is to reteach the vocabulary that's going to be required in the particular activity and the grammar. Now, having said this, it doesn't mean that if we think about a particular article that they're going to read or a listening activity that they're going to listen to. They don't have to know every single word in there but they do need to know a certain number of words in order to actually make sense out of it. Secondly, most of the materials that we'll be using for both reading and possibly for listening will be what's called an authentic material. In other words, it's a real piece of material from a newspaper or magazine that hasn't been created for a particular class and so we need a very...  [Read more]

  Another idea for the present continuous tense focuses on the action of miming. Because it's in the present continuous tense, it'll be critical that the student, who is doing miming, continues to do the miming as the students guess what he or she is doing. In order to do this, the teacher will ask one student to come to the front of the class and present them with a card. The card at low levels will just be one word such as 'sleeping,' 'surfing,' 'eating,' or 'playing'. As soon as the student is able to mine any one of those actions, the students continue to guess with 'You are sleeping,' 'You are eating,' 'You are surfing.' Now at higher levels what you could do is continue on from the base of the action and include something like 'You are playing football,' or 'You are playing...  [Read more]