Individual Pronunciation

  Whereas stress is typically concerned with one individual word, intonation is generally concerned with the variation in volume and pitch throughout an entire sentence. Intonation carries the message of a sentence. It's particularly important when questioning or agreeing, disagreeing and confirming statements. It's also very important when expressing emotions and feelings. The normal pattern for intonation is the rise-fall. Few examples would be ?I haven't seen him for a week,? or a simple word as ?okay?. With the falling intonation, we?re indicating that we're finished speaking. Again, ?I haven't seen him for a week? and ?okay?. A few more examples would be ?I'll see you at six then,? or a question of information ?How do you spell rough?? These are straightforward statements that...  [Read more]

  When learning the English language students are regularly confronted by vocabulary that is new and unfamiliar to them. In order to learn how to pronounce these words correctly the students needs to hear them modeled correctly by the teacher. 3x3 or choral drilling is a technique that is often used to aid students in learning correct pronunciation. The 3x3 technique involves the teacher clearly enunciating the new word to the class who then repeat the word back as a group. The process is then repeated twice more. After the choral drilling the teacher then indicates an individual student to repeat the word to the rest of the class. This process is again repeated twice more with different students. In addition to teaching the pronunciation of new words, 3x3 drilling can also...  [Read more]

Phonetics and TESOL Phonetics, the study of the sounds of human speech, and in particular “Articulatory Phonetics”, are not commonly taught to native speakers of English, let alone learners of English as a second language. However if the learner is serious with their English and wish to progress to an advanced level, learning phonetics, in particular the International Phonetic Alphabet, would be of immense benefit. English spelling is often contradictory, devoid of relation to the pronunciation of a word, and lacking in clear patterns. Patterns that do exist are numerous, with a large number of exceptions, and all of this makes it very difficult for the learner of English as a second language to master pronunciation. The International Phonetic Alphabet puts all of the individual...  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ ] ] } Teaching English to students who have no prior knowledge of the language involves adapting your existing teaching methods to suit the situation at hand. For all beginners, several key teaching strategies are essential: By tailoring your approach to the specific needs and backgrounds of your students, you can effectively teach English to those with no prior knowledge of the language. 1. Keep it simple: you need to remember when teaching beginners that your language level has to be at the same level at least and only slightly above theirs at most; otherwise they are not going to understand you. 3. Keep them talking: as often as possible, get those language learners talking. It's...  [Read more]

  This video focuses on the difference between "bored" and "boring". Using those two words incorrectly is a very common mistake, especially for English learners around the world. The word "bored" is an adjective describing the feeling when there is nothing to do or when a person is not interested, for example, "she was so bored that she fell asleep". "Boring" is also an adjective but this word refers to the cause of the bored feeling rather than the feeling itself. For example, "the class was so boring that she fell asleep". Here the class is the reason for the feeling. The same concept can be applied to similar word pairs such as 'interested - interesting' or 'tired - tiring'. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL...  [Read more]

  In Chantelle’s thirteenth video diary entry she talks about unit 13 of her 120-hour online TEFL course. Unit 13 covers pronunciation and phonology. As Chantelle notes there is a lot of information presented in this unit including phonology, stress, articulation and the phonemic alphabet. The unit also looks at how to teach individual sounds and when we should teach pronunciation to our students. 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. The...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word caparison. This word refers to decking something out in rich decorative coverings, usually used for horses. This word found its way into the English language through the French word caparasson who took it from the Spanish caparazón meaining ‘saddlecloth'. 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 section covered the various past tenses in the English language. I think that it was done...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word levigate. This word is used as a verb and refers to the action of reducing a material to powder or a smooth paste. The word originates from the Latin 'levis' meaning 'smooth'. 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. Content:Teaching special groups,types of classes,teaching individual students,teaching children,the monolingual and multilingual class. I have learnt about the techniques and...  [Read more]

  So now we'll consider the actual classroom arrangements themselves in terms of the physical desk layout. There are possibly three main types of arrangements that are used within classrooms and we're going to indicate the desks here as being boxes and the arrangements of the students within those desks will be blue crosses. So here we have the desks ranged in rows and the students sitting within those rows. The second arrangement could be the use of horseshoes or semi circles and finally the use of individual desks. So for each of these arrangements what are the potential advantages and disadvantages of arranging our seating in this way? Let's take the rows first of all. One of the potential advantages is that it does give the teacher the opportunity, if it's arranged correctly,...  [Read more]

  Okay, so we're going to use this pro-forma as our lesson plan and we're going to fill one out as though we were planning for an actual lesson. So, we start off with some basic information about the class. So, the name of the teacher, date and time and the class level. In this particular case, our class is going to be an elementary class and the room will be room 3. Having looked through the registers we see that the expected number of students for this particular class is going to be 10. This will help us in creating our worksheet copies. The context of the lesson for this class is going to be present continuous tense and it may well be the first time that this particular level of class has been introduced to this tense. So, our focus is going to be fairly general and it's going...  [Read more]

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The 550-hour Expert Package is the most comprehensive course option currently available through ITTT. It covers a very wide range of knowledge and skills that ESL teachers need in order to thrive in a variety of different classroom environments all over the world. By completing the full course package you should find you are more than ready to tackle all manner of teaching jobs and management-level roles at home or overseas. This extensive package consists of six course components: The 120-hour TESOL course (Part 1 of the package) must be completed first, however, parts 2 to 6 can be taken in any order you decide. After successfully completing the 120-hour course you will have the option of receiving a 120-hour certificate then five further individual certificates for each section...  [Read more]

Teaching Productive Skills Acquiring the skills to effectively use a new language may involve traditional classroom learning lessons and controlled practice, but experience with the language and the opportunity for creative exploration are also important components in the learning process. Students need to be exposed to the new language, they need to be able to understand its meaning and how it is constructed, and they must be able to practice and produce the language using the knowledge base they have attained (Unit 7 p.1, ITTT course book). Productive skills include speaking and writing, two critical components of the complex process of communication. There are countless reasons for communication between individuals: they have something they wish to express (verbally or in writing),...  [Read more]

For those who want to teach English as a foreign language abroad, some countries require teachers to have a recognized degree. Without this degree, many potential candidates are considered out of the running for potential positions before they have had the opportunity to even apply. If this applies to you, then Siam Technology College’s International Program, Bachelors Degree in TESOL, is the perfect opportunity. Siam Technology College offers you the chance to work and earn money in Thailand, while working towards your degree in an educational facility fully accredited by the Thai Ministry of Education. We offer the chance to obtain an extremely marketable BA in TESOL + Diplomas in Language Acquisition, Phonology, Morphology and Syntax and TESOL Methodology, with the following unique...  [Read more]

Teaching methodologies in the "Super-learning" class “Super learning” (SL) is an accelerated learning technique and a fast-growing business, with varying results. Lessons usually last a whole day, and the course is often concentrated into a weekend. Some courses are based simply on suggestopedia, promising - but not always delivering - great results: “learn French in five days”. However, some successfully combine suggestopedia with other teaching methods to deliver good results. SL is designed to aid the learning process by removing learning barriers, stimulating both hemispheres of the brain simultaneously, as well as activating some of the intelligences not normally represented in a traditional course. The classroom environment is set up to facilitate subconscious learning, as...  [Read more]

Cape Town is a modern city with a combination of cultures, urban living and natural beauty all dominated by the magnificent Table Mountain National Park. Whether you are into art, food, music, sports or all these things you are going to feel right at home in Cape Town. Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa and is known as the “Mother City”. The region that is now Cape Town was first noted by Portuguese explores in the fifteenth century and the city is great place to explore the history and culture of South Africa. Surrounded by gorgeous natural landscapes, Cape Town is also home to some beautiful cultivated natural spaces such as botanical gardens and public parks. With an abundance of outdoor space it is not surprise that sports are a popular past time in Cape Town and South...  [Read more]

Bilingual Education versus English Only Models Over the years, many debates have arisen in regards to second language instruction (L2), giving prominence to two main models: English Only versus Bilingual Education. English Only uses solely English as the medium for instruction, whereas Bilingual Education, as its name implies, uses both English and the student’s native language. While there are several aspects to the debate, this paper will briefly cover a certain few: cultural sensitivity, accuracy, and segregation. Proponents of the English Only model claim that the use of a student’s native language creates a “cycle of native language dependency,” meaning that the student, to some extent, gets “tethered” to his native tongue. Using solely English in the classroom, advocates...  [Read more]

Here at ITTT, we will do all we can to ensure your entire TESOL training experience is as straightforward and rewarding as possible. If you have any questions regarding our courses, please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section below. Our FAQ section should clear up most of your queries but if you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by submitting them via the form provided at the bottom of this page. What does TESOL mean?   The acronym TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. The term is commonly used when referring to certification courses that provide the skills necessary to teach the English language to non-native speakers in your own country or abroad. Read more What is the difference between TESOL and...  [Read more]

English as a Global Language In the last few months that I have been traveling, it has become even more apparent to me how important it is to be able to speak English to interact in the world today. Many of the people that I have been talking with over the last few months have not been native English speakers. And it became very clear to me that if they had not learned English, I would not be able to communicate with them, they have to learn a second language to be able to broaden their opportunities for travel, work, and general communication with people from other countries. As a native English speaker, you take this for granted. And as a result, many native English speakers only speak the one language. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, the British economic predominance in the...  [Read more]