Mark Jepson

  Mark has recently completed two TEFL courses with ITTT and started working in the beautiful city of Warsaw in Poland. In this TESOL review, he shares his thoughts on the TEFL course and why he'd recommend it to other teachers and those who want to become teachers!  [Read more]

This refers to one of the most commonly used English language proficiency testing systems currently available. On completion of the test the student receives a proficiency rating between 0 and 9 based on their performance in the four separate categories of reading, writing, speaking and listening. The IELTS testing system is used as standardised proof of an individual’s language skills by a wide variety of organisations including immigration departments, private corporations, universities and colleges. Because the test does not set a specific pass mark it is left to each organisation to set its own required proficiency rating based on the 0 to 9 sliding scale. For example, a university may set minimum requirement of 6.5 for a student to gain acceptance onto a specific course.  [Read more]

This is a sentence that starts with a question word, such as whom, who, what, where, which, why, whose, when or how. It is followed by a question mark at the end. There are other forms of interrogative questions, such as yes/no questions, indirect questions and tag questions.  [Read more]

This test is used extensively by English speaking universities, colleges, private sector businesses and government agencies as a method of assessing proficiency in the English language. Traditionally the test has been available in both paper based and online based formats, however, the paper tests are gradually being phased out as availability of the internet increases around the world. The test is divided into four separate sections, each covering one of the main language skills, i.e., speaking, writing, reading and listening. The student is then awarded an overall score ranging from 0 to 120, with a maximum of 30 points awarded for each language category in the online version of the test. This test does not set a specific pass mark so any organisation that uses it as an assessment of a...  [Read more]

  http://www.tesolcourse.com Once you have paid for the TEFL/TESOL online course you will receive the course log in details. Once logged in you will receive your first email with the course details and course units. Each course unit needs to be worked through in turn and the relevant tasks completed. Trainers will then mark the assessment tasks online. Course units are worked through in order. Upon completion of the course trainees will be sent their certificate within five working days. Go to the link above to learn more about the workings of our TEFL/TESOL Online Courses. Are you ready to live and teach abroad? Click here and get started today: https://www.teflcourse.net/?cu=YTDESCRIPTION Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online...  [Read more]

  Then, we have a set of objectives and aims. Here, the learner objectives relate to what we're hoping the students are going to be able to do by the end of your lesson and quite often, that can be a useful way of writing out what the objectives are. So, we would start the sentence "By the end of the lesson, students should be able to?" and then a list of two, three or four items that we're expecting the students to be able to do by completing this lesson. The learner objectives are different to the teacher aims the teacher aims are what you are expecting from that lesson itself. Now, when you first start teaching, quite a normal aim might be to complete the lesson successfully, to get through the whole thing without having any problems. As time goes on and you become more...  [Read more]

  So, let's take a common game that's been played over the years, which is called Noughts and Crosses or Tic-Tac-Toe. What we're going to do is to adapt this game for classroom use. So, we've taken the normal Tic-Tac-Toe or Noughts and Crosses grid and we've just numbered out each of the particular squares. What we can then do is to form teams and those teams can then be asked a series of questions and they get to choose which question they want from 1 to 9. So, let's say, for example, they choose question 1. That could be on anything that they have studied ,the grammar or vocabulary. If they get that question correct and say they are the Noughts or the zeros then they get to put their mark here. What the next group will probably do is to try to block them in some way by choosing...  [Read more]

  Ohio is a great destination if you are looking for nature, entertainment and history. Ohio borders the Great Lakes in the north and is a state blessed with natural beauty. This area was home to many innovative early humans who left their mark on the world by building extraordinary mounds and other earthworks to observe the sun and solstices. You can still see these mounds today, especially the Great Serpent Mound which is truly remarkable. Ohio also has a wide variety of wildlife that thrives in this beautiful part of the world. Four distinct seasons give visitors many opportunities for outdoor and indoor activities. Outdoor lovers can visit one or many of the 130 state nature preserves, and 74 state parks. In the Cuyahoga Valley National Park you can try zip-lining, mountain biking...  [Read more]

  The state of Oregon is an exciting destination on the Pacific Coast. Often nicknamed “The Beaver State”, Oregon is blessed with unique natural scenery, including a relaxing coastline, abundant bodies of water, volcanic mountain ranges, and lush forests. Oregon has a history of millions of years and was populated by various tribes of Native American before the first explorers arrived in the area. Today, Oregon is America’s ninth largest state and one of three to have a Pacific Coast on mainland USA. Visitors especially enjoy the many historic and natural wonders the state has to offer year-round. You will have to get out and about to fully explore all that Oregon has to offer. Get out of the car and hike the hidden paths to embrace the beauty and tranquility of the region. Mt....  [Read more]

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The Difference Between Teaching One to One and Groups In the words of one-to-one pioneer, Peter Wilberg, 'One-to-one teaching is different'. http://www.oxfordtefl.com/teacher_development_courses/certificate_one_to_one_teaching.htm(Teaching one to one: Mark Powell, oxford TEFL.) Most TEFL courses and language schools are geared towards teaching students in groups, so many teachers find it difficult to adapt there skills to one to one teaching. Many, perhaps most, of the personal and pedagogical skills we have developed as language teachers relate almost exclusively to working with groups. It has been suggested that most students prefer one to one teaching as opposed to being taught as a group. For teachers it can prove very challenging, as expectations tend to be high from the students...  [Read more]

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With world-class surfing and diving, a large number of cultural, historical, and archaeological attractions, and an enormous range of accommodations, Bali is one of the world’s most popular island destinations and one which consistently wins travel awards. Get TEFL Accredited in Bali, the famed Island of the Gods, with its varied landscape of hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces, and barren volcanic hillsides all providing a picturesque backdrop to its colorful, deeply spiritual, and unique culture stakes a serious claim to be paradise on earth. Bali is known for tourist hotspots that cater to surfer dudes, budget-backpackers as well as high end luxury travellers. But there is a side to Bali that many do not experience- and the road less travelled...  [Read more]

  Massachusetts is the state with the largest population in New England, the Northeast of the United States. Its convenient geographic gave it the name “The Bay State” as it bordered the Atlantic Ocean in the east. Due to this exciting coastline, Massachusetts is a wonderful destination for outdoor lovers with tall mountains, deep valleys and the best beaches in the region. Add to that, Massachusetts’ rich history as it was the place where the Pilgrims landed and the Revolutionary War started. As you can see, Massachusetts truly is a wonderful place to explore. In fact, visitors can enjoy the beautiful natural landscapes of Massachusetts during all four seasons. The mild weather in spring is perfect for camping, hiking, biking and even fishing. On top of that, people love to...  [Read more]

Slovakia is a good place to get off the beaten track and experience rural folk life, hill walking, and out-door pursuits. At the same time the cities are vibrant and their architecture is a testament to wave after wave of conquerors leaving their mark upon the population centres. Slovakia is also extremely inexpensive both as a place to live and a place to visit. The official language is Slovak; however, Hungarian, Czech and German are also spoken. The population is five and a half millions, and this fits into a fairly tiny nineteen thousand square miles. Of the population, sixty percent are Roman Catholic, ten percent are Protestant, and four percent Orthodox. Since 1989 the transition to a market economy in what was the old Soviet Bloc has led to huge demand for English language skills....  [Read more]

  Our next consideration is going to be building and maintaining rapport. The importance of rapport is that within our communicative activities, we're asking the students to talk to each other. If they feel comfortable with each other and with us, then that interaction is much more likely to be useful. So how do we actually build and maintain rapport? Well, it's easiest if we consider two stages of the course itself. What we can do at the start of the course and what we can do throughout the course to help build and maintain that rapport. So at the start of the course, it's very useful if we ask the students to create a name card and to make that name card visible to everyone. Secondly we need to try to do some ice breaking activities that will allow the students to interact with...  [Read more]

South Asia contains a contrasting array of different countries and different cultures. The incredibly wealthy state of Brunei stands in stark contrast to the poverty of Bangladesh and Pakistan. India, Sri Lanka and Nepal offer stunning natural beauty unsurpassed in the region. In all of these countries English is the de facto second language, and in countries like India it is the medium of instruction in many schools. Again contrast is the keynote here. Brunei requires that prospective teachers wishing to teach in state or private schools have a TESOL certificate, a PGCE and an undergraduate degree, and two years’ teaching experience. With all of the other countries a TESOL certificate alone will do fine. With language institutes you can, in the main, expect to find yourself teaching...  [Read more]

Foreign Language Experience I come from a country, which is with high cultural values and great diversity. There are different languages spoken and different customs and traditions followed all over India. When I was in school, which was English medium school, we had Marathi and Hindi as our second language, Hindi was introduced from grade 3 and Marathi from grade 4, both these languages have almost similar script but there is a difference in the way we speak the language thus the difference in these two languages. It was easy for me to learn to read and write Hindi. It was very difficult for me to learn Marathi, my struggle worsened as my mother too was not able to help me as being from south of India she had never heard or spoke Marathi .It was compulsory in school to score same amount...  [Read more]

TESOL Course Experience My time in Phuket Since I arrived in Phuket I have been nothing but amazed, between the beautiful scenery, architecture and customs and it has been a wonderful time. The local people have been friendly, always wanting to help in any way possible, not to mention the teaching staff, which have helped in all aspects of this experience. From day one of the course, I knew we were going to learn something useful and that feeling has not been proven wrong. On the first day, we started an informative and pleasant information session, in which all aspects of the course were in a straightforward manner laid out. From there the first of our two sessions where we observed experienced teachers in action. This provided a very valuable insight into what our own lessons may be...  [Read more]