Phrases In Different Languages

Learning Grammar - English as a Second Language Basics Several months ago during a dinner date, my friends commented on the articulation and enunciation of my speech. They said that they were not accustomed to hearing such language outside of a classroom environment. They suggested that I use utilize this natural ability to teach young children in a formal environment. However, I was deeply entrenched in the business realm and I could not fathom the thought of switching careers at this point in my life. It took a year working abroad in South Korea to reassure myself that a real need was present for my talents. I noticed the true motivation of my South Korean friends to learn the English language. They could readily identify and pronounce certain things but they were hesitant to speak for...  [Read more]

Common Linguistic problems Contronyms, Heteronyms, Idioms, Oh my! English is an extremely complex language. Before a student can be considered truly proficient, he/she must not only master a variety of tenses and irregular verbs, sentence structure and parts of speech, but he/she must also work to understand and master lexical and structural ambiguities. Lexical ambiguities are very common and have a variety of names and definitions depending on the level of ambiguity. Homonyms are words that have the same spelling, but two or more meanings. An example of this is: mean. Is it describing an unkind person? Is it an average? Is someone talking about the definition of a word? Another type of lexical ambiguity is the heteronym. These are words that are spelled the same, but have different...  [Read more]

Slang and Teaching Idioms In TESOL education, idioms appear particularly daunting for students and teachers alike and for this reason they are often neglected in English courses. A brief overview of everyday slang reveals an intimidating array of idioms that could easily go unnoticed by the native speaker but prove confusing for the student of English. On Kenneth Lawrence’s website devoted solely to idioms, he has attempted, like many other books on idioms and websites that focus on them, to organize idioms into coherent categories. The categories are diverse; there are bird idioms, money idioms, and even arm, head and finger idioms. It is clear from the amount of idioms in existence and the limited activities used for teaching them that idioms are a subject for more advanced English...  [Read more]

  First and most common we added simply an '-s' for verbs like 'work', 'play'. This is what we typically see within our language. However, when we have verbs with spelling patterns such as ending in '-ch', '-sh', '-z', '-s' and our shorter verbs 'do' and 'go', we have to add our '-es'. Then for verbs the end in a consonant and 'y' we drop our 'y' and add our '-ies'. Finally, we have our irregular verbs 'be' and 'have'. For subject 'I', we use 'am', for the subject 'he', 'she' and 'it', we use 'is', whereas with 'you', 'we', 'they', we use 'are'. Finally, we have 'have', which stays as 'have' for these subjects: 'I', 'you', 'we', 'they' but for 'he', 'she' and 'it', we change 'have' to 'has'. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online...  [Read more]

Peculiarities of the English Language The English language was created in England. Throughout history, this language has spread to many parts of the world. It is used as a link language for International business and diplomacy. According to Madhukar N. Gate, it has taken thousands of words from other languages such as French, Latin, German, Greek and so on. We can even find Sanskrit words in English. For example: Guru and Pundit are two Sanskrit words used in English. English grammar is quite simple, in many languages nouns have grammatical gender which makes some verbs and adjectives change. This doesn’t happen in English. The adjective “big” is used with all nouns such as man, woman, child, book etc, as well as applying to both singular and plural nouns. Counting large numbers in...  [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]

  The idiom "green thumb" refers to the ability to grow plants well, for example: Whenever I buy a plant, it always dies shortly after. I really don't have a green thumb. Because my plants always die, I don't have the ability to grow plants well, hence, I don't have a green thumb. 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. In the classroom, I often use the teaching aids provided by the school, for example; whiteboards, iPads, coursebooks, flashcards, DVD...  [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]

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  There is no simple answer to this question as it depends entirely on which type of TEFL course you choose to study. At ITTT we have a range of courses that are designed to suit the various needs of our trainees, each with its own time scale for completion. Please see below for a breakdown of our various course options. Online courses are often the quickest route towards TEFL certification. If you are in a real hurry a course such as our 60-hour introduction to TEFL may be a good choice as you can conceivably complete it in as little as five days. Even those who prefer to study at a slower rate should find they can complete the course within one month. However, it is worth remembering that the majority of employers worldwide insist on job applicants having a TEFL certificate of...  [Read more]

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  The idiom "white elephant" refers to an expensive item that is costly to maintain, for example: Shortly after Tanya inherited her aunt's castle, it turned out to be a white elephant she could not afford. The phrase originates from a long time ago when white elephants where regarded as precious and even holy in Asia, especially in Thailand. When the king was displeased with someone, he would gift them a white elephant as the upkeeping would likely ruin them. 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...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word "belated". This word refers to something that happened later than it should have. A common use of the word is in the following phrase "Happy belated birthday," used by people who wish someone a happy birthday after the actual birthday. Synonyms for belated include late and overdue. 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. In this unit we had a general introduction to the course and now know what...  [Read more]

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Teaching Styles We all learn in different ways, and similarly, as teachers we tend to have different ways of teaching which come more naturally for us. As teachers, we need to be aware of what our particular style is, but we should then try to adapt the way we teach to fit the needs of our students as well. There are many different categorizations of teaching styles, but rather than discuss the ways styles are categorized, I will simply summarize the ones most commonly referred to. Probably the most traditional one is the direct instruction style. Direct instruction is very teacher-centered, and provides for little if any student-teacher interaction or group interaction. The teacher is the focus of attention and provides all the information necessary for the student to excel in...  [Read more]

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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]

business English The study of business English relates specifically to learning and improving English ability for use in international trade. It is studied by non-native speakers who wish to communicate with companies in English speaking countries. In addition, it is used between non-native speaking companies who communicate using English as a shared second language. In principle, the same structures are used to teach business English as other areas of TESOL teaching. However, the contexts and vocabulary will differ. Areas of vocabulary will vary depending on the needs of the student but will generally fall into the region of general business vocabulary, trade, finance and international relations. Besides specific vocabulary, there is often a focus on communications skills...  [Read more]

Songs in the Classroom The use of songs in the ESL classroom can be a fun and innovative way of covering a range of English language topics. Songs can be used for vocabulary, grammar, dictation, pronunciation (stress and intonation), phonetics, speaking, writing, listening, integrative skills, and many other ESL points. Furthermore, songs can invite the non-native speaker into the English speaking culture. For instance, pop music gives the learner a taste of what is trendy at the moment. Meanwhile, the lyrics to classic rock songs can give a sense of history and the attitude of the country at the time of recording (for example, “Give Peace a Chance,” John Lennon, 1969). Additionally, children’s songs are crucially important for the young learner as they are an easy way to encourage...  [Read more]

ESA: A Teaching Methodology For many years Teachers of English have used the PPP model of Presentation, Practice and Production for the preferred model of teaching. It has worked well. The PPP model falls short however, in that it does not work well when teaching more complex language problems beyond the sentence level or when teaching communicative skills. Jeremy Harmer in How to Teach English (Longman Publishing 1998) proposed an alternative to PPP called ESA: Engage, Study, and Activate. In an article written in The Guardian Weekend, March 15 1997, Bridget Riley complained about the treatment she and her fellow students received at the Royal College of Art. “We were abandoned when what we needed and what we hoped for was help toward independence in teaching rather than having...  [Read more]