Speaking Lessons

  For the lesson that even takes place, there are a number of things that you need to have considered. Obviously, you need a very clear idea of what it is you're expecting the students to have to do and they need to know why. It's very important before you ask them to do an activity that they have an understanding of the purpose of that activity. You should, secondly, have had a thought about what they already know. Linked to that is, will it be necessary to do any form of pre-teaching before I can expect them to do this activity and finally, we need to make sure that we have prepared all our materials and our instructions for this particular activity. So, we'll consider a straight arrow ESA lesson, the focus of which is to be speaking skills. So, we'll start with our engage and in...  [Read more]

  The final stage of the lesson will be the activate and the activate phase is going to form the main speaking activity within the lesson. So, it's very very important that here, we do a good demonstration of what it is that we're expecting them to do, that we elicit the type of target language we're expecting them to produce from the activity. So, one way we could go around it is to, firstly, form pairs. Each pair is going to be given a card and onto that card they're going to write the country and a month. What the teacher can then do, just to add a little bit of spice to it, is to collect all of the cards and shuffle them around and then redistribute them to the pairs so that they get a card that doesn't have their country or their month on it. What they're then going to do is...  [Read more]

  Before we move on to the planning of a lesson for speaking skills, something that we need to look at first is the idea of the accuracy versus the fluency of speaking. Accuracy relates to the correct usage of grammar and vocabulary, whereas fluency relates to our ability to continue speaking without any interruption. Now, ultimately within a whole ESA lesson or within language learning itself fluency and accuracy are equally important. Within an ESA lesson, however, depending upon which stage we're at in that lesson, then we're either focusing on accuracy or we're focusing on fluency. Remember in the ESA lesson, in the study phase, this is where we're looking at the target language where we're doing our language learning, so it's very important in this stage that we focus on the...  [Read more]

  So, we'll focus first of all on a speaking skills lesson and perhaps a starting point for this would be to ask a question which is: Why do we speak to each other? The reason that it's important to ask ourselves this question is that whatever answers there are to this should be present in our lessons. So, why do we speak to each other? Well, there are a multitude of answers to that but when you boil them all down to their essence, they probably actually come down to one or two things. We communicate to each other by speaking because of either a need. We need something. We want something or a desire to achieve something. 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...  [Read more]

  The two most common usages for the present continuous tense as it relates to speaking about things in the present. We have actions in progress at the time of speaking, specifically right when it's being said. So I can say ?I am teaching right now.? However, we also have actions in progress around the time of speaking. ?I'm reading a good book.? Now, of course I'm not reading a book just now but I started reading a book in the past I am reading it perhaps today sometime and I'll finish reading the book at some point in the future. Again, I'm not doing it just now but around the time of speaking. 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...  [Read more]

The value of observed teaching practice The prospect of observed teaching practice was one of the main reasons that I chose to take my TESOL course with The International TEFL Corporation. The offer of real life teaching experience coupled with immediate feedback from a qualified professional formed a large slice of influence for my decision. I have had a little exposure to training within a structured course environment but found the idea of creating and teaching my own lessons a little unnerving. Within my previous experience there was no feedback or reprimand if my level of performance wasn’t up to scratch. I was teaching fresh University Graduates the workings of Microsoft Office and Outlook within our fixed office operation. I feel one of the key values of observed teaching is that...  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "What is the ESA method?","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/how-do-esl-students-learn-best/#nameh0"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh1","name": "The Engage Phase","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/how-do-esl-students-learn-best/#nameh1"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh3","name": "The Study Phase","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/how-do-esl-students-learn-best/#nameh3"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id":...  [Read more]

  So speaking activities will come in many different forms but we can generalize them into three basic types. Control activities tend to be used in the study phase and here, the teacher will be helping the students in terms of what they need to say and how they go about saying it. So, there's a high level of structure within a controlled activity. A guided activity has slightly less structure than this and it can be used in either the study or the activate stages themselves. The final type of activity or class of activity is called creative activity and this one would be used in the activation phase. In a creative activity, we're giving a scenario or a very small amount of structure and we're asking the students to actually create their own answers to this particular question....  [Read more]

  The good news is there is no real age restrictions on who can take a TEFL course and then go on to teach English abroad. At ITTT we do require you to be at least 18 years old to enroll on our courses but there are certainly no upper age limits. Over the years we have successfully trained people of all ages, many of whom have gone on to have successful careers as English language teachers. As long as you are a native or near-native English speaker who is keen to learn new skills and is open to new ideas, then your age should be no barrier to your success. Although a large number of new TEFL graduates are in their 20s, it doesn't mean they are always the most sought after by employers. Yes, there are many employers around the world who are only interested in recruiting younger...  [Read more]

  The next example is going to be that of a boomerang lesson and remember the structure is like this. So, again, we're going to start with an engage phase and for our engage, the students are just going to have a discussion about jobs. What happens at interviews and so on and so forth. So, during that engage phase, what we'd hope to do is to elicit some useful language about jobs and interviews and the types of questions that are being asked. Then, we're going to move immediately into an activate activity and this is going to involve a role-play. So, we'll break the students into pairs. One will be an interviewer, the other will be an interviewee and they'll generate the language that that role-play will produce. What the teacher can do whilst that is taking place is to go around...  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "Listening","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/what-are-the-4-skills-in-esl/#nameh0"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh1","name": "Speaking","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/what-are-the-4-skills-in-esl/#nameh1"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh3","name": "Reading","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/what-are-the-4-skills-in-esl/#nameh3"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh3","name": "Writing","url":...  [Read more]

Things I wish I'd known before beginning my TESOL course Looking back over the past few months I can say it’s been a learning curve and not just in teaching English. In many ways this course has turned my life upside down. I would have saved a lot time if I had been more computer literate before starting and would advise others to make friends with their computer beforehand. Another practical point was how I would have to reorganize my day many times to find the best study time, my best time did not always suit everyone else. As a homeschooling mum I never dreamed how helpful the course would be in my general teaching skills with the children. During the course I became more and more interested in English grammar, with a growing realization of how bad mine was and a desire to study...  [Read more]

  Besides the actual future tenses, we can also use present tenses to talk about the future. Two of them are the present simple and the present continuous. Find out when to use which tense for future statements in this video. 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 explains how to teach productive skills like speaking and writing. When teaching writing; penmenship, spelling, and punctuation are the primary focuses. In speaking; fluency and...  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "Be punctual","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol-jobs/how-should-i-approach-my-first-day-in-an-esl-classroom/#nameh0"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh1","name": "Be prepared","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol-jobs/how-should-i-approach-my-first-day-in-an-esl-classroom/#nameh1"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh3","name": "Play games","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol-jobs/how-should-i-approach-my-first-day-in-an-esl-classroom/#nameh3"},{"@context":...  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "Do","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/how-do-you-teach-esl-business-english/#nameh0"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh1","name": "Don't","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/how-do-you-teach-esl-business-english/#nameh1"} ] ] } Many international companies abroad, who do business with English speaking countries, will want some of their employees to be able to converse in English. With a large company with a very large workforce they may be able to find volunteers for this. However, many companies, with a...  [Read more]

  When our answers are not correct then, obviously, they need to be corrected but it is quite important that we go through a process of correction that will help students. Quite often they've made a mistake simply because of something like reading the incorrect answer out or misrepresenting what they've actually written down. So, always give the opportunity when a mistake has been made for the student to self-correct first. We can often do this in a nonverbal way to show them that they're not actually correct. We might repeat back what they've said to us in a questioning manner or we may just make a gesture to make sure that they understand that they're not correct. So, we allow for a process of self-correction. It may be that the student has actually got the answer wrong and so we...  [Read more]

From Sumo wrestling, the most authentic Japanese cuisine you’ve ever tasted, ancient castles and Pagodas, skiing in the mountainous north and beach hopping in the tropical south, ancient and bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka, Japan caters for every type of traveller. Japan is unlike any country you’ve ever been to with the most bizarre but fascinating experiences available throughout the country, and a scenery like no other. A distinct balance between ancient and modern- Japan opens up a whole new world. Nagoya is an ideal destination for an in-class, immersive TESOL course experience in Japan. It is the fourth largest city in Japan, which means that as a TESOL student, you get the full experience of high paced life in Japan, but at a much lower cost than bigger cities like the...  [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]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "Don't talk too much","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/what-not-to-do-as-an-esl-teacher/#nameh0"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh1","name": "Don't let one or two students dominate the class","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/what-not-to-do-as-an-esl-teacher/#nameh1"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh3","name": "Don't pretend you know everything","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/what-not-to-do-as-an-esl-teacher/#nameh3"},{"@context":...  [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]