Teaching Etc

  This video covers the difference between 'assent' and 'ascent'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. Let's take a look at the two words individually. 'Assent' is a noun and describes an agreement or an approval of something. He nodded his assent and she continued. As you can see in the example, 'assent' indicates that he is agreeing. We could also say 'He nodded in agreement and she continued.' While the word 'ascent' is also used as a noun, it has a very different meaning. It refers to the action of rising or climbing up, for example: My legs were tired after I took the ascent to the cabin on the ridge. We could also say 'My legs were tired from the climb to the cabin on the ridge'. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT...  [Read more]

  Lesson planning is an important part of being a teacher. While experienced teachers may appear to not require a plan it is only because they have probably taught a lesson so many times that the majority of their plan is in their head. They will still have a good idea of how they want and expect the lesson to proceed. Inexperienced teachers will need the structure a good lesson plan provides. A good plan acts as a guide to your planning. It helps a teacher consider the direction of the lesson and possible pitfalls and diversions. It also helps a teacher keep on track during the lesson but should not be so restrictive that it prevents flexibility in class. A lesson plan also serves as a record of what you have taught before enabling you to easily see what to review at later dates...  [Read more]

Morocco is a fantastically varied travel destination, and famous names like Tangier, Casablanca and Marrakech rightly conjure images of the exotic. Whether it’s the café society, the bustling markets, or 4x4 trekking over virgin sand dunes there is a wealth of excitement to stimulate the traveller’s appetite. The population is thirty-three millions, spread over a landmass of one hundred and seventy two square miles. The official languages in use are Arabic and Tamanzight - a local dialect, though French and Spanish are fairly widely spoken. The country is ninety-eight percent Muslim, one percent Christian, and one percent Jewish. Despite Morocco’s francophone caste, an artefact of the old days of French Empire, entrance to university and access the better jobs all call for...  [Read more]

Though diminutive in size, with most maps of Europe not even fitting the name in the space, The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has plenty to offer in terms of outstanding natural beauty, green landscapes, rivers, and charming, fairytale villages. In a central position in Europe it is handy for France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. The language is Luxembourgish, which is a close relative of German; however, English is fairly widely spoken - particularly amongst young people. With a population under half a million, you shouldn’t find yourself crowded out. There isn’t necessarily a wealth of teaching opportunities, and there is only a handful of language institutes. Telephone tuition exists, but it is run through an office in Brussels. Anyone wishing to teach in a state or private...  [Read more]

  The present perfect always relates the past to the present. This can be through the unfinished past, where we're expressing duration, such as 'I have played football for 10 years,' the indefinite past expressing experience in your life, such as 'I have been to Italy and Spain,' and also to show the present results of a past action 'I have broken my leg.' I broke it in the past and it remains broken in the present. Our final present tense is the present perfect continuous tense. Our example sentence here 'I have been playing football for 10 years' has the structure subject plus auxiliary verb 'have' or 'has' and then a second auxiliary verb here 'being' plus 'verb-ing'; 'I have been playing.' Very much like the present perfect tense, the present perfect continuous relates the past...  [Read more]

The TESOL course in Mexico is in historic chiapas, the southernmost state in the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west. To the east Chiapas borders Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean. Chiapa de Corzo, where the TESOL training centre is situated, is an often overlooked small attractive colonial town with an easy going, provincial air, according to the 2009 edition of the Mexico Lonely Planet. This sums up the little town, with an emphasis on overlooked; which is what probably makes Chiapa de Corzo so special. There really is so much to do in the town and in the surrounding area, and hardly anyone knows about it. Chiapa de Corzo has quite a bit of day tourism during the high seasons, as many tour-bus...  [Read more]

African countries which might tempt the adventurous TEFL teacher include Tunisia, Cameroon, Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. Tremendous variety is on offer in terms of climate, activities, local facilities and customs - not to mention the fantastic wildlife parks, and truly stunning historical monuments. Even in the Francophone countries, where French is the official second language, amongst the younger generation there is much greater enthusiasm for English. Hence, there are plenty of opportunities for teaching. Quite unlike Europe, for those wishing to teach in a state or private school, there is not the requirement for a PGCE. You will need a TESOL qualification and, in the case of state schools, it is worth checking whether they require an undergraduate degree and any...  [Read more]

  The next thing we should look at is how our consonants are arranged for the top two rows we have P and F at the left side of our chart and G and J at the right side of our chart. They're arranged this way because if we analyze the way we speak we're using the front of our mouth to use these sounds as in ?p? and ?f? and I'm using my lips and my teeth to produce those sounds and as we move to the right on the chart slowly but surely we're making those sounds it towards the back of our mouth. We can use the examples of ?g?. The sound ?g? is produced further back in our mouth than ?p?. The next thing we'll notice about our chart is that some of our symbols are shaded. Notice that none of the symbols in the vowel sections are shaded but only a few are in the consonant section. The...  [Read more]

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Kenya, regarded by many scholars as the cradle of humanity, offers fantastic opportunity for the adventurous spirit. Truly magnificent wildlife parks, unspoilt beaches and coral reefs are in abundance, not to mention a wealth of history in the ancient Swahili cities. The population is a shade under thirty-two millions, with a landmass of two- hundred and thirty square miles. The language is Swahili and religious observance is divided into thirty-five percent Protestant, thirty percent Roman Catholic, thirty percent Muslim and five percent Animist - so plenty of diversity to be found here. Kenya has a chronic shortage of secondary school teachers, and this adds up to a great deal of opportunity. English is the language of tuition in schools, and one can expect to teach English and…In...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word eloquent. This word means a person who is fluent and also persuasive in both speaking or writing. It can also refer to the action of clearly indication or expressing something. The word comes from Latin eloqui meaning to speak out. 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. Very beneficial to remind myself of parts of speech such as countable & uncountable nouns, transitive & intransitive...  [Read more]

  The idiom "blue collar" refers to manual labor or industrial work. The term comes from the usually blue overalls manual laborers would wear in factories etc 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. Ok, nearly forgot about this part of the test. Well, I can certainly state that the long list of abbreviations is a bonus – I don't have to google them anymore. The course content looks good and the Prospects section provides a good set of basic...  [Read more]

  The term materials can apply to virtually anything that a teachers uses to help the teaching process in the classroom. Common teaching materials include items such as worksheets, newspapers, pictures text books and video recordings. These materials are usually classed as either authentic or non-authentic depending on their origin and the ways they are used. Authentic materials refer to materials that have not been designed or adapted for use in an English language classroom such as magazines, newspapers, video clips and song lyrics. Non-authentic materials on the other hand are anything that has been specifically designed to aid the teaching process such as worksheets, text books and instructional CD’s or DVD’s. Are you ready to live and teach abroad? Click here...  [Read more]

  The two words "farther" and "further" are a pair of words that is often used interchangeably to talk about distances. However, not many know that there is actually a slight difference between the two. "Farther" is used for physical distances. So we would use it in this example: "Tokyo is farther away than Beijing". When using "further" we talk about non-physical, figurative distances, for example "I'm falling further away from my goals". As you can see, the two words have slighty different usages. However, in spoken English the two words are often used interchangeably without a difference. However, if you are keen to use them properly, you should stick to the rules mentioned above. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL...  [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]

  This video provides a comprehensive overview of all the future tenses in the English language: future simple, future continuous, future perfect and the future perfect continuous. This is especially helpful for ESL teachers around the globe teaching speakers of other languages. 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. I liked this unit much more than some others. I've always believed that by adding games and fun to the learning process, students absorb...  [Read more]

Concerns of Learning Tesol Via The Internet Having moved to Indonesia to be with my Indonesian wife, I found it impossible to obtain work without a piece of paper qualifying me for something. This stipulation, a Government requirement, made life very difficult to settle in this foreign country. My options where very limited although my training as a music teacher inspired me to consider learning a certificate in English. I had 2 major concerns here and one was that my Educational background is extremely limited and the second was cost and time learning in Australia. Numerous phone calls where made to various institutions around Australia and none suited my needs. When I asked if I should study via the internet it was suggested that I could loose my money and the certificate would be...  [Read more]

The downfall of Ceausescu in 1989 provided the catalyst for great change in this former communist state. However, the pace of change has not been nearly as fast as some of its neighbours and the western visitor cannot help but be stricken by how ‘different’ things are in this country. Nevertheless, the cost of living is very cheap, there are many medieval castles and villages to visit, excellent quality skiing and hiking are available, and the contrast between horse-drawn vehicles vying for space on the roads with yuppies talking on mobile phones whilst they drive flash cars is quite amusing. In addition to this some of the mountainous landscapes are haunting, breathtakingly beautiful, and right out of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A population of twenty-two millions fits into ninety one...  [Read more]

  Now here are some teaching ideas for the future continuous tense. Here, we have an activity where we'll be asking students to spontaneously make some excuses based upon some invitations. We can do this in pairs or small groups. The teacher will have cut these cards up and the students will place them into a pile, randomly picking up a card. So one student might pick this card up and say 'Would you like to play tennis with me tomorrow?' The other student will be challenged to come up with an excuse as quickly as possible, which might be 'No, I'm sorry I'll be working.' Then, we have the next student pick up the next card and we challenge an additional student to make an excuse. Here we have another teaching idea for the future continuous tense and this involves two students trying...  [Read more]

The term TESOL is one that is often used in a general sense, although it does have a specific meaning. Generally the meaning of TESOL is some form of ‘the Teaching of English to people whose first language is not English’ and is often used interchangeably with terms such as TEFL, TEAL, TESL and many others. It is also generally used as the name of a qualification, such as a TESOL certificate, which relates to the result of a TESOL training course. Here we will look at the meaning of TESOL in these broad terms and also give its specific meaning, along with many other common acronyms used throughout the industry. The general acronym for the field of teaching English is ELT: English language teaching. This term applies across the board to teaching English, be it to American high school...  [Read more]