The Most Difficult Language In The World

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]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word youthquake. This word describes a change in cultural standards brought about tastes and values by the young population. The word is a combination of youth and earthquake indicating the power of the young. 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 course book is necessary for the teachers to have. It helps to see how and what to teach /prepare. The language vocabulary is a guide as a covered...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word inveigle. This word is used as a verb and refers to the action of persuading someone to do something through flattery or deception. The word comes from aveugler in Old French meaning ‘to blind’. 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 found that this unit has really opened my eyes to so much more then I thought I already knew. I'm not going to to lie it was a bit difficult for me to...  [Read more]

  Here are some tips on completing your parts of speech worksheet. When providing examples for each part of speech, five one-word answers will suffice for almost all of them. However, we'll need to clarify this for the gerunds. This is basically due to the fact that what you've written can either be used as the main verb in a sentence, that would be the present participle, or can be used as the gerund. For example the word "playing" wouldn't be enough, as it can be used both as the verb or the gerund. So, an example sentence such as "I like playing poker." would suffice rather than simply the word "playing". 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...  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": "Do qualified teachers need a TESOL certificate?","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/do-qualified-teachers-need-a-tesol-certification/#nameh0"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh1","name": "What are the benefits of having a TESOL certificate?","url": "https://www.tesolcourse.com/tesol-faqs/tefl-tesol/do-qualified-teachers-need-a-tesol-certification/#nameh1"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh3","name": "Will a TESOL certificate get my CV/resume to the top of the pile?","url":...  [Read more]

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]

With a landmass of Germany, France and Italy combined this country, on the highest plateau in the world has exercised a fascination in travellers for centuries. It is only since 1986 that the country has been officially ‘open’, and indeed Beijing still holds sway over what, in China, is officially known as the Xizang province. Buddhism is the major religion practiced in the region. The population is a little over two millions, making this one of the most sparsely populated regions on earth - about one person for every 2.3 kilometres. Teaching here is more for those seeking a life experience than great financial reward. It is very difficult to get a work permit for Tibet, and notoriously difficult to get visa extensions. Hence many people go in on the look to voluntary organisation to...  [Read more]

Pronunciation Problems for Chinese Students of English As a global language, English has been popularly taught as the second language in China for quite a few years. Now there are more Chinese people learning English on various purposes, such as applying for a higher paid job, studying and living abroad, or establishing business with western countries. According to my experience of learning and teaching English, it is harder to master English pronunciation than English grammar for Chinese students. Chinese grammar may appear quite simple compared to that of many highly-inflected Western languages (e.g. Russian, Latin, etc.), or even the low-scale verb conjugations, for instance, of English (e.g. "swim, swam, swum") because of the lack of inflections. Even though there are similarities...  [Read more]

  The acronym TEFL stands for teaching English as a foreign language. TESOL is teaching English to speakers of other languages. Today, both terms have much the same meaning are generally used interchangeably in the EFL field. In the early days, TEFL was more of a UK-based qualification and TESOL was more of a North American-based qualification. ESL is English as a Second Language, and is usually used when teaching English in an English-speaking environment. Some people argue that TESOL encompasses both EFL and ESL. In reality there is very little difference, if any. As the need for English language training has developed worldwide, the two terms have almost become synonymous. They are both used to describe the field of English language teaching and one of them is stated on...  [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]

  So let's take an example of what those drills might involve. So here is an example of a repetition drill. I will model the language and then my class will repeat after me. So "This is a cup." "Spoon" ? "This is a spoon." "Knife" - "his is a knife." Thank you. The reason that it's called or also called the army method is that it was the method adopted by the United States military who had personnel stationed around the world at the end of Second World War and they realized that they needed those personnel to pick up the language very quickly and one of the positive things about this particular methodology is that you do very quickly learn vocabulary. Another positive thing about it is that you quickly learn the correct pronunciation of that vocabulary. However, there are some...  [Read more]

  A TEFL Qualification allows you to teach English almost anywhere in the world, some countries are more popular than others for differing reasons. Some are popular because of the salary and benefits offered to teachers, others are popular because they offer a better quality of life and others are popular because they provide teachers with plenty of opportunities. The top most popular countries are all in Asia as the demand for English is so much higher here than elsewhere in the world. Are you ready to live and teach abroad? Check out the infographic here: https://www.teflcourse.net/tefl-infographics/top-ten-tefl-destinations/?cu=YTDESCRIPTION Are you ready to live and teach abroad? Click here and get started today: https://www.teflcourse.net/?cu=YTDESCRIPTION Below you can...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word nepotism. This word refers to people in power favoring and giving powerful positions to friends or family. Some synonyms of the word include favoritism, bias, partiality, or partisanship. 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 was very compacted with a lot of information. Additionally, it was very boring but I learned so much. For example, everything could be in this fashion. The meat...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word "phreaker". This word is a noun and refers to someone who one who gains illegal access to the telephone system. The word become widely popular in the mid-1980s and is likely a combination of the words "phone" and "freak". Modern phreakers are very specialized hackers breaking into the phone system of large companies and corporations. 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 lesson I...  [Read more]

Cultural Sensitivity in the Classroom The topic we have decided to address is cultural sensitivity in the classroom. Living in Toronto is extremely different from living anywhere else on this earth. One reason why, is the cultural diversity of Toronto. Even in today’s workforce there is a massive amount of cultural diversity that is why having cultural sensitivity in today’s classrooms should be a huge asset. Canada is a country that is now relying on immigrants coming to our country to help run the economy. It is an extremely good thing that people from different cultures are trained to speak English before they come to Canada or having them take an English learning course once they arrive in the country. By doing this, they are given an equal opportunity in Canada. Luckily we were...  [Read more]

  CELTA is an internationally recognized teaching qualification in the field of teaching English as a foreign or second language. The course is aimed at potential teachers with little or no experience inside a classroom. CELTA courses can be studied in a number of locations around the world and are individually designed and organized by different language institutes. Although there may be some variety between individual courses, the fundamental specifics of the course are dictated by Cambridge ESOL, part of the University of Cambridge. 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 TEFL certification course. Each of our...  [Read more]

Should Students Be Allowed to Use Their Native Language in the Classroom When I first began teaching lessons during the TESOL Course I found myself almost automatically saying to the students, “English please,” after all it is an English class. However, I began to question myself about whether or not this was “correct” practice or if the students should in fact use their native language to assist them in the learning process. After doing some research I found the TESOL Law Code of Ethics. The Law of Ethics provided many vague and open-ended ideas. It suggested things along the lines of, “The foreign language teacher shall direct her whole professional effort to assist the students to develop his/her second language speaking ability.” It also mentions that TESOL teachers are to...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word variety. This word is used as a noun and describes a state of being different or diverse. The words diversity and variation can be used as synonyms for variety. The word comes from the Latin word varietas. 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 have an understadning on how the skills are rated and which ones are the most useful.the reading and the listening e both tend to do...  [Read more]

Learning Difficulties “Makaton is a unique language programme offering a structured multi-modal approach, using signs and symbols, for the teaching of communication, language and literacy skills for people with communication and learning difficulties.” The methodology of TESOL is, I am told, directly transferable to the teaching of any subject or skill. I am going to consider whether this methodology is an efficient and appropriate way to teach Makaton to Down’s people, who have often failed to develop their mother tongue adequately. Adults with Down’s Syndrome often fail to develop language “naturally”. There are many reasons for this. Structurally they may have some hearing loss due to narrow ear canals and they may find the formation of sounds difficult because of their...  [Read more]

Online vs. Onsite Courses Becoming certified to teach English as a second language can be done onsite or online. On online course was the most efficient, economical and in many ways the superior way for me. This article explains my background and situation. It also touches on the process I went through to get to this, the final lesson. Online is not for everyone. It takes an open and creative mind to step into the world of computers and electronic tutors. An imagination and discipline were keys to my approach. Imagination was profound when I would take time away from class and Google some blogs about teaching English. Dave’s Café was just one of these places where you could find endless discussions on the joys and perils of teaching English in other countries. These stories were the...  [Read more]