English For Specific Purposes

  Our next category in our series of teaching special groups in ESL is English for specific purposes. This video focuses specifically on teaching business English. How is business Enligsh different to general English? Will you be able to teach business English? Find out 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. Unit Two focused on the grammatical aspects of speech. It is clear that grammar will be one of the toughest topics to teach, in...  [Read more]

Teaching English for a Specific Purpose (ESP) or Why not just teach'em Shakespeare' TEFL teaching in the classroom has maninly been focused on leaning General English skills with more specific English, needed for a specific profession for example, being taught only as and when it is needed. Some people argue that specific English should be introduced earlier and this will help motivate pupils and also keep the English taught within a professional and cultural environment that is relevant to the people learning it.English for a specific purpose was developed to meet the needs of individual learners and their specific needs, and is designed for specific disciplines. It makes some, but not exclusive use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves, ...  [Read more]

Teaching English for a Specific Purpose (ESP) or Why not just teach?em Shakespeare? TEFL Teaching in the classroom has maninly been focused on leaning General English skills with more specific English, needed for a specific profession for example, being taught only as and when it is needed. Some people argue that specific English should be introduced earlier and this will help motivate pupils and also keep the English taught within a professional and cultural environment that is relevant to the people learning it. English for a specific purpose was developed to meet the needs of individual learners and their specific needs, and is designed for specific disciplines. It makes some, but not exclusive use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it...  [Read more]

  This video is part of our ESA Methodology series. The ESA methodology consists of three stages. In this series, we look at the individual purposes of each stage and typical activities for each stage. This second video introduces the study phase of ESA. The purpose of this phase is to cover the actual teaching of the lesson and to check the understanding of that material.The second stage or phase of the lesson is known as the study phase and really the purpose of this phase is to cover the actual teaching of the lesson and to check understanding of that material. Typically in an ESA lesson, the study phase will have two parts. The first phase of the study is to cover the actual teaching component in what's known as the board work and what we try to do in the board work phase is to...  [Read more]

  A first example of a teaching idea for the present simple tense will be a classic activity called 'Find someone who'. Here, we will be trying to find someone who has a general truth such as the ability to play a musical instrument or the fact that they have a brother and a sister. This results in students going around the room asking questions in the present simple tense, such as 'Do you play a musical instrument?' 'Are you a teacher?' 'Do you have a brother and a sister?' The answers resulting will also be in the present simple tense. They will be generally 'Yes I do,' or 'No I don't.' The students will go around trying to find somebody who fits the general truth and when they do, they will write their name in the appropriate space. The students will mill around the room for...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'adapt' and 'adopt'. Due to their similar spelling, their usage is often confused. 'Adapt' describes the action of taking something and changing it for a special purpose, for example: A screenwriter successfully adapts the book to make it work as a movie. The word 'adopt', on the other hand, refers to the action of taking something and using it or making it your own, such as here: Because they couldn't have children of their own, they decided to adopt a child. 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...  [Read more]

Teaching grammar can be one of the most frustrating aspects of an English teacher’s job description. Teaching grammar can be divided into two categories, declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge can be summed up as knowledge about a thing such as the rules of grammar whereas procedural knowledge is being able to apply the knowledge to communicate effectively. To illustrate the difference declarative knowledge would be being able to understand the instruction manual on how to assemble a bicycle where as procedural knowledge would be what you demonstrate when you actually put the bicycle together. Being good at one does not necessarily make one good at the other. Many of us native English speakers can use our native tongue correctly but...  [Read more]

Teaching grammar can be one of the most frustrating aspects of an English teacher?s job description. Teaching grammar can be divided into two categories, declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge can be summed up as knowledge about a thing such as the rules of grammar whereas procedural knowledge is being able to apply the knowledge to communicate effectively. To illustrate the difference declarative knowledge would be being able to understand the instruction manual on how to assemble a bicycle where as procedural knowledge would be what you demonstrate when you actually put the bicycle together. Being good at one does not necessarily make one good at the other. Many of us native English speakers can use our native tongue correctly but...  [Read more]

A balanced approach to using a combination of created and authentic materials can be beneficial to both the students and the teacher in an ESL classroom.Created materials can be either a previously published course text or something the teacher has specifically created to supplement a lesson. Often students will expect some published materials such as a course book and view it as a form of security as well as a way to gauge their progress, i.e. how many chapters of the book they have completed. Published course materials have generally been tried and tested before release and thus are graded to a level suitable for the students and contain a balanced mix of vocabulary, grammar and skills exercises. As well, they can be very useful in pointing out certain structures or language...  [Read more]

  This presentation is going to focus on the ESA methodology of teaching. In our teaching methodologies section, we briefly had a look at what ESA was about, but in this presentation, we're going to look in greater detail about that particular methodology. This particular methodology is accredited to Jeremy Harmer from his "Practice of English language Teaching" book. It's a three-stage methodology and what we're going to do is to look at the purpose of each one of these stages and some typical activities that take place during those stages. So, the first stage is known as the engage and its sole purpose, as the name implies, is to get the students talking and thinking in English. There is no reason whatsoever, when these students come to your class, that they should have said a...  [Read more]

What is evaluation'Evaluation is the process of determining significance or worth, usually by careful appraisal and study. It can also be defined as the analysis and comparison of actual progress vs. prior plans , oriented toward improving plans for future implementation.. For this study evaluation and testing would be discussed under the following headings; the characteristics of a good test, types of testing and the reasons for testing, methods of evaluation and testing, why testing doesn't work, making testing more productive, alternatives to testing, and conclusion.The characteristics of a good test.The elements of a good test are:Validity of the test :- Validity is the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure. Most important kinds of validity are,...  [Read more]

  In this TESOL review a group of international students describe their experience during their four week TESOL/TEFL course in Corinth, Greece. Having a TEFL/TESOL credential is a means of combining work and travel. Our intensive in-class TEFL certification courses last for four weeks in a variety of exciting locations around the world, and have a very practical emphasis. 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. Unit 19 focuses on teaching special...  [Read more]

  Zeki is from Turkey and currently working as an English teacher in Mongolia. He enjoyed working through the units and especially found the grammar units very useful. He highly recommends this certification course for anyone interested in teaching abroad. 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. Teaching special groups unit focuses on different type of groups that may a teacher come across .↵The teacher may be teaching various range of classes...  [Read more]

  Marina from Moscow completed the 120-hour TEFL course with ITTT while on maternity leave. In her TEFL review she describes initially feeling apprehensive about studying online, Marina found this to be the best way to study for her in her situation. As a teacher of ten years, Marina did find some of the grammar units easier than expected for her but also found useful tips on teaching different skills. ITTT’s courses do not require trainees to have any previous teaching experience but those who have already been teaching for some time can still learn something new to help them develop their skills as an English teacher. 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...  [Read more]

  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 has given a basic introduction to this course, information on the remaining 5 units is given. the details of the course have been clearly explained. the general terminology for business English has been given with the full forms, so very clear if in future I come across these. the details for teaching English for a specific purpose have clearly been defined and also what are our future prospects once...  [Read more]

  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 identifies reading and listening skills as receptive skills. It goes into further detail stating that we can use receptive skills for both purpose and entertainment. The unit gives clear explanations about the different types of ways in which we can read and listen. The types of receptive skill are predictive skills, specific information, general idea, detailed information and deduction from...  [Read more]

  This TEFL review video was recorded by Ben from Brisbane, Australia. Ben has spent the last five years living and working in Chiang Mai, Thailand. During his time in Chiang Mai he has been teaching a variety of skills including building and life skills. Ben has always wanted to be a teacher and decided to take ITTT’s 120-hour online TEFL course as a means to achieving that goal. He found the course to be ideal for his situation as he has a lot of work to do in Thailand and the flexibility of learning online allowed him to study the course whenever he was free. 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...  [Read more]

  Telmo lives in Portugal and has completed an online TEFL course with ITTT. In this TEFL review, Telmo tells us how he enjoyed his experience on the course and recommends taking the course with tutor support. ITTT offers a range of course to suit all needs so if you are looking at taking your first steps as an English teacher or wish to refresh your skills you are bound to find something to suit you with ITTT. 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. ...  [Read more]

  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've experienced teaching adult beginners and kindergarteners in groups, and teenagers individually. For myself, teaching adults was the hardest as they have their own knowledge and perceptions in the English language. Also, gathering people from different backgrounds was also not easy whereas young learners including kindergarten through middle school students are more open to absorb the new language and...  [Read more]

  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 covers the different ways a teacher can structure a lesson to teach different concepts and how useful each is in connection with certain techniques. It seems a patchwork lesson is often useful for teaching Grammar and a normal arrow structure is more useful for teaching a vocabulary lesson, though it is stressed that these are not all set in stone. There are also plenty of useful tips on what kind...  [Read more]

  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, I learned about receptive skills. Reading and writing are two receptive skills. There are many reasons why we as English speakers use receptive skills. A few reasons why people use receptive skills is because it is for a purpose, or for entertainment. When using receptive skills in class, it is important to find texts that motivate the students. First, you want to catch your students attention by...  [Read more]

  Regardless of which type of beginners you are teaching here are our top 10 tips for the teaching of beginner classes. 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 content of this unit focused on the productive skills of writing and speaking for communicative purposes. The unit provided a brief overview of the equal importance of writing and speaking in the classroom, of which writing is often pushed to the wayside as language production (via...  [Read more]

  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. Unit 5 is about a number of different teaching themes that can be applied to a range of contexts and situations. The unit covers information about Case studies, Frameworking, Problem-based learning, Games, Computer Aided Language Learning and Speech Act Theory. I have learned about the techniques that can be applied to these teaching themes (mainly the process of the activities and how to put the theory into...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review, Athena talks about her experience on ITTT’s online TEFL course. Athena completed the 20 units of the course over a period of 3 weeks. Athena chose to do the online course because she was already working as a teacher and she needed to be able to fit her studying around her job. 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 covered productive skills and how they can be incorporated into the lesson. It mentioned that...  [Read more]

  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. Content and what I have learnt:↵•⇥The unit is on Teaching Themes.↵•⇥Case Studies could be used to practice what has been taught and to introduce new vocabulary and language structures.↵•⇥In problem-based learning the teacher plays the role of a ‘facilitator’ and students work in groups to solve problems.↵•⇥Many will enjoy...  [Read more]

  This TEFL review video was recorded by ITTT graduate Oksana. Oksana is currently teaching English in China to adults and children. Having already completed her TEFL certification course with ITTT, Oksana is now looking forward to taking the online Certificate in Teaching Business English. 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 I learned about all of the different kinds of equipment i will be using in a classroom. I learned how to write...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word quiescent. This word refers to a state of inactivity. Synonyms for quiescent include inactive, idle, at rest, and quiet. 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 a needed refresher in past tense. As a native speaker, its something I rely on phonetically to do correctly. Understanding verb tenses in a technical sense reinforces the idea the base idea that everything in a sentence has...  [Read more]

  This video is part of our series on the past tenses in English. We start off the series with the past simple tense. In this video, we show you how to execute a mill drill activity for this tense. Here, the teacher provides the students with a survey or questionnaire with statements in the past simple tense. The students then go around the classroom and ask other students about their past experiences. 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 basics...  [Read more]

  This video is a review of the conditionals in the English language. We take a look at the zero conditional, first conditional, second conditional, third conditional and mixed conditional. This video is specifically aimed at teaching the conditionals in an ESL setting. 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. Productive skills are very important from a writing and speaking perspectives, having a communicative purpose while matching accuuracy and...  [Read more]

  It is very important that whenever we?re doing an activity that we use the students names wherever possible when we're asking for feedback and so on and so forth. There are a number of benefits to using the students? names and they can include helping to actually organize the class itself, certainly to acknowledge when a student has given the correct answer and so forth, to indicate who should respond, rather than just asking a general question to the whole class. By using the names we can ask an individual to respond to that particular question. One point to note here is that if you are going to ask an individual student it is very useful if you put their name at the end of the question. This is useful because if you start with their name then all of the other students know that...  [Read more]