Esl As A Second Language Online

My first language, or "mother" language, is English, and I can´t remember learning any bit of it as a child. I have brief memories of learning grammar in grade school, but as far as I´m concerned, I could speak just fine before Kindergarten. Then why did it take me over eight years to feel slightly comfortable speaking German' How come I could learn so much better as a drooling baby than a university student' Let us consider the differences in learning a first language vs. a second languageIn defense of the hardened university student, studies show that a baby´s brain is more apt to learn a mother language when compared with an adult brain learning a second language. According to http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/PDF/FACS01-6 , "The baby´s brain is actually ´primed´ to...  [Read more]

There are various different methods which are used to teach a second language. One such method is the immersion method of teaching , developed in Canada to provide Canada's majority group English- speaking students with opportunities to learn Canada's other official language, French. Students are taught a second language exclusively throught he medium of the second language.The structured immersion approach, however, must not be confused with submersion (which is really a non-approach). Essentially, it is a ' sink or swim ' approach. For example, a non-English-speaking French child moves to England and is placed in a regular English- speaking classroom and is taught exclusively in English in the same way as the English-speaking children.Bull (1965) drew a distinction between these...  [Read more]

INTRODUCTIONHow did you learn to speak your native language' Notice, this shouldn´t be such a puzzling question. Do you remember when you learned to tie your shoes, ride a bike, and eat with a fork' Sometimes we can remember a parent helping us to do these things. But have our parents helped us learn to speak our first language' Do you remember when your mother taught you the past tense' When your father laid down the rules for passive sentences' We don´t remember these important moments of our childhood because they never occurred. Sometimes we as adults study for years to acquire a new language. It is then quite wonderful to think that children, by around the age of 5, have more or less mastered their first language, excepting some vocabulary and a few grammatical structures....  [Read more]

Everyone agrees that learning a second language is more difficult than picking up our native language. However, why this is so is still a question of great debate in the scientific community.Most children with normal intelligence and neurological development will easily pick up their native language. The ease of this process is something that still mystifies scientists. Furthermore, parents do not usually make painstaking efforts to teach their children to speak. In many ways, the process appears innate; the child either “absorbs” the language through immersion or models the language that he or she hears her parents speaking.Although we speak of language learning as innate, recent scientific studies seem to point to the fact that the brain is not hard- wired with...  [Read more]

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. (1)Even though there are similarities between English alphabet and Chinese one...  [Read more]

When observing children, the speed and accuracy to which they acquire their native language is quite remarkable to adults. There are many different cultures and many ways in which children are raised, but the rate at which they acquire this information is consistent all over the world. In the scientific community, language acquisition by humans is one of the most unexplainable and highly studied feats in our everyday lives. Parents do not teach their children the grammatical structure of language or how to speak it, rather it is something that is acquired early in life and continues to progress into adulthood. It is said that by the time a child enters pre-school, he or she already has mastered most of the mechanics of their mother language (Galasso). By studying the ...  [Read more]

Quite often, the terms English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) are used interchangeably to describe English language instruction to non-native speakers. However, it is becoming increasingly more well known that the two contexts are quite different, demanding the teacher approach and execute different teaching methodologies in the classes. In an ESL setting, the class is likely to be multilingual and be completely immersed in the language by living in the culture of the target language. On the other hand, in the EFL setting, the class is typically monolingual and living in their own country (Brown 2001).In Teaching by principles, author H. Douglas Brown explains that 'it is useful to consider the pedagogical implications for a continuum of...  [Read more]

A question on the minds of many English as a Second Language instructors are whether or not it is appropriate to teach students the use of slang and idioms in the English language. Although the distinction between what is a formal term versus an informal one is crucial, slang is a significant part of conversational English and, as such, should be covered in the classroom. It would be very difficult for someone new to the English language to understand an American movie, TV show, news broadcast or even a typical conversation as they are filled with nonstandard English. Firstly, it is important to define the terms “idiom” and “slang”. Slang can be described as nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture or subculture. In other words, slang is typically a...  [Read more]

Over the past four decades it appears that the advanced development of computers and the ready availability of this technology have led to an interest in a lexical approach to second language learning versus the more traditional grammar based approach. The Oxford dictionary defines lexical as 'connected with the words of a language', and grammar as 'the rules in a language for changing the form of words and joining them into sentences'. Two additional terms that are relevant to understanding this new approach is concordances, 'a list produced by a computer that shows all the examples of an individual word in a book', and collocations, 'a combination of words in a language that happens very often and more frequently than would happen by chance'.One article researched suggest...  [Read more]

The business of teaching English as a second language has grown drastically over the last several decades, and even though it may not be as lucrative an industry as it was several years ago, the sheer number of English teachers has continued to increase. With this increase there has also been a rise in volunteer efforts by native and fluent speakers, especially to undeveloped and third- world areas where knowledge of English can open the door for much- needed economic opportunities. This increase in volunteerism has not only benefited students, but teachers, nations, and humanity in general. Three examples of interesting, excellent volunteer teaching programs are the Peace Corps, I-to-I, and, for those who want to live on top of the world ' Volunteer Nepal Himalaya.Volunteer Nepal...  [Read more]

In consideration of whether or not teachers of English as a second language should teach slang or idioms in class, or rather, why English teachers should teach idioms or slang, I did some research on the internet regarding this particular topic. For the most part, I found one David Burke's article on the subject to be most informative (Burke, 1). I have formed my own opinion on the matter, which I will discuss at length later in this essay.First, it is constructive to define exactly what slang words and idioms are, to differentiate between the two as well as to be completely precise in this pursuit. Dictionary.com defines an idiom as 'an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements' (dictionary.com, 1). In contrast, slang is...  [Read more]

In the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL), games are very important, with adults and especially with children. Let’s face it, no matter how much one wants to learn another language sometimes class discussions about verb tenses and vocabulary can be monotonous, slow, and boring. Games make learning fun and can be used to add a little spice to class. Many people are motivated by competition so games can stimulate this enthusiasm and help to stimulate participation. Games can be used to aid in: learning vocabulary, verb usage, vocabulary review, pronunciation practice, phrase building, confidence building, and encouraging students to think and respond in English. Games are great ways to begin or end a class. Openers for classes are used to introduce new...  [Read more]

The demand for a second or third language at an early age has increased over the last years. Many parents decide to raise their children bi- or multilingual and therefore more and more kindergarten and preschools offer English as a second language. There are many advantages in teaching English as a foreign language at such an early stage in a child's life. Learning a language for a child is a lot easier than for adults. They listen and learn without analyzing sentence structure, grammar, stress or intonations such as adult learners. The child will simply grow up having two first languages. English is generally taught as the first foreign language in school. A child having been exposed to English in kindergarten will have head start in school and even later when he or she wants...  [Read more]

Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in China is for the most part pleasant and exciting. Students are eager to learn. However, one of the frustrations ESL teachers often complain about is that students seem to make the same mistakes repetitively. Learners will often transfer the rules of their first language to express something in their second language. This transference happens when they have insufficient knowledge of the rules of the second language. In China, students fall back on the rules of their first language (Mandarin) when they do not know the rules of the second language (English). The result is a poor form of English, informally referred to as "Chinglish". The errors that occur are also called language interference errors. These errors affect...  [Read more]

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 say, frees students to think and...  [Read more]

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL - Canadian Based Online TEFL Courses and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: A.B . - Scotland said: Knowledge and understanding of grammar has improved Expanded ideas of how to make lessons fun and interesting while developing students? abilities Think the 2 week practical course will help put these into practice and help work towards being a good TEFL teacher A.D ? USA I can't even put into words how much I feel like I have accomplished in participating in this program. I started with this program to get a taste of what it may be like to teach...  [Read more]

Acronyms are an essential tool used in all professions and technical writing. They are powerful tools to reduce word content. However without knowing what the acronym stands for, they can form a barrier to understanding. In the ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching world there is certainly no shortage of acronyms. Here we look at a few and one in particular, TEFL. Some useful teaching acronyms are: ELT: English Language Teaching. This is a general term for teaching English and applies to the teaching of English to both native and non-native English speakers. ELL: English Language Learner. This is a general term for anyone learning English and applies to learners of English who are native or non-native English speakers. ESL: English as a Second Language: This relates to the...  [Read more]

Globalization and the increasing demand for English speaking professionals all over the world, especially in emerging regions, has brought about a new, steadily growing sector: English as a Second Language (ESL). An ESL teacher is, therefore, an educator who works with English Language Learners (ELLs) whose native language is not English. The goal of the ESL teacher is to help the students reach a certain level of fluency in English, on both a spoken and written level. ESL educators are not to be confused with foreign language teachers. ESL teachers do not share the same native language and are specifically trained to offer explanations and directed teaching methods to non-English speakers. This teaching style is mainly focused on repetition, drills, demonstrations, and visuals. ...  [Read more]

Anyone who is involved in English language teaching (ELT) is well aware of the industry’s love of acronyms. If you have researched training courses you will undoubtedly have come across several such as TEFL, tesol, ESOL, EFL, ESL, ELT, and many more. Here we will look at EFL and the first thing to clear up is that EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language. It is often used interchangeably with some of the other acronyms mentioned when referring to the teaching or studying of the English language by non-native English speakers. Although these two acronyms are regularly used interchangeably within the teaching world, there are technical differences between the two. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) refers to situations where a student is learning English in a country (normally their...  [Read more]

English is taught as a second language all over the globe. Due to the volume of qualified teachers needed there are many great opportunities with attractive salaries just waiting to be filled in countries worldwide. TEFL teachers are usually required to have teaching qualifications and are therefore considered to be skilled workers in most areas. As a skilled foreign worker, the base salary enjoyed by a full-time ESL teacher is usually considerably higher than the country’s median wage. Experienced teachers and those with advanced-level teaching qualifications can often further enhance their claims for a higher salary. Factoring in lifestyle and living costs, countries in Southeast Asia continue to be extremely popular with our TEFL course graduates. An average teaching salary in this...  [Read more]

  In this TESOL review video, Rick from the United States tells us how he has recently completed the 120-hour TESOL course online from ITTT. Despite already working as an online English teacher, Rick found the course to be very informative and helped him to develop better strategies to deal with the language issues his students have. Whether Rick decides to carry on teaching online or to take his career abroad, his experience with ITTT has enabled him to offer better lessons to his English language students. 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...  [Read more]

  This video covers special cases in reported speech that do not follow the typical pattern. This video is specifically aimed at teaching reported speech 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. In this Unit we watched 2 videos. In the first video, the student did not actively participate much and did not seem to understand the concepts very well. The teacher didn't really explain what was expected of the students during the study...  [Read more]

We can say in general terms that all teachers are important, English teachers among them. However, the requirement for specialist teachers who are able to teach English as a second or foreign language is particularly important. What makes specialist ESL teachers so necessary? Globalized industry has led to an explosion of the use of English as the lingua franca. This trend looks as though it will continue in the near future. Whilst English is a mainstream curriculum subject in many countries, teachers of English are not necessarily equipped to teach English as a second or foreign language. Teachers trained in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) are therefore in great demand. Whilst it is generally true that Native English Speakers (NES) have a good working knowledge of the...  [Read more]

  A final example is going to be an example of a patchwork ESA lesson and remember we said the form of this particular lesson will start with and engage always and will finish with and activate and there'll be some variation of E, S and A within the brackets here. So we're going to generate our patchwork ESA lesson as follows. Starting with the engage, the students are going to look at holiday photos and talk about what they like and don't like from what they see. From that, we're going to move directly into an activate phase and what the students are going to do is to make comments about holiday brochures and try to act out a role-play between the travel agent and a customer. Again, as this is taking place, the teacher will be moving around and looking for gaps in knowledge in...  [Read more]

  Tim currently completed our 120-hour online certification course and enjoyed working with the well-organized units. He also found the videos accompanying the course very useful. 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, troubleshooting, I learned about the different problems and solutions that I might encounter in teaching English as Second Language. Some of the problems are when I have large classes, reluctant students, and when the...  [Read more]

  The second conditional is used when speaking about dreams, fantasies and hypothetical situations. This video is specifically aimed at teaching the second conditional 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. Books and materials ↵materials can be divided into two which authentic materials: meaning anything a native speaker would hear or read.↵created materials: which is designed by the teacher.↵Course books are...  [Read more]

EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language and is to almost all purposes the same as ESL, English as a Second Language. These two are also equivalent to ESOL which means, English to Speakers of Other Languages. For each of these terms, when we talk about the teaching of them, we add a ‘T’ to the front of each acronym and hence we arrive at the terms TEFL, TESL and TESOL. As they are basically the same we will refer to just one from here on, TEFL for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language and EFL for English as a Foreign Language. Almost all TEFL teaching positions require a minimum qualification of a 100 to 120-hour TEFL certification. Courses provided to cover this certification are usually delivered by one of three methods, namely, onsite courses, online courses and combined...  [Read more]

  Some and Any are two words that often cause confusion, which is why we have decided to take a closer look at the difference of the two words in this video. Firsly, some is a determiner used for positive statements while any is a determiner used in questions and negative statements. Consider the following situation: I asked the teacher if he could give me some paper. I said ‘Excuse me, have you got any paper?’ Unfortunately, he didn’t have any. The first statement is positive and therefore requires us to use some. The second sentence is a question and therefore, we need to use any. The third and final sentence is a negative statement which also requries us to use any. It's worth noting that we do sometimes use some in questions and we also use any in positive statements. For...  [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]

Home > Esl Resources Findings in many of the past studies do indeed suggest that small- sized classes are indeed more effective that larger classes... As a TEFL educator, I have been faced with various challenges 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... The study of business is a study of communication... The rapport between a teacher and their students plays a very important role in determining if the class will be successful and enjoyable... For many years Teachers of English have used the PPP model of Presentation, Practice and Production for the preferred model of teaching... ?There is no such thing as Canadian English?[it] is a myth, fabricated to...  [Read more]