What Is Ecuador's Religion

All canny religions and TEFL is no exception, offer confession and then redemption. Confess your sins of grammatical omission and TEFL will grant absolution with a certificate to prove it. Also, like most religions, it has branches everywhere. This is how most potential worshippers are recruited. For example, if you go online, you will find the cryptically named, 'Dave´s ESL Cafe´s Teacher Training Forum.' It is packed with attractive bite sized pieces of information and the usual testimonials by the Stepford Student's. From the inevitable, "Better than I could have hoped." To the unintentionally funny, "My head is now full of ideas." Further up or down the advertising food chain, is the 'workabroad' website which tries to attract its TEFL worshippers in the pithy...  [Read more]

Teaching is the highest form of understanding. (Aristotle) A culture is a grouping within which values, norms, beliefs, patterns of behavior, rituals, customs and traditions are shared. To best serve their students, teachers at any level need to be especially sensitive to differences between their own culture and that of their students. This may begin with a careful look at their own worldview. Unintentional biases should never be promoted and are very easily overlooked, especially by the western mind. Changing family composition, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and religion are all areas teachers need to pay special attention to. There is often an inclination among Americans, especially those who have not lived outside their own culture, to be...  [Read more]

Teaching is the highest form of understanding. (Aristotle) A culture is a grouping within which values, norms, beliefs, patterns of behavior, rituals, customs and traditions are shared. To best serve their students, teachers at any level need to be especially sensitive to differences between their own culture and that of their students. This may begin with a careful look at their own worldview. Unintentional biases should never be promoted and are very easily overlooked, especially by the western mind. Changing family composition, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and religion are all areas teachers need to pay special attention to. There is often an inclination among Americans, especially those who have not lived outside their own culture, to be overly...  [Read more]

When considering the importance of the role of a teacher, what then is the importance of how they teach when faced with different and diverse cultures? First, we must look to the definition of culture itself: ?A culture may be conceived as a network of beliefs and purposes in which any string in the net pulls and is pulled by the others, thus perpetually changing the configuration of the whole.? (Jacques Barzun, quoted on site: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural- services/articles/culturel) So if culture is indeed a highly upheld structure that supports each individual, then we must carefully take into consideration how we incorporate the culture in the classroom to create a sense of unity. In teaching to a different culture, one must first reflect on their ...  [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]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word tenet. This word refers mainly to princibles of a religion or philosophy. Some synonyms for tenet can include principle, belief or doctrine. The word comes from the Latin word tenere meaning ‘he holds’. 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 learned a lot about phonemics and how to teach pronunciation. The hardest part for me was how to figure out how to translate phonemics without...  [Read more]

If the addition of the 'one-millionth word' to the English language is any indication of its ever growing popularity and immense power, then it's safe to say that this language has indeed come a long way from its modest inception to the burgeoning behemoth that it currently manifests itself in worldwide. The research article I chose to write is based on the two hotly contested arguments (for and against) the English becoming the undisputed world wide language. I read the following articles:(1) http://www.languagemonitor.com/Global_English.html by Neil Reynolds, The Globe and Mail, March 24, 2006(2) http://www.langedizioni.com/varie/aggiornadid/bettinelli_bc06/globish .ppt#1 power point presentation by Dr. Barbara Bettinelli to generate the following results:The world according to...  [Read more]

Just picture yourself enjoying a gelato ice cream on a warm Italian night, while sitting on the Spanish Steps and watching the people pass by… The combination of historical fascinations and simple pleasures that rome has to offer make it, quite simply, one of the most remarkable cities in the world! The eternal city of Rome has been at the forefront of European history, culture and religion for thousands of years. No other city in the world can rival the wealth of history and beauty that can be witnessed here, with the architectural wonders of the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and the ruins of the Roman Forum; the fascinating and powerful religious presence of the Papal State of the Vatican; the artistic triumph inside the Cistine Chapel, and so much more. Yet the modern daily-life of Rome...  [Read more]

All canny religions and TEFL is no exception, offer confession and then redemption. Confess your sins of grammatical omission and TEFL will grant absolution with a certificate to prove it. Also, like most religions, it has branches everywhere. This is how most potential worshippers are recruited. For example, if you go online, you will find the cryptically named, ?Dave´s ESL Cafe´s Teacher Training Forum.? It is packed with attractive bite sized pieces of information and the usual testimonials by the Stepford Student?s. From the inevitable, "Better than I could have hoped." To the unintentionally funny, "My head is now full of ideas." Further up or down the advertising food chain, is the...  [Read more]

Britain is the home of high quality English language teaching and is joining forces in a new and enlarged professional association called English UK, backed by the British Council. This comes at a time when global competition for English language students is more fierce than ever. While Britain can claim to have pioneered the concept of providing short, intensive language courses, and dominated the market for much of the past 50 years, other countries, principally Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, are now competing more aggressively for a share of shifting and in some cases diminishing student markets. Membership of English UK is only open to institutions that have been inspected as part of a special accreditation scheme for ELT providers; run by the British...  [Read more]

South Korea is a small but incredibly beautiful country, and during the 4 week TEFL you will have fantastic opportunities to experience the rich culture and history. Not only will you have the chance for local excursions, but based in Incheon, you will be less than an hour away from the lively city of Seoul on the express train. The first week of your program includes in-depth cultural orientations, ensuring you deeply understand the Korean way of life and culture. This includes a welcome dinner, tour of the local neighbourhood and the “Grand” Palace (Gyeongbok Palace), taekwondo class and learning South Korean cookery and language. Incheon is home to Korea’s only official Chinatown, where you can try jajangmyun (noodles with black bean sauce) at the Gongwachun restaurant and for...  [Read more]

Cebu is a city in the midst of overwhelming growth that blends its ancestral heritage with a modern business edge. Standing as the country's top business and tourist destination, Cebu was crowned as the Queen City of the South. Finding its own place under Cebu's friendly skies, business and leisure coincide together with office buildings and beach resorts. Cebu is an elongated island some 250 kilometers from North to South and 45 kilometers across at its widest point. It is central to the Philippine archipelago and some 600 kilometers south of Manila. This location combined with a sheltered deep water harbor has made Cebu the base for most of the country's domestic shipping and the gateway to the central and southern philippines. The island's area of 5,000 square kilometers supports over...  [Read more]

ESSAY ORGAN'ZAT'ON: In this essay I want to discuss cultural sensitiivty in the classroom. In order to speak intelligently about the topic we first need to to know what we are talking about. Let us begin by defining our terms, beginning with culture. After doing that we can then apply these terms to classroom experience.WHAT IS CULTURE' Anthropologists most commonly use the term 'culture' to refer tot he universal human capacity to classify, codify and communicate their experiences symbolically. This capacity is long been taken as a defining feature of the genus Homo. However, primatologists such as Jane Goodall have identified aspects of culture among our closest relatives 'n the animal k'ngdom. In order to resolve this we can say that symbolic experiences while not exclusive...  [Read more]

Britain is the home of high quality English language teaching and is joining forces in a new and enlarged professional association called English UK, backed by the British Council. This comes at a time when global competition for English language students is more fierce than ever. While Britain can claim to have pioneered the concept of providing short, intensive language courses, and dominated the market for much of the past 50 years, other countries, principally Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, are now competing more aggressively for a share of shifting and in some cases diminishing student markets. Membership of English UK is only open to institutions that have been inspected as part of a special accreditation scheme for ELT providers; run by the British Council....  [Read more]

Just picture yourself enjoying a gelato ice cream on a warm Italian night, while sitting on the Spanish Steps and watching the people pass by… The combination of historical fascinations and simple pleasures that Rome has to offer make it, quite simply, one of the most remarkable cities in the world! The eternal city of Rome has been at the forefront of European history, culture and religion for thousands of years. No other city in the world can rival the wealth of history and beauty that can be witnessed here, with the architectural wonders of the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and the ruins of the Roman Forum; the fascinating and powerful religious presence of the Papal State of the Vatican; the artistic triumph inside the Cistine Chapel, and so much more. Yet the modern daily-life of Rome...  [Read more]

Edged by the magnificent Himalayan ranges in the north and bounded by a breath-taking coastline made up of three seas, india has a stunning assortment of landscapes and culture, with captivating historical sites and intriguing royal cities, pristine beaches and mystical mountain tops, dynamic people and exciting festivities. The experiences are endless as the diversity of climate and culture make a visit to India eye-opening and rewarding. Whether you're in the dusty heat of the south or the snowy cold in the north, you'll travel roads filled with bicycles, auto-rickshaws, sputtering motorbikes, tinsel-draped trucks, camel carts and an occasional cow or two. Take a trip to one of the many wonderfully crowded markets and observe the community of beggars, hawkers, tourists, holy men,...  [Read more]

Most visitors to vietnam are overwhelmed by the sublime beauty of the country's natural setting: the Red River Delta in the north, the Mekong Delta in the south and almost the entire coastal strip are a patchwork of brilliant green rice paddies tended by women in conical hats. There are some divine beaches along the coast, while inland there are soaring mountains, some of which are cloaked by dense, misty forests. Vietnam also offers an opportunity to see a country of traditional charm and rare beauty rapidly opening up to the outside world. Despite its ongoing economic liberalisation and the pressures of rapid development, this dignified country has managed to preserve its rich civilisation and highly cultured society. It has discarded its post-war fatigues and the boom in budget...  [Read more]

nepal, birthplace of the Buddha, truly is a special place. Nestled along the uniquely impressive and world-renowned Himalayan mountain range, Nepal is a mystical country of warm-hearted people, time-worn temples and an incredibly diverse geography. Its landscape is incredible, boasting some of the best walking trails on the planet. Although Nepal isn’t particularly well-off in financial terms, the country’s welcoming and friendly people, landscape, traditions, religions and culture all culminate; for many, one visit is simply not enough. From the awe-inspiring Himalayas to the lush green national parks, the countless temples and pagodas to the bustling markets, street sellers, and clubs and bars of Kathmandu, Nepal has something for everyone, and for most visitors to Nepal, something...  [Read more]

Home > Articles I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it... So you've decided you want to teach English as a foreign language... There are many different practices that could be used for good classroom management and as with all techniques these need to be adapted to your own classroom, taking into account the age, culture, and personality of the class as a whole, and of you as a teacher... Classroom management requires a positive relationship between the teacher and the student... I believe that Classroom Management is the key component in any educational setting... I?m sure ?Classroom Management? holds many different meanings for many different people... Classroom management is a teacher?s ability to organize and control ...  [Read more]