How To Use Ai In Teaching English

When it comes to accents we all have one no matter where in the world we were brought up. Most of us are familiar with the basic differences between British and American accents, but what about accents from Australia and New Zealand, Canada and South Africa? And within each of these countries there are dozens of regional accents, just to complicate things further. So, we all have an accent, but is it a problem when teaching English as a foreign language? The first thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong accent when it comes to teaching and learning English. When teaching it is fine to speak naturally, just be sure that you always speak clearly and that all your instructions are fully understood by the whole class. Whether there is one accent that is better to teach than others...  [Read more]

  This is Chantelle?s video diary entry after completing unit 16 of her online TEFL course. Unit 16 covers conditionals and reported speech. Both language points can cause difficulty for English language learners and teachers alike. The unit outlines the structure and use of the conditionals and also provides some useful teaching ideas that can be used in your own classes. It also goes into detail about when we use reported speech and the changes that occur when changing direct speech into reported speech. You will also find teaching ideas to help you understand how this language point can be taught in the classroom. 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...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word inflammable. This word is used as an adjective and refers to something that is easily set on fire. The word originates from Latin inflammare. 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 7 was helpful because it outlined a good way to get students involved in the classroom through group participation. This unit also utilized the ESA teaching model and put into perspective the level of...  [Read more]

  Grammar lessons can be perceived as boring for some students, so it is important to have fun activities that encourage the students to use the target language creatively and foster high student talking time. Below is a list of ten activities that can be used for lessons on the past simple. Matching Pairs: The teacher creates a set of cards with present simple verbs and a set with the past simple form of the same verbs. The sets are mixed together and places face down on the desk. Students take turns to turn over two cards. If the two cards match, i.e. both forms of the same verb, the student has to make a sentence with the past simple form before they can keep the cards. If they cannot make a correct sentence, the cards are turned over and it is the next player's turn. The...  [Read more]

  Juan Carlos from Mexico took the 120-hour online TESOL course with tutor support and videos from ITTT. In this TESOL review video he tells us how he found the course to be very informative covering topics from lesson planning to classroom management. Juan Carlos enjoyed the course and if he had the chance to do the course again, he would do so without thinking. 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 am familiar with many of the teaching aid tools...  [Read more]

  Once a trainee has completed the 120 hour online course we recommend for the sake of continuity that they attend one of our international training centers to complete their teaching practice within six months of completing the online component. The teaching practice gives trainees the opportunity to gain practical classroom experience teaching English to local students in a supervised environment. Our qualified and experienced trainers provide trainees with assistance in planning lessons and they observe all lessons taught and provide constructive feedback after each lesson. 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...  [Read more]

  "In this video, our OTP trainee Richard checks the understanding of his students by having a classroom discussion with his students using modal verbs. They are used to express ability, possibility, permission or obligation. ITTT's Observed Teaching Practice courses (OTP) are ideal for teachers wanting to improve their teaching skills remotely from anywhere in the world." 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 me an overview of...  [Read more]

  Why bother with a lesson plan? IT'S AN AID TO PLANNING: A lesson plan helps you identify a clear destination for your lesson. IT'S A WORKING DOCUMENT: It helps you to mark out the route to that destination. IT'S A RECORD: A lesson plan helps you keep track of what you have covered with your students. It also helps other teachers cover your lesson if you are ill. LESSON PLANNING DO'S AND DON'TS Keep it simple. If you need to refer to it in a lesson, a quick glance should tell you what you need to know. Don't write a script of the lesson. Structure your plan and keep the same structure. Note the expected timing for each activity. Activities should be connected giving the lesson a logical pattern. Variety is needed to keep students engaged. Try to anticipate student...  [Read more]

  In this video Linda breaks down the difference between "everyday" and "every day". Due to their spelling, it can be quite hard for non-native English learners to understand the difference between the two. This video explains exactly how to differenciate between both expressions. 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 think this unit was full of useful advice. There is some brand new equipment for teaching which I haven't worked before. For...  [Read more]

  Tyler recently found our 120-hour online TEFL course very organized and enjoyed working with his tutor. He found the feedback from the tutor very helpful to develop his skills. He is excited to start working as an English teacher 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. Learning Business English is something I am looking forward to learning. For I know it will help develop my skills as a teacher and a learner. I found this unit to be very...  [Read more]

Teaching English vocabulary effectively is crucial in helping students become proficient in the language. There are various strategies and techniques that can be employed to enhance vocabulary learning. Here are some of the best ways to teach English vocabulary: 1. **Contextual Learning**: One of the most effective ways to teach vocabulary is through contextual learning. This involves introducing new words in meaningful contexts such as sentences, paragraphs, or dialogues. By providing context, students can better understand the meaning and usage of the new words. 2. **Word Associations**: Encouraging students to create associations between new words and their meanings can aid in vocabulary retention. This can be done through mind maps, word webs, or semantic mapping exercises where...  [Read more]

  And now we have our nasal sounds. There are three nasal sounds and basically the pattern of air that's moving out of our vocal tract has to do with two big instances and that is a closure in the vocal tract. Except aside from the plosives and affricates, what we have is air escaping through our nasal cavity. These sounds include ?m?, ?n? and ?ng?. We're moving from the front of the mouth to the back of the mouth. First with the M sound or the ?m?, we're closing both lips and the air is escaping through the nasal passage ?m?. Next we have our N sound or our ?n? sound. There, the closure is inside the mouth but our tongue is closing up near our alveolar ridge and the air is escaping through the nose. Again that's ?n?. Finally we have our NG sound and the closure there is happening...  [Read more]

  This video is a sample EFL lesson in a real-life classroom setting abroad. In the engage phase of the lesson, the teacher elicits vocabulary from the students and gets them talking and thinking in English. It is important to always complete an engage phase before getting started on the study phase of a lesson. 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 focused on the use of course books through various advantages and disadvantages. I agreed...  [Read more]

  "As mentioned before our four words here all are similar in using the ?b? and ?t? sounds at the end. So we know that those phonemes will be used in spelling each one of those words phonetically. Now what we're left to do is assign a phoneme for our vowel sounds. So if we analyze the word, it's ?e? as in bet. We look at our chart, we see the phoneme which corresponds to that sound and that happens to be the standard ?e? that we all recognize. Here, bet phonetically looks very similar to bet in the Roman script. Now let's take a look at ?i? bit. Now we look at our chart and we see that this symbol represents the ?i? sound and that resembles a capital I not a lowercase I but a capital I and so we've arrived at bit. Now with ?but? we have to find the sound and that corresponds to...  [Read more]

Teaching English to beginners can be a rewarding experience, but it also comes with its own set of challenges. Here are some tips to help you effectively teach English to beginners: 1. **Start with the Basics**: When teaching beginners, it's crucial to start with the very basics of the English language. Focus on teaching commonly used vocabulary, simple grammar structures, and essential phrases that will help them communicate in everyday situations. 2. **Use Visual Aids**: Visual aids such as flashcards, pictures, and gestures can be extremely helpful when teaching beginners. These visual cues can aid in comprehension and make learning more engaging and interactive. 3. **Encourage Interaction**: Encourage your students to practice speaking English from day one. Provide opportunities for...  [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]

  The next idea we're going to consider is the use of visual aids and visual aids can include some examples such as real, objects, which we call realia, the use of pictures and photographs and also the use of models. So let's consider some of the ideas surrounding the use of visual aids. Well, why are they useful? Well, first of all the use of a visual aid can reduce teacher talk time. It's very much more simple just to show a real object than to try to describe it so that we could just ask the students ?what is this,? and they would say ?this is a pen,? rather than trying to actually describe it. Again if we were trying to show examples of fruit and vegetables rather than to try and describe them why not use an actual model and this is going to be much more visually stimulating...  [Read more]

  The teaching ideas in these ITTT videos are intended to be used in the Activate stage of a lesson. During this stage students are encouraged to use the language as freely and communicatively as possible. The focus is more on the fluency than on the accuracy of the language. When selecting any activity it is important to ensure that the timing is appropriate and that the activity is appropriate for the students' age, language levels, class size, interests and culture. The video looks at one of three teaching ideas for Present Simple. The activity is called "Find someone who...." Each student will be given a sheet with a number of facts/habits/routines. For example ...plays a musical instrument,.....does a lot of sport, ....has a brother and a sister. The students then mill...  [Read more]

  Also in the 1970s la señal came up with a new methodology called "Suggestopedia". As psychological theory was developing, one of the ideas that came up was something called ?the effective filter?. Basically, the effective filter is a barrier to learning. It's the reasons why we inhibit our learning of a particular language. There are two main elements to the effective filter, two sets of factors, if you like, those are known as internal and external factors. The external factors to learning, the reasons why we have barriers to learning, may be just simple things such as external noise. So, people talking to us while we're trying to learn and so on and so forth. Perhaps more important are these internal factors and the internal factors one of the main things here is our previous...  [Read more]

  Liven up your business English classes and encourage high student talking time with these fun and creative activities. NEGOTIATIONS In pairs students role-play a negotiation. Each side will be given a sheet listing demands and concessions. Each side of the negotiation is awarded points for the type of concessions they get from the other side. For example, if one side manages to get a 25% discount, they get 10 points and the other side gets 0. TELEPHONE CALL ROLE-PLAYS Telephone role-plays can be used with a variety of different topics such as leaving and taking a message, placing an order, arranging a meeting, making a complaint etc. The main point is to give students the chance to practice communicating in English without the visual clues that are present in face-to-face...  [Read more]

  This ITTT video outlines the structure of the Present Perfect Continuous tense, the tense that is used for events which started in the past and are still continuing, or which have stopped, but whose effects are still ongoing. This one of two videos -- this one focuses on the structure of the positive and negative forms. Positive form: subject + auxiliary verb 'have'/'has' + been + present participle I have been working for ten years. Negative form: subject + auxiliary verb 'have'/'has' + not +been + present participle She has not been working here for some time. It is essential for any TESOL course to provide teachers with a sound knowledge of the English language tense system and to give teachers the confidence to present productive, meaningful and correct information to...  [Read more]

  One of the major ideas here when writing on the board, is that we need to be aware that whenever we're using the board to write down information, we should not be talking and whenever we are talking we should not be writing on the board. This will inevitably lead to what's known as dead time when nothing is being said as we're putting information on the board. This dead time is not a problem but we can actually minimize it by using a number of techniques. We could use pre-prepared material. So we put information onto large pieces of paper and then instead of writing on the board, we actually stick those materials onto the board as we go through the class. Another idea is to actually ask students to write on the board for you. Another thing is that we could actually put work up...  [Read more]

  "In this video, our OTP trainee Richard introduces the topic of modal verbs. They are used to express ability, possibility, permission or obligation. Richard checks the understanding of his students by doing a worksheet exercise discussing various statements including modal verbs. ITTT's Observed Teaching Practice courses (OTP) are ideal for teachers wanting to improve their teaching skills remotely from anywhere in the world." 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...  [Read more]

When creating TEFL teaching materials, it's essential to consider various factors to ensure they are effective and engaging for your students. Here are some key components to include in your TEFL teaching materials: 1. **Language Skills Practice**: Include activities that focus on developing the four essential language skills - reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Incorporate a variety of exercises that cater to different learning styles and abilities. 2. **Grammar and Vocabulary**: Integrate grammar explanations and exercises that are clear and concise. Provide opportunities for students to practice using new vocabulary in context to enhance retention and understanding. 3. **Cultural Content**: Incorporate materials that expose students to the cultural aspects of the...  [Read more]

TEFL certification can indeed be a valuable asset for individuals seeking employment in the field of humanitarian aid. Here's how TEFL certification can help you secure a job in this sector: Firstly, having a TEFL certification demonstrates to potential employers in the humanitarian aid sector that you possess the necessary skills to effectively communicate in English, which is often the common language used in international organizations and NGOs. Moreover, many humanitarian aid organizations operate in countries where English is not the primary language. In such settings, the ability to teach English can be a valuable skill in supporting local communities and aiding in communication efforts during relief operations. Additionally, TEFL certification showcases your commitment to...  [Read more]

  In this video we'll be looking at the international phonemic alphabet and how it's used in the classroom. There are other phonemic alphabets but this is the most popular and the system, which is most widely used. You may have seen some of these symbols before as any good dictionary will supplement standard English spellings with the phonemic spellings to aid in pronunciation practice. Here we have a situation where we have what are called phonemes and each phoneme represents a sound within the English language. How is this helpful? Well, what it does is help students understand how to say words rather than simply relying on the often archaic English spellings. To illustrate this point let's for a moment put ourselves in the shoes of our students when trying to understand how to...  [Read more]

  In this ITTT TESOL review two students from America describe their experience during their TESOL/TEFL course in Corinth, Greece. They describe how the course has given them the skills and confidence to begin their careers as language teachers. ITTT's courses include 120 hours of professional training given by our highly qualified and experienced trainers who are all committed to providing the best possible tuition. During the course trainees are given 6 to 10 hours of observed teaching practice with real 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...  [Read more]

  Rory Cripps describes his own experience as a TEFL/TESOL learner in Beijing, China. ITTT is a professional training organization dedicated to raising standards of teaching and professionalism in the EFL industry. ITTT is committed to: Providing a wide range of courses and services to cater to individual needs. We aim to help you choose the right course for you. 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 has been an extremely useful course to me. I...  [Read more]

  Here now is a teaching idea for the present perfect tense. If you remember back, one of the main usages of the present perfect tense is to talk about past experiences at an indefinite time. Here, will be having students work in small groups. Each small group will receive a prompt. This prompt has various past experiences. However, not conjugated into the question. The challenge for the students will be to take one of these prompts and to create a question based upon it. For example here they see 'win' and 'a competition'. One at a time, the students will take turns forming the question. 'Have you ever won a competition?' The other people listening to the question in the small group, will exchange their past experiences, either 'Yes, I have,' and perhaps tell a bit about the...  [Read more]

  The dynamics of classroom interaction is often dictated by the arrangement of the classroom itself and the way in which the classroom is arranged could depend upon a number of factors and they might include things such as the age of the students, so for example we're unlikely to have the same arrangement for adult learners as we would have for young learners. It could also depend upon the actual physical space available. The physical space may determine how we have to arrange our classroom to maximize the opportunity for interaction and so forth. It will also depend on what material is available and by material in this case we're talking about the actual desks and chairs and so on and so forth. Perhaps the final thing we might put here is that it could also depend upon the...  [Read more]