Certificate courses

TEFL Masterclass: how to structure brilliant PPP lessons

When planning to teach a language item, how can you ensure that your learners are getting what they need at key points in the lesson? The way in which teaching and learning activity, tasks and activities are ordered can go a long way to helping students to achieve within the limited time they have and with the content you are teaching. The … All categories, Teaching skills, How to..., ESL activities, Certificate courses

Teach English in China: finding the right position for you

China has grown into a fascinating, diverse, challenging and ultimately rewarding place to be an English teacher (though of course this depends on the situation where you find yourself when you get to the school you are working with). The range of education groups, schools, kindergartens, university departments… where English Language Education (… All categories, Careers in TESOL, Certificate courses, Teaching skills, Diploma courses

Unqualified EFL teachers are doing themselves and their students an injustice

With so much global demand for English teachers, and with such a broad range of different TEFL, TESOL and TESL certificates out there, it can be difficult to decide how, or even whether to get qualified before signing up for an English teaching job. Any teacher who has done a 120-hour, face-to-face course will tell… All categories, Certificate courses, Careers in TESOL, Teaching skills

Phonics, phonetics or phonology? What’s the difference?

Informed pronunciation teaching is a challenge for new and experienced teachers. It involves a minefield of technical knowledge, confusion over accents and varieties of English, and when related to reading, involves a lot of fighting against the horrible spelling rules that English has held onto over the centuries. To get things straight, it is… All categories, Certificate courses, Teaching skills, ESL activities, Careers in TESOL

Those who can, teach. Those who can't, sprout meaningless idioms

Perhaps you’ve said it yourself, perhaps you’ve had it said to you. For me it was my introduction to the idea of becoming a teacher - a family friend who benevolently suggested I try teaching English said, with a smile on his face…those who can do, those who can’t, teach.  Note to self, never try to encourage someone to become a… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters

Mistakes to avoid with your career: 5 things I wish I'd known when I started teaching

When I decided to do a Trinity Cert TESOL my main reason for doing so was escapism. I wanted to run away from my life in the USA, travel around the world and meet people from all walks of life. I had lived in London and Paris as a student in my early 20s and the experience was incredible. I developed life-long friendships and… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters

Taking feedback: making the most of professional development

Some of the most beneficial feedback I’ve received in my career has been the most challenging to listen to. This is because they all share the common denominator in revealing a blind spot in my development that was known to others but not to me. Although constructive feedback of this type can be challenging to hear, it is essential in helping… All categories, Careers in TESOL, Diploma courses, Certificate courses, How to...

The biggest myth in education: are parents more important than students?

Before you run to lynch me for saying this, stop and ask yourself: what are the factors within teachers control that positively impact the learning environment? This was exactly what John Hattie aimed to answer when he produced a comprehensive list of effect sizes on learning. Going one step further, Hattie then grouped the various factors that… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, Careers in TESOL, How to...

5 things you learn by becoming a teacher

Everyone has an opinion on education. None more so than teachers themselves. “It’s one of those things that goes deep with people. Like religion, like money”, says Ken Robinson. Yet becoming a teacher is unique in that you must go through an apprenticeship as a student first. Another way of putting it is to say that doctors don’t need to be… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters, Careers in TESOL

A teachers' survival guide for the first week of school

The start of a new school year is often a daunting time for teachers and learners alike. Even if you’re returning to a teaching post you know well, it’s likely that you’ll be assigned new groups of learners and possibly different materials to work with. Whether it’s your first teaching job or just another semester, the following tips will help get… All categories, Teaching skills, How to..., Certificate courses

Don't teach your students what to learn, teach them how to learn

Ultimately, YLs need to learn how to learn as much as they need to acquire new knowledge (Williams, 1991) This has to be one of the most influential ideas I have come across in the world of education. As simple as it is, the implications are fairly radical: we need to spend less time teaching children what to learn, and more time… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters, How to..., ESL activities

English teachers beware: what are your kindergarteners really learning?

Are you a teacher who has started teaching toddlers and want to know what to expect from teaching them? The current mantra surrounding toddlers and young children seems to be ‘the younger the better’, but is this always the case? And how can we aid the language acquisition process for the smallest amongst us? Proponents of ‘the younger the… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters, Careers in TESOL