Teaching skills

Top 10 grammar mistakes in Hong Kong (part 2)

Continuing on from our part 1 article which highlighted five major English grammar problems faced by Cantonese speakers, here are another 5 common problems, with some explanations and teaching ideas to address them in class. 6) Can you cooking? / play tennis is fun What's the problem? Cantonese speakers have… All categories, Teaching skills

Beyond single words: working with meaningful lexical chunks

As a brand new teacher, I found myself teaching supply to a class of eight year olds. I had just completed a Cert TESOL a month prior, but I still didn’t have an overwhelming bank of ‘go to‘ vocabulary activities to draw from. The games that I remembered from my own childhood were “I Spy” and “Hangman”, so I decided to give… All categories, Teaching skills

Top 10 grammar mistakes in Hong Kong (part 1)

Users of English from different language backgrounds have specific issues with language for a variety of reasons. Sometimes patterns of grammar or pronunciation get carried over from their first language (L1 transfer issues), and sometimes a feature exists in English that is not present in their first language. This article… All categories, Teaching skills

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, Careers in TESOL

TEFL Masterclass: creating meaningful classroom interaction

The language that we use with our students, and the language that they use with each other at different points of a lesson, is fundamental to English language education. This article aims to outline some of the features of the interaction which happens in language classrooms in order to find ways that we can maximise the quality of communication… All categories, Teaching skills

Breaking the myths around communicative language teaching

Nowadays, English is an international language and used throughout the world. The ever increasing need to develop one’s communicative competence is often something learners struggle to do. Outdated methods and a focus on grammatical proficiency tend to inhibit improvement. Though grammar is a significant aspect of language learning it… All categories, Careers in TESOL, Teaching skills

5 Halloween activities for young learners

Halloween is just around the corner and is the perfect time to do some festive-inspired activities with your young learner classes. As holidays go, Halloween is one of the most fun, paying homage to all things weird and wonderful, such as ghosts, ghouls and goblins. Here are five of my favourite activities to have a wail of a time with your… All categories, Teaching skills

The culture of knowing: the dangers of assessing product over process

In high-schools the world over, there is a common tendency for teachers and their students to put a disproportionate focus on results; weekly assessments, end-of-term tests, mock exams, final exam results… there always seems to be another test or assessment looming on the horizon. A real and present danger of this situation, however, is… All categories, Teaching skills, 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, Certificate courses

4 problems everyone has with writing lessons and how to avoid them

Last year we described some of our best ideas for teaching writing, and making writing lessons fun.  We couldn’t have been happier with the response…nearly 5,500 readers have visited, shared and commented on this post, making it one of our most popular contributions on the blog. But, as with any blog post, it’s impossible to cover… All categories, Teaching skills, Writing

How to Teach Grammar Creatively: moving beyond the basics

A few weeks ago we introduced you to the basic principles of how to teach grammar. The key idea behind the basics of teaching grammar relies setting a clear context, introducing the target form and then providing practice and production opportunities for your students.  This week we look at some alternative ways to deliver grammar… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, Teaching skills