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Why the English Language Teaching industry needs a #MeToo campaign

Not long ago, I stumbled across a game that went viral on Facebook, which most language teachers will know as ‘Two truths and a lie’. For anyone who doesn’t know this game, you tell 2 truths about yourself and make up one lie. The person that you are playing with needs to decide which ones are the truths and which one is the lie, for example you… All categories, TESOL Masters, Five ways to, Careers in TESOL

Christmas lesson ideas: 5 great activities for English classes

* This article was written by the entire Teacher Training team at EFA The Christmas season is nigh upon us and it’s a great time of year to focus on building classroom rapport and bring some light relief into learning.  We’ve rounded up a few of our favourite TEFL Christmas lessons and activities from our team of CertTESOL trainers for you… All categories, ESL activities, Five ways to, How to..., Certificate courses, Theme based learning

5 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Teaching Teenagers

Just do the thing... The advice I got from a colleague early on in my teaching career.  Her advice while not exactly motivating, ended up being the best advice I was given for everything, not just teaching. At the time I was struggling to motivate a class of teenaged learners and went home each day feeling like a failure. Even back then,… All categories, Certificate courses, Five ways to, ESL activities, How to...

5 things you didn't know about grammar

One of the more common beliefs that teachers and students bring to the classroom, especially in Hong Kong (which tends to favour classroom activities based on memorization and declarative, as opposed to procedural knowledge) is an obsession with grammar.  Yes but they need to know the grammar, teachers often say. Yes, the students didn… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, How to..., Five ways to

5 Ways of Managing Problematic Behaviour

Following on from our earlier article on positive reinforcement, this week I look at how teachers can manage problematic behavior. If you’ve ever had the experience of a difficult student, you are not alone! It’s part and parcel of being a teacher. The only way you could avoid problematic behavior with students would be to only teach one… All categories, Certificate courses, How to..., Five ways to, ESL activities

5 ways to manage behaviour using positive reinforcement

When I was 5, I had a piano teacher who rapped my knuckles and told me off sternly when I didn’t practice enough. When she asked me to be a part of her annual recital, I burst into tears and shook my head, overcome with fear at failing in front of an audience. When I was 12, I had a maths teacher who was ex-Army, who would scream at us if we asked… All categories, Five ways to, How to..., Certificate courses, ESL activities

It all begins with context: getting your lesson off to a positive start

Set context, and carry on This ought to be the mantra for all teachers, yet it is often one of the most challenging components of any language lesson: set it well, and the meaning and range of language students can use appropriately becomes suddenly more accessible; set it poorly, and you’ll have the students (and possibly yourself too!)… All categories, Five ways to, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, ESL activities, How to...

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, How to..., Five ways to, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, Teaching skills

5 Ways to take feedback and correct mistakes

Post-task feedback is the stage of an ESOL class where much of the real learning happens; it is during feedback that students reflect on their ideas, correct their mistakes and apply the language that we teach in a restricted, experimental and discursive setting. However, feedback stages are all too often focused on the product of the task (the… All categories, Five ways to, Certificate courses, Teaching skills, How to..., ESL activities

ICT: Using technology in the classroom

Whether you like it or not, the use of IT, technology, edTech, ICT….whatever you want to call it….in the classroom is here to stay.  Many schools nowadays actively expect teachers to incorporate elements of technology in their classes on a regular basis.  Many institutions such as the British Council even assess their current… All categories, How to..., Certificate courses, TESOL Masters, Five ways to

Top books for new teachers

Following on from last week’s post about online resources for new teachers, this week we look at our top suggestions for our favourite print materials for new and developing teachers. I remember when I first finished my Certificate course, and was offered my first full-time teaching position: one of the biggest issues I had wasn’t… All categories, ESL activities, Five ways to

Five Useful Online Resources for New Teachers

The internet is full of amazing sites and tools for English teachers, but it can be overwhelming having to sift through so many sites, especially if you've graduated from a CertTESOL course very recently recently.  Whether you’re looking for resources from the BBC, grammar games, improving speaking or vocabulary, or ideas for… All categories, ESL activities, Five ways to