Saying Past Tense

  A first example of a teaching idea for the present simple tense will be a classic activity called 'Find someone who'. Here, we will be trying to find someone who has a general truth such as the ability to play a musical instrument or the fact that they have a brother and a sister. This results in students going around the room asking questions in the present simple tense, such as 'Do you play a musical instrument?' 'Are you a teacher?' 'Do you have a brother and a sister?' The answers resulting will also be in the present simple tense. They will be generally 'Yes I do,' or 'No I don't.' The students will go around trying to find somebody who fits the general truth and when they do, they will write their name in the appropriate space. The students will mill around the room for...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Zuan Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xi'an Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Learning a second language can be difficult, and this is especially true when the learners L1 and their target language are completely different in structure, sound, and tones. An English as a second language student who speaks French, German, or any other European language will have an easier task than one who speaks a language that is not of European origins. One such...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Zhutian Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Linyi Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. The English Language is complex and challenging in many ways. Its complexity emanates from the infinite numbers of tenses which may prove difficult to learn especially for non-native English speakers. As a teacher, whether you are teaching EFL or native English speakers, the essential thing to note is the strategies to simplify the whole process of learning and how to...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Longgang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Bazhong Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. People know that grammar is the thing that every English learner has to learn since the beginning. And learners of any language will continue to learn as well as review grammar as long as they still use that language. Learning grammar is a continues process that learners can never stop. In English, English learners need to learn grammar because grammar is the key...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Longan Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Zhaotong Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. This unit has relevance of equipping students with tools to help them express time in the language. We get to know the grammar associated with specific tenses and the dos and donts. There happens to be exceptions in some scenarios and they have to be mastered because there is no greater criterea of knowing how they change when the tense changes as well. We get to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning a second language can be difficult, and this is especially true when the learners L1 and their target language are completely different in structure, sound, and tones. An English as a second language student who speaks French, German, or any other European language will have an easier task than one who speaks a language that is not of European origins. One such language is Mandarin Chinese. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ashley L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The areas that native Mandarin speakers most often run into difficulty are pronunciation, tones, tenses, and sentence structure. A Chinese speaker might well know the English alphabet, as...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Balidian Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Huzhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Having covered the present tense in unit four, this unit moves on to the past tense and its four forms, past simple, past continuous, past perfect, and past perfect continuous. Each form was introduced with its grammatical structure, usage, example sentences, and ways in which these can be taught during the activate phase of an ESA lesson. The unit began with a...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Langao Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yantai Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. In English, there are four present tenses: simple present, present continuous,present perfect and present perfect continuous. Simple Present Form: Use the base form of a verb, adding an /s/ to the end of the verb if the subject is singular. (Unless the verb is irregular, in which case other rules may apply.) Uses: Use 1: Actions that are habitual or routine EXAMPLES:...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Erli Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Hanzhong Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. For the native English speaker, English is easy. It is only when learning another language do L1 English speakers begin to see peculiarities in their own language. It is then compounded when beginning to teach English as a foreign language. Although the English language has commonalities with other languages, especially since English is derived from other languages,...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences For the native English speaker, English is easy. It is only when learning another language do L1 English speakers begin to see peculiarities in their own language. It is then compounded when beginning to teach English as a foreign language. Although the English language has commonalities with other languages, especially since English is derived from other languages, there are plenty of unusual aspects of English that can cause difficulties when learning and teaching the language. For example, English spelling, grammar, and pronunciation all contain such peculiarities. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tanya L. Learning to read and write English is no easy task since English is one of the least phonetic languages compared to other...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Fucheng Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Zaozhuang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Pronunciation Mistakes that Brazilians Make While Speaking English The origin of many non-native English speakers can be recognized by their accents. For instance, Indians, French, and German people are easily identified by their accent. However, there are accents that are not easily recognizable, and one of them is the Brazilian accent. We can recognize...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The origin of many non-native English speakers can be recognized by their accents. For instance, Indians, French, and German people are easily identified by their accent. However, there are accents that are not easily recognizable, and one of them is the Brazilian accent. We can recognize Brazilians while he or she speaks English by 6 mistakes in the pronunciation that only Brazilians make. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Monica D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First, one thing that Brazilians do in many words that is so unique to Brazilians is to add the sound of “ie” in English words that there is not “ie” in the pronunciation. For example, the words hot...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Hanzhong-shi? Are you interested in teaching English in Hanzhong-shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Check out which city/town you may be more interested in and start your journey| Business English is a powerful tool to build bridges that would connect two individuals or group of people to reach common goals There is an obvious difference between teaching one to one and teaching groups Forming a lesson plan : The structure of a lesson plan can be fluid As we...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Tianliu Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Weifang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Learning grammar teaches one of the basic rules of constructing sentences. If people do not have the understanding of grammar, all they really know are words and some phrases and maybe some general basic questions. Those understandings are not enough to express thoughts and ideas effectively to other English speakers. While this could be sufficient for a tourist, it...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Being an American living in France has given me firsthand experience as to what it is like to struggle with learning a new language. I studied Spanish for six years, in Junior High and High school. Language acquisition was easier then. I can attest to the fact that younger learners learn more quickly. For me, the two major problems with learning French are the tenses and not being able to understand what people are saying. I get stuck in the present tense, often forgetting to change tenses in conversation. I also need to hone up on my listening skills. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Patricia J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. To find out, I questioned eight of...  [Read more]

  Connected speech is also an important element of phonology and it's involved in joining words together in an effect to make our speech more efficient. Some might say it's a product of being lazy but nonetheless it's what we all do and we want all of our non-native speakers to speak as naturally as possible, so we have to be aware of these things. Here are a few of the more common examples. We have linking, dropping, changing and extra lettering. An example of each would be with linking, we link our words together so that they almost in effect become one word. Instead of saying ?What do you want to do,? we typically will say ?Whatdoyou want to do?? Then, we can also have dropping. Rather than pronouncing each and every consonant, we can sometimes, especially in certain accents,...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Louziying Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xinzhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Why would I ever get a teaching certification? That thought lingered in my mind while one of my older co-teachers gave me career advice. I considered my 2 year-younger self one of the hardest working and dedicated online teachers in our small company. I tried my best applying everything I learned from company training: Be energetic. Smile the entire time. Correct...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shuangmiao Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Dezhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Anyone and everyone should complete a TEFL course because it turns the English language into a key that opens up the rest of the world. Generally speaking language can be a barrier between different peoples and countries. However, if you travel with a special intent to share your language, then those barriers have the potential to turn into bridges to new friends...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Hanyang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Ankang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. I was lucky enough, during my years as a student, to have had English teachers from all over the world: a couple of Italians, several coming from Great Britain, two from America and one from Australia. Thanks to this, I have had the opportunity to become familiar with different accents and slangs. I don't think a non-native English speaker gets to choose which accent...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas ESL teachers often encounter difficulties when teaching grammar patterns to students abroad. The following 7 activities for teaching the simple present for the ESL classroom will help your students pick up the tense in an easy and efficient way. This is a very good activity for when you start discussing the simple present and how it’s used for routines and regularities. You can place the students into groups or pairs and have them discuss their daily routines. What do they do in the morning? In the afternoon? In the evening? You can then also have them write up a schedule of their daily routines and share their findings with the class later on in a class discussion. Also read: Top Online Lesson Plan Resources for New and Advanced Teachers This activity is...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shifo Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Liaocheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. British English vs American English The English language was first introduced to the Americans by British colonization, beginning in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The language also spread to numerous other parts of the world.  Despite how much the USA and UK have in common, there are enough differences between their two versions of the English...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas There are many famous games used by TEFL teachers that students know like the back of their hand. If you want to change up your online lessons and bring even more fun in your teaching, check out these seven non-trivial online ESL games to help you in every stage of the TEFL class. For this activity, you will need to prepare a digital image and share it with a student during the online class. You can find plenty of connect-the-dots worksheets on the internet. The student needs to have access to the drawing tool, so make sure the online conference program you use has this feature. Choose a picture that would accompany the lesson's topic. Ask a student to connect the dots at the beginning of the online class to find out...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Xinchang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Bazhong Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. One of the very common questions asked by students is how British English is different from American English? There is an old saying that America and Britain are “two nations divided by a common language. No one knows exactly who said this, but it reflects the way many Brits feel about American English I often tell my American friends that they don’t speak...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Laozhaozhuang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Liaocheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Problems facing students of different nationalities Growing up in the United States of America I was unaware of all the difficulties that come from learning another language. Everyone in America has to know English and we are never obligated to learn a new language. I became aware of many difficulties of learning a new language when I moved to another...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Anyone and everyone should complete a TEFL course because it turns the English language into a key that opens up the rest of the world. Generally speaking, language can be a barrier between different peoples and countries. However, if you travel with a special intent to share your language, then those barriers have the potential to turn into bridges to new friends and new places that could be called home. Completing a TEFL course provides the necessary training for English to be shared around the world. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kaitlin Y. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A TEFL course is required training because it teaches you about the nature of the...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Pingtou Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Baoji Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. When learning a foreign language the pronunciation is one of the most important aspects; as well as one of the most complicated ones. Learning pronunciation takes a lot of effort from both; the teacher and the students. In the case of the teacher, when finding the best methods, techniques, and procedures to make the teaching-learning process as smooth and easy as...  [Read more]

  Our next consideration is going to be building and maintaining rapport. The importance of rapport is that within our communicative activities, we're asking the students to talk to each other. If they feel comfortable with each other and with us, then that interaction is much more likely to be useful. So how do we actually build and maintain rapport? Well, it's easiest if we consider two stages of the course itself. What we can do at the start of the course and what we can do throughout the course to help build and maintain that rapport. So at the start of the course, it's very useful if we ask the students to create a name card and to make that name card visible to everyone. Secondly we need to try to do some ice breaking activities that will allow the students to interact with...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences When learning a foreign language, pronunciation is one of the most important aspects; as well as one of the most complicated ones. Learning pronunciation takes a lot of effort from both the teacher and the students. It’s the responsibility of the teacher to find the best methods, techniques, and procedures to make the teaching-learning process as smooth and easy as possible. In the case of the students, they might be facing issues like phonetics and phonology of a language that could either have some similarities with their mother tongue, or none at all. The students will be exposed to new sounds, new intonation patterns, new stresses and new rhythms. These are more than enough reasons for the teacher to pay close attention to this part of teaching...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Songjia Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Dezhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Grammar or grammer! The most common error in the spelling of ‘grammar’, however, it is still debatable among few teachers, whether grammar or vocabulary should be considered the most important aspect of English language. A balanced diet makes a person healthy similarly a balanced understanding of all aspects of a language makes it complete. English is widely...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Several surveys, such as EF (Education First), have shown that France has the worst English level in the European Union. We shall explain, firstly, why French students have problems in learning English and what these problems are. Then, secondly, we shall share solutions to these problems. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mohamed S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Indeed, the difficulties that French students face are not recent but have deeper origins which are historical. As you may know, there has been a rivalry between the French and the English dating back to the Hundred Years War (1337-1453,) when the two countries fought to achieve succession to the French...  [Read more]