Past Simple Rules

  If you want to teach English as a foreign language, it is important to make sure you are as well prepared as you can possibly be before entering a classroom. It is equally important to have a good understanding of the country and culture you are hoping to make your home while you are teaching. Below we look at some important aspects of etiquette in different countries in Latin America. The countries of Latin America are an increasingly popular destination for newly qualified English teachers. While they are generally more relaxed when it comes to formal rules of etiquette than other regions of the world, there are, as with any country, particular social norms that any visitor should make the effort to understand. COLOMBIA Manners/Behaviour: Although Colombians are generally...  [Read more]

  In this episode, we cover the pronunciation of the word sprightly. This word is used to describe a person, usually a little bit older, who is full of energy. 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. In this unit, I learnt about the different past tenses - past simple, past perfect, past continuous and past perfect continuous. I learnt the different forms, usages, typical errors and some Activate teaching ideas to help teach the different verb tenses...  [Read more]

  In this online TESOL course video we will look at a useful teaching idea for the past perfect tense. Students are given statements written in the past simple and will have to complete the statement with sentences in the past perfect. Each statement would have been cut out before the class and distributed to pairs or small groups. The student will turn over their card, read out the statement then complete it with their own past perfect sentence. For example: I didn't do my homework ... because I hadn't brought my book home. Teaching ideas such as this become an important part of an English teacher's resources, enabling them to create interesting plans when required. To learn more about this tense and others consider taking one of ITTT's online TESOL courses. Follow the link above...  [Read more]

  This video from one of ITTT's online TEFL courses looks at the structure of the future perfect tense. Positive: Subject + will + have + past participle I will have finished... Negative: Subject + will + not + have + past participle I will not (won't) have finished ... Question: Will + subject + have + past participle? Will you have finished ...? More and more people see teaching English abroad as great way to learn new skills and gain valuable experience in an international setting before returning home and embarking on their career. Alternatively, others see teaching English as an opportunity to change direction in their career and to try something new. Either way, anyone looking to start teaching English abroad will need to be appropriately qualified. Have a look at the link...  [Read more]

  The present perfect always relates the past to the present. This can be through the unfinished past, where we're expressing duration, such as 'I have played football for 10 years,' the indefinite past expressing experience in your life, such as 'I have been to Italy and Spain,' and also to show the present results of a past action 'I have broken my leg.' I broke it in the past and it remains broken in the present. Our final present tense is the present perfect continuous tense. Our example sentence here 'I have been playing football for 10 years' has the structure subject plus auxiliary verb 'have' or 'has' and then a second auxiliary verb here 'being' plus 'verb-ing'; 'I have been playing.' Very much like the present perfect tense, the present perfect continuous relates the past...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video, Sherleen talks about her experience taking the 120-hour ITTT online course with tutor support and videos. She describes how the course was both informative and challenging and has prepared her well for starting her career as an English teacher. 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. In Unit 8 we learned about the future tenses. These happen to be much easier than the past because their are key words to each one. SOme of...  [Read more]

  Before looking at the methods or approaches themselves, there are some terms that we need to define. These are the approach, the method or the technique. Basically, these are hierarchical. The approach is an overriding set of principles that a method can actually make use of, whereas the technique are the things that we actually do in the classroom to approach that method. So, these three words are going to appear during the presentation. Again, for each of either the approaches all the methodologies we're going to ask four questions. So be it an approach or a method for each of those things: Where did it come from? What's its background? What does it involve when we're talking about actually in the classroom, in other words techniques? What is positive about it? What appears to...  [Read more]

  Our next main issue is going to be that of giving students individual attention. Here many classroom management and leaving potential discipline problems can be avoided by applying some simple rules to giving your students attention. The first one is to think about the way in which you ask questions. Don't ask questions in a predictable order. If you just go around the class asking questions from one person to the next then the person at the end of the class will know that it's going to be some time before you actually get to them. So try to mix up the way in which you're asking questions. In terms of answers to questions don't allow individual students to dominate all of the answers. One of the things that we can do to help this particular issue is to use the students names as...  [Read more]

  Our second example sentence 'I am playing football at the moment.' is the present continuous tense. This has a different structure as the subject 'I', the verb 'to be' in the present tense 'am', 'is' or 'are' plus the verb with an '?ing' on the end. So here: 'I am playing football at the moment.' Whereas the present simple tense is used to talk about habits routines and facts, the present continuous tense is used to talk about actions in progress at the time of speaking or around the time of speaking. Our third example sentence is the present perfect: 'I have played football twice this week.' Here, the structure is the subject 'I', auxiliary verb 'have' or 'has' plus the past participle. The past participle is usually formed just by adding '-ed'- on to the end of the base form of...  [Read more]

  In this video, we provide you with a useful overview of the various past tenses. We focus here especially on the differences between the past simple and past continuous. 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. Great unit for introduction to the intricacies of teaching English as a foreign language. As someone that has no prior experience, I already feel much, much more comfortable being at the front of a classroom, knowing how to effectively address...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL review video, 120-hour online TEFL course graduate Corrin shows us round parts of Florence, Italy where she works as an English teacher and gives us a glimpse inside one of her classes. Corrin took the course with tutor support which she found really helpful and would recommend the course for those looking to teach English as a foreign language. 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 gave me a overall better understanding of...  [Read more]

  Regardless of which type of beginners you are teaching here are our top 10 tips for the teaching of beginner classes. 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 6 was about the past tenses and how to use them correctly. It described the different situations of when to use each tense and how to properly structure them. Sadly, there aren't any rules for knowing the irregular verbs. You simply just have to study and remember them, and in English...  [Read more]

  This video is part of our video series on "Evaluation and Testing of Students". In this video, we look at practice and external proficiency tests. Practice tests are usually used for revision purpose before internal and external exams to prepare the students. There are three types of external proficiency tests that English learners can take. Find out which ones in this video. 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 really like this unit. I can...  [Read more]

  Job interviews can be a scary prospect and no one really looks forward to them, no matter how many you have had in the past. However, if you do the correct amount of preparation and stick to a few simple rules, you could find it is not such a bad experience after all.  [Read more]

The worldwide market for teaching English abroad covers dozens of countries and many types of employer. In some situations it is normal to complete the recruitment process before leaving home, including an interview conducted via Skype or phone. However, in many of the most popular destinations employers prefer to recruit their teachers via face-to-face interviews on the school premises. While each interviewer will have their own criteria for choosing the right candidate, there are a few simple steps you can follow to give yourself the best chance of securing the job. It is said that it only takes seven seconds to form a first impression, so it is vitally important that you get the basics right to avoid blowing the interview before it has even got going. Rule number one is simple:...  [Read more]

In the same way that we would expect our surgeon, dentist or airline pilot to have undertaken some training, our students of English might also expect their teachers to be trained and competent. What does it mean that our English teacher is competent? Possibly there are two major components to the answer: 1. The teacher has adequate subject knowledge. 2. The teacher has some classroom delivery skills. First you need to find a course that offers these components. While many native English speakers have learned the rules of English grammar sub-consciously as part of their language development, this does not give them the necessary subject knowledge required to teach English. So both native English speakers (NES) and non-native English speakers (NNES) should have some background knowledge of...  [Read more]

  Strictly speaking the answer is no, you do not have to possess a TEFL certificate in order to find work as an English language teacher. In some countries around the world it is still possible to secure employment simply by being a native English speaker. However, there are several reasons why we would strongly recommend that you complete a TEFL training course before you set off to teach English abroad. In recent years many popular destinations for EFL teachers have begun to tighten the requirements necessary for teaching English in schools and language centers. A recognized TEFL certificate is now required in order to secure a work permit in many countries, whilst the ever growing number of teachers with a TEFL qualification means that employers in the majority of countries...  [Read more]

Congratulations if you have recently completed a TEFL certification course and are now looking for that all important first teaching position. As learning English is commonplace in the majority of countries around the world, qualified TEFL teachers rarely find it difficult to secure a good job. However, the level of demand can vary greatly from one place to the next, which also means the level of requirements can vary. What is required in one country might be completely different to the requirements in its immediate neighbor. As mentioned above, the demand for qualified TEFL teachers varies considerably and can have a big effect on where you might end up working in your first teaching position. Certain countries also have stricter rules and regulations than others, as do individual...  [Read more]

Job interviews are notorious for causing anxiety, but if you know what to expect and you prepare accordingly you should find they are not as bad as you are expecting. The essential nature of any interview is to show that you are confident in your teaching ability, keen to get started, and able to fit into the existing workforce. By doing some research and planning in advance, you should be able to demonstrate all of this and land the job on the spot. The worldwide market for teaching English abroad covers dozens of countries and many types of employer. In some situations it is normal to complete the recruitment process before leaving home, including an interview conducted via Skype or phone. However, in many of the most popular destinations employers prefer to recruit their teachers...  [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]

Teaching English abroad is a great way to see the world and get paid while doing it, but what does it actually involve? Before you buy a plane ticket and jet off across the world it is a good idea to research as much as possible about TEFL qualifications, the possible restrictions you might encounter when applying for jobs, and the long term prospects this path might lead to. Here we look at the answers to all these questions and more. These acronyms are used when referring to training courses that English language teachers undertake, as well as the certification they receive upon completion. TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. As these terms are essentially the same, they are often used...  [Read more]

As there is a strong demand for TEFL qualified teachers in many countries worldwide, most course graduates should have little trouble finding a suitable position. However, to maximise your chances of securing the best jobs there are a few things you should be aware of. Where you should look for work, how to apply for jobs, and how to prepare for that all important interview are all covered below. Among the many attractions of teaching English abroad is the fact that you are free to choose not only the region where you would like to work, but also the specific country or even city. For some teachers the history and culture of Europe appeals most, while others are drawn to exotic destinations across Asia or Latin America. However, before you book your plane tickets you need to be aware...  [Read more]

If you are bored with the everyday grind and want a new life that is full of travel and adventure, TEFL could be the perfect option for you. First you need to choose the right TEFL course to suit your situation and then work your way through the training. Once you have completed the course and you have your TEFL certificate in hand you will be ready to head overseas to start work as an English language teacher in the country of your choice. These acronyms are used when referring to training courses that English language teachers undertake, as well as the certification they receive upon completion. TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. As these terms are essentially the same, they are often used...  [Read more]

Every year tens of thousands of people from all backgrounds leave behind their existing life and head overseas in search of fun, travel and adventure. They are able to do this by completing a TEFL certification course that gives them all the qualifications they need to apply for English language teaching jobs in countries all over the world. If you want to join this ever growing number of TEFL qualified teachers, there should be very little that can get in your way. Among the many attractions of teaching English abroad is the fact that you are free to choose not only the region where you would like to work, but also the specific country or even city. For some teachers the history and culture of Europe appeals most, while others are drawn to exotic destinations across Asia or Latin...  [Read more]

TEFL courses are designed to give you all the skills and knowledge you need to start a new career teaching English as a foreign language. Once you have completed a TEFL course and received your TEFL certificate you will be able to apply for a wide range of jobs in countries across the world. Before you choose a TEFL course you should be fully aware of all the course options available to ensure you make the right choice to suit your future plans. Deciding which TEFL course suits your individual learning style, your current situation and your future plans can be difficult as there is no standard length of training or a fixed syllabus that providers have to adhere to. The best advice we can give is don?t simply choose the cheapest or the first option you come across as it may not be...  [Read more]

Due to a strong demand in many countries, TEFL qualified teachers should have plenty of great options to choose from. Across Asia, Europe and Latin America there are countless opportunities available depending on your own personal preferences. Whether your main goal is to make as much money as possible, to experience living in a different culture, or to get right off of the beaten path, there is the ideal destination waiting for you. If you are looking for the widest choice of English language teaching jobs, look no further than Asia. Across the continent you will find countless opportunities in a wide range of fascinating countries, although the requirements do vary from one to the next. Some countries are only open to native English speakers and others will require a university...  [Read more]

If you are looking for the widest choice of English language teaching jobs, look no further than Asia. Across the continent you will find countless opportunities in a wide range of fascinating countries, although the requirements do vary from one to the next. Some countries are only open to native English speakers and others will require a university degree, however, there are still plenty of jobs out there for anyone with a TEFL certification. Teaching English in South Korea has become increasingly popular over the last decade and it is no secret that the country offers some of the best salaries for foreign teachers to be found anywhere in the world. English teachers in Korea can expect to earn between $1,500 and $3,000 per month and it is certainly possible to save up to half of this...  [Read more]

Here at ITTT, we will do all we can to ensure your entire TEFL training experience is as straightforward and rewarding as possible. If you have any questions regarding our courses, please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section below. Our FAQ section should clear up most of your queries but if you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by submitting them via the form provided at the bottom of this page. What does TEFL mean?    The acronym TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It is commonly used to refer to training courses that almost anyone can take to learn the skills and knowledge required to teach English to non-native speakers in countries all over the world. What is the difference between TESOL and...  [Read more]