Teaching English Grammar

  This teaching idea for the past perfect involves matching pictures of historical events with the appropriate sentence and describing what had just happened in the picture using the past perfect tense. For example: A picture of the Titanic would be matched with the sentence "hit an iceberg" and the student should say "It had just hit an iceberg". As the trainer notes in the video; the scenarios in this activity are western centric. When teaching English overseas it is important to bear in mind how you can adapt your activities to make them more suitable or more interesting to your students. Learning about the local culture and history can make your lessons more relevant to your students and therefore more engaging. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one...  [Read more]

  ITTT's online TEFL/TESOL courses are designed to help anyone thinking of teaching English overseas. On them you will learn teaching methodologies, important parts of English grammar and ideas of how to teach this grammar to your students. This video looks at one idea for the future continuous tense. For this activity students are each given a planner filled with different activities on different dates. The planners are rigged so that there is only one day when the students are both free. They have to interview each other to find out which day they are both free. To find out more about how you can become qualified and suitably prepared for teaching English overseas click the link above. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online...  [Read more]

  An English teaching certification course will cover teaching methodologies, grammar and teaching ideas such as those covered here for the future simple. In the video the teaching ideas are horoscopes, fortune telling and wedding vows. For the horoscope activity students will be given zodiac signs and will create a horoscope for that sign before finding out who in the class the horoscope applies to. The fortune telling idea enables the students to role play using the future simple tense with one student being the fortune teller and the other the customer. Lastly, students create their ideal wedding vows or alternatively they can create silly vows. For many people, gaining English teaching certification is the first step on an exciting and rewarding journey as an English teacher...  [Read more]

  In this video for a teaching English second language teaching idea the students are given a sheet of paper with a series of pictures and each picture has a prompt with complicated verb structure as well as irregular verbs. The students will have to look at the prompts and order the pictures so as to make a story in the past simple tense. For higher level students you could remove the prompts and leave it up to them to create their own story. Teaching English as a second language is an increasingly popular career move. Not only do get the opportunity to help a variety of people around the world achieve their language learning goals but you also get to experience what it is like to live in another culture, often quite different to your own, which is always a rewarding experience....  [Read more]

  The Present perfect tense is a very useful tense. It is the tense that relates the past to the present. It also tends to be the tense that can often present some difficulties to the English language learner and sometimes the English language teacher. The activity in this video has the students examining two pictures, picture A and picture B. The pictures depict a scene in a house; Picture B is similar to A but with a number of changes. Students are asked to spot the changes and to express the change using the Present Perfect. For example in Picture A, a pile of unironed clothes can be seen next to the ironing board but in picture B the clothes are ironed. So the student would say "He has done the ironing." Another example answer would be, "He has hung up the towel." There are...  [Read more]

  This video covers the structure and usage of the past continuous tense. This structure of this tense is: Positive: Subject + was/were + present participle. She was working last night. Negative: Subject + was/were + not + present participle. He was not teaching yesterday. Question: Was/were + subject + present participle Was she driving yesterday? The past continuous is used to talk about actions that were in progress at a time in the past. For example: I was watching television last night. One option that may not occur to most TEFL graduates is that of teaching English online. Not only can you earn your certificate online, but you can also earn your wages by teaching English online. ITTT has many different courses available suited to your needs. Whether you are...  [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]

  In this video we look at the structure of the past perfect tense. This tense is formed in the following way: Positive: Subject + had + past participle. I had Negative: Subject + had + not + past participle. Question: Had + subject + past participle? You can earn your certificate in teaching English online from ITTT. We have many different courses available suited to your needs. Whether you are starting out as an English teacher or if you are looking to expand your skills with a specialised course in teaching young learners or business English and if you are looking for something more advanced, there is the TESOL Diploma course. To start the process of getting your certificate in teaching English online, visit us at the link above. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL training video we look at one of three teaching ideas for the present continuous tense. English grammar lessons like this are taught on a regular basis and ITTT's TEFL training courses can show you how to use these activities to your advantage in the classroom. 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. The range of expression is greatly growing by this point in the class. This chapter emphasized the kind of sentence blueprints that would...  [Read more]

  The future simple tense can be used for threats, promises and predictions. In this video we look at a teaching idea for the predictions usage. In pairs students are given a card with some prompts and responses. One student reads the prompt and the other responds with the given comment and their own sentence in the future simple tense. For example: Student 1: I've lost my shoe. Student 2: Don't worry. It'll turn up somewhere. For anyone wanting to Teach English Certification is the best route to take. An online TEFL course from ITTT will equip you with the skills needed to be successful in the classroom. Not only will it cover tenses such as the future simple featured in this video but it will also cover other grammar points such as modal verbs, reported speech etc. and...  [Read more]

  In this video we look at a teaching idea for the 'going to' future tense. This tense is often used to make predictions based on evidence and the idea covered here focuses on this usage. As you can see in the video, this idea is suitable for low level students as it uses pictures and verb prompts. Students choose a verb and one of the pictures that best match the verb. For example the student might choose "wash" and the picture of the shampoo bottle: "He is going to wash his hair". If you are thinking about teaching English abroad the best way to improve your job opportunities is to get a teaching certificate. Not only will a certificate open up more doors to you but it will also improve your chances of getting a higher English teacher salary. By taking a TEFL course with ITTT...  [Read more]

  This video reviews the past tenses. The past tenses form one part of ITTT's online TEFL courses. During the section on the past tenses you will learn the structure of each tense in its positive, negative and question forms as well as the usages of each tense. You will also learn some useful teaching ideas for the tenses. Past Simple: Subject + verb in past simple form I played Past Continuous: Subject + was + present participle I was playing Past Perfect: Subject + had + past participle I had played Past Perfect Continuous: Subject + had + been + present participle I had been playing To learn more about the past and other tenses check out our other videos online and consider taking one of our TEFL courses. A teaching certificate from ITTT will enable you to take part in...  [Read more]

  Being able to use the correct tense when communicating with others is essential. We often use more than one tense when talking to others so it is important that our students have the confidence to be able to know which tense to use in any given situation. For the teaching idea in this video a card game is used to give students the opportunity to ask questions and give answers using more than one tense, in particular reinforcing the Present Perfect Continuous tense. The activity requires the students to work in pairs, taking it in turns to ask a question and give a correct answer. Each card will have a result and a reason, and one student will be required to form the correct question and the other student the correct answer. ITTT offers a variety of TEFL courses. For example, for...  [Read more]

  The teaching idea for the future continuous covered in this video involves students picking a card with a picture of an activity on it and inviting their partner to join them. The other student then has to think up an excuse not to as quickly as possible in the future continuous tense. For example: Student A: Would you like to see a movie at the weekend? Student B: Sorry I can't, I'll be washing my hair. Ideas such as this are a great way for ESOL students to put the language they are learning to use in the classroom. Teaching ESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) is a fascinating and highly rewarding career choice and one which has a growing number of opportunities at the moment. One of the best ways to become an ESOL teacher is to take an internationally...  [Read more]

  In this video we look at a TESOL teaching idea for the past continuous tense. For this activity students are put into groups and are handed pictures of people doing different activities. The pictures are placed upside down in a pile and the students take it in turns to turn them over. When they have turned over a card they must make a past continuous sentence based on the picture they have. For example: If they turn over a picture of a woman swimming they would say: She was swimming yesterday. For more advanced students this activity can be used to compare past continuous and past simple. For example: While I was doing the washing up, I broke three plates. Becoming a TESOL teacher enables you to travel the world experiencing new cultures while earning a living and helping...  [Read more]

  In this TEFL training video we look at one of three teaching ideas for the present continuous tense. English grammar lessons like this are taught on a regular basis and ITTT's TEFL training courses can show you how to use these activities to your advantage in the classroom. 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 was helpful in providing different types of class discipline issues and effective ways of dealing with them. I will make sure I...  [Read more]

  This video covers the structure of the future perfect continuous. Other videos look at the usage and possible teaching ideas. The structure is as follows: Positive -- Subject + will + have + been + present participle By the end of this week, I will have been teaching English for three years. Negative -- Subject + will + not + have + been + present participle I won't have been waiting long by the time you get here. Question -- Will + subject + have + been + present participle? How long will you have been teaching English in Korea by the time you leave? One thing that worries many people thinking about teaching English as a foreign language is the grammar side of things. Most simply won't have been taught the ins and outs of English Grammar while they were at school. ITTT's...  [Read more]

  The teaching idea covered in this video is a fun group game that should generate a good deal of student talk time using the Present Perfect tense. The students will be in small groups and each student will have the question sheet with a number of pictures and word prompts. Students take turns forming their question with the aid of the prompts. The groups then give their answers using the Present Perfect. The prompts include: win/a competition, go/scuba-diving, meet/ a famous person The questions would be: Have you ever won a competition?, Have you ever been scuba-diving?, Have you ever met a famous person? Group members would answer, Yes I have...., No I haven't... After a given amount of time each group share their answers with the class. The teacher could then encourage the...  [Read more]

  The teaching ideas in these ITTT videos are intended to be used in the Activate stage of a lesson. During this stage students are encouraged to use the language as freely and communicatively as possible. The focus is more on the fluency than on the accuracy of the language. When selecting any activity it is important to ensure that the timing is appropriate and that the activity is appropriate for the students' age, language levels, class size, interests and culture. The video looks at one of three teaching ideas for Present Simple. The activity is called "Find someone who...." Each student will be given a sheet with a number of facts/habits/routines. For example ...plays a musical instrument,.....does a lot of sport, ....has a brother and a sister. The students then mill...  [Read more]

  For the teaching idea in this ESOL video students are given a set of pictures that feature events in a person's day. In pairs the students will need to put the pictures in an order of their choosing and then create a story about the person's day using the past simple tense. For example: She woke up and had a cup of coffee. She went to be at 9 o'clock. If you would like to become an ESOL teacher and travel the world experiencing new cultures while enabling people to improve their opportunities in life, then you should take a TESOL course. Taking such a course will give you the knowledge and skills needed to make you an effective teacher of English. Visit our site by following the link above for more information on the courses available to you. Below you can read feedback from...  [Read more]

  This video focuses on the difference between "born" and "borne". Because of their similar spelling, the two words are often confused in the English language. The word "born" is an adjective and means "having started life". Let's take a look at an example sentence. "I was born in Germany but my sister was born in France". The word ?borne?, on the other hand, is the past participle of " to bear", meaning "carried", "transported" or "take responsibility for". A good example for the word is: "All costs shall be borne by the buyer". This should clear up any confusion. 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...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'desert' and 'dessert'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. This is such a commen mistake made by both native speakers and English learners that we simply have to cover it. The pronunciation of the words is slightly different so most mistakes occurr in writing. Let's take a look at the two words. 'Desert' spelled with one 's' refers to a waterless, dry and empty area. A suitable example would be: Crossing that desert is dangerous. 'Dessert' spelled with double 's', on the other hand, has a very different meaning. It refers to the sweet course usually served at the end of a meal, such as cake or ice-cream. A good example would be: I had some ice-cream for dessert today. Keeping this...  [Read more]

  This video focuses on the difference between "bored" and "boring". Using those two words incorrectly is a very common mistake, especially for English learners around the world. The word "bored" is an adjective describing the feeling when there is nothing to do or when a person is not interested, for example, "she was so bored that she fell asleep". "Boring" is also an adjective but this word refers to the cause of the bored feeling rather than the feeling itself. For example, "the class was so boring that she fell asleep". Here the class is the reason for the feeling. The same concept can be applied to similar word pairs such as 'interested - interesting' or 'tired - tiring'. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL...  [Read more]

  In this video we explain the difference in using "amount" and "number". The word "amount" is used when we want to refer to uncountable commodities such as water, electricity, money etc. Whereas, "number" is used to refer to individual things that are countable such as book, cat, chair etc. In the example "a greater amount of people are going to the gym" the use of "amount" is incorrect because we can count "people". In this case "number" needs to be used. A good example of the use of "amount" is "a greater amount of rain came down in November compared to October". Here "rain" is uncountable so "amount" should be used. 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...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'advice' and 'advise'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. In fact, the two words are both are from the same word stem but 'advice' is the noun and 'advise' is the verb. Therefore, their usages are not the same. 'Advice' refers to a proposal for an appropriate course of action. Please give us some advice about planning a trip to France. In this example, we use 'advice' because it is the noun. When we want to describe the action of giving advice or offering a suggestion, we use the verb, or 'advise' spelled with an 's'. A good example would be: I advised them to visit the Pyramids of Giza when they are in Egypt. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'adverse' and 'averse'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. While they are both adjectives, they have slightly different meanings. 'Adverse', for example, means unfavorable or harmful, while 'averse' means strongly disliking or opposed. Let's take a look at two example sentences: "He listened to no adverse criticism and receded before no obstacle." and "My children are quite averse to the suggestion of having year-round school". Since they are both adjectives, they are always used in combination with the verb 'to be', such as 'is adverse' or 'are averse', or before a noun: 'adverse criticism'. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'in' and 'at' when used to indicate a location. They often cause confusion for English learners as they both refer to a location in a sentence. However, 'in', as a preposition of place, is usually used to talk about the position of someone or something inside large places such as countries, continents, big cities and similar, while 'at' is used to refer the position of someone or something inside small and unimportant places such as villages or small towns. 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...  [Read more]

  The three words lightening, lightning and lighting are easily confused by English learners and even native speakers. Let's take a look at the differences. Lightening is the present participle of the verb to lighten describing the action of making something less heavy. A good example would be "I was lightening the load on my horse because it was exhausted." Lightning refers to a streak of static electricity through the sky usually accompanied by thunder, as here "I was struck by lightning while playing golf in a storm." Lighting is the arrangement of light especially in photography. A suitable example for this would be "The photo was dull because the lighting wasn't good enough". Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL...  [Read more]

  In this video Linda breaks down the difference between ?aloud? and ?allowed?. 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 have had a plus in this lesson especially with the ESA (Engage study Activate) method. Here the teacher multiplies the motivation of the student by bringing him closer; the use of work sheet exercise. Many students will agree with me that the best moment in a class room it is when there is debate. As a whole this lesson permits me...  [Read more]

  This video covers the difference between 'interested' and 'interesting'. As these two words have a similar pronunciation and spelling, their usage is often confused. 'Interesting' describes the people or things that cause the feeling of interest to someone, for example: Today's lesson about world history is very interesting. 'Interested', on the other hand, describes how someone feels, such as here: I am very interested in learning another 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...  [Read more]