Speaking English In Prague

  Before we move on to the planning of a lesson for speaking skills, something that we need to look at first is the idea of the accuracy versus the fluency of speaking. Accuracy relates to the correct usage of grammar and vocabulary, whereas fluency relates to our ability to continue speaking without any interruption. Now, ultimately within a whole ESA lesson or within language learning itself fluency and accuracy are equally important. Within an ESA lesson, however, depending upon which stage we're at in that lesson, then we're either focusing on accuracy or we're focusing on fluency. Remember in the ESA lesson, in the study phase, this is where we're looking at the target language where we're doing our language learning, so it's very important in this stage that we focus on the...  [Read more]

One of the many benefits of teaching English abroad is the unique opportunity it provides for learning a second language of your own at the same time. If you want to improve your Spanish language skills or start them from scratch, there are several great destinations to choose from. Around half a billion people speak Spanish as their first language spread over twenty countries worldwide, and many of these have a decent market for foriegn ESL teachers. For many people who want to immerse themselves in the Spanish culture and language, the obvious choice might well be Spain itself. The country is well known for its historical sites, stunning beaches, and its relaxed attitude to life. Jobs are also easy to find in most major cities and popular tourist resorts, although the largest...  [Read more]

The TAPIF Program stands for Teaching Assistant Program in France. It is a government run initiative that places foreign applicants into state schools to work in the classroom as teaching assistants. Considering that France is often a difficult country for non-EU citizens to get a work visa for, this program is a good option for many people. If you are able to meet the requirements of the program, it could be the perfect way to live your dream of living and working in France. The age range for applicants on this program is between 20 and 35. If accepted, you will work 12 hours per week in up to three different elementary or secondary schools between October 1st and April 30th. You can state your preferences on where you would like to teach on the application form, but there is no...  [Read more]

  The second conditional is used when speaking about dreams, fantasies and hypothetical situations. This video is specifically aimed at teaching the second conditional in an ESL setting. 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 7, I learned how to create a lesson when introducing new vocabulary words, and new grammatical structure. For example regarding food, if I had a lesson on food, I would begin one day with new vocabular. I would show...  [Read more]

  The third conditional is used when speaking about regrets and excuses. This video is specifically aimed at teaching the third conditional in an ESL setting. 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. Evaluation and feedback are important to booth students and teachers during the progress of language learnin. As lessons and knowledge are being taught to students continuously, it is important for teacher to understand how the students are able to...  [Read more]

The market for qualified ESL teachers around the world is huge. Right across Europe, Asia, Latin America and even Africa, there are dozens of countries to consider. However, if you want to teach ESL in an English-speaking country, you might find things a little more tricky. Although there is typically a strong demand for ESL teachers in most English-speaking countries, the required amount of teachers can normally be recruited from within that country's own population. Another common problem for foreign teachers looking to work in an English speaking country is getting hold of the necessary work permits and visas. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. Some teachers acquire the right to work in another English-speaking country via marriage to a foreign national, or as a...  [Read more]

  So speaking activities will come in many different forms but we can generalize them into three basic types. Control activities tend to be used in the study phase and here, the teacher will be helping the students in terms of what they need to say and how they go about saying it. So, there's a high level of structure within a controlled activity. A guided activity has slightly less structure than this and it can be used in either the study or the activate stages themselves. The final type of activity or class of activity is called creative activity and this one would be used in the activation phase. In a creative activity, we're giving a scenario or a very small amount of structure and we're asking the students to actually create their own answers to this particular question....  [Read more]

  The two most common usages for the present continuous tense as it relates to speaking about things in the present. We have actions in progress at the time of speaking, specifically right when it's being said. So I can say ?I am teaching right now.? However, we also have actions in progress around the time of speaking. ?I'm reading a good book.? Now, of course I'm not reading a book just now but I started reading a book in the past I am reading it perhaps today sometime and I'll finish reading the book at some point in the future. Again, I'm not doing it just now but around the time of speaking. 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...  [Read more]

  The final stage of the lesson will be the activate and the activate phase is going to form the main speaking activity within the lesson. So, it's very very important that here, we do a good demonstration of what it is that we're expecting them to do, that we elicit the type of target language we're expecting them to produce from the activity. So, one way we could go around it is to, firstly, form pairs. Each pair is going to be given a card and onto that card they're going to write the country and a month. What the teacher can then do, just to add a little bit of spice to it, is to collect all of the cards and shuffle them around and then redistribute them to the pairs so that they get a card that doesn't have their country or their month on it. What they're then going to do is...  [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]

  Globalization and the increasing demand for English speaking professionals all over the world, especially in emerging regions, has brought about a new, steadily growing sector: English as a Second Language (ESL). An ESL teacher is, therefore, an educator who works with English Language Learners (ELLs) whose native language is not English. The goal of the ESL teacher is to help the students reach a certain level of fluency in English, on both a spoken and written level. ESL educators are not to be confused with foreign language teachers. ESL teachers do not share the same native language and are specifically trained to offer explanations and directed teaching methods to non-English speakers. This teaching style is mainly focused on repetition, drills, demonstrations, and...  [Read more]

  "In terms of the things that are negative about it, we've already said that it doesn't develop speaking but perhaps the biggest negative point about this particular methodology is that it's very unnatural. Ok, so despite the criticisms of this particular method, and particularly the fact that is unnatural, this particular methodology was in use all the way through the 17th, 18th and 19th century and indeed it's still in use today. However, Gouin in the 1880s and Berlitz in the early 1900s decided that this particular methodology was so unnatural that they wanted to come up with something new. The method that they came up with, they called the direct method. You will also sometimes see it as the natural method. What these two people were saying is that if we wish to learn a...  [Read more]

  Besides the four future tenses in English (future simple, future continuous, future perfect and the future perfect continuous) there are three additional tenses we can use when speaking about the future. These include the 'going to' future, the present continuous and the present simple. This video gives you an overview how to use them for future statements. 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 8 was a lesson about Future Tense. There are...  [Read more]

When it comes to learning a new language there are four main skills that need to be covered: Reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These four skills are further divided into two areas: Productive skills (writing and speaking) and receptive skills (reading and listening). In any ESL classroom all four skills need to be fully covered to ensure each student has a rounded English ability. It is great if all your students can speak English clearly and confidently, but if they struggle to read or write in English then they will have real problems later on when they need these skills in the workplace, for further study, or when traveling, etc. When learning our native language we first learn to listen to all the language going on around us. For ESL students listening is a vital skill...  [Read more]

  So, we'll focus first of all on a speaking skills lesson and perhaps a starting point for this would be to ask a question which is: Why do we speak to each other? The reason that it's important to ask ourselves this question is that whatever answers there are to this should be present in our lessons. So, why do we speak to each other? Well, there are a multitude of answers to that but when you boil them all down to their essence, they probably actually come down to one or two things. We communicate to each other by speaking because of either a need. We need something. We want something or a desire to achieve something. 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]

Check out tefl tesol about Achieve TESOL Certificate and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: H.G. – Japan said: I would say that I've definitely improved in my understanding of grammar and am able to explain it much better than before. I've also gained new insight on lesson planning, and was exposed to more resources on the internet. The ESA method has definitely helped me in terms of structuring lessons. I would say that I've definitely improved in my understanding of grammar and am able to explain it much better than before. I've also gained new insight on lesson...  [Read more]

Check out tefl tesol about Best TESOL Course and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: M.K. – U.S.A. said: This course has taught me how to break down the english language, my native language, into individual details as well as how to explain them. One thing I have really noticed is the difference between saying to young english students, “well which one sounds right” and how to pay attention to the explanation that a student will be hearing for the first time, or who is unable to test out different phrases until they sound correct, or to someone who needs to know why we do it that way,...  [Read more]

Check out tefl tesol about College Inexpensive TESOL and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: A.K. – China said: First of all I’d like to say that this course is well structured and in my opinion covers almost everything a teacher-to-be needs to know before entering the classroom. My grammar knowledge became structured and I’ve learnt different teaching methods and techniques. Now I know how to establish rapport with the class, how to introduce new material, how to use different equipment, how to cope with unpleasant situations in the classroom and so on. This course taught me how to...  [Read more]

Check out tefl tesol about Rate TESOL Teachers and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: K.S. – U.S.A. said: I have gained considerable knowledge from this course. Although I read constantly and have a degree in english, I found the grammar and tense lessons very helpful, not only as a brush up on the actual information, but as learning tool in approaching that kind of material from a non-english speaking perspective. Being fairly organized myself I appreciated the emphasis the course placed on not only lesson planning but material usage, use of time and anticipating problems, some of which I...  [Read more]

Check out tefl tesol about Companies Respected TESOL and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad. You could also be interested in: This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned: P. W. – U.S.A. said: Having grown up in an english speaking country (US), there are many things that I take for granted in terms of english grammar. Through this course, I have been reminded of the intricacies of the spoken and written language that I have long forgotten from my primary school days. This helps me appreciate the difficulties of learning different languages, especially as I live in china now and have to learn chinese. It has been an interesting process of going back over basic grammar...  [Read more]