Teachers mess up as well. Many of us have spent time teaching in a foreign country and grappling with the problems of the local language. Here are a few problems which arise: A class were playing a word game where they had to explain a word to the rest of the class....
English Fail (TEFAL)
Of course English is important, we all know that. But in this epic fail it's a matter of life or death! Check out this video and you'll see why: Learn English (really funny commercial) Use It! And then, why not use it with your TEFL class? Set up the scene. Show the...
English Pronunciation (TEFAL)
The following clip demonstrates the art of English pronunciation training as practiced by Steve Martin in the Pink Panther: Learning English Pronunciation
Deficit Paradigm in TEFL
The Deficit Paradigm has been used to explain why students misbehave in class and underachieve. Essentially it means that the reason students perform badly is because they have problems with their families, their backgrounds, their community and/or their culture. They...
Split Personalities
Split Personalities is a fun TEFL activity which helps students practice their speaking skills, specifically in describing how people look, their clothes and so on (although it can also be adapted and used for other descriptions). It is ideal for lower level...
Insurance & Health Cover for Teachers Abroad
Insurance/Health Cover is a very important issue, but also a personal one. Some TEFL teachers will not travel without, other teachers don't even think about the idea. This article looks at different sorts of insurances you might want to consider before heading...
Take a Letter – business dictation
Take a Letter is a simple dictation practice which allows your business English students to practice the form and style of business letters. Business letters are often formulaic, using set words and phrases and layouts. This exercise gives your students practice with...
Tattoos and English Teachers Abroad
The attitude towards teachers with tattoos varies according to country and school. Even in the west where tattoos are fairly common, school owners will often look down on teachers sporting obvious tattoos. In many countries tattoos were often used in the past as...
Tag Mix
Tag Mix is a straightforward way to practice question tags with your class. It is all about having students identify the two parts of the sentence (the statement and the tag) and then mixing and matching them. As an activity it works best with intermediate and above...
TEFL Jokes (TEFAL)
Although there are jokes we can use in the class to drive home a language point and make the lesson more engaging, these are jokes about teachers and students in general and especially about the English language and the way we use it. Some of them are terrible and...