TEFL Commandments are simply basic teaching rules which TEFL teachers follow in the classroom. Some call them maxims, others call them aphorisms, others still call them sayings. But whatever you call them, they are useful to read over and think about every so often...
A Teaching Portfolio (sometimes also called a Teaching Dossier or Teaching Profile) is a valuable tool used by TEFL teachers to document who they are, what kind of teacher they are and what they have achieved. It's also a great tool to help you get that TEFL job!...
The curriculum (plural curricula) is the program of work for a student in school. The hierarchy is this: the entire English language > what the student needs > curriculum > syllabus > lesson > activity Although in general usage curriculum and syllabus...
This is an excellent tip for teachers concerned about classroom discipline. It is best for Day 1 of your new class. With slightly noisy classes it's often a good idea to move the disruptive students away from each other or to the front of the class. However, if you...
Touching, has the power to enrich lives but also to ruin them and touching children is a potentially thorny issue and one which can cause difficulties across cultures. This article looks at various aspects of the way in which teachers and children can interact and how...
Defining a student as intermediate is a very approximate classification of how well they speak English. There is no set definition of what intermediate means, however as a very rough guide students at intermediate level can talk and read about a wide number of...
Sticky Fingers is a simple way to demonstrate to your class whether a noun is countable or non-countable. The idea here is that you begin by telling your class whether a noun is countable or non-countable. Then you have a visual sign for this along with telling them....
Classroom Motivation is concerned with getting your students involved in the lesson and enthusiastic about learning. To be motivated the students must be engaged. This means that they must feel personally involved in the lesson. If they are not involved then this...
Advanced is used to refer to learner levels for students who can hold extended conversations and write extended texts. It is by no means a strict definition and there can be a great deal of overlap between advanced and intermediate students. Generally speaking,...
Teaching adults (or mature students) offers different challenges and rewards to teaching teenagers and young learners. This article looks at some of the issues and considerations involved. Needs With many teenagers and young learners the needs of the students are...
Remembering Student Names is important in building up a good relationship with your students. If you know their names and use them it makes you more approachable. Over time you will remember their names, but it's important to try and get them off pat as soon as you...
The Michigan Proficiency Test (MET) is an exam which assesses general English language skills usually needed in social and work environments. It is the American equivalent to the Cambridge Proficiency Exam. The MET is designed for adults and teenagers with at least a...
1-to-1 (or One-to-One) lessons are those with just 1 student and 1 teacher. Often, although not always, they are private lessons. As with other lessons, these need to be thought out well and because the student will only be able to interact with the teacher (instead...
The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational charity that promotes "international understanding and friendship through the use of the English language." It was founded at the end of the First World War by Sir Evelyn Wrench with the aim of promoting...
Using Games in the Classroom is an invaluable method of helping your students to learn English. Although some critics see it negatively and try to suggest that if your students are enjoying themselves they are not really learning, an overwhelming amount of evidence...
OHP stands for Overhead Projector. This is a device for displaying a page from a book or a transparency enlarged on a wall for all the class to see. These days it has largely been replaced by interactive whiteboards although many schools still employ their use,...
Students, especially young ones, are easily distracted. And sometimes, especially with bigger classes, while you are standing at the front talking, the students at the back are reading a book, doing their homework, doodling or otherwise not listening to you. This is a...
Traffic Lights is a way of understanding if your students are with you in a lesson or if they're having problems understanding what is going on. Background During a class there are times when students have not understood what you are saying and are beginning to lag...
How to prepare (not plan) a lesson. This involves making sure all the materials and handouts are ready and that extra material is on hand. See TEFL Lesson Planning.
Interrupting Students is not a good idea in your TEFL classroom. In everyday speech we interrupt each other, finish each other's sentences and so on. This should be avoided in the classroom. Students (especially at lower levels) need to have time to gather their...
TEYL or Teaching English to Young Learners refers to a more specialized area of teaching English which deals with younger students. Aside from the usual considerations which you should give to any TEFL class, there are certain extra considerations to take into...
IDP is a global company offering student placement and English language testing services. It is based in Australia.It has a network of over 75 student offices in 29 countries and places international students into all sectors of the Australian education system,...
Create a Crossword is a great game you can play with Intermediate to Advanced classes. It's a variation on usual crossword puzzles and gets your students thinking about the way in which words are constructed and spelt simply by using crosswords. Preparation Draw then...
EL or English Language Students are the ones learning English! They come in all shapes and sizes and could be almost anyone. But here we'll discuss very generally the kind of students you're likely to find yourself teaching as a TEFL teacher around the world. Who are...
Mnemonics (pronounced /nəˈmɒniks/ with a silent 'm' at the beginning) are short devices (sayings, poems, etc) used to remember longer, more complex ideas or lists (also known as aides memoires or memory aides). Think of them as poetic versions of string tied around...
Rote Learning is an old-fashioned method of learning by continuous repetition. It is derived from the idea that if a student says something enough times they will learn it and be able to produce it when the time comes. In English it is also called learning by heart...
It's common in many classrooms for teachers to give English names to their students. The students often find this fun and it also helps the teacher remember the names of their students. However, it is not as easy as it seems and there can be issues caused by simple...
Here's a quick tip which serves two purposes: less work for you, more English practice for the students. Here we're talking about TEFL lesson preparation, but the same idea applies during the lesson itself for many tasks. It's well worth adopting this general approach...
General English is a loose term used to describe the type of English required for everyday situations. It can be compared to more specific English teaching such as Business English, English for Academic Purposes and so on. What is General English? Typically...
Feedback the Teacher is an exercise which is all about the students offering feedback to their teacher about the class in general. It's not for all classes or for all teachers, but if a teacher is serious about their job, it can provide invaluable help in making the...
