Teaching is undeniably a challenging job, in fact many consider it one of the most difficult careers you could choose. Nevertheless, being a teacher is an enriching experience. Through quality education and effective teaching methodologies, teachers play a crucial...
Today we have a guest contribution from Victoria Hughes. Victoria has been a TEFL teacher for 5 years and has lived in Poland, China and Turkey. She writes about job hunting, lesson planning and the joys and frustrations of teaching. Enter Victoria I was watching the...
For years, foreign students have been coming to the United States to earn valuable degrees that can translate into a great job in their home country. However, these students often experience difficulties adapting to the culture and struggle enormously learning even...
I've just been reading a very interesting article about language interference. It recounts the story of a Chinese student in the US who, during a fluent English presentation, happened to glance over to her Chinese professor and accidentally used a simple Mandarin word...
I was asked this question the other day by a learner of English; quite simply, do we MAKE or DO a presentation? If you go online there are different stories, but as usual I went along to Google n-grams and checked out what they had to say. It's interesting. Prior to...
The ICAL TEFL Grammar Guide is a huge selection of articles which are all about English Grammar. They have been especially written for TEFL teachers and students and are presented in a user-friendly format. The main areas are: Language Functions Parts Of Speech...
Going on an adventure teaching abroad takes some planning. If you plan properly and go through the 5 steps listed below your time overseas is likely to go more smoothly and you’ll be able to make more of the opportunities that come your way. Welcome to guest blogger...
Welcome to Ally - a former ICAL student - writing this guest post. Ally began her TEFL life after a career in banking; here she talks about her first experience teaching English which happened in a small town in northern Italy. Living in Italy had been my dream for...
Here is a glossary of common TEFL and English Grammar terms you will find on this site. Just hover your mouse over the word and you will see the explanation. Often you'll find a link to a full page about the subject. [kttg_glossary]
We get thousands of students each year taking our online TEFL course and a lot of new trainees joining us don't quite know what to expect so here are 3 simple tips to help you make the most of your training. 1. Use your Personal Tutor! Our tutors are experienced,...
Simple question: How many is a Billion? Awkward Answer: It's not always what you think it is. First, if you are American, then a billion is one-thousand-million: 1,000,000,000 This is known as a short-scale billion. However, many British people regard a billion as...
A new study has mapped the global influence of different languages and as a surprise to absolutely no one, English comes out as the most important and influential language. Russia, somewhat more surprisingly, comes in second with other languages following up well...
Anyone who has taught English abroad knows that TEFL is a fantastic way to travel and experience life in different countries. I started teaching three weeks after I graduated from university. I got on a plane and headed off to Spain and the start of an incredible...
This is all about Making Questions with DO or DOES or DID: Do you like coffee? Does he speak Italian? Did she just ignore me? Basics A standard English statement follows this pattern: {subject} + {verb}... You + enjoy + swimming. Joe + lives + in New York. Amanda +...
The International Accreditation of TESOL Qualifying Organisations or IATQuO is an accreditation organization for TEFL certificates and similar courses. Currently IATQuO accredit 6 schools and have done for the past few years. Note that IATQuO does not accredit online...
Ever think that TEFL doesn't lead anywhere? If you have ever wondered what happens to all the TEFL teachers who close their grammar books for the final time and lock the classroom door behind them, then here's a selection of former TEFL teachers who have made their...
We had an enquirer write to us the other day asking about our accreditation and IATFEL. He could not decide which TEFL course to take: ours or another one. And one of the factors which worried him was that the other TEFL course was "accredited" by IATEFL. Now you'll...
For years they've been telling us that new technology will revolutionize teaching. First it was film. Then radio. Then TV. Then video. Then computers. Then MOOCs... And they were wrong. Wrong every time. Wrong all the time. In this insightful video from Derek Muller...
This one crops up all the time. Someone writes something like: I made that mistake purposefully. She stood there purposely and refused to let me pass. And all the grammar fiends come down on them for such basic errors. So once and for all, here's the difference...
We have a TEFL teaching activity on our site called Chinese Whispers or Telephone. Some say it's a demeaning and offensive title, if not outright racist. Others say it's fine and that it's ridiculous to question it. So opinion is divided which means, of course, that...
There's a lot of hype these days about TEFL teaching in China. This poll is to try and find out what the truth is. Some say that it's full of scams and if you go to China through an agent you are destined to be ripped off and end up being deported for the wrong visa,...
It's doing the rounds of the internet - an Italian YouTube chef shows how frustrating and impossible the English language can sometimes be. In the video quite simply he just wants to say "Worcestershire Sauce". https://youtu.be/YwTT8YQFJDQ But Pasquale Sciarappa fails...
When we talk about the future, most often we'll use words like will or be going to: They will arrive tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to see the match. However, there is an alternative: shall. These days, people often talk about shall as though it's on its way out and...
An octopus has 8 legs. Or arms, depending on your point of view. The name octopus comes from Ancient Greek and is made up of 2 parts: ὀκτώ = okto = 8 πούς = pous = foot/leg So octopus is originally Greek. Remember that, it has implications later in this article! Now...
Oh language! Do we want to go down the route of there being no rules, just a few nebulous suggestions which change over time? Are we like the freethinking parents at sports day who declare that every child wins because they are all special? Or are we on the side of...
This article looks at a few ideas you should bear in mind if you have blind or visually impaired students in your TEFL class. Over the years we at ICAL TEFL have had a number of blind and visually impaired teacher trainees taking our course and we have worked with...
For many Americans teaching abroad, the first year away can be both exciting and challenging. Hopefully, however, filing your US tax return will not be one of the challenges! The following FAQ addresses some basic tax-related questions for American teachers. (Note,...
From October 31st, 2014 new regulations come into force in China which will affect all TEFL teachers. Notably teachers will now need a TEFL certificate to prove they have qualifications to teach English. In future, all English teachers will need: a bachelor's degree a...
Chinese Central Television CCTV, went undercover to report on how English schools in the country often employ under-qualified teachers without the official paperwork. This video report from CCTV shows what happened and promises further official crackdowns on illegal...
Using Thai security concerns as an excuse, the Teachers' Council of Thailand (TCT) has announced (on 5th August 2014) that they will be setting up a database of foreign teachers in Thailand. Meanwhile The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has voiced concerns...
