Spanish Speaking Cuntries

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]

  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]

  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]

  For the lesson that even takes place, there are a number of things that you need to have considered. Obviously, you need a very clear idea of what it is you're expecting the students to have to do and they need to know why. It's very important before you ask them to do an activity that they have an understanding of the purpose of that activity. You should, secondly, have had a thought about what they already know. Linked to that is, will it be necessary to do any form of pre-teaching before I can expect them to do this activity and finally, we need to make sure that we have prepared all our materials and our instructions for this particular activity. So, we'll consider a straight arrow ESA lesson, the focus of which is to be speaking skills. So, we'll start with our engage and in...  [Read more]

  Once we're satisfied that all the students have been engaged and that they've been given the opportunity to say something, we can move on to our study phase. Here, it may be necessary or useful to actually pre-teach some gaps in knowledge that have been shown from the engage phase and those gaps in knowledge may include actual grammar structures or indeed useful vocabulary and it's very important that, before we move on to doing any forms of activity, we check their understanding of this material. So, we need to do some study exercises. It's also very useful if you leave this information up on the board through all that study period. Those study activities can just be the normal types of gap fills or matching activities and, as always, we need to demonstrate those activities,...  [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 Cultural Ambassadors Program (also known as the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program) is a well established scheme that has been run by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for several years. Around 2,500 North Americans are recruited every year and placed into elementary or secondary schools where they work as assistant language teachers alongside a local teacher. Spain is notoriously difficult when it comes to getting an official work visa for non-European teachers, so this program provides a great opportunity for Americans and Canadians to legally work in this very popular destination. The program is restricted to American and Canadian citizens who are aged between 21 and 60. There is a separate upper age limit of 35 for placement in the...  [Read more]

A TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification is not always a strict requirement for teaching English in non-English speaking countries, but it is highly recommended and can significantly enhance your job prospects and teaching skills. While some schools and language institutes may hire English teachers without a TESOL certification, especially if they have relevant experience or qualifications, having a TESOL certification can make you a more competitive candidate in the job market. One of the primary benefits of obtaining a TESOL certification is that it equips you with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively teach English as a foreign language. TESOL certification programs cover a wide range of topics, including language teaching methodologies,...  [Read more]

Yes, TESOL teachers can definitely work in literacy programs. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) involves teaching English language skills to non-native speakers, which is essential for literacy development. TESOL teachers are trained to work with students of various proficiency levels, including those who are just beginning to learn English and may have limited literacy skills in their native language. In literacy programs, TESOL teachers can play a crucial role in helping students develop their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in English. They can create and implement lesson plans that focus on phonics, vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension to improve students' overall literacy abilities. TESOL teachers are also skilled in providing...  [Read more]

Teaching English abroad can be a rewarding experience, and yes, it is possible to teach English in a foreign country without knowing the local language. In fact, many programs specifically look for native or fluent English speakers who do not speak the local language to create an immersive English learning environment for students. Here are some key points to consider if you are thinking about teaching English abroad without knowing the local language: Firstly, many schools and language institutes in non-English speaking countries actually prefer hiring English teachers who do not speak the local language. This is because it forces both the teacher and the students to communicate solely in English, creating a more immersive language learning experience. Additionally, as an English teacher,...  [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]

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]

  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]

  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]

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]

  "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]

  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]