Meta Language Meaning

The term TEFL is one that is often used in a general sense, although it does have a specific meaning. Generally the meaning of TEFL is some form of ‘the Teaching of English to people whose first language is not English’ and is often used interchangeably with terms such as TESOL, TEAL, TESL and many others. It is also generally used as the name of a qualification, such as a TEFL certificate, which relates to the result of a TEFL training course. Here we will look at the meaning of TEFL in these broad terms and also give its specific meaning, along with many other common acronyms used throughout the industry. The general acronym for the field of teaching English is ELT: English Language Teaching. This term applies across the board to teaching English, be it to American high school...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching skills do not only refer to lesson handouts and specific classroom ideas/techniques—although both are part of, and important to teach— but also cover qualities teachers should possess, and the various roles the instructor will (at some point) need to fill. What makes a good instructor? Motivation strategies Roles of a teacher Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Carly G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first unit of the course began by identifying qualities that make for a good instructor. These qualities are as follows: teachers must be kind, patient, lively and...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! What does e.g. mean? Let's take a look at the definition and usage of this expression with this ESL infographic. Learn how and when to use this abbreviation to enlarge your vocabulary word and improve your English conversations.   The term ‘for example’ gets abbreviated as ‘e.g.’ in the English language. It is only used in written language, such as in magazines, newspapers, essays or texting.   The abbreviation ‘e.g.’ is from the Latin expression ‘exempli gratia’ and means ‘for the sake of an example’ or more commonly ‘for example’.   Let's take a look at some examples of ‘e.g.’ being used in a conversation:   Person 1: Hey do you like desserts? Person 2: Yeah. Person 1: I...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Here's a list of commonly used animal idioms in English. They are incredibly fun to teach to your ESL learners.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Here's a list of commonly used fruit idioms in English. They are incredibly fun to teach to your ESL learners.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Here's a list of commonly used time idioms in English. They are incredibly fun to teach to your ESL learners.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

The English language contains many set phrases whose meanings cannot be discerned by looking at the individual words that make up the phrase. These phrases are called ‘idioms’ and they are used widely by native English speakers around the world; they are also a common cause of confusion for English language learners and as such many EFL students ask their teachers to teach them English idioms. Teachers used to think that there was no point in teaching idioms to students out of fear that they would use them incorrectly; however, as they are such a widely used part of the language it is now considered a good idea to teach them. There are many books available for both teachers and learners that provide explanations of different idioms and exercises to help students practice. In these...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Successful acquisition of a first language (otherwise known as an L1) has almost a 100% success rate. Aside from a few people that are unable to read or write everyone can communicate fluently in their L1. Successful acquisition of a second language, however, does not occur nearly as often. Why is this so and can anything be learned from first language learning to improve second language fluency. Variations in the English Language Form Language Acquisition Process Second Language Acquisition Process Teaching Ways Children and Language Acquisition Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rebekah I. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Over a hundred years ago, in the late 19th century, a Polish-Jewish eye doctor named Dr. Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof wanted to bridge the gaps and misunderstandings between different ethnic groups that he grew up around. Being from a Polish city that, at the time, was a polyglot, multi-ethnic mixture of Poles, Russians, Jews, Lithuanians, and Germans, he saw there was a great deal of distrust between each group, and he believed it was due to the language barriers that each imposed. To create a common ground between every group, he created an international, universal language called Esperanto (Yaffe, 2017). While it was a great idea to create a language that did not belong to any ethnic group and could be used universally, it did not take off in the 20th...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences A global language is a language spoken internationally, the most popular one being English. It is learned by many people as a second language. Word Origin Global Communication Language Structure Cultural Importance Challenges For Learners Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Damian B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A big part of the lexical units in the English language was taken from German, Latin, French, and other European countries. People think that languages have a strong relation between dominance and cultural power. Also read: What to Watch Out for Before Signing Your TEFL Contract...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! As a teacher of English as a foreign language, it's a good idea to teach students polite words and expressions right from the start. While diplomatic language often includes difficult vocabulary, it's actually not that hard to add some polite spice to a simple sentence - even for beginner students.   Of course you can make sentences a lot more polite by using the two magic phrases "please" and "thank you". However, there are a lot of other ways to use more polite language when speaking to others. For English leaners, the problem mostly comes down to the fact that words and expressions that are considered "kind" in one language, aren't always kind in another. English uses a lot of language strategies to express politeness that...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Verbs are one of the most important parts of speech in English and incredibly important for learners of English. The below infographic showcases all types of verbs in the English language.   Generally speaking, a verb is a word that shows an action, state or an event. It is an essential part of a sentence and is known as the soul of language. For example: "They study English grammar." (Action) "We celebrate independence day." (Event) "I sleep at night." (State)    Following are the different types of verbs:   When a verb's past tense (2nd form) and past participle (3rd form) is created by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’, it is called a regular verb. Some examples of a regular verb include: Walk Walked ...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Language acquisition is a process that engages different skills and is therefore influenced by them. Reading, which is among the four main language skills, is considered to be influential in this process in many ways. In my opinion, it is one of the best contributors to the journey of learning a new language and although its advantages seem to be exclusive to reading comprehension, it involves other skills to a high degree as well. Reading Resources Benefits of Reading Speaking Skills Reading as a Way to Master Speaking Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Faezeh C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Teaching a language seems to have its roots precisely in teaching grammar: one of the first learning methodologies in history was grammar-translation. Used to translate Greek into Latin, it was inefficient for speech development, yet it remains one of the most popular teaching methods in education. Unfortunately, even from my own experience as a student, this is the preferred teaching method and it wasn't until recently that a more interactive way of learning was introduced in schools. Reasons to Learn Grammar Approaches to Teaching Grammar 1. Deductive approach 2. Inductive approach Young Learners Adult Learners Potential problems Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post: This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Just as a map is a guide to a territory, grammar is the guide to a language. A language course ought to include such guidance, through which the student perceives direction. The ability to read a map, and, as a result, delineating the goal´s location, facilitates the endeavor to set the student onto the right path. When a learner understands the universal logic of language, he can put his native language into context within every foreign language. This comparison of languages will reveal similarities. To learn that all languages are alike will make the acquisition easier. If the teacher wants the student to understand that languages are closely related he has to present grammar as a common aspect of all languages. Grammar describes principals of...  [Read more]

Date posted:2024-04-19 | Writer: Newton College | Email: [email protected] Newton College is looking for a talent who can be our Language Support Specialist in Upper School (Secundaria). Requirements Hold a degree (Licenciatura) in Education, Special Education, Applied Linguistics or related field. English level: CPE or bilingual Certification in teaching English as a second language (TESOL), English language teaching (CELTA) or equivalent. Minimum 3 years' experience teaching a foreign language. At least 2 years of IB Program experience Experience working with students who have language-based learning differences or second language learners. Responsibilities Actively participate in collaborative spaces with colleagues, including observation of student work/data to adjust...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences When approaching formal and non-formal language it's imperative to keep in mind that people are by nature designed to be different, therefore arguing which is more important is a waste of time. Based on cultural upbringing and life experience both play an important role in regards to teaching a student. Formal and informal language are used daily, though, both habituate different societal spaces and their ratios change. Either can bleed into each other when language becomes really interesting. The Use Of Formal Language The Use Of Non-Formal Language Things to Keep in Mind Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post This post was written by our ITTT graduate Thomas H. Defined simply formal language avoids "I",...  [Read more]

  In this lesson Iban teaches the meanings and differences of 'I wish' and 'if only'. He starts the lesson with a warm up activity before covering the lesson point. He ends the lesson with activities to give the students practice using the language point he has taught. 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. Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! This unit contained information about the qualities of a good teacher and good student.It discussed...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The contrast between primary language acquisition and second language learning interests professional linguists, language pedagogues, and ordinary students alike. To say that the processes are distinct and involve very different learning processes, as well as even altogether different spheres of the brain is an understatement: these are indeed different functions (Limacher, Ute "Language Acquisition Versus Language Learning" ). Differences between the two types of acquisitions Language structure and learning process Personal experience The Consciousness of language acquisition Classroom setting Natural environment Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brett...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I did not realize how difficult English is until I became fluent in Spanish. I am currently studying French and I am pretty good at French. I have a basic knowledge of Esperanto. English is difficult for several reasons English is not a phonetic language There are exceptions to every rule Some examples of other exceptions to English rules Pronunciation Are you ready to teach English all over the world? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Wayne K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I will just touch on each of these since a book could be written about each of these. Also Read: Teaching Young Learners vs. Adult Learners - The...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Like we all know, the English alphabet has 26 letters. These 26 letters can make 44 different sounds or phonemes – 20 sounds come from the vowels a, e, i, o and u; and 24 sounds come from the remaining 21 consonants. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can change the meaning of a word. The Vowel Sounds The Consonant Sounds Syllable Stress Without Jumping to Conclusions Listen to this blog post Are you ready to take your TEFL course? Related Articles: If we consider sounds made simply by the letter 'a' for instance, in the word 'apple' – it's /ae/, in 'car' – it's /a:/, in amount – it's /a/, and so on. This, consequently, makes English a non-phonetic language, which means that the pronunciation of a word is not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English is considered a universal language, mainly because it is widely spoken all over the world. English was originally the language of England. Its expansion became imperative due to the dominance in world trade, religion, technology, tourism, education and so on. UK expansion and incursion of the USA as the first world power saw the migration of the English language all over the world. About 70 countries adopt the English language as their official language and statistics have it that the English language is one of the easiest languages to learn when compared with other languages like Chinese, French, German or Spanish. English Prevalence English in Asia ESL Career Difficulties Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related...  [Read more]

For those aspiring to teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), especially non-native speakers, a high level of English proficiency is essential. Specifically, you should have an English language proficiency that aligns with at least the C1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). TEFL primarily involves teaching English in regions where English is not the predominant language, so instructors need a deep understanding and command of the language. Who can be a TEFL teacher? Why is TEFL certification important? Do you have to be a native English speaker to teach EFL? The profession of teaching is regulated throughout the world, although the level of regulation varies from country to country. This is also true of the EFL teaching sector, however, there...  [Read more]

  In this lesson Iban teaches the meanings and differences of ‘I wish’ and ‘if only’. He starts the lesson with a warm up activity before covering the lesson point. He ends the lesson with activities to give the students practice using the language point he has taught. 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. Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! I learnt the importance of selecting the correct vocabulary to teach and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are many tools a teacher of language can use to impart important aspects of the target language like grammar and vocabulary to their students. For example, writing keywords on the board from a text may be a useful way to highlight important words or key information for learners. Furthermore, worksheets can be particularly helpful with grammar exercises, allowing students a lot of repetition and free-hand practice with the language point. Memes as a Tool What are Memes? Activate Phase Who to Teach With Memes? Useful or Not? Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Levi L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Anyone who has tried to learn a language as a second language is likely to express at some stage or another how difficult it is. We speak of absorbing our first language and having to work hard for our second. We will often look towards those who have learned more than one language at the same time, bilingual for example, as being lucky and that the path was easier for them. So, is the first language easier to learn and why, and can we use those techniques to learn or teach a second language? Language of Our Close Environment Artificial Process Which Language is Easier to Learn? Do you want to teach English as a second language? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kevin A. Please note that...  [Read more]

Date posted:2024-04-17 | Writer: CLIP - The Oporto International School | Email: [email protected] CLIP – The Oporto International School, accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS), was established in 1990 and has approximately 1200 students, aged 3 to 18, from 50+ different countries. All students have an education that upholds the highest academic standards within a globally-minded learning culture. CLIP fosters an innovative, challenging and nurturing environment for learning, where each child is encouraged to develop their unique talents. CLIP follows the EYFS, an adapted National Curriculum for England, the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum and Cambridge AS and A2 studies. For the academic year 2024-2025, we are recruiting for a qualified Middle and Upper School English Teacher...  [Read more]

Date posted:2024-03-29 | Writer: CHRANIOTI LANGUAGE SCHOOLS | Email: [email protected] Are you passionate about teaching English as a second language? We are hiring a dedicated English teacher to join our team in Néa Smýrni, Attiki, Greece. Qualifications Proficiency in English language teaching (TEFL/TESOL) Experience teaching English as a second language Strong interpersonal and communication skills Ability to create engaging and effective lesson plans Familiarity with technology is a definite plus Benefits Excellent working environment Opportunities for growth and advancement If you are enthusiastic about making a difference in the lives of our learners and thrive in a supportive work environment, we want to hear from you!  Apply now to join our team and be part of our...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Teaching English as a foreign language requires a set of certain skills in order to conduct effective lessons and encourage learning in students. Through a TEFL course, you will learn all of these important skills and much more. The following are the most useful phrases for classroom language to be used by English teachers in a classroom full of English learners around the world. The phrases are concise and straight to the point to ensure a steady workflow and positive classroom environment.   Integrating classroom language into a lesson can often pose great difficulties for teachers due to the fact that many second language teachers learned the language themselves after childhood, thus were not exposed to authentic classroom...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Vocabulary is one of the most important skills required for teaching and learning a foreign language. It is vital for effective communication and understanding of written text. A rich vocabulary helps individuals express their feelings, ideas, and needs while also enhancing their overall understanding of others. Vocabulary develops with age and presents one of the biggest challenges when learning a second language. The Stages of Vocabulary Knowledge The Four Types of Vocabulary in Teaching Teaching Strategies for Vocabulary Acquisition Overcoming Challenges in Teaching Vocabulary Conclusion Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video...  [Read more]