Chapter 4
Qualifications and Training: Building Your TEFL Foundation
The TEFL industry has evolved beyond simply accepting any native English speaker as a teacher. With options ranging from weekend courses to master's degrees, choosing the right training requires careful consideration. Before beginning to teach, it's essential to have a good dictionary and grammar reference book.
The TEFL world recognizes several teacher levels: untrained opportunists seeking work; teachers with basic training (under 20 hours); TEFL-initiated teachers with certificate-level training (about 100 hours); qualified teachers in other subjects needing EFL principles; and fully TEFL-qualified teachers with diploma or master's-level qualifications. The appropriate training depends on whether you're seeking short-term travel money or a long-term career.
For those teaching more than a few months who want to make a reasonable living and provide value to students, investing in a TEFL certificate course of at least 100 hours is essential. Teachers at this level are officially "TEFL initiated"-the level most employers require. Before enrolling, research who and where you want to teach, as countries have different standards and preferences. In the UK, private language schools typically require graduates with CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL qualifications to meet British Council accreditation standards.
TEFL certificate courses come in various formats: intensive (4-5 weeks), part-time (3 months to a year), or distance learning. Most require participants to be at least 18 with university-level education, though exceptions exist for those demonstrating capability. Intensive courses demand complete dedication-no part-time work or distractions-while extended formats accommodate existing jobs.
Distance learning TEFL courses offer flexibility and affordability but lack teaching practice opportunities. They're ideal for fitting study around existing commitments and allow self-paced learning. These courses particularly suit those who already have teaching qualifications (like a PGCE) but need EFL-specific knowledge. While overseas employers appreciate the effort of obtaining certification, distance courses generally carry less weight than CELTA or Trinity qualifications.
After teaching English for a couple of years and committing to TEFL as a career, a diploma course becomes a worthy investment. The most recognized UK qualifications are Cambridge DELTA and Trinity DipTESOL, which demonstrate deeper theoretical knowledge and practical ability than certificates. With a diploma, you become a fully qualified EFL teacher eligible for Director of Studies positions and teacher training roles.
While TEFL won't make you rich, it compensates with charm, interest, and opportunities for those who enjoy working with people, traveling, and sharing knowledge. A full-time position (25-35 hours weekly) should cover shared accommodation, occasional dining out, and day trips. Consider preparation time when evaluating hourly rates-some methods require none while others need about 20 minutes per teaching hour. Before accepting a job, clarify tax responsibilities, gross versus net salary, travel expenses for off-site classes, and seasonal closures that might affect income.
Chapter 5
Planning and Delivering Effective Lessons: The PPP Approach
Successful lessons don't happen by accident-they require careful planning. The PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production) method forms the backbone of effective TEFL lessons. First, introduce new language clearly. Next, guide students through controlled practice to build confidence. Finally, create opportunities for free production where students use the language creatively. This proven structure helps move learners from understanding to actual language use.
When planning lessons, teachers must consider students' current knowledge level and how new material builds on existing skills. Most courses follow a syllabus that outlines grammar points, vocabulary, and language functions to cover. Teaching should be tailored to students' specific needs and interests rather than rigidly following a syllabus. If a beginner works in a furniture shop, adding relevant vocabulary makes sense even if it's not in the standard curriculum.
In TEFL, "grading" means introducing language in progressively challenging steps-like climbing a hill with a gradual incline. If material becomes too difficult too quickly, students become exhausted; if it's too easy, they grow bored and inattentive. The ideal learning slope provides just enough challenge to maintain engagement without overwhelming students.
When planning lessons, teachers must distinguish between aims and objectives. Aims are the overall points students should understand after the lesson, like "to provide revision of present perfect" or "to teach vocabulary for hobbies." Objectives are specific skills students should demonstrate by lesson's end, such as "write a questionnaire using travel verbs in present perfect" or "discuss likes and interests in groups."
Effective lesson planning requires careful time management using the Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) model. In a one-hour lesson, these stages might be allocated approximately 15, 20 and 25 minutes respectively, with each stage longer than the previous one to maximize student talking time. Teachers should plan interaction patterns throughout the lesson using abbreviations like T-ST (teacher to students), ST-T (students to teacher), ST-ST (students to each other), Pr (pair work) and Gr (group work).
In TEFL, Teacher Talking Time (TTT) should be minimized to give students maximum speaking practice. Unlike traditional teaching where the teacher lectures, TEFL teachers should limit their talking for several reasons: students need practice time; lectures are boring; and constant talking prevents progress checks. To reduce TTT, encourage students to solve problems through elicitation, promote learner independence, make dictionaries available, write interaction patterns into lesson plans, simplify classroom language, write instructions on the board, use drawing and miming, wait patiently for student answers, avoid echoing responses, ask open questions, and monitor quietly during pair/group work.
Chapter 6
Teaching the Four Skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening
Teaching the four cornerstone skills of English-reading, writing, speaking and listening-requires different approaches and lesson structures. Each skill has specific challenges and techniques to engage students effectively.
Reading reinforces speaking, listening and writing skills, but requires more than simply placing text in front of students. Effective reading instruction develops various sub-skills through targeted activities using appropriately leveled, interesting materials. Select reading materials that interest students and match their level, ensuring they can understand most words except for a manageable number of new vocabulary items. Options range from novels and poems to advertisements, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and even simple flashcards.
Students need preparation before reading and a purpose for engaging with the text. Rather than immediately distributing reading material, engage students with activities connected to the topic: discuss the author, hold a quiz about related cultural aspects, examine tabloid versus broadsheet newspapers, or have students match new vocabulary with definitions. Help students identify text structure to make reading less intimidating by pointing out titles, pictures, subheadings, and paragraph organization.
When dealing with new vocabulary in reading exercises, teachers have three main options: pre-teach words before reading, address vocabulary after initial reading, or skip explicit vocabulary teaching altogether to develop coping strategies. The key is avoiding time wasted on unimportant words, as even native speakers encounter unfamiliar terms without looking them up.
Writing in a foreign language can be daunting, but with proper guidance students can progress from sentences to paragraphs to complete texts. Students should have some experience with listening, speaking, and reading before tackling writing tasks. Teaching writing begins with ensuring students can form basic sentences with proper structure (subject + verb) and punctuation, particularly understanding when to use capital letters.
A successful writing lesson requires clear setup so students understand the task and how to approach it. Since writing is often quiet and solitary, pre-writing activities help energize students and prepare them for the task. Class discussions generate ideas-start with a personal anecdote, visual image, or text related to the topic, then let students share their thoughts. Help students understand the structure of different text types by focusing on proper layout and linking expressions. Students should create plans outlining each paragraph and associated ideas.
Speaking is the most crucial skill in English language teaching, as true mastery of a language is nearly impossible without actually speaking it. To encourage speaking, especially with timid students or early in a course, provide structured guidance about conversation topics. Give students specific questions to ask each other and ensure they have the necessary grammar and vocabulary beforehand.
Speaking warm-up activities help students transition between lessons and overcome the "rustiness" that develops when not using a language regularly. Effective warmers include word games like "Last letter, first letter" (where each word must begin with the last letter of the previous word), memory games like "The supermarket game" (building a list of items), collaborative tasks like "Assemble a sentence" (arranging word cards in order), and discussion starters based on current affairs headlines or images.
Once students are talking in English, the goal is to extend their conversations naturally beyond controlled communicative activities. Teaching students phrases that encourage speaking helps them move beyond repetitive grammar practice into more natural dialogues. To extend conversations, teach students encouraging phrases like "How about you?", "Tell me more," "What was it like?", "Can you describe it?", "Why is that?", "What do you mean?", "What do you think?", and "What else?"
Teaching listening skills requires helping students understand spoken English without feeling overwhelmed. Students need proper preparation and practice before they can process detailed information in a foreign language. A well-structured listening lesson begins with a short warmer activity to focus students' minds. Then use two activities based on the same listening text-the first easier than the second.
To generate interest in a listening activity, provide background information about the speakers, situation, time period, and location. This contextual information not only increases engagement but reduces the cognitive load on students. Pre-listening activities prepare students mentally and linguistically for the listening task. These include predicting content (which raises curiosity), brainstorming topic-related vocabulary, discussing personal experiences related to the topic, and formulating questions students hope the text will answer.
Most listening lessons involve playing the text twice-first for general understanding and then for specific details. The first listening task should be relatively easy but meaningful-not asking obvious questions but focusing on getting the gist. After students understand the general content, the second listening can focus on specific information and expressions.
Chapter 7
Teaching Pronunciation and Grammar: Making the Complex Accessible
Teaching pronunciation is crucial to ensure students can be understood when speaking. Without proper pronunciation instruction, students may write with ease but face blank stares when they speak. The simplest approach to teaching pronunciation is the "repeat after me" method, where students mimic the teacher's pronunciation of words and phrases.
When introducing new vocabulary, teachers should have students repeat words several times before focusing on spelling. This follows the natural language acquisition order: listening first, then speaking, followed by reading and writing. This approach prevents students from developing incorrect letter-by-letter pronunciation habits due to English's irregular spelling.
English spelling is notoriously misleading for pronunciation, with words like "recipe" and "receipt" following illogical patterns. Phonemes-symbols representing the 44 individual sounds in English-provide a valuable tool for teaching pronunciation and dictionary usage, helping students develop independence in their learning. English comprises 44 distinct sounds divided into single vowels, double vowels and consonants.
Unlike languages where syllables receive equal emphasis or where stress always falls in the same position, English requires teaching which words and syllables stand out. Incorrect stress placement can change meaning and hinder communication. In multi-syllable words, stress placement is crucial and can change meaning. For example, "export" is stressed differently as a noun (EXport) versus a verb (exPORT).
Understanding verb tenses is often intimidating for new teachers. Rather than simply categorizing verbs as past, present, or future tense, English requires more specific labels combining time (past/present/future) with aspect (simple/continuous/perfect/perfect continuous). Though there seem to be endless tenses, there are actually only twelve, and teaching them one at a time makes them manageable.
The present simple tense describes generally true actions or routines, typically taught alongside adverbs of frequency (always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, never). The present continuous tense describes actions happening now or around this time, formed with the verb 'to be' plus a gerund (verb + ing). The past simple tense describes finished actions in the past, often with time markers like 'ago' or 'last'.
The present perfect tense connects past and present, using 'have/has' plus a past participle. It's challenging for students as it doesn't translate well into other languages and has multiple uses: sharing experiences without specifying when ('Have you ever been to Ireland?'), describing actions continuing from past to present ('I have lived here for three years'), anticipating expectations ('Has he arrived yet?'), and noting recent changes ('Jason has just walked in').
Modal verbs function as auxiliary verbs that help the main verb but carry little meaning alone. Unlike regular verbs, modals don't change form with different subjects or tenses-they don't take -s, -ed, or -ing endings. The complete list includes: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, ought to, will, and would. Modal verbs serve various functions in English, expressing probability, permission, offers, ability, and obligation with different degrees of certainty or formality.
Chapter 8
Teaching Specialized Classes: From Young Learners to Exam Preparation
Teaching young learners from toddlers to adolescents differs significantly from teaching self-disciplined adults. The key is making children's lessons fun and stimulating while understanding how youngsters learn. While children have better pronunciation and less self-consciousness than adults, they need more structure since they typically only attend class for a few hours weekly.
Stories provide ideal contexts for language learning with children, encouraging all four skills-reading, writing, listening and speaking-while improving linguistic ability through paraphrasing and summarizing. They also introduce cultural awareness through world literature. When reading aloud, teachers should use varied intonation to emphasize key words, create distinct voices for different characters, and allow children to interact with the story.
Games with clear language focus are valuable teaching tools. Teachers should introduce practical game-playing vocabulary like "It's my turn" and "Can I have a clue?" Many traditional games can be adapted for language teaching: Battleships using tricky letters and similar-sounding numbers forces precise pronunciation; Bingo with pictures instead of numbers reinforces vocabulary for animals, food or furniture; Tiddlywinks can be played after correctly answering grammar questions.
Teenagers engage most when discussing topics they care about, from sports to dating. They respond well to teachers who are prepared and interested in their development, maintain good classroom management without trying to be "one of them," show respect by asking their opinions and encouraging independent learning, provide fun yet purposeful activities with clear objectives, offer challenging work that stretches their abilities, and invite feedback about lessons.
Many students learn English to pursue higher education in English-speaking countries, which requires proving language proficiency through entrance exams. IELTS, established in the 1980s, features international accents and writing styles. It serves people wanting to emigrate to Canada, Australia, UK or New Zealand; professionals (especially medical) seeking to practice in English-speaking countries; university applicants; and those pursuing work experience programs abroad.
When preparing students for exams, emphasize practical exam techniques: teach them to transfer answers correctly to official answer sheets, check whether pencil or pen is required, avoid offering alternative answers unless requested, pay attention to word counts and grammar clues in questions, maintain accurate spelling (especially of words in the exam paper), think of their own answers before checking multiple choice options, and never leave blank spaces.
One-to-one teaching can be quite profitable, costing students two to three times more than class lessons. One-to-one lessons offer students numerous advantages: individualized attention to learning needs, comfortable environment for shy students, ability to voice preferences about activities, appropriate pacing, greater input into course direction, flexibility in scheduling and location, better teacher-student rapport, and ongoing language maintenance.
Teaching business English hinges on thorough needs analysis-determining exactly what the client needs to do in English and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. A comprehensive questionnaire should cover communication requirements, skills needed, subject areas, intended audience, settings, timeframes, motivation, budget, educational background, cultural context, preferred location and schedule, and writing samples.
With the right approach, teaching English as a foreign language can be one of the most rewarding careers available-offering travel opportunities, cultural immersion, and the satisfaction of helping others achieve their goals. Whether you're considering a short-term adventure or a lifelong profession, the skills and knowledge in this comprehensive guide provide the foundation you need to succeed in classrooms around the world.
