As a teacher, you have planned your lesson carefully. You know what language you want to teach, you have chosen your activities and prepared your materials. But there is one question that needs to come before all of those: Who are you actually teaching? It sounds obvious. Yet it is…
A learner is halfway through a story: Learner: Yesterday I go to the cinema with my sister.Teacher: Went.Learner: Sorry?Teacher: You went to the cinema. Past tense.Learner: Right. Yesterday I went… um… The correction is accurate. But was that the best moment to give it? That depends. One of the easiest…
Short answer first: TEFL isn’t a single certificate, it’s a category. Anyone can call a course “TEFL,” and quality varies enormously between providers. CELTA is one specific, standardised qualification within that category, accredited and quality-controlled by Cambridge Assessment English. Every CELTA course, anywhere in the world, is held to the…
Most ESL lesson planning problems aren’t visible until you’re standing in front of the class. The plan looked complete on paper — then the timing fell apart, an activity that seemed clear turned into confusion, or the lesson simply didn’t go anywhere. Here are the mistakes behind that, and what…
