Tefl.NET Forums

Here are a few quick ideas: 1) Instead of pumpkin carving, let them make pumpkins with paper and glue and carve an actual one yourself. Then stuff them with pumpkin pie. 2) Look for PDF masks to print and let the kids colour them. 3) Find or make wordsearches about Hallowe'en with levels of difficul...

Thank you for the advice. Have you heard of ECC in Phuket? I was told that an online TEFL is not worth the paper it is written on? What is your opinion on that? The name ECC appears on English-related schools in three countries (Japan, Korea, Thailand) yet they have no connection to each other. I c...

Don't worry about where so much as worrying about what . What governments are going to look at first when it comes to giving out work visas is the accreditation of the school, not the quality. For TEFL schools, look for "Oxford certified" or whatever the term is, and check with the Oxford ...

This site ( http://blacklist.tokyojon.com/ ) has several reports of schools installing spy cameras and microphones in the classrooms (without the teachers knowledge). To a certain extent I can understand the cameras, but to not tell the teachers about it - to keep it secret - sounds machiavellian t...

Hi folks, I've been trying to work out a set of rules that could explain the choice of prepositions with 'covered': covered with / covered by / covered in. So I haven't been able to crack this puzzle so far. All I can say is that 'with' is by far the most frequently used one, and 'in' often occurs ...

We say "at the office","at school", "at 22 Mill Street", but "in school", "in the kitchen", "in the country", "in room 6A", etcetera. How do I explain this to my students? Are there rules for this? Thanks, Matt The rule of thumb ...

Hi everyone. It's great to finally communicate with real educators. I am a 33 year old American man with a Bachelor's of Science in English Lit and a Master's in Library and Information Science. Being single, bored and with no children, I'm looking into the possibility of teaching English in Japan....

I've posted it before:

http://www.tefl.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1914

If you have the equivalent of a 2 year diploma, then get a TEFL certificate (it takes about 2 months) and go to Taiwan.

Thanks, Chopvac. I suspected the word has French origin. That accounts for its gender forms, unusual for modern English. Do you mean to say that in AmE they have the form 'blond' for both men and women? Is it correct to say 'He is a blond' by the standards of present-day BrE? Americans, with rare e...

In older dictionaries (like Hornby's) we find: Blond - n, adj for a man Blonde - n, adj for a woman In more up-to-date dictionaries (for example, Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture) we see: Blond - adj Blonde - n, adj for a woman Does it mean that 'blond' as a noun for a man is goin...

I am currently looking for a job teaching in Taiwan, and have gotten an offer with Hess Educational Organization. I am just wondering if this is a good organization to work with. Do they treat their teachers well and help them with getting settled in Taiwan. Thanx for any info on them! While I have...

There is milk and butter ... . There are carrots and butter ... - the proximity rule works. But: Milk and butter are essential products. Because 'milk' and 'butter' are two independent entities. Cf.: Fish and chips is my favourite dish. 'Fish and chips' is understood as a single whole. If you didn'...

Since the question keeps appearing, I thought I would pipe up. You can legally teach English in Taiwan provided you meet two criteria: (1) You have an Associate Degree or a two year Diploma. (2) You have a recognized TEFL certificate (e.g. Oxford). I have both and work here legally. I am also able t...

Hello, 1 There's some water in the bottle. 2 There's water in the bottle. What is the second one? What's the difference? Thanks. In a 500ml bottle: "There's water..." 100ml 200ml 300ml 400ml 500ml "There's water..." speaks strictly of existence or nonexistence, regardless of the...

It is better to call it past participle rather than present perfect since the verb by itself is called a participle (despite the fact that the present form of "have" is used). Past participles are used to speak of events that happen in the past without stating how far back in time that the...

Today, I had a grammar headache. I wrote on a students work "Your grammar and spelling is very good". Then I backtracked, and changed it to "are". Then I faintly recalled being taught that it was indeed "is" by a grammar book. So, is it "Your spelling and grammar ...

Japanese Lesson: How Do You Say,'Taken for a Ride'? By YUKARI IWATANI KANE and YUKA HAYASHI November 2, 2007; Page A1 TOKYO -- Fresh out of college, Sam Gordon bought a one-way ticket to Tokyo for a chance to explore Japan's exotic culture while teaching English at the nation's largest language sch...

I'm struggling with a question from one of my students regarding the verb "eat". From the information I've got: "I'm eating dinner" is described as a transitive use. "I'm eating" is described as an intransitive use. "Where can I park?" is described as transit...

The main reason I use boards is not to write material to read, but to write down the answers they give - to get them to say _their_ words and ideas, then show how to correct it, what the minor flaws are. The kids become interested because it's their words up there, not mine. As well, I also like to ...

Experience as a teacher and as a student (both self-taught and without a teacher) tells me that technology is nothing more than a tool for teaching, not a solution, and at worst it can be a distraction. Remember that of Einstein, Pascal and Newton, none had computer assisted learning, and only Einst...