TESOL Insights

Learn practical eliciting techniques for TEFL/TESOL classes: use context, prompts, questions and thinking time without giving students the answer too soon.

Learn how new TEFL/TESOL teachers can give clear classroom instructions: get attention, break tasks down, model, check understanding, monitor and adapt.

You may already have a strong command of English. Perhaps your English is around C1 level, or English may be your first language. But when you seriously start thinking about teaching, a very different question can appear: “I can speak English, but can I actually teach it?” We have worked with trainees who came to TESOL/TEFL from very different starting points. Some already had teaching experience, while others had never stood in front of a class before. Over the years, one th

Most people comparing online and in-person TEFL/TESOL courses in Vietnam start with the format: online or classroom, faster or slower, cheaper or more expensive. Those questions matter, but we think there is a more useful place to start. Before choosing a course format, ask yourself what you will actually need to be able to do after the course.

You have planned the lesson carefully. The activities are ready, the timing makes sense, and you have rehearsed what you are going to say. Then you walk into the classroom and discover that some students do not have the book, the class has already covered the material you were asked to teach, or an instruction that sounded perfectly clear during practice is met with confused faces.

When choosing a teaching qualification for Vietnam, it is easy to spend a surprising amount of time comparing four or five letters. Is TEFL better than TESOL? Do Vietnamese schools prefer one, and could choosing the wrong acronym affect your chances of finding a teaching job? These are questions we increasingly hear from prospective trainees at TEFL International Vietnam.