“Do you understand?” A chorus of “Yes teacher!” echoes around the classroom. Great! They understand, so they’re ready for the worksheet. Several minutes later, after monitoring their progress on the worksheet, a realisation dawns on you. They don’t understand. Concept checking questions (CCQs) are short, targeted questions that check learners’ understanding of meaning. Their answers show what they understand, rather than simply whether they say they understand. Why “Do You U

The world of English language teaching has evolved rapidly. You have likely noticed that the "backpacking teacher" era has shifted toward a more professional, credential-heavy landscape. Today, schools in high-demand hubs like South Korea, Japan, and across Europe are looking for educators who can do what AI can’t: build genuine human connections and adapt to complex learner needs. Whether you’re a recent graduate in the UK or a professional in the USA looking for a total car

If you’re training to become an English teacher or thinking about taking a Trinity CertTESOL course, one of the most important classroom skills you’ll need, and something many new teachers struggle with at first, is the ability to grade your language. A Common Classroom Mistake New English Teachers Make “Do you need a hand?” This is the question I asked one of the students in my first Trinity CertTESOL teaching practice class. At the time it seemed to me a perfectly natural a

And for your homework today, I want you to… And cut. The meeting closes. The 30 online students paying attention with varying levels of concentration disappear. You’re left staring at your PowerPoint slide with the homework details on it all by yourself. No one else is here. You can already sense the seething of the teaching assistant or staff member in charge of the class who now has to send details of your homework to all of the students via whatever social messaging system

‘Intentions of the teacher need to be clear and the instructional activities sequenced according to a logic that the students can perceive.’ Jack C. Richards in 'Beyond Methods' Teachers of English should try as much as possible to choose relevant tasks for their classes for each individual lesson. Each class period should have an aim and the tasks should have an order and a pacing that will ultimately achieve these aims. If the tasks are too difficult or perceived to be suc

Of course it never is only perfect. It is sometimes simple, progressive or continuous. And before long it is past, or even past perfect. And as a teacher, particularly in Asia, you may need to know just how perfect today is.. or has been, or was going to be….. Both knowing and being able to teach grammar is often something that worries new teachers. Many native English speakers may not be familiar with why they say sentences in a certain way. We just know what sounds correct

A wise man (well an older teacher) once told me that the time spent on planning an English lesson should never be longer than the length of the actual lesson. Maybe so, but in your first introductions to lesson planning on the Trinity CertTESOL course you can certainly expect to be spending quite a bit longer on your lesson planning. A lesson plan detailing each stage of your class may run to quite a few pages. Where every part of the lesson has an objective, with exotic