Language Point TESOL teaching blog

When did you last see yourself teach? Self-observation as a reflective development tool

Tom Garside

Dec 65 min read

When did you last see yourself teach? Self-observation as a reflective development tool

Lesson observations are an integral part of most teacher education courses for good reason; we can learn an enormous amount by stepping back

After the TEFL Cert - what next? Teacher Education doesn’t stop with a first certificate

Tom Garside

Nov 223 min read

After the TEFL Cert - what next? Teacher Education doesn’t stop with a first certificate

So you’ve finished your teacher training course, and are ready to go out into the world of teaching. Maybe you have a job lined up, maybe

Barrier to bridge: facilitating teachers to take control of their own professional development

Tom Garside

Nov 85 min read

Barrier to bridge: facilitating teachers to take control of their own professional development

In-depth, lasting Continuous Professional Development activity is often seen as either a luxury or a chore for public school teachers, as

Empowering teachers to define their own development pathways

Tom Garside

Oct 254 min read

Empowering teachers to define their own development pathways

Teacher development in any field can only work if teachers themselves take ownership over how they manage their own development plans. You

Tom Garside

Oct 113 min read

Sustaining TESOL teacher development

Teachers rarely have the time to step back and think about what they are, or are not, doing in their classrooms. For real, effective develop

10 simple steps to sustainable TESOL teacher development

Tom Garside

Sep 275 min read

10 simple steps to sustainable TESOL teacher development

TESOL qualifications tend to be seen as discrete products leading to fixed outcomes - a CertTESOL, CELTA or similar level of certificate.

What is connected speech, and why is its pronunciation important for language learners?

Tom Garside

Sep 136 min read

What is connected speech, and why is its pronunciation important for language learners?

Of all the areas in English pronunciation, perhaps the most challenging for learners is the way in which words are connected together in flu

What are prepositions and what do they do?

Tom Garside

Aug 244 min read

What are prepositions and what do they do?

One reason why English grammar is difficult for many learners is the range of small, grammatical components which are needed to complete phr

Understanding International ESOL Exams - Trinity GESE, ISE, IELTS and the Cambridge Suite

Tom Garside

Aug 76 min read

Understanding International ESOL Exams - Trinity GESE, ISE, IELTS and the Cambridge Suite

If you are looking to specialise in English Language Teaching, then it is important to become familiar with the international examinations w

Accents, dialects and varieties of English - what’s the difference and why are they important for teachers and learners?

Tom Garside

Aug 26 min read

Accents, dialects and varieties of English - what’s the difference and why are they important for teachers and learners?

As an international language with a long history in many different parts of the world, English has developed into many different forms.

Your next move in TESOL: How teachers develop through the Trinity CertPT course with Language Point

Tom Garside

Jul 224 min read

Your next move in TESOL: How teachers develop through the Trinity CertPT course with Language Point

Most teacher development courses are focused on the teaching that you do: how to teach more effectively, methods and techniques that are suc

Word stress and sentence stress - what is the difference?

Tom Garside

Jul 155 min read

Word stress and sentence stress - what is the difference?

The rhythm and pace of words in spoken sentences varies in different languages. The way we add stress or prominence to individual syllables

Teaching quantifiers communicatively with context: few, a few, fewer and less

Tom Garside

Jun 265 min read

Teaching quantifiers communicatively with context: few, a few, fewer and less

English quantifiers can be tricky for learners. They depend on a range of factors, from countability, quantity, number and even the personal

Tom Garside

Jun 145 min read

What is a modal verb?

Despite their name, modal verbs aren’t really verbs at all. They do form part of verb phrases, and are closely connected to verbs, but...

Four ways to ensure ESOL students use AI ethically

Tom Garside

Jun 76 min read

Four ways to ensure ESOL students use AI ethically

With ongoing developments in generative AI, the nature of English language study is changing. Institutions worldwide are working hard to

Simple and continuous tenses - what’s the difference?

Tom Garside

May 145 min read

Simple and continuous tenses - what’s the difference?

The English tense system, as with most languages that use different verb forms to communicate the time when they happened, is quite complex.

Why you don’t need to be a ‘language expert’ to start teaching TESOL

Tom Garside

May 43 min read

Why you don’t need to be a ‘language expert’ to start teaching TESOL

Many would-be language teachers are put off from the job because they assume that it is impossible to become a language educator without

Some and any… Revisiting Quantifiers and Countability

Tom Garside

Apr 223 min read

Some and any… Revisiting Quantifiers and Countability

There is a 'grammar rule’ about quantifiers which is often taught to learners at lower levels of study.

Countable and uncountable nouns - what’s the difference?

Tom Garside

Apr 133 min read

Countable and uncountable nouns - what’s the difference?

When learning another language, it is important to know the way that things are named. Some languages add gender to nouns, some use specific

Know your grammar: What are articles, and how can we teach them?

Tom Garside

Mar 287 min read

Know your grammar: What are articles, and how can we teach them?

The articles ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are in a class of word called determiners. As the name suggests, a determiner is a part of speech which