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This is the opinion of www.tefl.net: So which TEFL certificate is best?It's important to realize that the simple terms "TEFL" and "TESOL" have no official significance whatsoever. Consequently, the terms "TEFL Certificate" or "TESOL Certificate" do not of themselves endow a certificate with recognition. The best TEFL/TESOL training courses are externally validated, ie they are vetted and checked by a body that is officially recognized—such as UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate). A good...

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For this blog entry, I'll use the term English user, as it encompasses all skills, not only speaking. NNU = Non-native user; NU = native user Teaching English is just as much NNUs as it is for NUs of English. Unfortunately, institutions and schools are slow in adapting to this idea and opt for the NU, leaving the NNU rather frustrated. There is a difference of opinion as to whether the student's L1 should be used in...

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Hopefully no teacher would ever say such a thing. At least not in that way, Thinking about accent, what model do we accept as being correct? There are many varieties of English being spoken around the world, but the two that have top billing are American-English and British-English. Nothing new there. But which accent do people believe to be the standard form for each of the mother-tongue countries? For a long time RP (Received Pronunciation) was...

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The attitude towards the role of gender in language has been one of progressive change as more establishments, publishers and indeed society aim for gender-neutral pronoun use and terms (inclusive language), as opposed to gender specific (exclusive language). If one reads English authored books from say 20 years ago, there will be many more references to 'he'. However, nowadays it is more likely that he/she, he or she, or even the plural, they will be...

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