There is a 'grammar rule’ about quantifiers which is often taught to learners at lower levels of study. You may recognise it: Use ‘some’ in positive sentences, and ‘any’ in questions and negatives. This ‘rule’ is also expanded to other forms containing ‘some’ and ‘any’: something, somewhere, anybody, etc.  As is often the case, however, this ‘rule’ is misleading. There are a lot of common questions which use ‘some’, as in: ‘Would you like something to drink?’ ‘Have you had some cake?’ ‘Is he somebody famous?’ Similarly, we can make positive statements with ‘any’: ‘Anybody can spe ..read more

When learning another language, it is important to know the way that things are named. Some languages add gender to nouns, some use specific endings to denote subjects and objects, and others define things by whether they can be counted or not. Countability is a common issue for learners of English, especially for speakers of non-European languages. So what makes a noun countable or uncountable? As with most areas of language, it is useful to start by separating the concept (or meaning) behind countability, and the way that this is structured grammatically. Concepts of countability Think ..read more

We're updating and refreshing our website and branding for 2024. We've gathered together all the frequently asked questions from applicants and streamlined our CertTESOL and CertPT information pages so you have access to all the answers when you need them. If you can't find what you're looking for, please don't hesitate to contact us ..read more

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 works with noun to determine (tell us something about) the quality of that noun. Similar to an adjective, and in a way a kind of adjective, determiners usually come before nouns, and give us more information about the number, specificity and ownership connected to that noun. There are four main types of determiner: articles, quantifiers, demonstratives and possessive adjectives. This post will look more closely at the articles (a, an and the). One of the mos ..read more

Of all the 44 sounds of British English, and 43 (or so) sounds of American English, there is one sound which plays an important role in the pace, flow and fluency of spoken English. It is so important to these aspects of pronunciation that it has its own name: schwa.  Schwa is represented by an upside-down letter e (the phoneme /ə/. So what is schwa, why do we need it, and how can we use it to help students with their spoken fluency? There are several reasons for this: Schwa saves effort Schwa is produced by relaxing your mouth, tongue and jaw (but not lowering it) so that you mouth is ..read more

Among the many varieties of English in the world, the two most taught versions are American English (USEng) and British English (BrEng). Within these two varieties, there are many different accents, dialects and varieties - in the UK, accents and dialects are so varied that different words can be heard to describe the same things within walking distance. When we talk about ‘American English’ and ‘British English’, we are usually referring to the ‘standard’ forms of these accents and dialects. Here are some of the main language differences between these two varieties: Pronunciation difference ..read more

If you are thinking of training as an English language teacher, but don’t have any experience with education or language study, don't worry. There are several reasons why prior experience and detailed language knowledge can get in the way of initial training on courses such as the Trinity CertTESOL. Here are 5 of them: 1) New teachers have less to unlearn As teachers gain experience in different teaching positions, they develop habits and assumptions that apply to the schools, classrooms and students that they teach on a regular basis. Many of these assumptions may apply to the learners that ..read more

Teachers often talk about the need to motivate their students, by creating activities and topics that they like doing. However, is it really possible for a teacher to motivate their students? Just because students are interested in a certain topic, game or activity, does this mean that they are more motivated to learn?  The distinction between motivation (the broad desire to learn and improve) and engagement (the level of interest that a student shows in a specific class activity) is an important one. Small-scale engagement in tasks is an important part of any educational setting, though ..read more

A new year is a time to reflect and a time to look forward. As we move into 2024, it is more important than ever that we focus on breaking down old barriers, not building new ones. The teachers and students who we have worked with over the last year have shown that togetherness in education can work across the traditional divisions that are often set up between countries, cultures and societies. I would like to take a moment to thank the students who have joined our classes from Turkey, China, Colombia, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Italy, the Maldives, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo ..read more

Pronunciation is an aspect of second language learning which often goes under the radar. The English pronunciation system is more challenging than many other languages for several reasons, so unless you have specific training in how to address pronunciation and phonology in the classroom, it can be equally challenging to teach.  Most teacher training activity provides a lot of methodology support for new teachers in grammar, vocabulary and skills teaching, but pronunciation teaching tends to be less of a focus. This means that teachers often rely on remedial methods to address pronu ..read more