 Hey guys, this is Liza here and I'm happy to welcome you to another ITTT's live stream session. I hope you missed me because I really missed you because this live stream hasn't been scheduled for a couple of weeks already, so but in general I hope that this live stream is going to be helpful to some extent. Maybe you will get inspired or find some insights. Today we are going to talk about some common myths about ESL teaching and I should say that if you have any doubts this live stream is right what you have been looking for, so stay tuned and let's discuss some burning points of this ESL teaching world. And by the way, if you guys have any questions related to TEFL teaching, maybe online teaching, whatever, feel free to send me a comment in the comment section if you have any questions or you want to just have a small chat, a small talk, feel free to message me right there. And let me now zoom it in so that you could see the presentation better. And by the way, let me quickly make this short introduction. So my name is Liza, I'm a TEFL and TESOL expert at ITTT and I'm also an online English teacher. So I've been working as a teacher for many years already, so my experience is almost seven years. I used to teach in China, but these days I work online only. I prefer to work remotely, so I just switched to this online teaching mode. Let me know who you are and where are you tuning in from. I can see Miss Abuela watching from France. That's awesome. By the way, I'm a non-native teacher based in Yekaterinburg, Russia. So I used to work in China as I have already mentioned, but then I decided to move back to my hometown. And this is much more comfortable for me, I should say. So if this is your case, if you have the same type of work experience, just let me know, because I know that many people used to work in a real classroom, but then switched to online teaching mode. This is how we do it, I guess. These days online teaching is in great demand and we should share our experience. And by the way, this live stream session is provided by ITTT, so it is International Table and TESOL Training. If you haven't seen us before, please feel free to check out our YouTube channel, Facebook group, which is actually quite huge, because we have a lot of graduates and also a lot of people are interested in TESOL content. So Facebook group is where you can actually find it. We also have an Instagram account, so if you are more convenient finding content on Instagram, check this out as well. Pinterest, LinkedIn, so follow us on your favorite social media. And another point to mention before we dive into today's discussion is this QR code in the left top corner of the screen. So if you scan this QR code, you will be able to get a 30% discount of any ITTT staffer courses. So if you've been thinking about getting your teaching into the next level, feel free to scan the QR code or let me send you a link with the same coupon so that you could follow the link from the chat box. So yeah, here we go. So if you follow the link from the chat box, you will also be able to get this nice incentive, which is actually the biggest discount at ITTT. All right, I am really happy to see that there are people from Korea as well. I guess that this is the best marker that we are quite global. So yeah, people from the west meet with people from the east right here at the ITTT slash reception. So now let's move on to the first point of today's discussion, which is the most common myths about ESL teaching. And the very first one is actually quite obvious. I guess this is the most disturbing one, at least for me as a non-native teacher. So many people believe that non-native ESL teachers can teach as good as native ones. And what is the problem right here actually is that those who believe that only native teachers can transfer this knowledge of grammar and vocabulary and whatever, they tend to think that native teachers are those who have this ultimate knowledge of their language and they don't think about people's background. Unfortunately, I actually saw that native teachers sometimes cannot compete with non-native ones because of education and experience. Personal qualities are also quite important, but education and experience plus expertise, they are of this primary importance. Sometimes non-native teachers who are qualified, so it means they have this educational background in teaching. And at the same time they are interested enough in their professional development, they are much better as teachers. They perform much better in a classroom compared to native teachers who just know the language. And there is another point which is also quite significant, it is this unconscious knowledge. So there is this attitude, well probably it's not an attitude, there is this data and it has this solid background, research background that people who have this unconscious knowledge of some subject, for example of the language, they are, they tend not to be the best teachers just because they can't explain some reasons and consequences. So this is what differs native teachers without any educational background and non-native teachers with educational background and expertise in this language teaching. So always bear this in mind, if you want to compete with native teachers, what you have to do is to work on your self-development, on your professional qualities, you have to master your English skills as well and this all together will help you look outstanding even if there is some, there is another native person who is considered to be a better teacher. So by the way to feel less pressured, when I deliver this live streams it is always challenging to understand if there are people watching, let me know what you think at this stage, what is your opinion towards this first myths about non-native ESL teachers, how do you feel personally if you have already faced this challenge in your teaching paths. Just let me know so that we could have this dialogue right now. I feel a little bit worried that I talk to myself literally and there is nobody who is behind the screen. The next point, so let me move on. The next point is that students should use only the target language during the lesson. This is completely false, just due to the fact that sometimes especially at the lower levels of English, when you work with let's say children who have the A1, A2 levels, what else, they still need this connection with their native tongue and if teachers make them, force them to speak English only, especially when they don't know how to use the language, they start feeling less eager to communicate in the target language, which is English. So for students, it is a sort of this negative experience in terms of communication in the classroom and at the same time, students don't understand instructions completely. Sometimes native teachers face this problem that for example, not even native ones, but well, whatever teachers, I also face the same problem back in the day. So when I worked with the Chinese students, I couldn't speak Chinese and at the same time, I couldn't explain all directions in the target language fully because students were reluctant to use the target language. So what helped me a lot was that those native, those Chinese native teachers, they helped me to navigate students and they helped me to explain some basic rules and basic directions. And this is very helpful. So if students have at least some connection with their native tongue during the lessons, it is all right. And I know that many schools these days have this English only approach. And that's all right. As a teacher, you don't have to know the target language, you don't have to know the student's native language, but you have to make sure that at least one person in the classroom understands you fully. And if they can explain the rules to their peers in the native tongue, it is all right. So there is nothing bad when students use their native tongue to communicate to some extent. And this is more applicable to those lower levels of English. When students become intermediate to advanced, they use their native tongue less and less. But before this breakthrough, it is important to create this positive environment when they don't feel pressured and when they are not maybe not banned to use their native tongue. The next one, it's important to correct mistakes when they are made. Once again, this is absolutely incorrect. First of all, it decreases student's self-confidence. Just imagine the situation when you, let's say, want to express your thoughts in a different language. And you are not that skilled yet. And you want other people to listen to you and every time you try to express your idea, somebody interrupts you. This is disturbing. And as a consequence, it leads to your reluctance to speak out. So to prevent students from feeling that they are not heard, just stop correcting mistakes when they are made. It is not bad that students make mistakes. It is actually this point of growth for them. And the more they use their target language, even with all those mistakes, the more conscious they become and the better they feel the language itself. So at some point of time, they actually will start noticing that they make some grammatical mistakes, that they use some strange pronunciation and so on. So eventually, they will start correcting themselves without your help. But what is important from you as a teacher is that you provide this support and this positive environment. And what is also quite significant is that still mistakes should be noted, but the way to correct them should be more ecological, I would say. It is better to speak to that person who made the mistake at some point of the lesson and to show them how to correct. But probably it's better to do it not in front of the whole audience, not in front of the whole class, especially if you work with larger groups of children or not only children, but with whatever students will work. The next one, online English teaching is less effective. This is also not true. So first of all, modern teaching approaches, they consider not only in-class settings, but online classrooms as well. And moreover, online teaching is more focused on the student. So this is probably the most popular approach these days when student is put in the middle of the classroom and everything what student needs the teacher facilitates. This is called the student-centered approach or student-centered learning. So basically, you as a teacher, as an online teacher, you put all students' needs prior to what knowledge you have. So although it is considered to be important for teachers to transfer this information, this knowledge of language, still it is important to focus on what students need. And then another positive aspect of online teaching is that there are a lot of engaging activities these days. And especially if you work with children or teens, such environment actually feels really native to them. Even with older students who work with the technology all the time, online teaching is not something challenging at all. I would even say that these days there are so many different techniques of how to attract attention, how to balance different skills and so on, that online teaching is actually even better than real classroom teaching. And moreover, it's important for you as a teacher to acquire these online English teaching skills, because maybe in a year or in five years real classrooms won't be necessary anymore, won't be available anymore, just considering all all these things related to post-COVID time. So this is something we should bear in mind at least. And let's move on to the next one. So there are only young learners to teach. This is a really common myth when it comes to this job search, especially for those people who have just started working as an English teacher. It feels really tough to find more mature students, just because there are more job offers related to young learners teaching. But actually, you can specialize at teaching adults or teaching teens at least, and you will be actually even a more profitable, I would say, teacher, that teacher who has this narrowed specialization, I would say. So this is important for narrowing down your niche. So try to, first of all, specialize at teaching a specific group of people, not just adults for example, but maybe business English students, and then start searching for these keywords. And you will be amazed how many offers there are actually on the job market. So there are online schools that offer positions for teaching business English or general English for adults, but not many people who are specialized at this type of teaching. The next myth is also quite serious, especially when it comes to those people who have not that much experience or who change the sphere, change the career. So you should have an English teaching degree to get a job. So, well, I should be frank that many online teaching schools and many language centers in these real settings, they have this requirement that a teacher should carry out some degree. But the key point is that it should be some degree that that doesn't mean that you should be specialized in teaching. So basically, if you have a degree in economics or in linguistics, you still can work as a teacher. But what is important in this case is that you can showcase some relevant experience, even if it is some volunteering job, or if it is like part-time tutoring. Still, it is considered to be some relevant experience. And another point is that you can always take a taffle certification, which will basically give you the understanding of how to teach a language. So this is where you get this methodological basis. So teaching is actually quite flexible, and it's not important to be an educator. You can be a professional from a different sphere, but you have to acquire some knowledge of methodology. So that is where you should consider taffle certification. And another point is your professional development. Many teachers, even those who acquired their teaching degree in a university, they stopped there. So they never take any courses, any additional specializations, and so on. So basically, you can have a benefit over such people. Just make sure you work on your professional development. For example, especially if you want to work with some specific students, you should make sure you find some professional development in this particular sphere with this particular group of students. For example, in my case, it was like when I moved to China, I had not much of experience. I have already tried to work as a tutor, but I had no specialized teaching degree. So I was a linguist, and that's why I decided to take a taffle certification. So I learned how to deliver information. First of all, I learned several different methodologies, and then I decided to narrow down to focus on this teaching to young learners. And that's how I took several courses in teaching young learners. For example, multiple intelligences, fixed phonics. So I learned how to work, how to teach children to read, for example, and also another one related to using their native language and teaching English. So basically, I focused on teaching young children, and that was a part of my professional development. I just took various certifications, took various courses, and there are actually plenty of them. So there is plenty of online courses. You can check out Coursera or FutureLearn, for example. There are many valuable courses that can help you to work on your professional development. But just make sure you get at least this methodological basis. And the last point that I would like to discuss is that you should work for a teaching company. So this is probably the most common question in my direct on Instagram or on Facebook. So people say that it's difficult to find clients without a teaching company. This is not true. This is just a matter of time and a matter of your, I would say of your consistency. So if you want to find your clients without any third parties, you should focus on building your social network profile, I would say. It's important to build your blog probably on Instagram or on YouTube, for example. And this is how people may get you discovered. This is how you can be discovered. Just make sure you showcase your experience, your relevant experience, showcase your expertise as well. And, well, step by step, gradually you will find your first clients and then you will get booked, fully booked. So basically, being a freelancer is even less challenging because you don't have to, you know, you don't have to fit all the requirements, you don't have to provide your degree and so on. Of course, professional development is still important for your online social media, for your social media performance, but still it's the least what, what you have to showcase there. And what else? I actually have a great example. You can actually, if you use TikTok, you may find that teacher. So there is this Russian English teacher who is quite famous on TikTok. She started recording short videos of how she learned American pronunciation through repeating rap songs. And that was so, that was so unusual. And I believe that that made her experience really unique. And these days, she actually is fully booked because people want to learn in this unusual way. They want to practice grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, just singing their favorite rap songs. I think it's really, really, it's a great approach. So if you want to find a really narrow niche of people, a really niche, a really narrow niche of audience, you should think in an unusual way. So that's probably it for, as for this presentation with myths, those were seven common myths that I found. So that's probably it. But I can see that there are a lot of comments. So let me check the comments section and comment it. So let's actually have the Q&A session now. We still have some time. So if you have any questions related to Tefl teaching, online teaching, feel free to send me your message. And I will comment on that. So let's see. Yeah. So basically, this is one of the most common challenges for people coming from even native countries, where English is considered to be a native language. So you, yeah, they, who they, English teaching companies, most of, well, not most of them actually, many of them require a teacher being a native speaker. But there are a lot of companies that actually allow you work as an English teacher without this passport. For example, companies like Preply, Italki, they don't require you being a native teacher. Just make sure, sorry. So make sure you can showcase your experience. Oh, sorry. When I keep talking for a long time, I have some problem with my voice. So I hope it's okay for now. But if you guys have any following questions, feel free to ask. Okay. All right. Yeah. And this point is that rap songs are full of slang words. Yeah, that's true completely. And as for this question, discovering method of teaching, guys, today's session isn't about methodology. But if you are interested, please feel free to check our YouTube channel. A lot of things related to methodology are explained there. Let me actually drop the link to the chat box. Just give me a second. I will find it. So here you go. This is our YouTube channel. You can follow the link from the chat box and you will get to this page. Okay. So guys, if you don't have any following questions, I guess this is it for today. You still can copy the link from the chat box if you have this need in TEFL courses or you can scan the QR code. In general, this is the end of today's session. Thanks a lot for coming and sorry for these coughs. I don't know what's wrong with my throat. I hope it will get all right for some reason. My voice is now really strange. Okay. Thanks a lot for coming and I will see you next week, guys, or maybe in a week. We will see. Okay. Have a great day and if you still have any questions related to TEFL, feel free to message us on social media. Bye-bye, guys.