TEACHERS WITHOUT BORDERS – ONLINE TEFL TRAINING COURSE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Note: this is a modular syllabus. The order implied here is not necessarily the order in which the course should be studied or delivered. Certain modules may also be omitted where not relevant to the teacher participant.
A. GETTING STARTED (Chris)
Introduction
- course aims & outline
- some ‘warming up’ questions:
- what makes a good teacher?
- why do you want to take this course?
- how do you hope your teaching will have changed by the end of this course?
Analysis of current teaching practice
- inc. lesson planning, lesson content, teaching style & delivery, relationship between teacher & students, classroom management, assessing progress
- ratio of teacher-centred vs student-centred learning
B. KEY PRINCIPLES (Lindy)
Teaching English communicatively
- why? concept of active learning – learning by doing
- how to encourage students to engage with the language
- demonstration classroom activity
Teaching English Communicatively - ‘teacher talking’ and ‘student talking’ in the classroom
- who's talking in your classroom - the teacher or the student?
- pros and cons of Teacher and Student Talking
- getting your students talking
Using TPR - Total Physical Response
- what is Total Physical Response
- how teachers can use TPR
- some practical examples
Effective lesson planning - the essentials
- why plan?
- knowing, stating & sharing your teaching/learning aims
- basic lesson type – 5 key stages
- things to always remember
Effective lesson Planning - 3 Classic Plans
- ‘Present - Practice - Produce'
- ‘Test - Teach - Test’
- ‘Lead-In - Main Activity - Follow Up’
How Children Learn English - the 4 Stages
- the 4 stages of Second Language Acquisition
- appropriate classroom activities
C. TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AWARENESS (Chris)
Getting to Grips with English Grammar 1 – the Basics
- how good is your grammar?
- principles of tense and aspect - Present, Past & Future
Getting to Grips with English Grammar 2
- modality
- What else you need to know
Teaching English grammar – Some Great Activities
- making grammar fun
- tried and tested grammar games & activities
Introducing and practising vocabulary so it sticks
- choosing which vocabulary to teach
- making sure students remember new vocabulary
- looking at vocabulary patterns
Having fun with vocabulary
- classic vocabulary activities
- practising new words creatively
- great vocabulary games
D. TEACHING THE FOUR SKILLS (Martin)
Reading work - using texts effectively
- why use texts to teach English?
- how to develop reading skills
- a platform for learning vocabulary
Teaching your students to understand spoken English
- what are 'listening skills'?
- how best to teach listening skills
- some great activities you can use
Building spoken confidence
- different ways of getting students to talk
- balance between accuracy and fluency
- when to stop and correct
Teaching your students great pronunciation skills
- how important is pronunciation?
- using the phonetic alphabet
- integrating pronunciation work into everyday class activities
Writing English down
- what should students write?
- the joys of collaborative writing
- writing activities that work
Listening Extra
Speaking Extra
Writing Extra
Reading Extra
Pronunciation Extra
E. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT (Chris H)
Dealing effectively with large classes
- typical problems
- creating predictable routines
- using group work
Classroom Management - Managing Behavior
Classroom management - seating
Using group and pair work to get great language results
- why use groups and pairs
- organizing groups and pairs creatively
- great activities for pairs & groups
Working with Mixed Ability and Mixed Level Classes
- what is 'mixed ability'?
- problems associated with teaching mixed ability classes
- teaching mixed level and mixed ability classes effectively
Your students are an amazing language resource!
- eliciting
- encouraging student participation
- guided learning
Giving instructions that everybody can follow
- planning what to say - step by step
- concept checking
- modelling
An ‘English Only!’ classroom
- why use English only?
- 'what if my students don't understand?'
- when is it OK to use 1st language?
- creating an English Language environment in your classroom
Making drilling fun
- pros & cons of drilling
- when best to use drills
- how to make drills interesting and fun
F. SOME PRACTICAL CONCERNS (Sue, Chris G)
Testing & Assessing Progress
Working Effectively with Course Books
- pros & cons of following course books
- how not to let your course book dictate your teaching
- adding to your course book to make it more interesting
Creating and Using Great Materials
- what’s possible?
- some practical suggestions
- you, the teacher, as an amazing resource
Your board as a key resource
Consider Visual aids as your savior
Major visual aids: black board, pictures, drawings etc...
1. How to use black board:
- organizing what to put where
- some ideas of things you can do
- allowing your students to use the board
2. How to use pictures/drawing:
- elicting student's idea
- authentic examples
- get student's attention
- motivate student
Error and Feedback
-
what you learn from testing
-
different ways of testing
-
how and when to correct
-
seeing mistakes as a vital part of learning
Teaching English to Classes 1-3 - Using PHONICS
I
H. FUN STUFF (Chris)
Warm Up & Warm Down
- start your lesson as you mean to go on
- a strong finish
- activities you can use
Playing games
- why play games?
- keeping it serious - setting learning aims
- some brilliant games to play
I. AND FINALLY!! (Chris)
Review
- a big quiz
- did you achieve your aims?
- did you enjoy the course?
-
What next?
- working with other teachers
- finding good resources
- some questions to ask yourself
K. RESOURCE WEBSITE