Shane English Schools Japan

LTCL Diploma TESOL Handbook

Shane English Schools Japan

This is the introductory handbook for the Licentiate Diploma TESOL Course. The bulk of the course is conducted online and we appreciate that this can sometimes be a lonely experience which is why you are actively encouraged to take part in the forum discussion, chat room activities and tutorials. You will be assigned to a Teaching Practice (TP) group with whom it is a good idea to share ideas, resources and to keep in touch regularly. The TP groups are expected to work together reasonably closely during the teaching practice phase of the course. Who can you contact on the course? Please contact the Course Director: Sophia McMillan (sophia.mcmillan@shane.co.jp) in the first instance for all aspects of the course (including financial, welfare and pastoral concerns). All emails will be treated in the strictest confidence. Our correspondence address and telephone fax numbers as follows: Shane Corporation Japan Ltd, Kenkyushafujimi Bldg 4F, 2-11-3 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0071 Japan Tel. 03-5275-6756 / Fax. 03-3556-9062 We have tried to answer some questions for you in this handbook: What are the aims and objectives of this course? Aims The aims of this course are to encourage the acquisition and development of professional knowledge and expertise; to refine participants practical teaching skills and to enhance teachers knowledge of contextual issues regarding the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. We also aim to: refine and extend participants ability to employ a variety of practical skills; develop participants knowledge and skills to a point where they become very effective practitioners in a range of known and unpredicted TESOL teaching situations without supervision; recognise and confirm participants achievements in the areas listed above; extend participants motivation and inform their strategies for continuing professional development; provide an effective and collaborative online course of professional development for teachers of English in Japan and worldwide. contribute to the development of TESOL internationally as a mature, qualified and regulated profession and act as a benchmark for employers and others with concern for the quality of TESOL. Objectives Trinity LTCL Diploma expects successful candidates to be able to demonstrate the following in the course of the examinations: Language and language topics: An in-depth understanding of the phonology, grammar, lexis and discourse systems of contemporary English commonly taught to learners of English as a

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Second Language through all syllabuses, with reference to British Standard English and other principal varieties of English. The ability to identify the language background, needs and motivation of learners and the influence of cultural context of both learners and teachers. An awareness and understanding of the changing role and status of English in different regions of the world.

Learning and teaching: A critical understanding of current and historical developments in language teaching methodology, with particular reference to ESOL. A familiarity with the interface between language teaching and psychology, including issues related to motivation and second language acquisition. The ability to plan, design and deliver a series of ESOL lessons appropriate to the learning and teaching context, and employing a range of lesson types and classroom management techniques appropriate to learners language needs and learning styles as individuals and as a group. An ability to design, deliver and evaluate a language learning programme over an extended period. The ability to evaluate, select and utilise materials and other resources in the teaching and learning context described above. An awareness of current ESOL assessment and testing theories and materials. The ability to assess and test learners knowledge of and skills in English on the basis of current assessment and testing theory and materials, and to build on learners developing competence with appropriate attention to their strengths and weaknesses and learning styles. The ability to use a wide range of reference sources for short-term teaching purposes and long term personal development. An understanding of the main methods, materials and forms of assessment appropriate to young learners from Primary level upwards.

Personal and Professional development: The ability to assess their own effectiveness as language teachers and classroom managers and develop their skills accordingly through a conscious process of personal professional development. The ability to provide principled professional support to teachers of lesser experience in particular those who have recently obtained a CertTESOL or equivalent of TESOL qualification. An appreciation of the principles and processes of teamwork, including teacher groups, and of professional collaboration. The ability to carry out classroom based investigation. A heightened awareness of the requirements of teaching observation and provision of appropriate feedback at initial level of training in the field of TESOL. A heightened awareness of the requirements of providing input at initial level of training in the field of TESOL. An appreciation of the design and application of on-line learning materials through a distance learning programme. How is the course assessed?

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Assessment and examinations The course has four components. The first and third parts are assessed by Trinity and the second and fourth by Trinity and the course provider together. Part one the Written Exam This is a written paper taken at a Trinity college approved exam centre in. Candidates have 3 hours to complete the exam. The exam can be taken in May, August or November. Each of our courses aims to prepare you for a specific date, but you have the opportunity to choose a different date if you feel you need more preparation. To prepare for the written exam you will participate in input sessions using our virtual classroom. You will discuss topics with your tutor and peers online and you will perform online tasks and offline assignments and essays. Input sessions include pre-reading, group tasks, reflection on your teaching and short written tasks. In addition you will be required to do regular grammar and essay practice in preparation for the written exam, with feedback from tutors. Here are some examples of the areas covered by questions in Part One of the Trinity Exam, which will be covered in your input sessions and reading. Grammar This covers linguistic analysis which will improve your understanding of learners difficulties and the nature of the English language and how it works, including an analysis of syntax, lexis and discourse. Language Learning and Teaching This is an in-depth look at the major theories of language learning and teaching which have influenced materials and teaching styles. An analysis of developments such as learner training, multiple intelligences, and task based learning and the lexical approach, which encourages you to reflect on your own practice and work towards developing it. Sessions on teaching young learners are included here. English in the World Here you will develop your global view of English, looking at students needs, economic and political influences on language use, models and varieties of English and issues relating to teacher training and development. Personal and Professional Development You will gain familiarity with published and on-line professional materials and basic principles of teacher education, appropriate research methodology for classroombased research and theories and application of syllabus design. You will also be encouraged to attend teacher development workshops and professional conferences during the course. Classroom Practice Here we look at the basic classroom skills, including areas such as teaching the four skills, classroom management, and error correction. Part two This is a coursework portfolio consisting of three obligatory tasks. The tasks involve observation of other trained teachers, reflection on ones own teaching and a choice of projects related to the development of materials and academic management. You

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work on the portfolio throughout the course. It is assessed by your course tutors and moderated by a Trinity examiner. There are three tasks here. The first involves you observing 10 hours of teaching conducted qualified, experienced teachers from which you will devise a tool for observing a particular aspect of language teaching (error example, error correction). The second task is a record of your own teaching and requires you to monitor an aspect of this over a total of 15 hours of class time. This should be conducted with groups of 6 students or more from your regular teaching timetable. If you only teach small groups, you must contact your tutor to discuss alternatives. The third task is a written project on a choice of themes relating to learning, teaching, training or academic management, such as syllabus design, teacher observation, language policy or learner strategies. You are guided through the projects with reference materials, online input sessions, and individual tutorials where the tutor discusses plans and rough drafts and prompts you with ideas and advises on background reading. Part three This is an interview with a Trinity examiner on phonetics and phonology (30 mins). Online input includes the study of such areas as rhythm, stress, intonation, weak forms and individual sounds and how they relate to teaching. You will become "fluent" in using phonemic script and increase your awareness of teaching techniques and strategies. Each teacher will receive a 25 minute mock interview, face-to-face with your tutor during the residential component. The 30-minute interview with the Trinity examiner to assess this area of the course will include the presentation of a prepared topic of your choice, as well as a discussion of phonology in theory and in the classroom. Part four This is a classroom demonstration of your teaching (60 mins), followed by a discussion of the lesson with the examiner (20 mins). You will also present a portfolio of documentation related to 4 previous lessons taught, which will have been observed and assessed by the course provider's tutors. Parts three and four of the exam must be taken together with your Tutorial group. The timetable leading to Part four will last for ten weeks and involve assessed teaching practice and 30 hours of face to face input and lesson preparation. Input sessions/workshops in this area of the course include the study of such areas as rhythm, stress, intonation, weak forms and individual sounds and how they relate to teaching. You will become "fluent" in using phonemic script and increase your awareness of teaching techniques and strategies. Each teacher will receive a 20 minute mock interview followed by 10 minutes of feedback, face-to-face with your tutor during the residential component. The 30-minute interview with the Trinity examiner to assess this area of the course will include the presentation of a prepared topic of your choice, as well as a discussion of phonology in theory and in the classroom.

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The course provider's trainers will observe your teaching and give you feedback during the course, encouraging you to develop your ability to reflect on your own teaching and provide constructive feedback to fellow teachers. Teaching practice groups will be formed from your tutorial groups so hopefully you will have already developed a relationship through collaborative tasks and online contact. There will be a maximum of 4 and a minimum of 3 teachers in each group. The timetable is flexible but you will each teach two 30 minute lessons which are unassessed and allow you to get to know the students and refresh basic teaching skills (elicitation, CCQ, drills etc). This will be followed by each teacher teaching 4 hours of observed and assessed lessons. These lessons will be discussed with your tutor. The final, fifth, one-hour lesson will be externally assessed by a Trinity examiner. Essential Reading These books will be required for the completion of tasks or to support your course development. M. Parrott (CUP) M. McCarthy (CUP) P. Trudgill J Harmer Richards & Rogers P. Roach (CUP) Richards, Platt & Brown, H. D. Lightbown, P. M. and Spada, N. Andy Kirkpatrick Richards & Farrell Wallace (CUP) Wajnryb Nunan, D. Thornbury, S. Nunan, D. 1992. Dudeney G & Hockley, N Longman 2007 Grammar for English Language teachers (2000) Discourse analysis for Language Teachers (1991) Sociolinguistics (2000) (Penguin) The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th edition) (Longman) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2001) (CUP) English Phonetics and Phonology (2002) Longman Dictionary of Language teaching & applied linguistics (Longman) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (Longman) How Languages Are Learned (CUP) World Englishes (CUP) Professional Development for Language Teachers (CUP) Action Research for Language Teachers Classroom Observation Tasks (CUP) Syllabus Design. (OUP)1988 How to Teach Vocabulary. Longman: 2002. Research Methods in Language Learning.(CUP) How to teach English with technology,

There is a full reading list with other titles which would benefit your study available when you join. Is there a library?

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During the teaching practice phase books will be available for short term loan. Unfortunately, at present we cannot post copies of texts to participants. Every effort has been made to ensure that there are reasonable links to sites with equivalent information for each module should you find a book is unobtainable. Are there any example exam questions or essay plans? These can be found on the Moodle site. How does Moodle Work? You will find a PDF document with an introduction to Moodle when you join the course. How will tutorials be conducted? Tutorials will be conducted via Skype in the mornings at dates set by your tutor in your initial contact. If you teach in the mornings we will make appropriate arrangements to conduct a Skype tutorial with you at the earliest opportunity. Skype is a free application which allows free oral communication and text messaging between individual s and groups. www.skype.com/intl/en-gb Please check whether your computer has an inbuilt microphone. It would be advisable to purchase a set of headphones with a microphone anyway. What do I do about tasks and essays? You will have several types of tasks online and the aim of these tasks is two-fold. First, they have all been designed to guide your reading in stages and by doing so develop your background knowledge and prepare you for the written paper. Secondly, some tasks have been designed to encourage discussion and contact online with your peers so that you do not feel isolated and also to encourage reflection on your own teaching context so that you can prepare for unit 2. Many tasks are marked automatically on Moodle so you may monitor your own progress. Each module is estimated to take around 7 weeks and you should try and finish each module by the 7th week Please keep to the timetable as best as you can. Your tutor will be monitoring whether you are going too fast or too slow and will advise you on how best to manage your time. Each module has 5 topics and each topic will take around 8- 10 hours of reading and 3 - 5 hours of tasks. Some topics may be shorter or have fewer tasks than others. You will be expected to continue with the Moodle tasks while doing your teaching practice and where possible we have tried to lighten the load by requiring fewer tasks from participants. You can certainly expect to be doing more essay type work towards the date of the written paper. Whats the best advice you can give? The LTCL is an extremely rewarding course but also very demanding. The best thing you can do is plan your study time carefully, never try and do too much at once nor leave everything until the last minute. Please contact your tutor or the Course

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Director as soon as an issue arises which you feel may affect our performance on the course. This course is about teaching and learning, so start right now by thinking about how you teach and how your learners learn. What skills do you both have or need to develop to ensure that effective learning takes place?