150-Hour TEFL certification course

PRE-COURSE MODULE
YOUR GATEWAY TO TEFL
UNIT 0.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CIEE TEFL COURSE
0.1.5 THE ESSENTIALS: LET’S LOOK AT THE SYLLABUS

Learning outcome

• You will have a clear overview of the syllabus.

Now you know about the approach to the course and the different activities you’ll take part in. But what is
the actual content of the course? To find out, take a look at this presentation. You'll find it helpful to follow
along with the course syllabus.

The aim of this course is to help you become a well-rounded, interculturally competent EFL teacher or
international educator who can work effectively and confidently wherever your job may be. You'll learn
how to meet program participant needs through communicative language teaching and other teaching
methodologies, effective lesson planning and assessment for the four skill areas – reading, writing,
speaking, and listening – vocabulary and grammar. You'll discover the connections between classroom
management and lesson planning and the role that culture plays in teaching and learning. You'll also
learn how to interact with program participants outside of the classroom. As you work through this
presentation, you’ll see how the course modules will help you to achieve this.

LET’S LOOK AT THE SYLLABUS

Course overview

In the last couple of presentations, you’ve been learning about the style of the course and all the different
types of activities you will see, so we’re sure that you’re beginning to ask yourself, “What exactly will I be
learning?”

This presentation is going to walk you through the pre-course module and the ten main modules so that
you can see how the course flows, and what you’ll be learning.

Pre-course week

The pre-course work you’ve been given prepares you for the course ahead so that you don’t start your
first day totally ‘cold.’

The pre-course module is designed to get you thinking about what it means to become an EFL teacher
and international educator. After looking at the style, structure, and content of the course, we’ll start to

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150-Hour TEFL certification course

examine the kinds of issues that can come up when we travel to a different country and deal with different
cultures. We call this intercultural competence, and basically it means that we, as teachers, need to
understand other cultures and bring this knowledge into our EFL programs.

Module 1

Module 1 is called The world of TEFL and covers such topics as the roles of teachers and international
educators and different types of learners and learning environments. It also includes a section on second
language acquisition.

Grammar breaks

At the end of Module 1 you’ll see your first Grammar break. As you’ll see on your syllabus, we learn
about grammar at the start of Modules 3, 4, and 5 in these standalone Grammar breaks.

These units will help you learn terminology that will allow you to answer questions from students when
you first start teaching.

Module 2

Module 2 is called Teaching the English language. Its first two units are about the English language
itself - how it developed and its importance. The second part of Module 2 looks at concepts of teaching -
the different ways we teach English.

We’ll look at how teaching English has developed over the past century or so.
You’ll see how important both the communicative approach and the cultural context you’re in are to
teaching English.

Modules 3 and 4

We’ll start looking at the theory and practice of how we teach vocabulary (in Module 3) and grammar (in
Module 4). You’ll be given lots of great, concrete examples of activities you can use in the classroom. It’s
not only about theory!

Modules 5 and 6

In Module 5, you’ll learn how to teach receptive skills - listening and reading - and in Module 6, we’ll
focus on productive skills - speaking and writing. These two modules cover all sorts of useful practical
skills that will help you when you’re a teacher.

Modules 7, 8, and 9

And now for the course’s most practical modules, full of excellent teaching ideas backed up by sound
theory: Module 7 is about Choosing your teaching materials; Module 8 is about Planning your
lessons; and Module 9 is all about Classroom management.

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150-Hour TEFL certification course

Module 10

Module 10 is full of information to help you start your teaching career. It includes units on building your
portfolio, how to get a good job, and more about intercultural competence. Over the ten weeks of this
course, there’s lots to learn - and all of it will be worthwhile as you embark on your new career.

Practicum module

At the end of your course, you’ll find the Practicum Module. This module is designed to help you
research, prepare, and execute your practicum successfully. Your practicum isn’t due until 30 days after
week 10, but we suggest starting around week 5 so you have plenty of time to complete it. You will have
access to the practicum module once you complete the Orientation Quiz located at the end of this unit.

Course learning outcomes

Now that you’re more familiar with the syllabus, take another look at the learning outcomes for this
course. By the end, you’ll be able to do all of the following with ease:

• Recognize and evaluate a range of EFL teaching and learning approaches and methods
• Adapt your teaching style to a specific cultural context
• Identify and explain key linguistic elements of the English language
• Plan and deliver English language lessons that focus on learners’ needs and interests
• Apply key classroom management skills and techniques
• Evaluate and select appropriate teaching materials
• Implement appropriate learner assessment and evaluation
• Demonstrate the reflective skills necessary to develop professionally and interculturally as a teacher

LET’S REVIEW

The modules of the CIEE TEFL course are: