TEFL Methodology & Teaching Techniques

Demo Lessons & Workshops

This module introduces you to the techniques and methodologies of teaching English. As well as giving you the confidence to stand up in front of a class it will equip you with useful tips and skills that will help you teach with confidence. You will be given demonstrations of various lesson types focusing on specific skills, (speaking, listening, reading or writing) and sub skills (grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary).

The Teaching Techniques modules cover:

• ◊ Modern approaches to language learning
• ◊ Effective lesson planning based on different models
• ◊ Teacher language
• ◊ Classroom management skills
• ◊ Establishing & developing rapport
• ◊ Maintaining classroom discipline
• ◊ Creating & using materials
• ◊ Managing equipment & teaching aids
• ◊ Learner evaluation & testing
• ◊ Feedback & correction techniques
• ◊ Teaching receptive skills - reading & listening
• ◊ Teaching productive skills - speaking & writing
• ◊ Teaching beginners
• ◊ Teaching individuals and private students (one-to one)
• ◊ Teaching Business English
• ◊ Teaching Young Learners
• ◊ Drama & games
• ◊ Songs & chants
• ◊ Teaching grammar & vocabulary
• ◊ Cultural awareness

Teaching Practice

This is the most practical and fundamental area of any TEFL/TESOL course, as well as the main reason that most on-line and distance learning programmes do not adequately prepare you for real world teaching and are not accepted as proof you are ready to teach by many professional language schools.

Our trainees teach real students of English from week one and immediately put into practice the skills learnt during the course.

You will teach about nine lessons, of which six will be officially observed by a trainer. Due to the constraints of French working professionals and school children, teaching practice takes place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, from 6-8pm, followed by around one hour of constructive lesson analysis.

In the post teaching critique sessions you will be encouraged to develop the ability to assess both your own lessons and those of your peers.

We will ensure you teach at least two different levels of adult learners, e.g. elementary and intermediate, and a good cross section of age groups and abilities.

We also have teenagers and children in some of our teaching practice classes which will allow you too experience this important category of learners and develop appropriate interactive teaching techniques to use with them.

There is a great demand for private tuition to children in France in particular as many parents want more English lessons for their children than that provided by the French state school system.

The assessment of your teaching practice is continuous and will tend to reflect your overall progress.

Lesson Planning

This takes place in the afternoons after lunch, from 2-5 pm. This is a time for you to prepare your lessons by adapting activities from existing course books or by creating your own materials. However, it is advisable to come to these sessions with lessons already partially prepared.

• ◊ During this time one or more trainers will be available for consultations to offer guidance and suggestions on the appropriateness of lesson plans, sequence of activities, etc.
• ◊ The rest of the time is for you to finalise your lessons and to prepare your materials.

Foreign Language Experience

This module introduces you to an unknown foreign language. Being put in the position of a language learner will help you appreciate the learning processes that your future students will go through and help you reflect on how this might influence your teaching.

In week 1 you will be given 3 lessons in an unknown foreign language using the same communicative methodology you will use to teach English. It will give you first hand insights into various teaching strategies and techniques.

Language Awareness

It is quite normal to be concerned about your knowledge of grammar before you start the course. We don't expect you to be an expert! The Language Awareness module will help you understand how the English language is structured and used.

The Language Awareness module covers two key areas:

Grammar
You will be introduced to all the basic grammar you will need to be an effective EFL teacher (word classes, simple sentence elements, complex sentences and clauses, verb time and tense, aspect and conditional, modal and phrasal).

These sessions will also provide you with useful teaching ideas to help teach grammar in a communicative manner.

Phonology

• ◊ The English sound system compared with the sound systems of other European languages.
• ◊ The use of I.P.A. (International Phonemic Alphabet).
• ◊ Consonants, vowels and diphthongs in British and American English.
• ◊ Word stress patterns
• ◊ Sentence stress, rhythm and intonation.
• ◊ Features of connected speech

Written Assignments

Foreign Language Learning Journal
A reflective journal based on the 3 hours of tuition in a foreign language. After each lesson you will be encouraged to write up your observations and reflections on the learning experience, both from a student's and a teacher's perspective.

One-to-One Project
This important assignment is based on preparing a lesson for a student in a one-to-one setting. This is done over two meetings with a foreign language student. The first meeting is to assess the learner's linguistic ability and needs and the 2nd to teach a lesson you have prepared based on the assessment.

The one-to-one project encourages you to think about the language needs of an individual student. You will develop your rapport-building skills, as well as your error analysis and correction techniques. You will work closely with a student to asses his or her receptive and productive skills. It is a valuable and stimulating assignment which develops valuable skill for your professional teaching career in the future.

Two Language Analysis Tests
Key elements of the grammar and phonology input sessions will be tested here to make sure you have absorbed the essentials.

If you have any questions about the course programme please feel free to contact us below.

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