Postgraduate Course: TESOL Methodology (EDUA11329)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | In taking a critical approach to English language teaching (i.e. that it is neither a morally nor politically neutral activity), this core course aims to equip Teacher Learners (TLs) with ideas backed by research to take forward into their professional practice as a member of the worldwide community of teachers.
Teacher Learners (TLs) will investigate and practise research-led teaching and learning approaches in today's post-method communicative context of language teaching. We will explore the evolution of language pedagogy and gain an understanding of how, when and what to use in our classroom through practical tasks in workshops informed by lectures. TLs will be encouraged critically to analyse and evaluate methods they can use in their context, and develop an awareness of language use within today's diverse global community.
Teaching approaches will be presented within an historical, critical and inclusive context, taking into consideration the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Coursework will integrate principles of language teaching and ecological practices, provide an introduction to 21st century literacies, and include awareness of the classroom environment.
Issues of concern to teachers, such as integrated approaches to the receptive and productive skills as well as language systems will be explored in detail through lectures and workshops on Task Based Learning, CLIL, Translanguaging, interdisciplinary and critical intercultural pedagogies, including assessment styles, as well as opportunities to engage with these through micro-teaching. Alongside, concepts of authenticity in terms of materials appropriate for the global classroom will be discussed.
Teacher identity will be woven into the fabric of the course as we explore old and new concepts of teaching and learning, the teacher as member of a community of transformative practice, and the teacher as agent of change.
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| Course description |
BLOCK 1: Introducing English Language Teaching
We will explore the field of English Language Teaching, and critically examine various language teaching methods and approaches. We will be discussing the teacher's agency, the reflective practitioner, collaborative learning and teaching, and the demands of educational policy.
BLOCK 2: Lesson planning in the 21st Century Language Classroom Here, we will explore how constructing language prioritises certain agendas and examine how you and your students might identify and deploy these. We will look at critical approaches to TESOL and examine the transformative power of learning and teaching. In addition, we will also investigate the UN Sustainable Development Goals, looking at sustainable and inclusive professional practice. We will explore English language teaching as enabling global citizenship, and teacher experiences of differentiation and inclusion in the classroom through lesson planning.
BLOCK 3: Approaches to Language Teaching and Assessment
We will examine and practise the contemporary application of teaching approaches, focusing on Task-Based Learning, Translanguaging, interdisciplinary and intercultural approaches, and CLIL. We will apply the theory to an integrated skills approach, addressing the structure and function of language, and different learning contexts. Teacher learners will collaborate in planning and designing lessons for micro-teaching, and reflect on their teaching experiences, adopting critical incident analysis and the principle of the critical friend.
Students on this course also benefit from the TESOL Methodology School Visits which provide them with the opportunity to observe teachers in action during their visit to a Scottish school.
BLOCK 4: Revision, Questions and Reflection We will revise and explore questions relating to teaching approaches, the assignment, and situated contexts, engaging with teacher learners' lived and hoped-for professional experience.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 230 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
16/09/2024 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 8,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 16,
External Visit Hours 16,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
156 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 100%
There is one summative assessment task for this course and a student needs to complete one assignment (equivalent to 4000 words). The assignment addresses all learning outcomes and requires teacher learners to provide a rationale and an evaluation of a lesson they plan.
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| Feedback |
After micro-teaching in class, feedback will be given by the course tutor and peers.
Formative assessment task:
Students are required to write an original lesson plan within a grid for an English Language-teaching unit in a particular context. Formative feedback on the lesson plans will be given by peers in tutor-led workshops. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the literature and research in the field of English Language Teaching
- Review in a critical and theoretically-informed manner the different approaches and methods that currently dominate the field and their historical antecedents
- Evaluate critically and on the basis of explicit criteria the ways in which specific language teaching methodologies bridge the skills and systems of English and contribute to the development of communicative ability in learners
- Analyse and appraise the principles that influence the globally diverse, sustainable and reflective practice of teaching and teacher identity in ways that extend knowledge and thinking in the field
- Apply the theoretical principles and practical approaches discussed on the course to their own teaching, laying foundations for the critical practice of language pedagogy in the context in which they are likely to practise
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Reading List
Core Texts
Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). Pearson Education.
Coyle, Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). CLIL: Content and language integrated learning. Cambridge University Press.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching: From method to postmethod. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Garcia, O., Johnson, S. I., & Seltzer, K. (2017). The translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Caslon.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. R. (2007). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford University Press.
Also useful:
Harmer, J. (2015). The practice of English language teaching (5th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.
Martiinez Agudo, J. (2019). Quality in TESOL and teacher education from a results culture towards a quality culture. Routledge.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
You will be curious, engaged and inspired about teaching English. You will be equipped to teach and learn using a variety of methods.
You will develop a personal, principled theory of practice to take with you on your career journey. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Workshops: 2 hours, tasks will depend on the readings and will be based on the lecture content. The work is mostly collaborative, i.e., everyone is involved in discussion and planning, and sometimes co-operative where people work on their own and then come together. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Isobel Kaihui Wang
Tel: (0131 6)50 2796
Email: iwang@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr David Gilbert
Tel: (0131 6)51 6265
Email: david.gilbert@ed.ac.uk |
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