EL4013 - Introduction to TESOL Classrooms

The module will be delivered through a combination of interactive lectures and seminars. Key themes and concepts will be introduced in lectures, supported by seminars that allow further group working, discussion and debate. All topics and debates within the module will be supported by reference to relevant literature, which you will read outside of class to further develop your knowledge and understanding of the field.

In addition to learning during taught hours with the module tutor, you will be expected to undertake both directed and independent learning. Directed learning generally will take the form of preparation for seminars where you will be expected to contribute to group work and full class discussion. Independent learning generally will take the form of further reading and investigation, the consolidation of seminar notes, and revision/preparation for the assessment of the module.

All learning materials, tasks and readings will be posted on the eLP (e-learning portal) to facilitate full participation in the module. Additionally, you will receive formative feedback on your ideas and understandings throughout the module. The module’s final, summative assessment will also provide an opportunity for learning.

The module aims to enhance your ability to reflect on your own learning experiences and to raise your awareness of a range of key concepts and issues in the theory and practice of TESOL. Thus, lectures, seminars and tasks will develop your academic knowledge and skills, to help you attain the module learning outcomes. Your academic development will also be facilitated through engagement with the academic literature and by talking with your peers and the module tutor about your understanding of this literature (i.e. reading around the topic, and discussing and reflecting upon what you have read).

The module handbook provides details of lectures, seminars, reading lists and assessment criteria; lecture materials are made available on the eLP (see above). The module tutor will be available in lectures and seminars, as well as in ‘Feedback and consultation hours’ (i.e. ‘office hours’) and on email, to discuss any queries or concerns you have about how to excel academically on the module. Formative feedback will be on-going throughout seminar/workshop activities. Formative feedback will also be provided on your reflective essay and critique plans, prior to completion of the module’s formative assessments.

In addition, you have a designated Guidance Tutor throughout the entire duration of your programme. The academic side of the Guidance Tutor’s role includes: monitoring your ongoing academic progress; helping you to develop self-reflection skills necessary for continuous academic development; directing you to further available services which can help them with their academic skills (e.g. Library’s Skills Plus). You are advised to see your Guidance Tutor at least twice each semester to review your academic progress..

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Understand and be able to apply the key concepts and approaches necessary for the study of English language teaching to speakers of other languages.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Reflect upon and present in speech and writing your ideas about TESOL related concepts linking this to your own learning experiences and the pedagogical approaches.
3. Establish and justify your own position within complex debates and arguments

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

4. Demonstrate the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with others to develop subject-specific knowledge, time management skills and research skills.
5. Develop your critical thinking and reflective skills

Formative assessment

You will present your ideas during seminars and will receive formative feedback from the module tutor and peers on any perspectives you share. Such formative will enable you to test and form your own understanding of a range of concepts in relation to the TESOL classroom.

Summative (graded) Assessments
1. 1,500-word reflective essay (Semester one)
You will write a reflective essay in which you focus on 2 or 3 key issues that we have discussed this semester, examining how they might affect teaching and learning (or teachers and learners) in the language classroom. (If applicable, you may wish to refer to your own language learning experience).
You will be expected to demonstrate a clear engagement with the larger debates on language-learning, classroom management, different methodologies, and impacts of culture on language-teaching. The aim here is to ensure you get to grips with theoretical positions and concepts, while reflecting on your own learning experience.
2. You will write a 1,200-word mini-ethnographic study, based on observation of a lesson. You will be expected to show an understanding of pedagogical principles concerning language-learning and classroom management as covered in Semester 1, discussing how these principles are operationalised in practice in the language classroom. This will be weighted at 75%.
You will also answer an in-class exam, consisting of ways of checking learners’ understanding of meaning (grammar / lexis) and of pronunciation, demonstrating proficiency with the International Phonetic Alphabet. This will be weighted at 25%.

The assessments will be part of the learning process, and address all five MLOS. Feedback will be provided using the Programme template and comments on the script.

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This year-long module provides some of the skills needed to become an effective language-teacher. In Semester 1, the course explores ways to motivate both children and adults in language-learning, touching on the many teacher-roles available in the classroom: nurturer, organiser, friend, monitor, language-expert. For the role of organiser, you will learn what makes classroom-talk different from other interactions, and how to set clear and comprehensible tasks to language-learners. In semester 2 you will have the opportunity to visit a real classroom, to see how authentic teachers balance these skills and roles in their own work. You will also have a deeper dive specifically into the role of language-expert, learning how to explain meaning (of words and tenses) in a rigorous but stimulating way. On completion of the module, you will hopefully have the curiosity towards the language and the confidence needed for the second year of your BA English language journey, in which you will actually take on the role of the language teacher yourself. Overall, the course provides a solid foundation for anyone keen to travel overseas to work as an English language teacher, or for students interested in careers in primary education in the UK.