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EBC International TEFL Certificate

COURSE CONTENT

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN DURING THE 4 WEEK COURSE

Introduction to TEFL

• Language analysis and usage
• EFL teaching theory and practical application
• Classroom management
• Lesson planning and evaluation

Learning versus teaching

• What's the difference?
• The learning cycle
• Types of students
• What teaching models have influenced current teaching practice?

The lesson structure

• How to present material
• How to present key points
• How to present explanations and instructions
• Guidelines on effectively presenting explanations and instructions

What do we know about language learning?

• What elements are necessary for language learning in a classroom?
• How to effectively use: engage, study and activate techniques in lesson sequences

Planning lessons and didactic material usage

• What are the aims of a plan?
• What should be in a plan?
• How to plan effective lessons
• Different lesson components explained
• How to select and order lesson components
• Lesson planning and management tips
• Sample lesson plans
• My lesson planning promise
• Effective use of didactic materials

What are the best kinds of lesson?

• How to evaluate lesson effectiveness
• How to define evaluation criteria

Classroom interaction

• Interaction, meaning and concepts
• Patterns of classroom interaction
• Social aspects of classroom interaction
• Initiation – response – feedback
• How to implement and use interactive teaching strategies

Asking questions

• Reasons for questioning
• How to construct effective questions
• How to successfully elicit answers
• How to concept check

Feedback

• What is feedback?
• Approaches to the nature and function of feedback
• How to correct mistakes
• How to tactfully deliver feedback

Testing and assessment

• Why test?
• The value of assessment and correction for learning
• How to construct successful and meaningful tests
• How to administer tests
• How to establish assessment reference criteria
• How to establish assessment grades

Classroom discipline, what to do if students:

• Keep using their own language
• Are uncooperative
• Don’t want to talk
• Sometimes don’t understand what they are listening to
• Groups finish before everybody else?

Teaching vocabulary

• How to present and explain new vocabulary
• Classroom activities that stimulate vocabulary use

How to teach grammar?

• Understanding grammar in general
• Understanding grammatical structures
• Understanding grammatical meaning
• How to present and explain new grammatical structures
• Classroom activities that stimulate grammar use

How to teach reading

• What is reading?
• How do we read?
• How to teaching reading
• What do reading activities look like?
• Classroom activities that stimulate reading

How to teach writing

• Why do we write?
• Differences between written and spoken text
• How to teaching writing
• What do writing activities look like?
• Classroom activities that stimulate writing

How to teach speaking

• How to practice oral fluency
• How and when to correct errors during fluency exercises
• How to resolve common speaking activities problems
• How to use role play and related techniques
• What do speaking activities look like?
• Classroom activities that stimulate speaking

How to teach listening

• What is really involved in real-life listening?
• Common attributes of real-life listening situations
• How to simulate real-life listening in the classroom
• What do listening activities look like?
• Classroom activities that stimulate listening

Student motivation and interest

• The importance of motivation
• Characteristics of motivated students
• Different kinds of motivation
• Fluctuations in student interest
• How to effectively use motivational techniques

How to teach pronunciation

• Long and short vowel sounds
• Diphthongs
• Different qualities of and pronunciation of vowels
• Plosive consonants
• Difficult sounds e.g. W, G, J. CH etc.
• Intonation and its effect on phrase/sentence meaning
• How stressed and unstressed syllables vary the rhythm of words and phrases

The teacher's behaviour, role and responsibility

• The characteristics of a good teacher
• How to communicate success and its rewards
• How to communicate failure and its penalties
• How to make authoritative demands
• How to structure teacher language
• How to manage teacher talking time (TTT) versus student talking time (STT)

How to perform concept checking

• What is concept checking?
• Vehicles for concept checking
• How to concept check vocabulary
• How to concept check grammar

What difference does age make to language learning?

• Is age a factor?
• Do children learn more quickly than adults?
• Basic ideas behind teaching children
• Basic ideas behind teaching adolescents
• Basic ideas behind teaching adults

Planning a syllabus

• What is a syllabus?
• Things to think about when planning a syllabus
• What does a student need to learn?
• Common characteristics of a syllabus
• Types of syllabuses
• Using the syllabus

ESP/Business English

• Defining ESP areas of specialisation
• Analysing needs
• English language teaching tree
• ESP teaching techniques