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is a Centre of
The College of Teachers
that offers accredited courses and abides by its Code of Practice.

Registered with the United Kingdom Register of Learning Providers. UKPRN: 10002273

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TESOL courses detailed syllabus

This page presents the detailed course syllabus. A brief summary overview is also available.

The TESOL-direct TESOL course is expected to provide 150 hours of study but you can work at your own pace.

Module 1

Unit 1 - Language Teaching, Language Learning

  • Introduction
  • Language Teaching
    • Grammar-Translation Method
    • The Direct Method
    • The Audio-lingual Method
    • The Functional Approach
    • The Communicative Approach
    • Task-based learning
    • Conclusions
  • Language Learning
    • Motivation
    • Language learning strategies
    • The 'good' learner
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 2 - Working in the Classroom

  • Introduction
  • Focus on the Teacher and Learner
    • 'Good' teachers
    • The students' and teacher's expectations
    • Interaction
    • Group work and pair work
  • Focus on the Classroom
    • Seating
    • Your resources
    • Displays
    • The class library
    • Gestures
    • A general pattern of learning
  • Focus on practical skills for the classroom
    • Giving instructions
    • Error correction in the classroom
    • Course books as a basis for your work
    • Board work
    • Useful teaching tips
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 3 - Language Awareness

  • Introduction
  • What is grammar?
  • Grammar in language learning
    • Learning the grammar of our native language
    • Thinking about grammar
  • The basic units of grammar
    • Linguistic levels
    • The structure of English sentences
    • Word classes
  • Analysing language
    • The form
    • The meaning
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 4 - Issues in Presenting Language

  • Introduction
  • When to present a new piece of language
    • Grading language
  • What to present
    • Content of presentations
    • Grammatical structures - form and meaning
  • How to present a new piece of language
    • The presentation stage of the lesson
    • Effective presentations
    • Techniques
    • Explanation
    • Elicitation
    • Discovery learning
  • Practical classroom techniques for presentations
  • Feedback on the tasks

Module 2

Unit 5 - Speaking

  • Introduction
  • Speaking and writing
    • The basic building blocks of speech
  • The sounds of English
  • The phonemic chart for English
    • The consonants
    • The vowels
    • The diphthongs
    • Word stress
    • Indicating stress
    • Stress rules for English
  • Elements in connected speech
    • Sentence stress
    • The features of connected speech
    • Intonation
  • Speaking in the classroom
    • Getting the students to talk
    • Give the students a reason to talk
    • Some points about pronunciation
    • Practice drills
    • Some more communicative activities
    • What is the teacher's role?
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 6 - Listening

  • Introduction
    • An important skill
    • Differences between listening and reading
  • There's listening, and then there's listening
    • Clues to understanding
    • Listening and responding
    • The objectives of a programme of listening practice
  • Characteristics of listening passages
    • Developing the sub-skills of listening
    • General listening
    • Listening for specific information
    • Listening for the message
    • Following instructions
    • Predicting
  • Methods of developing your students' listening skills
    • Questions and answers
    • Short dialogues
    • Short passages
    • Re-ordering information
    • Information transfer
    • Using humour to develop listening skills
    • Dictation
    • Jig-saw listening
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 7 - Reading

  • Introduction
    • Intensive and extensive reading
    • Attitudes to reading
    • Reading for a purpose
  • Reading skills
    • Skills related to understanding
  • Intensive reading
    • Before-reading activities
    • While-reading activities
  • Intensive reading: the class reader
    • Selecting the reader
    • Preparing to read
    • Who does the reading?
    • While-reading activities
  • Extensive reading - class library books
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 8 - Writing

  • Introduction
  • Types of writing
  • The mechanics of writing
    • Sentences and paragraphs
    • Punctuation
    • Spelling
  • Integrate the four language skills
  • Controlled and guided writing
    • Controlled writing practice
    • Guided writing practice
  • Marking
  • Feedback on the tasks

Module 3

Unit 9 - Lesson Planning

  • Introduction
    • Lesson planning and variety
  • Lesson headings
    • Lesson steps and lesson activities
    • How much time will planning take?
  • Sample lesson plans
    • Timing
  • Sitting down to plan
  • Other approaches to lesson planning
    • ARC
    • Task-Based Learning
  • Problems with PPP
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 10 - Teaching Vocabulary

  • Introduction
  • Focus on vocabulary
    • What is a word?
    • Selecting the vocabulary
    • Productive and receptive vocabulary
    • Idiom, metaphor and similes
    • Word formation
    • Words in context
    • Using dictionaries and keeping a vocabulary record
  • Focus on teaching vocabulary
  • Developing the students' vocabulary skills
  • Feedback on the tasks

Unit 11 - Practical Language Activities

  • Introduction
  • Word games and activities
  • Picture games
  • Group/class games
  • Role play
  • General activities

Unit 12 - Testing in the Classroom

  • Introduction
  • An introduction to testing
    • The environment
    • Why is the testing being conducted?
  • Test types
    • Formative tests
    • Summative tests
    • Norm-referenced and criteria-referenced tests
    • What language skills are being tested?
  • Getting the balance right
    • Objective and subjective questions
    • Correctness vs. appropriateness
  • Stages in the development of a test
  • Designing the questions
  • Testing vocabulary
  • Testing grammar
  • Testing writing
  • Testing reading comprehension
  • Testing speaking
  • Testing listening
  • Feedback on the tasks
  • Teaching around the world
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