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Evaluating TESOL Classroom Practice - EDU00084M

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  • Department: Education
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Andrzej Cirocki
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module summary

This module introduces a range of language teaching activities, materials and techniques and raises awareness of how a knowledge of methods and approaches can be used to plan lessons for specific contexts and groups of learners. Students will develop an understanding of lesson planning, task and materials design, techniques particularly useful for teaching of grammar and vocabulary and key aspects of classroom management.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Spring Term 2022-23

Module aims

  • To introduce a range of language teaching activities, materials and techniques
  • To raise awareness of how methods and approaches can be used to plan classes and stage activities
  • To develop an understanding of task design and the role of classroom management in staging language learning activities
  • To develop an understanding of task type and task design in language learning activities.

Module learning outcomes

Subject content

Students who complete the course successfully should be able to:

  • plan lessons using standard ESOL approaches;

  • carry out effective classroom management appropriate to varying teaching contexts;

  • design effective tasks, activities and exercises for specific groups of learners;

  • evaluate materials in relation to methodology and teaching context;

  • relate practical issues of classroom teaching to relevant research and literature on teaching methodology

Academic and graduate skills

  • Engage critically with academic and language teaching publications

  • Formulate critical and balanced arguments orally and in writing

  • Participate in groupwork and problem-solving activities

  • Undertake and report appropriately short, empirical data collection and analysis work

  • Demonstrate effective planning and time management

  • Word-process,, manage files, use e-mail, VLE and the Web

Module content

Course Details - (week by week)

Week 2: Describing Teaching Sequences

This session will introduce and demonstrate a number of approaches to describing and understanding lesson sequences. It will explore how approaches such as Presentation Practice Production and Task-Based Instruction differ in terms of these sequences, and provide insights into possible combinations of elements for teaching and learning.

Week 3: Evaluating Teaching Techniques

This session will provide demonstration and discussion of a number of important teaching techniques used to good effect over the years. These include ‘Total Physical Response’, oral language drilling, and the use of teaching aids and visuals.

Week 4: Teaching Grammar

This session will situate current practices in grammar teaching in terms of TESOL methods and approaches. It will demonstrate the differences between ‘deductive’ and ‘inductive’ approaches, introduce ‘consciousness raising’, reflect on the role of ‘practice’ in grammar teaching and look at how to carry out language analysis of form /meaning / use.

Week 5: Approaches to Pronunciation

This session will begin by exploring the problem of ‘whose’ pronunciation to teach, the role of ‘models’ and the implications of an English as a Lingua Franca approach. It then focuses on techniques and strategies for teaching pronunciation, including demonstrations of how to use the phonemic chart, minimal pair tasks etc. to focus on individual sounds, with other activities for connected speech, stress, intonation and word linking.

Week 6: Presenting and Teaching Vocabulary

The lexical approach and implications for teaching will be revisited before a range of methods and techniques for presenting new vocabulary are demonstrated. Ways of contextualising vocabulary will be considered, along with issues surrounding selection, practice recycling and testing.

Week 7: Classroom Management

The session will look at how teachers manage the teaching environment and the teaching process. Teacher roles in terms of setting up activities, grouping learners and managing interaction will be discussed, with a consideration of teacher language in the classroom; this will deal specifically with how teachers give and check instructions and elicit responses, and consider the use of L1 versus L2 in the classroom.

Week 8: Tasks, Activities and Exercises

Issues in the design of activities, tasks and exercises will be examined, with reference to examples from published coursebooks and home-grown materials. The questions of when and how to supplement coursebooks will be discussed, and there will be practice in designing instructional materials to teach receptive and productive skills.

Week 9: Lesson Planning

This session will pull together ideas from earlier sessions and focus on planning by looking at how to identify and write aims, and matching materials and aids to aims and the learner. In particular, it will provide a review of some aspects of teaching sequences, designing tasks and classroom management. A standard lesson plan format for the assignment will be presented and discussed.

Week 10: Dealing with Errors and Giving Feedback

This session focuses on techniques for error correction and it looks at ways in which teachers can give feedback. Various correction techniques for spoken errors will be presented and there will be a consideration of approaches to correcting written errors. Issues surrounding the assessment of grammatical accuracy in spoken and written work will also be addressed.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Lesson Plan and Commentary (3,500 words)		 N/A 100

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Lesson Plan and Commentary (3,500 words)		 N/A 100

Module feedback

Written feedback on assignment report sheet and face-to-face feedback in supervisions. The feedback is returned to students in line with university policy. Please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

Indicative reading

  • Batstone, R., & Ellis, R. (2009). Principled grammar teaching, System, 37(2), 94-204
  • Eales, F. (2006). Task-based learning. International House Trust Limited.
  • Harmer, J. (1998). How to teach English: An introduction to the practice of English language teaching.Harlow : Longman
  • Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching. Harlow: Longman.
  • Kelly, G. (2000). How to teach pronunciation. Harlow, Longman.
  • Larsen Freeman, D. (1986). Techniques and principles in language teaching, Oxford University Press.
  • McGrath, I. (2002). Materials evaluation and design for language teaching. Edinburgh University Press.
  • Nassaji, H., Fotos, S.(2004). Current Developments in Research on the Teaching of Grammar. ,Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24.(126-145)
  • Nunan, D.(1991). Language teaching methodology. Malaysia: Longman.
  • Nunan, D.(2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
  • Richards, J.C., Renandya, A. (2002). Methodology in English language teaching. Cambridge CUP
  • Scrivener, J. (1994). Learning teaching: a guidebook for English language teachers. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann.
  • Scrivener, J. Teaching English grammar: what to teach and how to teach it. Oxford. Macmillan.
  • Spratt, M.,Pulverness, A., & Williams, M.(2006). The TKT course: Teaching Knowledge Test. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
  • Thornbury, S. (1999). How to teach grammar. Harlow, Longman.
  • Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. Harlow, Longman.
  • Thornbury, S. (2005). How to teach speaking. Harlow, Longman.
  • Tomlinson, B. (2003). Developing materials for language teaching. Continuum.
  • Ur, P. (1999). A course in language teaching. Cambridge, CUP.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.