Course Description
This is one of a group of five courses that together lead to a Douglas College Certificate in Teaching and Tutoring English to Adult Speakers of Other Languages. Students learn the theory and practice of teaching aural and oral skills to adult learners. They learn how to structure listening and speaking activities and grade them to the level of the students, using resources. They learn about the major features of the English sound system and about how to apply that knowledge in the language classroom. They develop classroom management and communication skills necessary to plan and teach listening, speaking, and pronunciation to a specific group of adult English as an additional language (EAL) learners. The course is delivered in the hybrid format, with 2 hours/week in the classroom and 2 hours online.
Course Content
Teaching Listening Skills:
- principles for teaching listening
- using and adapting listening materials (textbook, music, video, podcast, etc.)
- stages in a listening lesson
- listening assessment
Teaching Speaking Skills:
- types of speaking tasks at various levels of proficiency
- teaching functions
- stages in a speaking lesson
- speaking feedback – responding to errors
- speaking assessment
- using speaking rubrics
Teaching Pronunciation Skills:
- the English sound system
- pronunciation features (segmentals and suprasegmentals)
- International Phonetic Alphabet
- common pronunciation issues
- using and adapting textbook and online resources to teach pronunciation
Learning Activities
This course is offered in the hybrid format. Some or all of the following methods will be used:
- lecture/demonstration, both in person and online
- large- and small-group discussion
- pair work
- microteaching to a small group of peers
Means of Assessment
Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. It will be based on learning outcomes and course content, and it will include, but need not be limited to, the following tasks:
- at least two in-class quizzes
- at least two listening, speaking, and/or pronunciation microteaching assignments
- at least one evaluation assignment of student listening, speaking, and/or pronunciation
Sample grade breakdown:
- In-class quizzes worth up to 30% (total)
- Listening, speaking, and/or pronunciation microteaching assignments worth up to 40% (total)
- Evaluation of student speaking, listening, and/or pronunciation skills assignment(s) worth up to 20%
- Participation worth up to 10%
- Total: 100%
Students in the program Teaching English as a Second Language are required to attain a minimum of 60% (C letter grade) in all courses.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- apply the basic theories of second language acquisition, the methodology, and approaches to teaching listening, speaking, and pronunciation skills to adult EAL learners.
- identify aspects of the sound system of English that are most critical for EAL learners to distinguish and acquire in order to understand spoken language and communicate clearly.
- select, adapt, and/or create appropriate resources for teaching aural and oral language skills to learners in different settings and at various skill levels.
- select and develop tasks for teaching EAL listening, speaking and pronunciation.
- respond to EAL learner speaking and pronunciation in appropriate and constructive ways.
- identify and use appropriate means of assessment to measure EAL learner progress in listening, speaking, and pronunciation.
Textbook Materials
A list of required and optional textbooks and materials will be provided for students at the beginning of the semester. Students may be required to purchase one or more of the following materials:
- coursepacks
- textbooks such as MacMillan’s Learning Teaching by Scrivener, Oxford’s Teaching American English Pronunciation by Avery & Ehrlich, or Pearson’s How to Teach Speaking by Thornbury.