Description
Students used to traditional methods in language teaching quickly become bored and disconnected, don’t you agree?
This TFL course has been created for language teachers who want to learn more about effective student-centered teaching methods and develop their knowledge about current language teaching approaches.
Participants will learn more about incorporating Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methodology into their lessons and participate in the sharing of best practices.
Emphasis will be placed on Task-Based Learning (TBL), Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and/vs. Content-Based Instruction (CBI).
Participants will also discuss the use of authentic materials and realia, the roles of students and teachers in learning, effective pair and group work, pronunciation activities, contextualized grammar teaching, constructive error correction, and the best ways to provide feedback. They will also be given ideas for continuing their professional development after the course.
By the end of the course, participants will have gained important competencies in how to maintain student motivation and learned how to create and maintain an effective language learning environment in their classroom.
Learning outcomes
The course will help the participants to:
- Involve their learners through a variety of tasks that encourage active participation and engagement from everyone in class;
- Design engaging activities following approaches and methods such as Communicative Language Teaching, Task-Based Learning, and Content and Language Integrated Learning;
- Incorporate games and the use of authentic materials into their lessons;
- Gain useful skills for creating an effective (and fun) learning environment when teaching both content and language;
- Feel more confident, creative, and inspired in their classroom;
- Discover new formulas and tips for maintaining student motivation in language learning.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Introduction to the course
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools.
Student-Centered Learning for language teachers
- Teacher (and Student) Responsibilities;
- Engaging learners in a Student-Centered classroom;
- Journal Reflection.
Day 2 – Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
- Is your classroom communicative and interactive enough?
- Motivating and communicative activities;
- Communicative Competence: fluency vs. accuracy;
- Teaching grammar through contexts (situations, scenarios, and events).
Day 3 – Task-Based Learning (TBL)
- Authentic Materials and Realia;
- How to incorporate listening and reading texts along with objects from the real world of native speakers;
- Task-Based Learning (TBL): What can your learners design, create and produce?
- The TBL Framework;
- Presentations and Feedback.
Day 4 – Content-Based Instruction (CBI) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
- The basics of Content-Based Instruction (CBI)
- Content-Based Instruction (CBI) versus Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
- How to create a CBI or CLIL lesson or unit integrating all four skills;
- Dealing with classroom scenarios;
- How to correct students’ errors in output (writing and speaking).
Day 5 – Providing feedback
- Providing learners with feedback;
- Receiving feedback;
- Teaching Pronunciation through innovative language rhythms and other relevant options;
- Pursuing Professional Development;
- Peer Observation.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.