http://umbc.uoregon.

edu/eteacher/

METHODS COURSE 1: SURVEY OF BEST PRACTICES

IN TESOL
Course Syllabus

Course Description
This course is designed to provide participants with current methodologies associated with
teaching English language learners (ELLs) of different ages in various learning contexts.
Participants will discuss and practice a wide variety of strategies and techniques for teaching
English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). While exploring best practices for teaching
listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including grammar and vocabulary, participants learn
how to create an effective and communicative language classroom for all ELLs. In addition,
participants will examine what best practices means in the context of teaching English in the
21st century, where English is an international language and the use of English incorporates
modern technologies.

Course Objectives
By the end of this TESOL training course, participants should be able to:
1. Become familiar with both traditional and modern second language teaching
methods.
2. Become aware of the significance of teaching English as an international language
3. Explore the possibilities for utilizing available technologies to enhance teaching and
learning.
4. Explore the fundamental principles for teaching listening, speaking, reading, writing,
vocabulary, and grammar in an ESOL classroom.
5. Examine the processes of language and literacy development in a communicative
language classroom.
6. Develop ESL/EFL activities and clearly sequenced lesson plans that demonstrate best
practices in TESOL.
7. Develop and practice language teaching and classroom management techniques for
teaching EFL to learners of all ages.
8. Develop themselves professionally in the field of TESOL by participating in a virtual
community of practice and preparing materials to share in their local community of
professionals.

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

Course Requirements
Course participants will be required to:
 Read assigned texts, submit weekly essays, and post messages that demonstrate
understanding of key concepts.
 Implement approaches and techniques learned in each module and share activities and
reflections on the implementation of these activities in whole group and small group
discussions
 Complete a peer observation in an EFL class, and write a reflective paper on the
experience.
 Submit a course portfolio that includes electronic copies of course work: three self-
selected discussion board posts from each unit, four evaluated reflective essays, and the
evaluated peer observation report.
 Develop a training/action plan for other TESOL professionals

Evaluation Standards
Course requirements are weighted out of 100% as follows:

20% Online Class Participation At least 3 posts weekly

20% 4 Reflective Essays Due as assigned
2 Discussion Board
20% Collaborative Small Group Units 7 & 9
Projects 1 & 2 (10% each)
10% Peer Observation Due: Feb. 8
15% Comprehensive Narrative Due: March 14
15% Action Plan Due: March 21

Successful completion of the course entails a minimum of a C.

A 100 – 90 This class is Pass/No Pass. Participants will

B 89 – 80 receive a final numeric score (maximum =
C 79 – 70 100%) at the end of the course. Participants
F 69 – below with a final score of 70% or higher will pass the
course.

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

Academic Integrity
Course participants are expected to comply with the UMBC Policy on academic integrity. Class
work that does not comply with this policy will be rejected. Below is an extract from the online
UMBC statement on academic honesty.

More information is available at http://www.umbc.edu/provost/integrity/Honorcode.htm that

will help you understand this policy: “By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the
responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC’s scholarly community in which everyone’s
academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating,
fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic
dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action that
may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal.”

E-Teacher Scholarship Policy: There is zero tolerance for plagiarized (copied) work of any kind.
Participants will not receive credit toward passing the course on work which has been
plagiarized. This includes discussion postings as well. For information on acceptable quotation
practices, see Quotations, Paraphrases and Summaries from The OWL at Purdue (OWL = Online
Writing Lab). For further information access the E-Teacher website:
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/courses.html

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

Course Requirements
The following items give you more details about all the assignments and requirements for this
course. You will receive more information about each one as they are assigned in the units.
They are assigned in the appropriate unit of instruction. Please read the information below for
a quick overview of what will be expected of you in the next ten weeks .

Online Class Participation

Discussion Board (20% 0f the course grade)
Participation in the discussion board is critical to help you, among other things, think about
relevant issues presented in the readings, share opinions with colleagues, challenge and be
challenged, show how you can support an argument, and get the most from the course. In
order to participate in the discussion board, you must have read the weekly assignments.
When participating in the discussion board, keep the following ideas in mind:
- Its main purpose is to encourage interaction in the group.
- Each week you are expected to post at a minimum 3 times each week. Please note there
is no limitation to exceeding three discussion posts!
- Discussion board moderators will be assigned by the instructor every week. The
moderators will propose the main topics to discuss during the week, in relation to
the themes, reading assignments and tasks, and will ensure that there is enough
depth of discussion on the proposed topics. If needed, they may propose new
questions to enrich the discussions within the themes presented each week.
Moderators ensure that everyone participates and that nobody monopolizes the
discussions. One of the moderators will summarize the main conclusions reached by
the group at the end of each week.

Beginning with Unit 2, course participants will begin as discussion board moderators. The roles
for these moderators are named starter and wrapper. Discussion board starters will post
questions (in blue) to the group and reply to classmates' responses. Discussion board wrappers
will post wrap-up questions (in green) to the group which offers closure to the unit discussion,
and they will also reply to classmates' responses. Participants will respond to the discussion
board moderators' questions and select any other classmates' messages of their choice to reply
to. This will be modeled in unit 1 by your course instructor.

Deadline for initial two posts: Sunday midnight EST (Eastern Standard Time. These posts should
be a response to the discussion board moderator's (starter) question(s). Deadline for final
posts: Thursday midnight EST. Post at least two more responses to your classmates' posts to
further the starter or wrapper discussions.

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

Individual participation on the discussion board, will be monitored weekly, and weekly
discussion board grades will be posted to Grade Center using the Discussion Board rubric
posted in the Course Materials tab under Rubrics. See also Unit 1, Discussion Board Portfolio
assignment.

Final Note
Instructors receive weekly discussion board reports detailing student participation. Students
who are not regularly engaged in the course risk successful completion of the course. Regular
on-line discussion is a standard interactive component for distance learning environments and
is imperative to measure participants’ comprehension and performance.

Small Group Collaborative Discussion Boards

Units 7 and 9 will be Small Group Collaborative Discussions Boards. Participants will work in
randomly selected small groups for unit topic discussion and small group collaboration.

This type of collaboration is a dynamic form of interaction that requires team work and
professional collaboration. Each of the two unit discussions will be topic specific and each unit
will have a different collaborative project.

Reflective Essay Assignments

Essay topics are assigned in Units 3, 5, 6, and 8. The four essay assignments should be
submitted into the Blackboard submission link as an uploaded word document located in each
of the units listed above, Wednesday, by midnight EST (Eastern Standard Time). The following
is a listing of reflective essays and the corresponding unit:

 Reflective Essay #1: Unit 3 Instructional Practices for Teaching Listening and Speaking,
due: Feb. 1

 Reflective Essay #2: Unit 5 Instructional Strategies for Teaching Reading and Writing,
due: Feb. 15

 Reflective Essay # 3: Unit 6 Instructional Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary and

Grammar, due: Feb. 22

 Reflective Essay #4: Unit 8 Learning Styles and Learning Strategies for ELLs, due: Mar. 7
*Please feel refer to the Weekly Course Schedule with Assignment Due Dates, handout, in the
course Materials tab

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

The essays should reflect your understanding of the main themes discussed during the week
from the course unit content and require you to apply theoretical concepts and unit
discussions as they relate to your particular ELT context. Please read carefully in Unit one the
Reflective Essay Rubric prior to writing your first essay.

1. Remember you are writing an essay including an introduction paragraph with thesis,
body paragraphs with support from your experiences and quotes/paraphrases (from the
unit lectures, readings, handouts) conclusion paragraph. It is customary to have no
more than two citations per body paragraphs to use as support for your main points.

2. Use APA citation format for quotes and paraphrases. If you’re not sure (or need to
review) here are some helpful websites:

a. http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/apa.php
b. http://www.library.ubc.ca/ubco/apastyle.html
c. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01

Additional Assignments

These three assignments are due at midnight EST on the due date listed below. Please note
these three assignments together count for 40% of your grade.

 Peer Observation Report, (POR), due: Wed., Feb. 8, 2012

Complete peer observation in an EFL class taught by one of your colleagues, and write a
reflective paper (1-2 pages, double spaced) on the experience. Ideally, you should have a
pre-observation discussion prior. If this is not possible, ask the teacher for the
lesson plan before the class and keep notes during the observation on the Peer
Observation Worksheet. Ideally, after the class is over, you should discuss the experience
with the teacher and get his/her perspective on how the class went. Finally, you will write
up your Peer Observation Report and submit your Peer Observation Worksheet for your
description about what you learned through the experience.

Note: This assignment will help you deepen your understanding of ELT classroom
practices, the importance of lesson planning, and the challenges implementing a lesson.
This experience will also help you to develop an understanding of how observing a
colleague in the field can encourage reflection of your own classroom practices.

Remember to emphasize that you are not evaluating your colleague’s performance but
observation of the class as a whole in conjunction with what you are learning in Methods
I: Survey of Best Practices in TESOL.

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

 Comprehensive Narrative, due: Wed., March 14, 2012

One definition of a portfolio is "a container that holds evidence of an individual's

professional skills, ideas, interests, and accomplishments." In this course you will develop a
course portfolio that includes your four reflective essays, assignments, and unit discussion
board collaborations and with colleagues and instructor as part of your participation in the
E-Teacher Scholarship Program, Methods I. This final narrative essay will explore how your
understanding of Methods and Best Practices for TESOL along your teaching practices have
changed or been enhanced by your work in this course.

 Action Plan, (AP), due: Wed., March 21, 2012

Prepare a training/action plan for other TESOL professionals. The training/action plan
should present one aspect of EFL learned from this course to an audience of EFL
professionals or administrators in your country or region. A PowerPoint presentation and
handouts should be prepared for a training session with a brief explanation of the context
for the training.

Note: The last two assignments, the Course Portfolio and AP, are the culmination of the
whole course. They should show your ability to synthesize everything you’ve read, shared,
and learned from this course, and how you plan to apply your knowledge to your specific
English teaching situation. Before you turn them in, please share your portfolio and
training action plan with a colleague for some feedback.

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

COURSE UNITS

Unit 1: Jan. 12 –Jan. 18

Teaching English as an International Language (TEIL) in the 21st Century The purpose
of this unit is to introduce participants to the course and to the field of TESOL and to consider
the notion that English is rapidly assuming the role of an International Language. An important
concept in teaching EIL is for learners to reflect on their own culture in the process of trying to
understand other cultures and communicate their ideas and cultures to others. Since in
teaching language we also teach culture, the question of which culture to teach and how to
teach it raises several important issues to be considered in the design of EIL activities and
materials. Parallel to this change, the role of the non-native English speaker teachers (NNESTs)
will be explored.

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to:

1. Describe what is meant by EIL

2. Explore the link between culture and an international language
3. Explain the different levels of culture that can be included in teaching materials
4. Develop activities and materials appropriate to your teaching situation
5. Discuss the implications and future role of the NNEST in the English classroom

Unit 2: Jan. 19 – Jan. 25

Second Language Teaching Methods
The purpose of this unit is to introduce participants to the various approaches and methods
used to teach English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) throughout time. It will show
how different perceptions on learning, language acquisition, and the nature of language
affected the approaches taken in the classroom. Three of the most prominent methods of the
20th century will be highlighted and their characteristics analyzed. In addition, principles of
language teaching and learning will be presented to better inform your instructional situation.

Objectives:
At the end of this class, the participants should be able to:

1. give a brief overview of the history of language teaching methods

2. explain the basic aspects of GT, ALM, and CLT
3. assess the use of methods in the EFL classroom
4. connect the use of methods to their teaching

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

5. explain the importance of studying traditional and current language teaching methods
and approaches.
6. integrate Brown’s principles in current language teaching methods and approaches.

Unit 3: Jan. 26 – Feb. 1

Instructional Strategies for Teaching Listening and Speaking
The purpose of this unit is to look at some basic principles behind the teaching of listening and
speaking and to explore the natural relationships between them. The unit will discuss effective
instructional strategies for teaching aural and oral skills as well as aspects of pronunciation
work and error correction while building communicative abilities of students. Participants will
also look at ways to make input comprehensible and develop students’ oral proficiency through
activities that promote speaking in the foreign/second language classroom

Objectives:
At the end of this class, participants should be able to:

1. describe the ways in which we communicate orally and the different skills involved with
listening and speaking
2. discuss ways in which the teacher can make listening input comprehensible as well as
how to check comprehension through various techniques
3. explain ways to develop oral proficiency in the classroom
4. describe the rationale behind the use of interactive and cooperative activities to
promote oral communication inside and outside the classroom for study, work, or
leisure
5. integrate effective ways to teach vocabulary and pronunciation through speaking
activities
6. discuss ideas for error correction of students’ spoken language

Unit 4: Feb. 2 – Feb. 8

Increasing Classroom Interaction
The focus of this unit involves increasing classroom interaction. Collaborative and cooperative
learning techniques encourage student pair work and group work while activating creative and
critical thinking skills. Students, guided by clear objectives, engage in activities and language
learning strategies that lead toward a student-centered learning environment. Student-
centered learning environments allow for inquiry-based learning which affords a way to
construct student understanding and knowledge of the world. Through use and development
of effective classroom interaction techniques, students will be able to question themselves
(their prior knowledge and ideas), support/debate their ideas, hypothesize, real-world problem
solve, and reflect on their experiences in the context of a safe, well designed learning
environment.

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to:

1. incorporating critical thinking approaches for whole class, small group, and pair work
2. develop collaborative and cooperative learning techniques;
3. engage students actively in classroom activities
4. review lesson content (stories, characters, vocabulary) in an enjoyable way
5. provide opportunities for authentic communication
6. create classroom tasks which promote interesting student-centered discussions
7. model appropriate classroom language needed for successful small group work and pair
work

Unit 5: Feb. 9 – Feb 15

Instructional Strategies for Teaching Reading and Writing
The purpose of this unit is to look at some basic principles of teaching reading and writing. This
unit will explore ways of developing reading comprehension skills, and then writing skills and
the connection between the two. Extensive and intensive reading strategies will be examined
as well as interactive reading processes to arrive at comprehension. Like reading, writing is an
active process of meaning construction between reading and writer requiring the writer to
create context and grammatically complete sentences with clear messages through the
language itself. Teaching procedures, writing processes, feedback and error correction will be
addressed.

Objectives
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to

1. recognize the difference between intensive and extensive reading and the role of
accuracy and fluency
2. guide students in using bottom-up and top-down reading processes
3. describe reading strategies to help make reading input comprehensible as well as
motivating
4. classify writing activities in textbooks
5. explain the function of product vs. process in writing
6. discuss the central role of feedback in writing

Unit 6: Feb 16 – Feb. 22

Instructional Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary and Grammar
This focus of this unit is on effective instructional strategies for Vocabulary and Grammar
acquisition. The role of vocabulary development for L2 learning has grown in recent years with

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

research investigating how L2 learners acquire lexical competence. At the center of this
discussion is whether vocabulary learning should focus on implicit or explicit learning.

Similarly, a major topic addressed in teaching grammar centers on implicit and explicit learning.
Theoretical frameworks regarding focus on grammatical forms and focus on use are analyzed
and discussed in their relation to Communicative Language Teaching.

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to:

1. explain the basic approaches to teaching grammar and vocabulary

2. give a description of various instructional techniques for teaching grammar and
vocabulary
3. analyze the effectiveness and appropriateness of various techniques
4. explain how to teach grammar and vocabulary in context
5. connect the use of grammar and vocabulary techniques to their own teaching

Unit 7: Feb. 23 – Feb. 29

Effective Lesson Planning within a Communicative Curriculum
The purpose of this unit is to provide participants with an overview of the basic principles of
lesson planning. It will focus on the daily decisions a teacher makes for the successful outcome
of a lesson with practical suggestions of how to plan a lesson. What to teach, how to teach, who
are my learners, and how will I assess their learning will be examined.

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to:

1. identify the main components of an English language lesson plan

2. design a collaborative lesson plan that includes the following steps: warm-up,
presentation, practice, and evaluation
3. sequence activities in a lesson to make for smooth transitions and flow
4. use action verbs to write lesson objectives
5. evaluate the effectiveness of a lesson
6. give feedback and make suggestions to teachers on ways to improve their lesson plans
and lesson delivery

Unit 8: Mar. 1 – Mar. 7

Learning Styles and Strategies

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

The purpose of this unit is to understand that language learners bring different learning style
preferences to the language classroom. Learning Styles are individually based and often
culturally influenced. Different EFL learning activities may be approached in different ways

allowing for the use of more than one learning style for a given task. Learning Strategies are
specific means that learners use to learn. Discussion includes the general learning strategies for
second language learners in academic contexts which fall into the following three categories:
metacognitive, social/affective, and cognitive. Types of strategies for each category are
discussed as well as the function of each strategy.

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to:

1. provide a definition of a learning style and learning strategy

2. clarify the difference between learning styles and strategies
3. explain why learning styles and strategies are important considerations in EFL
4. identify some major learning styles and learning strategies
5. employ learning styles and strategies to your own lesson plans
6. analyze important features of your own learning style profile
7. reflect upon your current teaching style and the implications for adapting/adding
strategies to your own teaching style

Unit 9: Mar. 8 – Mar. 14

Classroom Management for Different Classroom Settings
This unit will focus on the pedagogical techniques for teaching EFL in large classes and the
deliberate teacher behaviors that maximize learning. Classroom learning systems that have
clear routines, expectations, and organized physical settings enable students to know what is
expected of them. A discipline management system is a classroom management practice that is
consistent, fair, clearly outlines teacher expectations and provides negative consequences for
negative behavior. Managing a large class depends more on classroom management practices
and pedagogical planning than a particular method or approach to teaching.

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to:

1. divide a large class into two or three groups or learning centers

2. develop an effective classroom management system
3. establish classroom roles for teacher and student roles

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.
http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/

4. rotate student groups

5. design student leader role for small group learning
6. monitoring classroom interactions and behaviors

Unit 10: Mar. 15 – March 21

Beyond This Course
This unit is a time for reflection on what was learned during the past 10 weeks and how this will
affect our future beyond the course. One way of doing this is through reflective teaching, which
will help us to become more aware of how we teach, the kinds of decisions we make as we
teach, and the value and consequences of particular instructional decisions we make. Not only
must we think about what happens in the classroom, both in terms of the teaching itself, and
the learner response, we must also try to improve it. To bring us full circle from the first unit in
the course is the peer observation you conducted. This provided you with an opportunity to be
exposed to different teaching styles, as well as an opportunity to gain insights into one’s own
teaching. Participants will share their differentiated lesson plans and their training/action plans
with each other.

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, participants should be able to:

1. reflect on what was learned during the course and write about how it will affect their
future work in EFL
2. explore the role of reflection in quality teaching
3. describe the decisions or choices teachers make: planning, interactive, evaluative that
affect the quality of instruction
4. apply reflective teaching characteristics to sound reflective practices in and out of the
English language teaching classroom
5. complete a training/action plan that applies approaches and techniques learned
throughout the course

The E-Teacher Scholarship Program is a cooperative grant agreement between the U.S.
Department of State ECA/A/L; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the
University of Oregon.