Postgraduate Course: Second Language Teaching Curriculum (EDUA11257)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Overview of the TESOL curriculum; definitions and models, TESOL program evaluation, Needs analysis for TESOL
Goals and objectives, Syllabus
Methodology, materials, tasks, teaching and learning, Assessment
Ideology and values in curriculum development for TESOL
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| Course description |
In this course, we cover key trends , concepts & theories in the growing field of TESOL. However, we examine the field within the context of the curriculum. Teaching methods are often seen as the most important factor in ensuring the success of a programme, yet it is also essential to look at how the various factors in the teaching-learning process interact with each other.
In this course, we explore the different elements of the TESOL curriculum (needs analysis, syllabus, aims and objectives, methodology, assessment, evaluation) by addressing questions such as: Who are the learners? What are their needs? What education ideology influences the curriculum ¿ the purpose of learning? What about the organisational structure? The resources? The goals? The assessment? We will focus on the importance of understanding the context of the language programme, as well as the interactions between the different elements involved in the curriculum.
By taking a curriculum-based approach to language teaching, we will explore key issues and practices within language curriculum development in order to provide the basis for more effective planning and also decision making in language programme development, implementation, and review. The aim is to equip you with the ability to make a number of decisions regarding the curriculum (before, during and after teaching). We will work with a number of different curricula, including highly standardised national curricula and those that allow for more instructor or learner autonomy. We will also explore the number of factors that influence curriculum design and we will examine these through the course. There have been various changes in the field of TESOL over the years, and more recently in the pedagogical implications of the use of English as a global language, which has increased the complexity of curricula. We will explore curriculum innovation in light of these developments and how language educators/TESOL practitioners have attempted to accommodate new insights into language and into language learning.
The aim of this course is not to provide you with a curriculum model and we introduce different case studies to illustrate how curriculum design is approached in different contexts. Curriculum development is an essentially practical activity since it seeks to improve the quality of language teaching through the use of systematic planning, development, and review practices in all aspects of a language programme. Thus, we have incorporated case studies to enable you to critically examine them and to highlight some of the practical problems in language programme development.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
13/09/2021 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 8,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 16,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
There are two options: students choose one. For each option, there is a group presentation (maximum five students) and an individual assignment. Students should obtain an overall mark of over 40% with group presentation and the individual assignment combined; they do not need to pass both to pass the course.
Option 1 - Familiar teaching/learning context
Group presentation (40%)
Each student chooses one of the following areas and relates their input critically to curriculum theory, practice and recent research:
- Language teaching context of a school or university that they have learned or taught in.
- One element of the curriculum in that teaching context.
- How the one element relates to the other elements.
- Changes recommended.
- Evaluation of changes recommended.
Individual assignment (60%)
An essay based on the presentation (2,500 words), using the six topics covered there.
Option 2 - Scenario
Group presentation (40%)
Groups are given a choice of three second language teaching scenarios. Each student relates their input critically to curriculum theory, practice and recent research:
- Language teaching context of the scenario in terms of the elements of the curriculum.
- The most important element of the curriculum in that scenario.
- How the element relates to the other elements.
- Changes recommended.
- Evaluation of changes recommended.
Individual assignment (60%)
An essay based on the presentation (2,500 words), using the six topics covered there.
The mark awarded for this essay will be the total score for this course. |
| Feedback |
Formative
verbal - on workshop tasks in all workshops
verbal - on presentation practice in workshop immediately after practice
written - on presentation proper - on Turnitin
verbal feedforward - on assignment in final lecture
Summative
written - on assignment on Turnitin
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- analyse concepts and principles in TESOL curriculum development
- evaluate critically on the literature and research in TESOL curriculum development
- apply the concepts and research to familiar teaching learning contexts in TESOL, and to reflect critically on the curriculum you and others work with
- understand how all the elements of curriculum development fit together, to understand how elements which do not fit affect the curriculum as a whole, and to understand ways to repair the situation to make a harmonious whole
- understand how the elements of curriculum development in a particular teaching context fit together, and to make informed decisions as a teacher
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Reading List
Apple, M. (2004) Ideology and Curriculum. (3rd edn) London: Routledge Falmer.
Breen, M. and Littlejohn, A. (eds) (2000) Decision Making in the Classroom: Process Syllabus In Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Brown, J. (1995) The Elements of Language Curriculum: A Systematic Approach to Program Development. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
Burns, A. and Richards, J. (2012) The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy and Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cutting, J. (2015) Pragmatics. Oxford: Routledge.
Graves, K. (2000) Designing Language Courses: A Guide For Teachers. London: Newbury House.
Hedge, T. (2000) Language Learning in the Classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kelly, A. (2009) The Curriculum: Theory and Practice. London: Sage Publishers Limited.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (1994) The postmethod condition; e(merging) strategies for second / foreign language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 18(1), pp.27-48
Mickan, P. (2013) Language Curriculum Design and Socialisation. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Nation, I.S.P. and Macalister, J. (2010) Language Curriculum Design. Oxford: Routledge.
Nation, I.S.P. and Macalister, J. (2011) Case Studies in Language Curriculum Design: Concepts and Approaches in Action around the World. Oxford: Routledge.
Rea-Dickins, P. and Germaine K. (1992) Evaluation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Richards, J. (2001) Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Scrivener, J. (2005) Learning Teaching. Oxford: Macmillan ELT.
Spiro, J. (2013) Changing Methodologies in TESOL. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Stern, H. (1992) Issues and Options in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
West, R. (1994) Needs analysis in language teaching. Language Teaching , 27(1), pp.1-19.
Willis, J. (1996) A Framework for Task Based Learning. Harlow UK: Longman.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 8, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 16, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 ) |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Michael Orr
Tel: (0131 6)51 4878
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Moira Ross
Tel: (0131 6)51 6206
Email: |
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