Expert in TEFL
(Teaching English
as a Foreign
Language)
Course programme January
through May 2020
Course coordinator
Yolanda Scott [email protected]
Note: You will be assigned a tutor and group that will remain the same for all your modules throughout the
course
Introduction
This course is aimed at language assistants interested in acquiring fundamental teaching knowledge and
skills for practical application in the classroom. The focus is on understanding and developing lesson
planning and basic teaching techniques at preschool, primary and secondary levels, as well as gaining
insight into classroom management and selection and design of appropriate materials and digital
resources.
Pre-course requirements
Students taking this course will not require any previous experience or professional development in
education.
Objectives
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles behind lesson planning and its practical
application in the language classroom.
2. Design, create and use lesson plans and specific learning resources and materials, appropriate
for their given context.
3. Analyse and demonstrate awareness of classroom management techniques and strategies.
4. Locate, identify and select appropriate resources and materials for application in their given
context.
5. Display evidence of reflection and analysis of the importance of incorporating ICT in the
classroom, as well as management of digital resources to create specific materials.
6. Demonstrate awareness of teaching methodologies through the design and creation of activities
and lesson plans.
7. Demonstrate ability to design appropriate tools for communication assessment and provide
appropriate strategies for improving student interaction in the language classroom.
8. Engage in critical thinking and demonstrate skills in reflective teaching practice.
9. Display evidence of self-reflection and observation in their given academic and professional
context.
10. Display capacity to identify and evidence knowledge of educational legislation and the curriculum
for their given academic context.
11. Demonstrate knowledge of and ability to constructively critique the school policy, hierarchies,
structures and interdepartmental relationships, and provide strategies and measures for
improving the teaching and learning process.
Course contents
Module 1: School English & Planning: How to lesson plan and Classroom management and motivation
Module 2: Resources for the English Classroom: Activities for the English classroom and Digital resources
Module 3: Teaching English Language Skills: Motivating communication and focussing on speaking and
Integrating language skills
Module 4: Practicum Final Report
General course calendar and contents
January 2020 – May 2020
Module 1: School English and Planning (25% of final grade)
Calendar: 17th January – 24th February
Activities and learning resources:
Introduction of the module, various reading materials, lesson planning, lesson
planning evaluation, reflective and practical application essay.
Note: The first assignment requires you to put your lesson plan into practice at
school and evaluate it!
Plus, two half hour group tutorials presenting assignment and outlining
evaluation criteria
Check Planning Calendar (on Moodle) for assignment deadlines and
weeks for tutorials.
Module 2: Resources for the English Classroom (25% of final grade)
Calendar: 25th February – 23rd March
Activities/learning resources:
Introduction of the module, various reading and instructional materials,
selection of resources, activity design, lesson planning, management of digital
resources to create materials, design and creation of a blog.
Plus, two half hour group tutorials presenting assignment and outlining
evaluation criteria
Check Planning Calendar (on Moodle) for assignment deadlines and
weeks for tutorials.
Module 3: Teaching English Language Skills (25% of final grade)
Calendar: 24th March – 30th April
Introduction of the module, instructional materials, research, design and
creation of tools to analyse student communication, activity design, lesson
planning.
Note: The first assignment requires you to put your evaluation tool into practice
at school for analysis!
Plus, two half hour group tutorials presenting assignment and outlining
evaluation criteria
Check Planning Calendar (on Moodle) for assignment deadlines and
weeks for tutorials.
Module 4: PRACTICUM FINAL REPORT (20% of final grade)
IMPORTANT: No late entries accepted
Plus, one final and obligatory group tutorial outlining evaluation criteria
Deadline 15th May
Credits: 7.5 ECTS (approx. 200 hours)
Evaluation systems and criteria
Continuous evaluation through assignments involving understanding theoretical underpinnings, research
and practical application in the classroom.
The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System forms part of the Bologna Process and allows
national education systems to be compared internationally, facilitating student movement between
countries and academic qualification recognition. Each ECTS requires 25-30 hours work. To read more
about the ECTS:
https://ec.europa.eu/education/resources-and-tools/european-credit-transfer-and-
accumulation-system-ects_en
An assessment rubric is provided for each assignment (on Moodle) which specifies the criteria and points
for each part. All tutors follow the same assessment guidelines.
Tutorial attendance has a 5% grading weight toward the final grade, dependent on having attended 5 of
the 6 tutorial sessions. If you do not attend a minimum of 5 tutorial sessions, you will not receive this 5% at
the end of the course. The Final Tutorial is obligatory.
Please note:
All modules need to be completed in order to pass the course
A deduction of 2 marks will be applied to late submissions of work (check with your tutor that a late
submission is possible!)
To pass the course, you need to achieve a minimum 60% pass mark on each module within the
course including the final report. Failure to do so will mean not receiving your certificate or the return
of your Meddeas deposit.
IMPORTANT: UIC University uses antiplagiarism software on all assignments. If plagiarism is detected,
you will automatically be suspended from the programme.
