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2021/2022

Teaching Methodology

Code: 100259 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500245 English Studies OT 3 0
2500245 English Studies OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Elisabet Pladevall Ballester
Email:
Elisabet.Pladevall@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)
Some groups entirely in English:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

Students should have passed Use of English 1 and 2 to register for the course.

The course requires an initial level of English of C2-Proficiency of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. With C2, students can understand almost everything they read or hear without effort; they can summarise information from different oral and written sources, reconstruct facts and arguments and present them in a coherent way; they can express themselves spontaneously, with fluency and precision, distinguishing subtle nuances of meaning even in the most complex situations.

Objectives and Contextualisation

This basically practical subject applies theories of Second Language Acquisition to the learning and teaching of foreign languages. It focuses on the knowledge and teaching techniques that an English language teacher needs to know. This applies to both general English teaching and teaching in more specific contexts. This subject complements another two courses called English LAnguage Acquisition and Individual Learning Factors.

By the end of the course students will:

- understand and critically analyse different teaching methododologies and theories of instructed second language acquisition.

- have mastered a set of teaching techniques

- be equipped to design teaching materials relevant to the four skills

- be able to critically evaluate published material.

Competences

    English Studies
  • Demonstrate a comprehension of the relationship between factors, processes and phenomena of linguistics, literature, history and culture, and explaining it.
  • Describe synchronously the main grammar units, constructions and phenomena of the English language.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Distinguish and contrast the various theoretical and methodological models applied to the study of the English language, its literature and its culture.
  • Generate innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activities.
  • Respect the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Using the acquired knowledge in order to solve problems related to any professional activity in the field of the English language, specially to the teaching.
  • Working in an autonomous and responsible way in a professional or research environment in English or other languages, in order to accomplish the previously set objectives.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply the acquired knowledge in order to improve the general knowledge of linguistic and cultural diversity.
  2. Apply the acquired knowledge to the generation of innovative and competitive research on a basic level.
  3. Applying the acquired methodologies of work planning to work in an environment in the English language.
  4. Applying the acquired scientific and work planning methodologies to the research in English.
  5. Applying the knowledge about language teaching as a context of learning and the types of discourse in the classroom from the communicative to the non-communicative aspects.
  6. Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
  7. Demonstrate a master of the specific methods of individual academic work that prepare the student for a postgraduate specialised education in the same or a different field of study.
  8. Describing the contemporary currents of teaching of languages.
  9. Designing educational activities in order to develop oral and written expression and comprehension, as well as to develop the grammar and lexical knowledge of students, selecting and adapting published educational resources and authentic material.
  10. Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  11. Generate strategies to facilitate the increase and improvement of mutual respect in multicultural environments.
  12. Mastering the advanced knowledge and scientific methodologies related to linguistics, literature, history and culture that prepare the student for a postgraduate specialised education in the same or a different field of study.
  13. Organising the teaching in situations where languages are being used with certain aims.
  14. Planning the teaching unit: establishing the linguistic and communicative teaching objectives of every unit, selecting the educational resources and most appropriate activities, and establishing the organizational patterns in every unit.
  15. Produce new professional initiatives.
  16. Properly analysing and using both published and authentic educational material in order to complement class activities.
  17. Recognising the nature of errors and applying the different oral and written correction techniques, adapting them to every task carried out by the student.
  18. Relating the individual factors with the linguistic and psychological theories of first and second languages.
  19. Students must analyse the nature of the acquisition of every receptive and productive skill, and the learning of grammar and vocabulary.
  20. Students must be capable of comprehending advanced academic or professional texts in their own language or the another acquired in the degree.
  21. Students must be capable of precisely arguing ideas and opinions in their own language or another acquired in the degree.
  22. Using techniques to present and practice languages, integrating formal (grammar, vocabulary) and functional aspects (communicative purposes).

Content

Instructed Second Language Acquisition (implicit and explicit knowledge, focus on form and focus on meaning)

Language teaching methodologies.

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)

The learner: young learners, adults, primary and secondary learners. Individual differences in foreign language learning.

The teacher

Material design and lesson planning.

Methodology

The following teaching methods will be used:

Guided activities (Theoretical and practical sessions)
- Lectures with ICT support and class discussion.
- Practical exercises.

Supervised activities (tutorial sessions and oral presentations)
- Tutorial sessions to provide feedback on course assignments.
- Teaching unit preparation and presentation (microteaching).

Autonomous activities (Read and study time, online activities and course assignments)
- Reading selected bibliography.
- Individual and groups assignments and projects.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures with ICT support 25 1 16
Practical exercises and class discussions 25 1 16, 3, 4, 2, 21, 20, 9, 22
Type: Supervised      
Teaching unit preparation and presentation (microteaching) 15 0.6 3, 21, 9, 22
Tutorial sessions 10 0.4 20, 22
Type: Autonomous      
Read and study time, course assignments 50 2 16, 3, 4, 2, 21, 20, 9, 15, 22

Assessment

Assignment 1 (Critical review): 15%

Assignment 2 (Classroom observation): 15%

Lesson planning and microteaching: 35%

Final exam: 35%

Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 40% of the assessment items.

The level of English (C2) will be taken into account in the correction of written work and in the final evaluation.

Procedure for reviewing grades awarded

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

Reassessment

Only those students who have handed in all assessment activities, have obtained a final mark higher than 3,5 and have passed 50% of the course will be elligible for reassessment. The teacher will determine which items need to be reassessed. Students are not allowed to sit reassessment to improve their marks.

The maximum mark a student can obtain in reassessment is a 5.

Please note:

VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered "fail" (0) for the whole course, not only for the plagiarized item. Plagiarism is copying one or more sentences from unidentified sources, presenting it as original work (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATION TO A TEXT WHICH IS PRESENTED AS ORIGINAL). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students must learn to respect the intellectual property of others, identifying any source they may use, and take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of the texts they produce.<spanstyle="font-size: small;">

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero forthis activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Assignment 1: Critical review 15% 5 0.2 16, 19, 3, 4, 5, 2, 1, 21, 20, 12, 7, 8, 9, 10, 6, 15, 17, 22
Assignment 2: Classroom observation 15% 5 0.2 16, 19, 3, 4, 5, 2, 1, 21, 20, 12, 7, 8, 9, 10, 6, 15, 17, 22
Final exam 35% 2 0.08 16, 19, 3, 4, 5, 2, 1, 21, 20, 12, 7, 8, 9, 10, 6, 15, 17, 18, 22
Lesson planning and presentation (microteaching) 35% 13 0.52 16, 19, 3, 4, 5, 2, 1, 21, 20, 12, 7, 8, 9, 10, 6, 11, 15, 13, 14, 17, 22

Bibliography

Benati, Alessando (2013). Issues in Second Language Teaching. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Ltd.

Celce-Murcia, Marianne (2001). Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3rd edition) Heinle & Heinle.

De Graaf, Rick and Alex Housen (2009). Investigating the Effects and Effectiveness of L2 Instruction. In M. H. Long and C. Doughty (eds.) The Handbook of Language Teaching (pp. 726-755). Oxford: Blackwell.

Ellis, Rod (1999). Learning a Second Language Through Interaction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Ellis, Rod (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ellis, Rod (2008). Principles of Instructed second language acquisition. CAL Digest, available at http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/instructed2ndlang.html

Ellis, Rod (2009). Task-based language teaching: sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246.

Harmer, Jeremy  (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4th ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.

Harmer, Jeremy (2007). How to Teach English. New Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Hedge, Tricia (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. Oxford:Oxford University Press

Hughes, Glyn, Josephine Moate and Tiina Raakitainen (2007). Practical Classroom English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Larsen-Freeman, Diane and Marti Andreson (2011). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP.

Lightbown, Patsy and Spada, Nina (2006). How Languages are Learned. 3rd Edition.Cambridge: CUP.

Loewen, Shawn (2015). Introduction to Instructed Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge.

Long, Mike(2015) Second Language Acquisition and Task-Based Language Teaching. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.

Richards, Jack C. and Willy A. Renandya (eds.) (2002). Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Richards, Jack C. and Theodore Rodgers (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (Second Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Scrivener, Jim (2005). Learning Teaching (2nd Edition) London:Macmillan

Spada, Nina (1997). Form-focused instruction and second language acquisition: A review of classroom and laboratory research. Language Teaching Abstracts, 30,73-87

Willis, Jane (1996). A Framework for Task-based Learning. Essex: Addison Wesley Longman.

Willis, Dave & Willis, Jane (2007). Doing Task-Based Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Software

Not applicable.