Teach English Now! Theories of Second Language Acquisition

Arizona State University via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Free Online Course (Audit)
Languages

English
Certificate

Paid Certificate Available
Duration & workload

14 hours 3 minutes
Sessions

On-Demand
Subtitles

Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, English, Spanish, Thai, Indonesian, Turkish, Kazakh, Hindi, Swedish, Korean, Greek, Chinese, Ukrainian, Japanese, Polish, Dutch, Hungarian, Bengali, Pashto, Urdu, Azerbaijani, Farsi

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Overview

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In this course learners are introduced to second or foreign language theories and practices for teaching and assessing listening, speaking, and pronunciation. Learners will also be introduced to basic studies in second language acquisition and their pedagogical implications. Teachers will be invited to recognize the importance of grounding their own teaching philosophy through an examination of purpose, content, and technique.

Syllabus

The Swing of the Pendulum: A Brief Look at ESL History

In this course, learners are introduced to second or foreign language theories and practices for teaching and assessing English. Learners will also be introduced to basic studies in second language acquisition and their pedagogical implications. Teachers will be invited to recognize the importance of grounding their own teaching philosophy through an examination of purpose, content, and technique. In Week 1, learners are introduced to the concepts of purpose, content, and technique as they relate to language teaching, and to some of the themes that will be repeated throughout the course, such as the time machine analogy and the angel and devil debates.

A Study in Contrasts: The Grammar Translation and Direct Approach

Learners go back in time to visit 1880 and 1910 to speak with teachers from the Grammar Translation and the Direct approaches. In our “Angel and Devil Debate” videos, learners will examine each approach from different points of view and decide for themselves which they agree with, if any. Finally, learners will be introduced to a variety of teaching methods that are derived from the Grammar Translation and the Direct approaches.

A Study in Contrasts: The Reading and Audiolingual Approach

Learners go back in time to visit 1930 and 1940 to speak with teachers from the Reading and the Audio-lingual approaches. In our “Angel and Devil Debate” videos, learners will examine each approach from different points of view and decide for themselves which they agree with, if any. Finally, learners will be introduced to a variety of teaching methods that are derived from the Reading and the Audio-lingual approaches.

A Study in Contrasts: The Cognitive and Affective-Humanistic Approach

Learners go back in time to visit 1960 and 1970 to speak with experts from the Cognitive and the Affective-Humanistic approaches. In our “Angel and Devil Debate” videos, learners will examine each approach from different points of view and decide for themselves which they agree with, if any. Finally, learners will be introduced to a variety of teaching methods that are derived from the Cognitive and the Affective-Humanistic approaches.

A Study in Similarities: The Comprehension and Communicative Approach

Learners go back in time to visit the 1980s twice to speak with teachers from the Comprehension and the Communicative approaches. In our “Angel and Devil Debate” videos, learners will examine each approach from different points of view and decide for themselves which they agree with, if any. Finally, learners will be introduced to a variety of teaching methods that are derived from the Comprehension and the Communicative approaches.

Assessment

Each of the eight approaches covered in Weeks 2 – 5 will be summarized in preparation for the final quiz. Learners will have the opportunity to look at their graphic organizer and fill in any missing pieces of information as they review the principles taught in the previous weeks.

Taught by

Dr. Justin Shewell and Dr. Shane Dixon

Reviews

4.7 rating, based on 7 Class Central reviews

4.9 rating at Coursera based on 7177 ratings

Start your review of Teach English Now! Theories of Second Language Acquisition

Bonny

An exceptional course; one of the best I've taken. Well laid out and interesting, full of information any teacher (language or otherwise) will find useful. Some of the comments on Coursera found some of the 're-enactments' in poor taste, and I c…

An exceptional course; one of the best I've taken.

Well laid out and interesting, full of information any teacher (language or otherwise) will find useful.

Some of the comments on Coursera found some of the 're-enactments' in poor taste, and I can understand why if they didn't understand the purpose of the materials. Nutshell, the instructors tried their hand at acting, pretending to be the people we learned about, as if we were students in a TESOL version of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (so, time travel to learn directly from these people we study).

Unfortunately, some of the time periods weren't... Let's say sensitive to women in education, or those not seated in the upper class. While it can seem a bit off today, it's a fair assessment of how things were - when learning history, it's not always great or admirable. I suspect, as with the other courses in this series, many of the learners are teaching languages other than English, and the 'acting' doesn't translate well.

Some things to note:

The course isn't updated often, and some quiz questions just don't match the curriculum. If in doubt, head to the forums.

Most learners in my cohort were not native English speakers. I loved that the course offers this flexibility, even though it's called TESOL. However, it made some peer reviews tricky, going both ways.

On the subject of peer review... Coursera needs to figure out a new system for peer review, as I needed to beg in the forums every week to find people to review my work so I could gain the certificate. But, that's no fault of the course, just something to know.
Aedrian Abrilla @aaabrilla

This well-made offering is such an important course not only for getting TESOL/TEFL certification but for teaching in general. I deeply appreciate the intention of the Arizona State University TESOL Professional Certification creators in allotting a full course focusing on various teaching approaches developed throughout history. Each with their unique set of advantages and disadvantages, the emphasis is on aspiring TESOL Professional Certificate holders to craft their own learning philosophy/strategy based on their critical understanding of the approaches discussed. The centrality of contemplating on purpose, content and technique as a teacher, rather than blindly following a rigid pre-made approach for teaching, is successfully relayed.
Glenia Lima

I loved this course! I found it very engaging, highly informative! I totally recommend it! Looking forward to taking the others from the series, but finding no time! :(
Jhon Gomez Enciso

Great at least to have 100 characters this is a test to start following set up for the account dismissed if you are reading this right now
Tamer Awad

Test test .it was great test to test that test course I have never been testing in my testing career.
Erica Peak-nordstrom
Sharon Zhang