This course is designed to provide you with instructional support and professional mentoring as you design and teach ESL conversation courses. This support and mentoring will include opportunities to:
Learn about course design and lesson planning within a task-based framework
Design, in collaboration with others, a conversation course appropriate for the target audience
Create and deliver appropriate instructional activities and materials for your course
Reflect on your abilities to teach content while managing the learning environment
Develop and implement appropriate assessment measures to evaluate student learning
Work collaboratively with fellow interns
Reflect on your professional development as an ESL teacher
This course is divided into two main parts. In the first four weeks of the semester, you will engage in course design and lesson planning. This will include: (1) reading and engaging in discussions about course design and lesson planning, (2) meeting with students and assess their needs and goals for the course, (3) working with a co-teacher to design a 4-week workshop to meet those needs and goals, and (4) delivering a practice lesson to your fellow teaching interns and me to receive feedback.
In week 5-13 of the semester, you will collaborate with a co-teacher to teach the workshop you designed. You will alternate teaching weeks with them, teaching half of the classes and assisting your co-teacher with the other half. You will teach your workshop twice, giving you the opportunity to make improvements on lessons and activities.
Additionally, you will also engage in reflective practice with me as well as your co-teacher during this time. This will include meeting with your co-teacher after classes to discuss how the class went and what you'd like to improve on. It will also include recording your teaching and meeting with me to discuss it.
At the end of the course, you will write a final reflection in which you look back on how you have improved as a teacher and how this experience will impact your future growth as an L2 teacher.
Our course will meet Tuesdays, from 4:05-6:00, and Thursdays, 5:10-6:00. When you start teaching your courses, they will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:15-6:15. They are scheduled at these times to accommodate the schedules of the Visiting Scholars who will be your students.
There is no textbook for this course. All required readings will be posted in our Canvas site.
This course is divided into two main sections. In the first, you will learn about course design and design your course. In the second, you will teach the course (in collaboration with a co-teacher) and engage in reflective practice about the experience. The first part of the course will last the first four weeks of the course, with teaching occurring in the following nine weeks. Below is a rough schedule of how this will go:
Week 1: Introduction to Internship
Week 2: Course Design & Lesson Planning
Week 3: Preparing Your Course
Week 4: Practice Teaching
Week 5: Teach Your Class
Week 6: Teach Your Class
Week 7: Teach Your Class
Week 8: Teach Your Class
Week 9: Debrief Week
Week 10: Teach Your Class
Week 11: Teach Your Class
Week 12: Teach Your Class
Week 13: Teach Your Class
Week 14: Thanksgiving Week
Week 15-16: Semester De-brief
For a detailed syllabus, including course schedule follow the link here (Fall 2023 Syllabus).