A Course in English Language Teaching Third Edition

A Course in English Language Teaching Third Edition provides a comprehensive introduction to English language teaching, making it an essential text for trainee, novice or more experienced teachers. It can be used as the basis for preparatory or in-service teacher training courses, or as a self-access reference.

The book covers the core principles of teaching English from both a theoretical and practical perspective. It provides a range of guidelines, teaching strategies and procedures that support good language learning outcomes and student motivation. It takes into account the specific needs of learners of different ages, levels and backgrounds, preparing teachers to work in a wide range of contexts.

The third edition has been extensively re-written to reflect recent research and thinking in the field, as well as technological developments. It includes a new chapter on digital technology and online teaching.

Each chapter includes:

• An introductory overview of the topics covered.
• Discussion of underlying issues and controversies, with suggestions on how these may be resolved.
• Practical guidelines and samples of classroom procedures or teaching strategies.
• Refection and discussion tasks to guide teachers to review and apply the learning.
• Review questions to check understanding.
• An annotated list of recommended reading to help teachers to explore the topic in more depth.

Contents

Acknowledgements Viii

Introduction 1

1. Teaching English today 3

1.1 EPIC: English for purposes of international communication 3

1.2 EPIC: some implications for teaching 7

1.3 Second language acquisition (SLA) and English-teaching approaches and methods 9

1.4 Standards of proficiency 11

1.5 Online English teaching 12

2. The lesson 15

2.1 The lesson: different perspectives15

2.2 Functions of the teacher in the English language lesson 17

2.3 Classroom organization 18

2.4 Lesson planning 21

2.5 Written lesson plans 24

3. Classroom interaction 27

3.1 Teacher-led interaction 27

3.2 Group and pair work 33

3.3 Individual work 36

3.4 Varied interactions 38

4. Tasks 41

4.1 The language-learning task 41

4.2 Task evaluation 42

4.3 Organizing tasks 46

4.4 Interest 47

4.5 Homework 50

5. Texts 54

5.1 What is a text? 54

5.2 Teaching the text: the goals 55

5.3 Comprehension of content 58

5.4 Language learning from a text 62

5.5 The text as discourse 65

5.6 Follow-up tasks 68

6 Teaching vocabulary 71

6.1 What is vocabulary? 71

6.2 What students need to learn 71

6.3 How best to teach vocabulary: some facts and figures 75

6.4 Presenting new vocabulary: selection and presentation 77

6.5 Vocabulary review 81

7 Teaching grammar 85

7.1 What is grammar? 85

7.2 What students need to learn: standards of grammatical acceptability 85

7.3 How best to teach grammar 87

7.4 Presenting grammar: explanations 88

7.5 Grammar practice exercises 91

8 Teaching listening 99

8.1 Some basic features of listening comprehension 99

8.2 Listening activity design 1: the text 100

8.3 Listening activity design 2: the task 104

8.4 Types of activities 109

9 Teaching speaking 113

9.1 Goals and problems in teaching speaking 113

9.2 Speaking activity design: some basic features 115

9.3 Getting them to speak: from beginner to advanced 117

9.4 Presentations 122

9.5 Pronunciation 124

10 Teaching reading 128

10.1 How do we read? 128

10.2 Beginning reading 1: phonemic awareness 131

10.3 Beginning reading 2: learning the letters 132

10.4 Beginning reading 3: reading tasks 134

10.5 Fluent reading 137

10.6 Extensive reading 142

11 Teaching writing 146

11.1 What is writing? 146

11.2 Beginning writing: the letters 148

11.3 Tasks that promote fluent writing 151

11.4 Process writing 155

11.5 Spelling and punctuation 159

12 Feedback and error correction 163

12.1 Error correction: some basic issues 163

12.2 Learner preferences: whether and how students like to be corrected 167

12.3 Oral correction 169

12.4 Written correction 171

13 Assessment and testing 176

13.1 Functions and types of assessment 176

13.2 Assessment tools 177

13.3 Giving a grade 179

13.4 Test design 1: testing accuracy 182

13.5 Test design 2: testing comprehension and fluency 188

13.6 Administering tests in class 192

14 The syllabus 195

14.1 What is a syllabus? 195

14.2 Types of language syllabus 196

14.3 The CEFR and language syllabuses 199

14.4 Using the syllabus 200

15 Teaching/learning materials 204

15.1 The coursebook: approach, components, presentation 204

15.2 How necessary is a coursebook? 206

15.3 Evaluating the coursebook 208

15.4 Using course materials 211

15.5 Other materials and resources 216

16 Teaching content 221

16.1 Different kinds of content 221

16.2 Cultural content 223

16.3 Teaching subject matter through English: CLIL and EMI 225

16.4 Literature as a component of the English course 228

16.5 Underlying messages 230

17 Classroom discipline 234

17.1 What is classroom discipline? 234

17.2 What teachers can do to create a disciplined classroom 236

17.3 Dealing with discipline problems 239

18 Digital technology and online teaching 245

18.1 Digital literacies 245

18.2 The place of digital technology in the classroom 249

18.3 Teaching different aspects of language using digital technology 251

18.4 Teaching online 256

19 Learner differences 1: age 262

19.1 Differences between younger and older learners 262

19.2 Teaching young learners 265

19.3 Teaching adolescents 269

19.4 Teaching adults 273

20 Learner differences 2: diversity and inclusion 277

20.1 Diversity in groups of learners 277

20.2 Problems and advantages 279

20.3 Practical principles 281

20.4 Teaching high and low achievers 287

21 Teacher development 290

21.1 The first year of teaching 291

21.2 Lesson observation 291

21.3 Ongoing development 295

21.4 Development through reading and further study 298

21.5 Further development 300

Glossary 305

References 310

Index 320