SIT TESOL Syllabus

SIT TESOL Certificate

Course Syllabus

SIT TESOL Syllabus

SIT TESOL Certificate Course Syllabus

The SIT TESOL Certificate Course consists of 8 modules. The first two,Learning and Teaching, explore the principles of adult learning and ways teachers can set up a classroom to facilitate the learning process.

Participants then go on to explore what are known as the “4 Skills” in TESOL: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Although the “Grammar” module falls in the middle of the 4 skills, the focus on language awareness is a thread that runs through the entire course.

Finally, participants reflect back on all of the modules through the lens of cultural awareness, though, here again, attention is paid to inter-cultural dynamics throughout the course.

Module	Key Questions
Learning	What factors affect adult learning? What tends to help people learn? What conditions often hinder learning? What helps and hinders your own learning?
Teaching	What can a teacher do to be more effective in facilitating the learning process? How can learning objectives affect teachers and students? What are critical factors in managing a classroom? How can teachers create a more learning-centered classroom? What is the role of a group or community in an individual’s learning process? How can learning in community affect individuals? What does it mean to ‘reflect rigorously’ on teaching and learning? How can reflection help both learners and teachers be more effective?
Speaking	For language learners what does speaking involve? How can we define speaking in the ESOL context? What are ways of communicating effectively while speaking? What types of activities can help students be more accurate and fluent in their speaking?
Listening	What do learners do as they listen in a foreign language? How can we define listening in the ESOL context? What skills and strategies can help students be more effective when listening to a foreign language? What activities and strategies can teachers and learners do before, while, and after listening to more effectively understand and think about what they have heard?
********** Grammar & Language Awareness **********	What is grammar? What does it mean to know a word? How can I research and prepare notes on the target language before I teach? What is the difference between the form, meaning, and use of grammar and vocabulary? What is the role of grammar terminology in the teaching/learning process? How can teachers help motivate students to learn and use grammar effectively to communicate? What types of activities and strategies can help learners become more confident and effective with grammar and vocabulary? How can teachers sequence activities to promote learning? What are different ways of responding to student errors and ways of providing positive feedback in the learning process?
Reading	What skills are involved in reading effectively in a foreign language? What is your definition of reading? What skills and strategies can help students be more effective when reading in a foreign language? What activities and strategies can teachers and learners do before, while, and after reading to more effectively understand and think about what they have read? How are the two receptive skills, reading and listening, similar and different from each other? How do these similarities and differences affect the way we teach?
Writing	What does writing effectively in a foreign language involve? What do students need to know and be able to do? What activities and strategies can teachers and learners do at various points in the Writer’s Process to make writing more effective? How are the two productive skills, writing and speaking, similar and different from each other? How do these similarities and differences affect the way we teach?
Culture	What is culture in the context of teaching ESOL? How can the culture of the learners and the teacher affect the learning process? What strategies can help learners and teachers be more effective in situations involving intercultural communication? What activities and approaches to culture can help foster respect and learning in the classroom?

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