Time and Location:

Even-numbered weeks of the semester (week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10)
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 9:20 - 10:40
Room:

The first three books are available for purchase at the Konkuk Campus bookstore. The 'Reflections' book can be purchased directly from the instructor.

* The above books marked by a star(*) will also be used in the second 10-week semester in the English Language Teaching Practice course which will essentially be a continuation of this course.

Welcome to the Language Teaching Methodology course. It's a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to teaching you. In this course you will not only learn many things about second language teaching but you will also learn many things about yourself and your future role as a teacher. It is my personal goal to make this course a valuable and enjoyable learning experience for you.

Basically, this course, and the following course(English Language Teaching Practice), is about trying to answer the following question: How do we teach a second language to learners? To begin to try and answer this question we will learn in this course about past and present models or methodologies that have tried to answer this important question. More clearly, a language teaching methodology is a model of how to teach a second language by combining a theory (or theories) of language learning with actual teaching practice. There have been many different methodologies in the history of language teaching and we will study these different methodologies (with a special emphasis on the more recent methodologies).

- You will learn the importance of the relationship between theory and practice and understand how such a connection is essential to creating a successful model of language teaching.

- You will be able to articulate your own understanding of theoretical concepts related to second language learning and teaching.

- You will investigate and learn about many practical language teaching activities.

-You will become aware of and develop your own learning and teaching beliefs and understand where such beliefs come from.

- You will reflect about and write your reactions to various issues related to language teaching.

- You will observe a language teaching classroom lesson, interview the teacher of the lesson, and then relate the classroom practices of the teacher to the different methodologies studied during the course.

- You will develop your own English communicative and interactive skills through classroom discussion and through informal and reflective writing.

- You will develop an enthusiasm for teaching and realize its joy and eternal value for both yourself and for your future students.

2. Contributes actively to each classroom lesson. (10%)

3. Makes a portfolio of journal reflections, responses to readings, in-class activities, assignments, theoretical concepts, teaching activities, self-assessments, and anything else you wish. (35%)

4. Performs a classroom observation project. (25%)

5. Takes a final exam. (20%)

*Extra-credit will also be offered for those attending the Kotesol Conference.

Attendance (10%)

Attending classes assumes a great importance for this course. There are several important reasons and benefits to attending classes regularly:

- Because the classes will be very interactive, it gives you the opportunity to use and
improve your English communicative skills.
- Important information and insights outside of the assigned readings will be given during
lectures and during in-class discussions.
- Assigned readings and important theoretical concepts will be clarified by the instructor
and by other classmates during class time.
- You will learn about many practical and interesting teaching activities.
- You will enjoy the classes.
- As future teachers, it is important for you to be responsible and therefore for you to be
punctual and to be consistent in class attendance.

* Attendance will be graded as follows:
1 absent = - 0.5
2 late = - 0.5

Absences will be excused if documentary proof is given.

Active Participation in Class (10%)

What does active participation mean? Here are some examples:

- Concentrating and thinking about what is going on in the lesson.
- Being on task and getting involved in discussions and activities.
- Preparing for class discussions (by writing in your 'Response to Readings' notebook).
- Discussing with classmates (and with the instructor).
- Listening attentively to other classmates ideas and opinions (and to the instructor's).
- Asking questions (to classmates and to the instructor).
- Giving and sharing ideas.
- Thinking critically.
- Using English.
- Writing definitions in your 'Theoretical Concepts' notebook.

What does non-active participation look like? A few examples are:
- Not preparing for class discussions and assignments.
- Not communicating with classmates.
- Forgetting to bring your resources.
- Using Korean excessively.
- Looking at your cell phones during class.

* Please note that good participation is not about being an outgoing or a shy person.
Quite to the contrary, it's all about effort and trying to do the best that you possibly can.

Portfolio (35%)
What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is a collection of a students' work over time. They provide authentic evidence of the learning process.

How do I do the portfolio?
For your portfolio, you will first need to buy a 40-pocket file/folder, A4 size. You will then divide your portfolio folder into 5 sections:
1- Response to Readings
2- Journal Reflections
3- Theoretical Concepts
4- Teaching Activities
5- Other (assignments, in-class activities, Glen's website activities, self-assessments, etc.)

What do these 5 sections mean and how do I do them?
Response to Readings:
Each week you will be responsible for assigned readings in the textbooks. For each reading you will also be asked to reflect and think about certain questions. You will then write your answers to these questions in a notebook and be prepared to discuss your answers in class. Make a photocopy or print out your questions and answers and put them in your portfolio folder.

Journal Reflections:
A journal is a kind of personal diary in which a person writes very informally about his or her thoughts and feelings. Using the 'Reflections Journal' book that you need to purchase for this course, I will occasionally ask you to write in a journal format about your own personal ideas, thoughts, feelings, and reflections about learning and teaching. The purpose of this journal is to raise awareness of the learning and teaching process, and to foster self-confidence, motivation, and autonomy. After writing your journal entry, make a photocopy or print it out and put it in your portfolio folder.

Theoretical Concepts:
During the course, we will learn about many theoretical concepts related to second language learning and teaching. Theoretical concepts can sometimes be complex and hard to understand. To better understand these concepts, it is helpful to first write down the definition. Definitions will be found in the textbooks, in the 'Glossary of Language Learning Terminology'(I will give every student a photocopy of this glossary), and in my lectures. I recommend that you write the definitions of theoretical concepts in a special notebook. Also helpful is to write your own understanding of the definition in your own words. Understanding these concepts and writing their and your own definitions will greatly help you for the final exam. Make photocopies or print out pages from your 'Theoretical Concepts' notebook and put them in your portfolio folder.

Teaching Activities:
Throughout the course, I will be demonstrating many different kinds of teaching activities. Pay attention to these and write down a description of the activity. Of course you can write down a description of any other activity you encounter in your readings or elsewhere. You can write down any teaching activity ideas that you might think of on your own. Use a special notebook for all of these activity descriptions. This notebook will become very helpful for you in the next course called "English Language Teaching Practice. Make photocopies or print out pages from your 'Teaching Activities' notebook and put them in your portfolio folder.

Other:
Sometimes we will do some special assignments, do some special activities in class, or do some self-assessments. If we do them, I will let you know when to put them in your portfolio folder.

How often will you collect the portfolio?
I will collect everyone's portfolio 4 times during the semester.

How will you evaluate the portfolio?
The portfolio will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Pages are neat and the writing is clear and easy to read.
- Reasonable length of writing.
- Shows evidence of effort.
- Shows evidence of self-reflection.
- Shows evidence of analytical thought.

* A grade symbol will be given: ** Outstanding
* Excellent / Very Good
+ Good
? Fair
?? Poor

Classroom Observation Project (25%)
In the final weeks of the course, you and another partner will team up and be asked to observe an actual classroom lesson. You will observe the lesson and take notes using an observation sheet(schedule) designed by the instructor. Although it is not required, it is recommended that you also videotape the lesson. Following the lesson, you will interview the teacher by asking assigned questions. Using both your observation sheet and your notes from the interview, you will then prepare a written report by connecting the teacher's classroom practices and beliefs to the learning theories and language teaching methodologies we covered during the semester. Finally, you will give an oral presentation of your written report to the class.

* This project will be explained more clearly and in more detail later in the semester.

Final Exam (20%)
In the last class of the semester, a final exam will be given. This will cover the readings and lectures experienced during the course. A special focus will be given on understandings of theoretical concepts of language learning and teaching and on how they are reflected in actual teaching practice through the different methodologies or language teaching models.

KOTESOL Conference Extra-Credit
By attending the KOTESOL Conference which will be held in Seoul at Sookmyung Women's University on October 5th and 6th, students can earn extra-credit by writing a reflective journal entry about their experience and about what they learned at the conference.

Schedule of Weeks

Week 1:
Getting to know each other / Getting to know about the course.
The English language / Learning English as an L2 / Learning Styles

Week 2:
Teaching / Teachers
Current state of TESOL (ELT)
General education and learning theories
Behaviorism / Cognitive psychology / Constructivism / Humanism / Social interactionism

Week 3:
Learning theories (continued)
Motivation
Overview of the history of methods / Post-methods era
Defining methodology and applying a model(s)

* Thursday August 15 is a holiday.

Week 4:
Grammar translation method / Audio-lingual method

Week 5:
Community language learning / Communicative Language Teaching

Weeks 6 and 7:
Natural approach / Cooperative Learning
Task-Based Learning

Weeks 8 and 9:
Lexical Approach / Multiple intelligences / Learner strategy training

Classroom observation project: sessions and presentations

Week 10:
Project presentations continued
Review
Final exam

* Thursday October 3 is a holiday.

Office Hours / E-Mail
Please come and visit me in my office if you have any questions or if you just want to chat and have a pleasant conversation. It will be a pleasure for me to help you. I will always be available for questions after class and I will also be in my office on Wednesdays and Fridays in late morning and afternoon. Just make an appointment by telling me in class, by calling me, or by writing me an e-mail. You can also contact me by e-mail anytime about your questions.