Running head: ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

English as a second language teaching courses syllabus review: structure and learning strategies
Loyola University of Chicago
Emely Medina-Rodriguez
ELPS 430 001
Dr. Patrick Green

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

English as a second language teaching courses syllabus review: structure and learning strategies
For this assignment I chose five current syllabus for undergraduate classes preparing
students to become teachers of English as a second language. I decided to include classes from
four different countries, United Kingdom, Germany, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Out of
those countries I added Germany and Puerto Rico as examples of English teaching preparation
for non-native English speakers. I detailed the structure and requirements for students on each
syllabus to have a better understanding of the peculiarities of each course. I recognized three
trends in the syllabi that might help us understand how instructors structured their courses and
which learning strategies where in consideration. With the use of our class readings I recognized
a trend in the active learning activities in most of the syllabi, and discovered a constructivist
structure following class objectives and reinforced by student assessment. I will also discuss two
practices recommended by our class readings to teach college students which were missing from
these syllabi, cooperative learning and student motivation.
Trinity College, London, TESOL English to speakers of other languages
This class was intended for students learning how to teach English to speakers of other
languages. The content of the syllabi was structured so that students could acquire the practical
abilities of teaching English. The course activities included group work, input sessions, teaching
practice feedback, supervised workshop, private study, initial planning session, tests and
moderation. Students learned to apply language skills such as grammar, lexis, and phonology to
their teaching practice, and put those skills into practice by doing 10 hours of teaching
observation and 30 hours of preparation. They also learned methodologies and principal theories
of language acquisition, strategies for planning a sequence of lessons, assessment of learners

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

needs, and develop simple materials for teaching. They also needed to complete a post lecture
reflection and assessment of their teaching practices.
The syllabus included assignments such as, creating a learners profile where the learners
language proficiency is evaluated as well as their cultural and social backgrounds. Students also
had to successfully plan, produce, use, and evaluate simple teaching materials to create a
rationale and reflection of the selected materials. As a third assignment the instructor asked
students to examine an unknown language and report on the their experiences and feelings in the
process of learning that new language. Through these assignments students acquire the necessary
skills to teach English to speakers of other languages in a constructivist manner, building from
the students own experiences and knowledge (Bransford, 1999). Professional awareness and
development assessments were included in the syllabus to promote behaviors that encouraged
mutual support, feedback, contribution in class, and group activities. The instructor also
included, reading, tutorials, clear expectations, and assessment of the class at the end of the
syllabus.
University of Puerto Rico, Oral and Written English II
This class was intended for students in a Spanish speaking country learning how to teach
English as a second language. The objectives of the class was to understand and utilize
conventions of spoken and written English and to recognize intersections to other parts of the
language. Students learned to convey information using conventions for the appropriate
audiences and purposes, and also learned to use self-correcting strategies for effective
presentation. Another objective of this class was for students to demonstrate proficiency using
critical and creative skills to effectively teach elementary children English as a second language.
Students also acquired new ways to generate creative compositions and use computer tools for

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

writing. The first part of the class was structured to guide students in reviewing basic language
structures such as a nouns, verbs, adverbs, sentence and paragraph structures. In the second part
of the class students participate in tasks and assignments where they had to produce oral a
written analysis using their language abilities. Students were also assigned to create a
demonstrative class for elementary school children with emphasis on written and oral skills.
Student evaluated and reflected on their learning outcomes as part of every assignment.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Teaching of English
This course aims to present students with the study of English composition, literature,
grammar and language teaching. Teaching preparation outcomes expected in this class were,
acquiring knowledge of curricular standards of the state and the nation. Learn and apply aspects
of pedagogical theories, while adapting and assessing the needs of learners. Students needed to
create lesson plans, and a coherent unit of study using instructional strategies linking curricular
standards and assessment of student learning. Professional skills such as planning, assessing,
engaging students and building classroom community were also required. Four assignments were
required to the students: 3 lesson plans, young adult novel presentation, book presentation and a
teaching unit. Students were supposed to complete the assignments and reflect on their
outcomes as well. The first part of the class was devoted to teaching pedagogical skills such as
unit planning, assessing and grading and organizing an instruction. While the second half of the
class was center in teaching how to teach different styles of literature such as poetry, non-fiction
and drama.
New York University, Student Teaching in TESOL Elementary and Secondary
This course was aimed for students becoming teachers of English as second language
while completing their supervised teaching experience. The objective of this class was to prepare

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

students to develop and apply classroom management and discipline skills and to understand best
practices in curriculum and lesson plans. Students learned strategies for language immersion and
teaching language skills such as reading, writing and speaking. Students reflected on their
outcomes and learned how to assess students learning as well. The class structure focused on
class participation, group presentations, construction of teaching materials and generating selfreflection using journals and teaching portfolio. In the first part of the class students were
introduced to TESOL teaching and practices, while the second part was dedicated to training
students is the creation of planning units and assessment. The final part of class was focused in
students learning needs and self-reflection of teaching outcomes.
University of Education, Ludwigsburg, Germany, Introduction to the Teaching of English
This class was intended for German students learning to teach English as a second
language. This syllabus had a simple structure, the first half of the class was dedicated to
acquiring teaching skills and strategies, focusing in teaching spoken and written English as well
as reading comprehension. The second half of the class was centered on the history and theories
of foreign language acquisition, and teaching of language systems, such as vocabulary and
grammar. The instructor finalized the class by teaching assessment of students outcomes. This
class was content heavy and not focused on the teaching practice of students. The syllabus did
not specified learning objectives for the course and did not include student learning expectations.
Compare and contrast
Even though these syllabi are mostly from different countries I found trends that
correspond with the teaching of English as a second language. The audiences of these
universities are different from each other giving us thus a diversity of curriculums. The class
readings allowed me to understand these trends and differentiate good strategies for teaching

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

college students to become English teachers for non-native speakers and others less appropriate.
My perspective on these syllabi is that some trends follow more closely the new paradigms for
college teaching introduced by Fink (2003) active learning, constructivist structure of courses
and assessment to achieve class objective. For example the syllabi of Trinity College in London
emphasized student active learning by including in their curriculum 10 hours of students
teaching observation. Fink (2003) argues that effective teachers find ways to help students learn
how to use the information and concepts in a course to solve certain kinds of problem
effectively (p. 32) By including 10 hours of teaching observation students can start formulating
questions about their own practice as future teachers which can be addressed in class and could
be beneficial for students. University of Michigan also offered a similar component integrating
supervised teaching into their curriculum.
Other courses such as the University of Puerto Rico TESOL teachers preparation class,
required students to perform a demonstrative class for their future students. Performing a class
might have given students the chance to be advised by the instructor on how to be more effective
as a future teacher. Active learning, features sense-making and self-reflection about the material
being learned in class (Nilson, 2004, p. 12). Another relevant example of this was NYU Students
Teaching in TESOL class syllabus, where 5 journal reflections entailing 30% of the course grade
where required to students. These gave students the opportunity to reflect on their learning, given
that people learn best when reflecting on the relevance of the material in their lives, journals
simplify this learning process (Nilson, 2004).
All the syllabi I reviewed followed what Fink (2003) called constructivist learning, where
the structure of the course created a process of acquiring knowledge which took into
consideration students level of cognition. For example, University of Puerto Ricos syllabus

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

relays heavily on basic knowledge of English such as verbs and paragraph structures at the
beginning of the class, transitioning to more complex topics such as poetry, and creative writing
at the end of the class. Another good example of using this technique was University of
Educations syllabus structure where the instructor developed the skills of teaching reading,
listening and writing in English to later deepen this new understandings with theories of second
language acquisition. Constructivist assume that all knowledge is constructed from previous
knowledge, irrespective of how one is taught (Bransford, 1999, p. 11). Thus taking into
consideration the types of students these two university serve, instructors in the cases
acknowledged their audience by structuring their syllabus depending on the needs of their
students (Nilson, 2004).
Following the 12 steps of integrated course design in Fink (2003) I can assess how these
syllabi help professors and students achieve the course objectives. Even though, most of the
syllabi I reviewed had learning objective, some of them more clearly identify how the course was
going to achieve them. Trinity College course was the most detailed in this matter, detailing in 36
pages their learning objective for each topic. For example, in their Teaching Practice, Learner
Profile assignment they stated their objectives to be: understanding of how to teach linguistic
form (phonological, lexical and syntactic), function and meaning in standard English in a
communicative context but also to build awareness of geographical varieties of English,
including the emergence of English as a lingua franca, and associated implications for teaching
(Fink 2003, p. 67). This clarification of their objective could have helped instructors to better
assess students learning, or in Bransford (1999) words summative assessment should measure
the level of success at reaching that goal (p. 258). Multiple student self-assessment such as
journals and multiple in class assessment such as presentations, exams, and groups projects

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

served this purpose. Other syllabus such as the University of Education at Lugwigsburg,
Germany, omitted their learning objectives which is not recommended by Bransford (1999), Fink
(2003), and Nilson (2004).This may speak to the university audience, which might be older
students or adult learners.
Two trends that might negatively affect student learning in these classes are knowledge
transfers and student motivation, which I see as related to each other. In most if not all of these
syllabi students are not given the chance to introduce their own knowledge or context into their
learning. Even though some courses offer more immersion into students future careers, students
where not actively integrating their communities or socio-cultural backgrounds into their
learning experiences in these courses. This is in contradiction with the recommendations of
Bransford, (1999), where he urges instructors to leave authoritarian styles of teaching by
withholding authority in the classroom and move towards cooperative participation which
contributes to an intense cognitive motivation (p. 277). I agree with Bransford (1999),
argument that motivation is important for knowledge transfer but I disagree in that overly
contextualizing knowledge will reduce knowledge transfer (p. 53). Students are motivated to
learn when they understand knowledge as a tool to achieve academic, professional and personal
benefits and future rewards (Ardisana, 2012). Motivation for a college student can be influence
by personal and structural factors; Ardisana (2012) identified economic, demographic,
technological, social and institutional reasons for students disengaging from learning. For
example, expectation, career prestige and skills needed for a career among others. In her study on
students' attendance the author identified institutional reasons for students losing their motivation
to learn, which can lead to student attrition, these can range from simple over-confidence in

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

passing a class to doubting the professor's ability to transmit knowledge, thus creating a lack of
motivation and disengagement with their courses.

References:

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LEANGUAGE TEACHING SYLLABUS REVIEW

10

Ardisana, E. F. H. (2012). La motivacin como sustento indispensable del, XVII (4), 13

28.
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (Eds. (1999). How People Learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National.
Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to
developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at its best: A Research-Based Resource for College
Instructors. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (Ch. 1-3)
Online Resources:
www.ph-ludwigsburg.de/fileadmin/...Course_programme_Rodgers.doc
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/media/users/cdm385/Teaching_and_Learning_Sylla
bi/TESOL-GE2901_Woodley_F14.pdf
http://www.soe.umich.edu/academics/courses/EDUC_440/
ftp://www.uprag.edu/Prontuario/Ingles/otros/Segundo%20Semestre%202011-12/INGL
%203022%20-%20Dr.%20Carmen%20Caban.pdf
www.trinitycollege.com/resource/?id=5407