TESL

Teaching English as a Second Language

The TESL program at HPU features solid curricula with three types of courses:

Linguistic theory courses taught from an applied viewpoint help the TESL student better understand languages in general, and English in particular.
Pedagogy courses present a wide range of current approaches, methods, and techniques for teaching language in a wide variety of contexts. In these classes, teaching demonstrations and videotaped peer practice sessions are used extensively.
Practicum courses allow the future teacher to observe master teachers, serve with them in the classroom as assistants, and finally assume full class responsibility themselves as practice teachers.
Program Objectives

Upon completion of the TESL program, students will have a basic understanding of language variation, language acquisition, and TESL/TEFL methodology. They will have had experience in observing, participating in, and assisting ESL teachers in their classrooms. They will be able to design creative and practical ESL lesson plans, taking into account the linguistic cultural and educational backgrounds of the students. Finally, they will be able to teach and evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching. This general statement of the program objectives can be broken down in detail as follows:

1. Students will demonstrate excellence in their verbal and written English skills.

2. Students will be able to analyze

a. various aspects of English pronunciation,

b. syntactic constructions of English sentences, and

c. pronunciation and syntactic errors.

3. Students will be able to use basic terminology from the subfields of linguistics to discuss issues related to language learning and teaching.

4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the stages, complexities, and current models of first and second language acquisition.

5. Students will understand how language variation is affected by social class, ethnic group, gender, context, geography, history and contact with other languages.

6. Students will be able to articulate how sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic theory interact with second language learning and teaching.

7. Students will demonstrate proficiency in the following teaching tasks:

a. critical evaluation of ESL or EFL texts,

b. preparation and evaluation of lessons, tests, and assignments,

c. correction of errors, and

d. appropriate response to student needs in a given class.

8. Students will develop a professional approach to teaching which demonstrates the ability to develop and implement appropriate instructional plans and the capacity for self-reflection and self-critique.