Teacher Training

The iTeach modules are for teachers wishing to enhance their skills using a communicative approach to their teaching methodology. The modules are designed to cover a wide variety of teaching techniques and strategies.

The iTeach modules are each of 3-4 hours duration and take place every Saturday – one module in the morning and one in the afternoon. Alternatively, they can be conducted on site over consecutive days. All the sessions are practical in nature with active participation expected. Although some teaching practice will take place within the time available, it is hoped that the participants will use the techniques in their actual classes.

The areas covered are:

Advanced Phonology	Lesson Planning
Participants study sentence stress, rhythm and intonation in English and their connection to meaning and intelligibility. They participate in various practice activities for these phonological features and consider how they could be used in the classroom.                                                  Hide
Participants study what should be included in a lesson plan and how to organise it bearing in mind the needs of their learners. Hide
Concept Checking and Timelines	Language Analysis
Participants study and practise how to check students’ understanding of grammatical and lexical concepts through concept checking questions and timelines. Hide
An introduction to the tense system of the English verb, including form and concept, followed by a more detailed look at some of the more difficult tenses of the English verb as well as modal verbs. Hide
Controlled and Freer Practice	Listening Skills
Participants study the difference between the two types of practice in terms of aim and structure. They study how to design practice activities, how to give clear and effective instructions for them and how to give useful feedback on them. Hide
Participants consider what is involved in gathering information through listening and study an effective structure for lessons aimed at developing students' listening ability. Hide
Dictation and Drilling	Presenting New Language
A range of different types of dictation activity are conducted with an analysis of the rationale behind them and the contribution they could make to effective teaching. Participants then study and practise how to use drilling (i.e. organised repetition) effectively in order to improve the students' accuracy of pronunciation. Hide
Participants watch model presentations of grammatical structures before analyzing the techniques used and applying the rationale behind them. Hide
Eliciting	Reading Skills
Effective ways of getting meaning across to students and how to draw on students’ existing knowledge in order to maintain student attention, build confidence and foster a co-operative classroom atmosphere. Hide
Participants consider what is involved in the process of reading and study an effective structure for lessons aimed at developing students' reading ability.  Hide
Error Correction	Vocabulary Skills
Participants analyze the different types of error which students make and consider the advantages of a range of student-centred correction techniques which can be effective in the classroom. Hide
Participants analyze what it means to know an item of vocabulary and how knowledge about vocabulary can effectively be conveyed to students. Afterwards, they have the opportunity to practise teaching each other some vocabulary items. Hide
Form, Function And Concept	Warmers, Fillers And Breaks
Participants analyze and study the differences between the form of a grammatical structure, the concept expressed by that structure and the use to which it can be put (i.e. its functions). They consider the implications of this for the teacher. Hide
Consideration and practice of a range of short activities suitable for engaging attention, changing the pace within a lesson or giving a sense of conclusion to a lesson. Participants then discuss the rationale behind them and how to make effective use of them in the classroom. Hide
Getting To Know You and Classroom Management	Writing Skills
First lesson activities to get to know students. Participants look at ways of providing a classroom atmosphere that will facilitate learning, classroom management activities and different classroom arrangements. The structure and syllabus of several different course books are compared followed by a study of how to make effective use of a course book in the classroom. Finally, participants study and practise how to organize the whiteboard for maximum clarity. Hide
Participants consider what is involved in the process of writing and study effective structures for activities aimed at developing students' writing abilities. Hide
Introduction to Phonology	Web 2.0 and Audio-Video Approaches
Participants receive a basic overall introduction to the phonological features of English: sounds, stress at word and sentence level, intonation and the more important features of connected speech. They study the symbols of the phonemic chart, the rationale behind it and effective ways of using it in the classroom. Hide
Participants watch a video explaining a range of alternative approaches to language teaching. Afterwards, they discuss their respective merits and possible application to the classroom before teaching using some of the approaches. Hide