Course Title: Effective Language Teaching

¥89,999

Course Code: TEJL-1

Course Period: 2025/9/27-12/13

Day: Sat

Time: 14:30-17:50

Hours: 42

Sessions: 12

Instructional Language: English

English Proficiency Level: Advanced

Location: In-Person (Tokyo)

Course Description: What approaches to language teaching are most effective? Topics in this course include processes by which learners learn languages; types of teaching materials and activities for different levels and ages; how to encourage motivation and enthusiasm; and suggestions as to how to teach skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as the integration of those skills, or fluency. Whilst there is an ongoing debate amongst academics and researchers related to what constitutes effective foreign language teaching (e.g., Bell, 2005; Ellis, 2008), practitioners and researchers are adopting, adapting and developing (Brown, 1995) their own teaching approaches, methodologies and techniques that are applicable the most in their teaching contexts. What is effective foreign language teaching? Who effective and or good teacher? Are teachers born or made? (Ur, 1997)? This course will focus on potential effective and efficient language teaching strategies that are applicable in the context of Japan. This is a core course for the Teaching English to Japanese Learners certificate program and is therefore designed for current and prospective teachers.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
・Select appropriate teaching materials for diverse groups of English learners.
・Design effective lesson plans to teach various English language skills.
・Critically reflect on and evaluate current theories and practices in English language teaching and learning.
・Develop a syllabus for an English course and/or a thematic unit.

Who should take this course:
・Current English language teachers seeking to deepen their knowledge and teaching skills.
・Individuals aspiring to pursue a career as English language teachers.
・Professionals interested in enhancing their understanding of teaching English as a second language, particularly within the Japanese context, as part of their professional development.

Textbook: No required textbook

Instructor: Alexandra Shaitan

Instructor Biography: Alexandra Shaitan has a Master’s Degree with a focus on TESOL, from Temple University, Japan Campus, and a PhD (ABD) in Applied Linguistics and Communication from Birkbeck College, University of London. Alexandra has lived and worked in the UK and Japan for the past 20 years, teaching numerous academic courses to ESL learners at different educational institutions including pre-schools, high schools and universities. Her current research interests include bilingualism, language and identity, learner autonomy and task-based language teaching. She recently delivered a workshop on “Language and Identity” at the University of West London, the UK, as an invited speaker. Her calling and passion are sharing her teaching experiences with others.