English Language & Teaching with Foundation Year

You will explore how children learn their first language. You will study how spoken and written skills are developed by learning about the different language acquisition theories.

What is the difference between how we produce the sounds 'p' and 'b' ? Why does the rhythm of English sound different to Spanish? What are the processes that allow us to create new words and phrases? In this module you will discover how we describe and analyse the sounds, words and structures of languages, with a focus on English. You will learn the fundamentals of how languages work and how to identify differences and similarities between them. In the process, you will be developing your knowledge of key concepts and terminology that professionals use to support a range of people and their language needs, from learners of English to those with speech and communication disorders.

Through studying this module, you will develop an understanding of the main theories that try to explain how second languages are learned. You will find out what learner language looks like and how it develops, and about bilingualism and other topics that will give you a strong theoretical grounding to prepare for practical language teaching experience in your Level 5 TESOL modules.

You will go on a journey of when and where English language began to sound like an English you can recognise and how it changed and evolved into the English language that we use today.

The TESOL Methodologies module will guide you through the approaches and techniques that professional language teachers use for teaching English, or other languages, in the UK and all over the world. You will find out about the development of methodologies over time, from audiolingualism to the post-methods era, enabling you to develop a toolkit of techniques that you can select from and identify in practical teaching modules. A particular focus will be how these methods can be applied for the teaching of the four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Not only will you learn about language teaching methods and approaches, but you will understand the principles that underlie them by examining the relationship between method and general learning, as well as language learning, theories. This part of the study develops your criticality and professional capacity to select appropriate methods and builds on the theoretical knowledge of Second Language Acquisition you gained in Year 1. Further topics covered in the module will include lesson planning, classroom management, teacher and students roles, among others.

You will study the regional, national and international varieties of English and how social and occupational groups, gender and ethnicity influence the individuals’ language use and attitudes.

This module will provide you with the tools that you need to do your own research in English language and teaching.

In this module you have the opportunity to teach English to a learner on a one-to-one basis. You will plan your lessons and select activities and materials for your learner.

During this module you will practice teaching English to a group of students. It will help you design your lessons and prepare your materials and activities for your teaching practice.

In this module you will have the opportunity to analyse and evaluate how English language, in spoken, written or digital forms, shapes meaning for use in fields ranging from media to politics to marketing. You will also explore how factors such as audience, purpose, genre and mode affect our use of language.

This module will introduce you to the basic principles of how teachers construct and present English language tests. You will look at the different purposes of tests and you will critically evaluate testing techniques.

This module will give you the opportunity to evaluate and design materials for English language teaching use. You will develop a practical understanding of the role, principles and procedures of the design and evaluation of language teaching materials.

If you aspire to teach English in the primary, secondary, further, higher education or the professional sectors, this module will familiarise you with specific English language teaching contexts in the UK and abroad and the finer details of the National Curriculum for English Language.

In this module you will use your creative skills and imagination to examine innovative ways in the teaching of English. You will have the opportunity to explore how to use technology, augmented and virtual reality and games as tools in English language teaching.

In this module you will demonstrate your ability to design, conduct and report the results of a research project in an area of TESOL and/or Linguistics. You will work independently and under the guidance of a supervisor.