Embassy of the United States

English Language Office Resources

Application for Participation in E-Teacher Course

ELO announces the offering of "E-Teacher" courses that train foreign English language professionals in the latest U.S. methods of English language teaching via distance education. Courses will begin in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009.

A. Assessment for EFL, offered by Indiana University. Instructor: Dr. Larry Mikulecky

This course is designed to familiarize EFL teachers with a wide variety of formal and informal English language assessment tools and help them become competent in evaluating assessment information as well as selecting and developing appropriate English assessments for their own teaching situations and goals. Online discussion will deal with participant questions and ways that participants have dealt with teaching and testing problems in their own countries. The syllabus will cover forms of assessment and their use, a close examination of high stakes assessment, assessment tools ranging from informal classroom assessments to portfolios, teacher use of assessment information, and future trends in assessment. This is a 12-week course.

This course is designed to develop critical thinking skills among English teachers and demonstrate how the techniques and materials of critical thinking might be applied to English classrooms in the host country. Participants will learn how to: (1) identify and compare different elements of critical thinking, and apply this knowledge to classroom teaching and materials development, (2) design, develop, and implement critical thinking instructional units and activities to reach course goals, (3) analyze teaching techniques and materials for evidence of critical thinking teaching and student learning, and (4) identify relevant resources for developing and incorporating critical thinking activities in their respective teaching environments. This is a 10-week course.

C. English for Business, offered by the University of South Carolina, English Programs for Internationals. Principal Instructor: Dr. Alexandra Rowe (with Dr. William E. Rivers, guest instructor)

This course will provide an overview of the English used in international business settings and give participants techniques and skills that can be used in their classrooms. The course is divided into several segments along the following topics: an introduction to the courseware and methods used in the course, needs assessments for business English learners, classroom strategies to create a learner-centered environment, business English resources, written communication and document design, business oral skills, and making business presentations. These topics will provide participants with significant resources to utilize in their classrooms following completion of the course. This course is approximately 12 weeks long.

This course will provide participants with an extensive overview of the concepts behind the legal system in the United States and give a framework for teaching English to professionals in the legal field by introducing the best current practices in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) field. Participants will: (1) increase their understanding of current ESP methodology, (2) improve their legal analysis skills in American English, (3) better understand the basis of the U.S. legal system, (4) increase their understanding and basic use of concordances for classroom learning, enhance both their general and legal vocabulary, (5) have the opportunity to network and share views with local, regional, and international colleagues on a variety of legal and ESP issues through e-mail, synchronous, asynchronous discussions.

This course is designed to provide an overview of the latest research on TEYL and demonstrate effective classroom techniques to teachers by specifically addressing the needs of learners aged 7 to 12. The course will investigate approaches for teaching language within a meaningful context as well as different techniques for making language input comprehensible and encouraging student participation. Participants will study both traditional and modern instructional strategies and techniques for teaching EFL and look specifically at their application to young learners. Through individual learner-centered activities, virtual collaborations with a mentor, and group activities with learning teams, participants in this course will explore various aspects, from theory to practice, of teaching EFL to young learners. This is a 10-week course. Participants will take part in an orientation prior to the start of the course.

English language skills:

• an advanced level of reading and writing, roughly equivalent to a minimum TOEFL score of 525;
• general understanding of technical terms in English relating to computers and the Internet;
• good command of the necessary vocabulary for each of the five topics.

Computer fundamentals:

• regular access to e-mail and the Internet;
• ability to navigate in Windows and create a Word document;
• basic familiarity with the Internet and web browsers;
• ability to type in English well enough to perform on-line tasks in real-time and to submit written assignments in a timely manner.

1. First name
2. Last name
3. Institution name
4. City
5. Mailing address
6. E-mail address
   
7. Contact phone number
8. Course choice (first choice, second choice, third choice)
9. Why are you interested in taking this course? How it will help you and your ELT community?
10. Are you willing to share the knowledge and skills acquired as a result of the course? How are you going to do this?