Master's in English Teaching Methodologies

Course Information

• Course Title: Complementos para la formación disciplinar en inglés (Complements for disciplinary training in English)
• Institution: Universidad Cardenal Herrera
• Course Duration: 2024-2025
• Course Level: Master's degree in secondary education teacher training

Subject Content

• Second language acquisition
• History of English teaching methodologies and their implications for EFL teaching
• External Factors influencing FLT (motivation in the classroom, classroom management)
• English in the current educational context
• Lesson planning

Class Activities

• Lectures (Clases Magistrales)
• Practical workshops and seminars (Seminarios y Talleres de carácter práctico)
• Individual synthesis projects (Trabajos de síntesis de carácter individual)
• Review of textual and audiovisual materials
• Discussion forums (Foros de opinión)
• Tutoring sessions (Tutorías para aclarar las consultas y dudas)
• Collaborative activities (Actividades que propicien el trabajo colaborativo)
• Final exam (Examen Final)

Assessment System

• Continuous assessment (Evaluación Continua): 50%
  • Synthesis and presentation work in class (30%)
  • Classroom work and participation (20%)
• Final Exam (Examen Final): 50%
• 80% attendance required (maximum 20% unjustified absences)
• Minimum grade of 4/10 on the final exam to average the continuous assessment

Additional Information

• If a student misses more than 20% of classes due to unjustified absences, a supplementary written and oral exam will be required to cover the missing continuous assessment percentage.
• Students should discuss the following topics in small groups or pairs:
  • Reasons for wanting to be an EFL teacher
  • Personal English language learning experiences
  • Positive and negative experiences with English teachers in school
  • Positive and negative experiences with English classes
  • Self-assessment of language learning success

Successful Language Learners

• Characteristics
  • High tolerance for ambiguity: language is an art, not a science
  • Willingness to ask questions and experiment
  • Ability to develop an intuition for language patterns
  • Immersion in the language
  • Active reading habits (underlining, highlighting, note-taking)
  • Interest in other cultures and communities
  • Strong organisational and memory skills
  • Recognition of teachers as valuable resources outside of the classroom learning process (grammar books, etc.)
  • Independent and self-directed learning outside of the classroom
• Strategies
  • Learning explicit rules (i.e., grammar)
  • Learning language chunks (e.g., phrases, questions)
  • developing a "feel" for the language to recognize regularities/patterns in vocabulary and structures(e.g., word stress, adjectives/verbs)
  • Immersion in the language (e.g., labelling things, listening to podcasts and watching/reading English content)
• Assignment (Assignment): Reflect on language learning experiences and derive takeaways for EFL teachers.