Opening

Dear English teachers and educators,

This is the first post on my new blog: TESOL Methodology－Thoughts and ideas based on a teacher's experience. I'm so excited to start my blog for sharing my knowledge and experience as a practitioner of English education. 

The objectives of this blog are the following; (1) cascading knowledge that I have acquired in TESOL Methodology, summer course 2023 from Online Professional English Network, (2) sharing my experience as an English teacher, (3) enhancing skills and techniques of both of us － visitors of this web page and me, through exchanging thoughts and ideas.

As written above, I participated in the professional English educators' course online this summer 2023, provided by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UBMC), as part of the Online Professional English Network (OPEN). The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

At the beginning of June, the orientation course started for the participants in all courses. It took about a month for me to complete it (the tasks and assginments per week are supposed to be completed in approximately five hours on average), so it guradually but surely guided me to dive into the main course coming next. 

TESOL Methodology course began at the beginning of July. It was full of useful knowledge and resources about current English teaching methods in the U.S.. Contrary to the orientation course, the main course was really a challenging one － at least for me. Participants are supposed to dedicate their time, five to ten hours per week on average, to complete each module every week. However, I realized sometimes I needed more than that. I am proud of all the effort that I contributed to achieve this goal and grateful for our instructor and other colleagues from various countires.


Here are the course modules below. I leave them as a note for those who are interested in participating in the course.

1. Teaching English Across Cultures

2. Second/ Foreign Language Teaching Methods

3. Focus on the Learner: Student Centered Teaching

4. Learning Styles, Strategies, and Critical Thinking

5. Instructional Strategies for Teaching Reading, Writing & Vocabulary

6. Instructional Strategies for Teaching Listening & Speaking

7. Lesson Planning Using Backwards Design

8. Self-Reflection and Professional Development: Beyond this course       

 

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