Teaching Advanced Students

Course Summary

This is a primarily a language improvement course which also includes a methodological element. This course will open your eyes to a wide range of exciting areas to explore with advanced students. It will provide you with fresh and motivating activities and strategies to improve both your own and your students' English.

Programme of the training activities

• How to create a powerful motivated cohesive study group. You will work on group forming exercises.
• Practical classroom applications of the work of Corpus Linguistics (the differences between authentic English and English that is taught at many schools and universities)
• Work on native-speaker errors
• Having fun with English through language games, humour, poetry etc.
• Work on your own and the learners feeling for ‘the Spirit of English'
• Learning that short, challenging materials can offer a refreshing alternative to endlessly long reading and listening texts.
• Language and its relation to culture and ident

Expected results
As a result of attending this course, the participants will be equipped with a variety of ideas and frameworks that will enable them to teach advanced students in a refreshing, more challenging way.

Is this the right course for me?

• Yes, if you want to enjoy a new and exciting journey into the English language.
• Yes - if you already enjoy teaching advanced students. This course will encourage you to enjoy it even more!
• Yes - if teaching advanced students worries or scares you.

If this is not the right course for you, please consider the following:

• English for Primary Teachers or English for Secondary Teachers for a more language focused course.
• Methodology for Teaching Spoken Grammar and Language Language if you want to focus more on the ever increasing influence of corpus based linguistics.

Programme of the training activities day by day:
Please note this is an example of a daily programme. Course content may often be usefully adapted to incorporate the needs of each specific group.

Week 1

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday AM
9.00-10.30 Introductions and group bonding. Ice breakers and group formation activities Listening exercises based on authentic sources Spoken v Written Grammar. An introduction and overview Materials adaptation. Focus on advanced examination materials Vocabulary. Adapting the Lexical Approach to the needs of advanced learners 11.00-12.30 Needs analysis and goal setting Grammar, syntax and phonology practice through deconstructing a text Writing activities. Learner generated texts Vocabulary. Homophones, homographs and homonyms Language play v language games. Focus on ambiguity PM
14.00-15.30 Speaking practice. Language and identity. What makes a language user? Truly advanced? Vocabulary. Collocation and connotation of words which are easily confused Phonology. Practising phonemes and features of connected speech Speaking and reading. Cooperative text construction activities Review of week one, including feedback and goal setting for week two

Week 2

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday AM
9.00-10.30 Warmer: Review of weekend activities. Grammar practice. Generating authentic dialogues How culture influences language. Some specific examples Listening. Regional accents and dialects Political correctness. Overview and examination Challenging and motivating dictation activities 11.00-12.30 Grammar Practice. Teaching what is traditionally "untaught" Phonology. Stress and intonation activities Language change: Youth language Codes of Politeness. The role of vague language and understatement in English Language and humour. Jokes and spotting "howlers" In texts PM
14.00-15.30 Spoken language in context. An examination of the boundaries of meaning Word formation. Practising prefixes and affixes in context Native speaker "errors". An overview British v US English. Lexical and grammatical differences Course review, evaluation and farewells

Recommended Reading: Please note it is not necessary to buy or bring these books to the course.

• "The Cambridge Grammar of English" R. Carter & M. McCarthy (CUP) 2006

• "Natural Grammar" S. Thornbury (OUP) 2005

• "Changing Skies" A. Pulverness (DELTA) 2002"

Type of the certification awarded in the language of the training:
Attendance certificate detailing topics covered and course content.