Language Teaching: Theoretical and Practical Approaches



Why do we teach the way we teach? How can we enlighten our teaching choices?



This course will first explore the question of teaching methodologies. How do we characterize a teaching methodology? We will study several teaching methodologies, and will learn when and where they were developed and put into practice. We will explore how to choose the best methodology for your class, and why you should be able to switch from one methodology to another within the same class. This will lead us to explore questions of:

- aims of language teaching: what should the learner be able to do upon completion of the class?

- theoretical models underlying descriptions of the language, explanations of how it works and language representations (both learner’s and teacher’s representation)

- pedagogical resources available for the teacher

- learning styles and pedagogical relationship

- political and educational language policy (institutional expectations evidenced by assessment practices, and the place and role of language teaching in curriculum, among other factors.)