Linguistics course design

Project description
The assessment for the module consists of a portfolio of work, of up to 6,000 words maximum, related to the design of a specific course. Students with teaching experience could base the work on a real group of students that they are teaching or have taught. Those without teaching experience can either base the work on a class in which they have been a learner, or on an imaginary class, or on a scenario provided by the module tutor.

The portfolio should demonstrate a good awareness of theory and research, and should be supported by wide reading in these areas. In addition to a contents page and bibliography, the portfolio should contain the seven sections outlined below.

Portfolio contents:

1. A situation and needs analysis, giving all details available before the course begins.

This section includes a situation and needs analyses related to the students the course you are desigining for. For example, you may have information about the students from their previous teachers, or you may be able to send out a pre-course questionnaire or even interview your students before the course, or you may have the results of a placement test. On the other hand, you may know very little about individual students before the first class.

2. Aims and objectives for your course.

These should be the overall aims and objectives you set before the course begins. They may be modified during the course to a greater or lesser extent.

3. An explanation of how you arrived at the initial aims and objectives.

This should be related both to the situation analysis in (1) and to your wider knowledge and beliefs about language, language acquisition and teaching.

4. An initial course design for about the first twenty hours of teaching.

The exact number of hours covered should be chosen as appropriate for your situation. Include details of how you selected the content, how the content relates to the course objectives, how you decided on the sequencing of the content, and how the course incorporates a sense of progression. You should make reference to your knowledge and beliefs about language, language acquisition and teaching.

5. A discussion of how you will implement and adapt the course design.

Describe the factors that you will take into account in your on-going planning. These should include your initial aims and objectives as well as assessment of the students and evaluation of the course.

6. A book review of language teaching materials.

This should also relate to your particular context, learners and view of the syllabus. If you have based previous sections on a particular course, you must not use the same course book for this section.

7. Three activities / tasks for different lessons in your course.

These should also relate to the specified group. One of the activities should use materials you have created yourself, and the others should provide evidence of adaptation. Adapted materials should be accompanied by details of how and why you have adapted them for your students. Materials you have created should be labelled as such and be accompanied by a brief rationale for their design and an evaluation of their effectiveness. You should acknowledge the source of any material that you did not write yourself.