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Practice Teaching Handbook For students studying towards The Teach International qualifications: Certificate III in TESOL (offered in Australia and NZ): Four (4) hours of practice teaching required Certificate in TESOL (offered outside of Australia and NZ): Six (6) hours of practice teaching required Certificate IV in TESOL: Six (6) hours of practice teaching required

There are a number of files linked to this handbook. If you are preparing lesson plans the most critical is the PracticeTeaching.html.

Table of contents

Introduction_______________________________________________________________ page 1-2

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) option______________________________________ page 2

Procedure for Practice Teaching______________________________________________ page 3

Different ways to organise your Practice Teaching ________________________________ page 4

Minimal qualifications for assessors ___________________________________________ page 5

Lesson preparation ________________________________________________________ page 5

Industry Expectations for Practice Teaching Placement ___________________________ page 6

Practice Teaching Contract __________________________________________________ page 7

Lesson Evaluation Form ____________________________________________________ page 8-9

Examples of Completed Lesson Evaluation forms________________________________ page 10-22

Practice Teaching Feedback ________________________________________________ page 23

Introduction Practice Teaching gives you the opportunity to learn through teaching real students. There is no better way to gain confidence and competency in classroom teaching than to get in there and learn from doing. As you teach, an assessor records notes - providing written and oral feedback at the end of the teaching session. You will have completed the Introduction to TESOL component (either online or though a five day in-class course) and so have a basic idea of what you need to do. If you completed the Introduction to TESOL component through an in-class course, you will have prepared a lesson plan and had some practice teaching your peers. If you completed the Introduction to TESOL component online you will have viewed video and a set of files (also linked below from this document) illustrating how to prepare a lesson plan and how to teach. Since all of our courses should be completed within 12 months don’t leave it too long. There will be a minimal number of hours required for Practice Teaching according to the course you are enrolled in: iTESOL Certificate: No hours of practice teaching required Certificate III in TESOL (offered in Australia and NZ): Four (4) hours of practice teaching required Certificate in TESOL (offered outside of Australia and NZ): Six (6) hours of practice teaching required

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Certificate IV in TESOL: Six (6) hours of practice teaching required It is possible you will need to undertake additional hours to meet the pass criteria or to meet specific employment requirements e.g., in Canada you will have needed to have completed ten hours. If you do this let us know when you send in your completed lesson evaluation forms so we can reflect that on the back of your certificate. Apart from the Introduction to TESOL component there is no need to have completed other units before your practice teaching. You might think it advantageous to have completed the Grammar unit, but really what matters is that you can break down any grammar or linguistic component into a) showing it in context b) being clear about the USE (rule) when it is used, and (c) being clear about ‘some of’ the FORM (the way it is structured e.g., word endings, word order. It will take you years of teaching to accumulate a broad knowledge of grammar. Sometimes our trainees find employment before they have completed their study (this happens more often than you might think!) or they have been teaching ESOL one way or another before studying with us. If this is your case, you can read the section on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) below and possibly be cross credited for the practice teaching component of your course. There are various ways of organising your Practice Teaching and this is explained below.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) option

If you have prior TESOL experience in the last five years (150 hours for Cert III, 300 hours for Cert IV) you may apply for recognition of prior learning (RPL) for your Practice Teaching component - we will recognise your prior learning and cross credit the appropriate component/s.

TESOL incorporates TEFL, TESL. There are a number of areas within this, so that acronyms covering the scope of TESOL include: CALL Computer Assisted Language Learning CLOTE Community Language Other Than English CL Community Languages EAP English for Academic Purposes ELICOS English Language Instruction Course for Overseas Students ESP English for Special Purposes ESL English as a Second Language EWL English as a World Language LAC Language Across the Curriculum LBOTE Language Background Other than English LEP Low English Proficiency LOTE Language Other Than English NESB Non English Speaking Background TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language TESL Teaching English as a Second Language Areas that are not considered to fall within the discipline of TESOL (and so cannot be used for an RPL application) include: Communication Skills, Literacy and Numeracy (unless in a TESOL class environment), English literature, any general curriculum subject or teaching in any field other than TESOL. These disciplines are distinct from Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). For more information please download the RPL Handbook.pdf.

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Procedure for Practice Teaching

1. Organise your practice teaching. See different ways to organise your Practice Teaching in the next section. 2. Observe the Lesson Observation DVD. See the section on Lesson Preparation below. Watching the lessons on

the DVD is a good way to familiarise yourself on levels and to visualise what you will be doing when teaching.

3. Prepare your first one or two lesson plans. Again, see the section on Lesson Preparation below. There we also give you a link to PracticeTeaching.html which provides all the resources you will need. Allow approximately five (5) hours to prepare each one hour lesson. Always prepare lesson plans and have copies available for your assessor.

NOTE: In some cases, such as in an assistant teaching role your assessor will often initially involve you in observing, then helping out, then teaching parts of lessons, then teaching a full lesson or lessons. In this process you build up lesson delivery time over a number of sessions as long as there is at least one one hour teaching session.

About class observation. Because you will have observed lessons via the Lesson Observation DVD you do not need to observe further classes or the class you will be teaching. What really matters is that you plan well. As long as you know the level of the class you can use the resources we provide to prepare good lessons. Observing the actual class you are going to teach can also confuse you - maybe you will see a teacher teaching using a different method.

4. Teach your lessons as scheduled and be assessed doing so. Your assessor will write notes on the Lesson Evaluation Form and mark a set of criteria. The form is below (in this Handbook). At the end of each teaching session your assessor will provide verbal feedback and hand you the completed Lesson Evaluation form. Make sure you get the original of this because you will want to read over the comments and at the end we need you to send in all your completed Lesson Evaluation forms... 5. After all your practice teaching hours are completed, send your evaluation forms to Teach International. Ensure the completed forms are sent to the Teach International’s Academic Manager, as indicated on the bottom of the evaluation form. When posting, faxing, or emailing scanned copies, include a completed Practice Teaching Feedback form (see last page of this handbook).

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Different ways to organise your Practice Teaching

Practice teaching placement can be conducted at a Registered Training Organisation or Language College or School. Or, it can be conducted through a government sponsored agency, a Multicultural Centre, or even a privately organised English class. There must be at least three students in the class. In some cases Teach International can organise it. In other cases you might need to or want to organise it yourself – in this case we provide the necessary resources for you to do so. Here are the options: a) Through a Teach International free English community class run at Australian State capitals and Auckland. b) Through Study Overseas Programme language schools.

To see countries where we run Study Overseas Programmes (SOPs) – see the homepage of our website to check our SOP destinations. If you enrol in an SOP we will schedule your practice teaching as a part of that programme.

c) Through a Teach International graduate, who is qualified to assess you (you may be teaching their usual classes or they may organise some students for you).

Some Teach International graduates are able to help out with a trainee’s Practice Teaching, either by directly assessment, or by offering to put you in contact with someone who could. You can download a copy of these graduates xls spreadsheet*. To get direct help from graduates - when you open the spreadsheet you can sort by country. * This is a new launch as of 26 August, 2012, so please allow some time for the entries to build up. The full link of the xls spreadsheet is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ArYUmVJqq3qhdHFPbGh5SHl6cHZVRTcxeXBrN1BzYVE&output=xls When you introduce yourself to them, use this letter: IntroductoryLetterForIndependentlyOrganisingPracticeTeaching.pdf

d) Through your own connections, you may locate a suitably qualified teacher.

If you are introducing yourself to an organisation or teacher other than in Australia, use this letter: IntroductoryLetterForIndependentlyOrganisingPracticeTeaching.pdf. In this case, the introductory letter explains how you can reach a payment agreement directly with them for their assessment role. If you are introducing yourself to an organisation or teacher in Australia, use this letter: IntroductoryLetterForIndependentlyOrganisingPracticeTeachingAU.pdf. There is a financial reimbursement for your assessors if they are in Australia – which is evident on the introductory letter.

e) Organise a class of at least three students and have it videoed – sending the video media to Teach International for assessment.

Set the video up at the back of the class and forget it. Tell the students you are videoing yourself and if they are shy to sit with their back to the camera. Send the video media to Teach International and let us know it is coming so that our in-house assessor can assess you and provide feedback as quickly as possible.

Minimal qualifications for assessors

- A recognised degree OR five (5) years of TESOL experience.

- A TESOL certificate of no less than 100 hours and which included practice teaching. - No less than the equivalent of two years' (1600 hours) TESOL experience.

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Lesson preparation Practice Teaching HTML file

Refer to http://teachinternational.com/downloads/PracticeTeaching.html. This file, and its attachments, provides everything you need to prepare lessons. It includes: - Video on how to construct a lesson plan, teach the target language section, and devise free activities, demonstrate free activities. - A link to a file giving you a step by step process on how to build a lesson plan, either from a topic or from content from a course book. - A link to a set of dialogues with the lesson aims worked out for you and the target language underlined. We call these ‘Starter Lesson Plans’ because they jump start you in the lesson preparation process. - Video of a teacher teaching a class (from the DVD below). Lesson Observation DVD

By the end of the Introduction to Introduction to TESOL component you will have been provided with a Lesson Observation DVD This video has prompts indicating what is happening. The lessons on the DVD have lesson plans that you can access here: 1. Elementary (speaking focus).pdf 2. PreIntermediate (speaking focus).pdf 3. Intermediate (speaking focus).pdf 4. Upper-Intermediate (speaking focus).pdf 5. Intermediate (reading focus).pdf 6. Upper-Intermediate (listening and reading).pdf 7. Upper-Intermediate (writing focus).pdf

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Industry Expectations for Practice Teaching Placement

Practice teaching requires an understanding of the nature of the arrangements, which are cooperative and can have glitches. You may need to adjust your availability to make arrangements work. Once you are in a role in front of students you will be expected to conduct yourself professionally as a teacher, even though you are in training. Apart from following a smart casual or office work dress code, the work culture of teaching is such that you cannot trust that others will not sort out issues for you without you being cooperatively involved. Teaching is people intensive and requires much cooperation and collaboration. If you do come across issues that surprise you, reserve your judgement, try and sort out what you can and seek assistance from your assessor and/or support personnel at the school and here at Teach International. If you are sick give as much notice as is humanly possible. Last minute phone calls saying you cannot teach is frowned upon in the teaching profession no matter whether you are sick or not. A word about using photocopiers at schools. Generally, if you ask the assessor they can help you out. There may also be a liaison person to ask. However, always allow plenty of time to deal with photocopying – at least half an hour before your class. This timing takes into account that at many the schools there will be a few disorganised teachers lining up to photocopy as it gets closer to the class starting time (even though they should also have done their copying earlier) and you do not want to be in a queue like that at the photocopier.

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Practice Teaching Contract Provide this completed form to your assessor when you first meet.

I, the undersigned, hereby give my personal guarantee to attend the nominated practice teaching program, and to:

1. Attend the full practice teaching placement as agreed.

2. Always be punctual (15 minutes before observing, 30 minutes before teaching, with materials photocopied).

3. Give a minimum of 3 day’s notice if unable to attend any day or lesson, and only for serious reasons such

as being sick will be accepted without penalties incurred.

4. Dress appropriately according to the standards of the college (for men: open-necked shirt, smart-casual slacks and shoes. Avoid t-shirts, jeans, sneakers. For women: collared or modest top with sleeves, slacks or skirt, etc). This standard could be more formal so pay attention to the dress code on your first visit. Grooming should also be considered, such as facial hair for men being neatly trimmed and facial piercings removed.

5. Treat students and staff with respect at all times.

6. Seek advice from Teach International trainers as a back up to any help the assessor provides.

7. Always have lessons well-prepared (with copies available for the supervisor) and materials/resources

ready and photocopied to anticipate the number of students.

8. Maintain the confidentiality of any information gained while on the premises where the practice Teaching is held.

9. Maintain ethical boundaries in the classroom - no coercion of students towards any political, religious or

ethical beliefs. Trainee Teacher’s Name: __________________________________________________________ Class/School: ________________________________________________________ City: _________________________________________ Signature: ____________________________________ Date: ____________________________ Assessor Name: _______________________________

Teach International Lesson Evaluation Form (page 1 of 2)

This form is used to assess Teach International trainee teachers for their teaching practice to real students. It is to be completed by a qualified and experienced TESOL teacher. Multiple forms can be used as needed and/or notes can be extended to the reverse side. Page one is used to record general comments, suggested improvements, and summary comments. Page two is to record competencies in specific areas and as a whole lesson.

A Trainee may need to undertake additional hours of practice teaching in order to meet the pass criteria on page 2 of this Lesson Evaluation Form. For the trainee: At the end of your practice teaching which will cover the hours needed and reaching the pass level, please return a completed copy of all your completed Lesson Evaluation forms. Fax or scan and email them to the: Academic Manager, Teach International Pty Ltd, Fax to: 61 (1) 300884406. Email to: academicmanager@teachinternational.com.

Trainee Teacher’s Name: Assessor Name:

General Comments Suggestions for Improvement

Summary

Was the trainee teacher: punctual and attended as expected? appropriately dressed and groomed? respectful and professional?

For assessors: I hold: a recognised degree OR five (5) years of TESOL experience; a TESOL certificate of no less than 100 hours and which included practice teaching; and no less than the equivalent of two years' (1600 hours) TESOL experience. If I have not done so previously, I have provided my CV to the trainee to pass on to Teach International Pty Ltd. I have read the Teach International Practice Teaching Handbook and viewed the content and attachments of http://www.teachinternational.com/downloads/PracticeTeaching.html. This has familiarised me with the instructions and resources that have been provided to trainees for preparing lessons and teaching during their Practice teaching. I am providing the original or a copy of this completed form to the trainee teacher (If in software form it is provided as a non editable PDF with page two (2) displayed as one page so the trainee can attach that to their CV if they desire. As an independent assessor I would be happy to assist other trainees from Teach International with their practice and have completed the form at http://www.teachinternational.com/downloads/JoinTeachIntPracticeTeachingAndJobAdviceNetwork.html. If another trainee approaches me with a Letter of Introduction, and I do not have a reimbursement agreement directly with Teach International, I understand I can charge the trainee directly – as per his/her Letter of Introduction.

Teach International Pty Ltd Lesson Evaluation Form (p2 of 2) for recording competencies

Trainee: Certificate: Date:

Class/School: City: Duration of class:

Assessor: Signature: Email:

Well-prepared, organised (lesson plan, resources, etc) To develop Competent

Appropriate lesson plan used (adults or children): Not childish for adults, or advanced reasoning for children Suitable objectives for the level and age of learners: Clearly identifiable, not too general or too specific, achievable by the end of the lesson, include a Communicative and Linguistic/Grammar aims, communicative aim describes a real world communicative situation

Aids and materials appropriate and well organised. (Appropriate for the activities) Lesson and materials appropriate for the age and cultural background of learners: Not prejudicial or confronting, any blending of communication skills appropriate to needs

Overall Classroom/Lesson Management To develop Competent

Developed positive rapport with students: Chatting before lesson, using names where reasonably possible, friendly mood, open to questions, encouraging, available at end of class

Used pair and group work effectively: In line with aims, A & B prompt cards as needed, role play props, *see below on demonstrating, see interactive activities below

Facilitation of activities: Echo correcting by quick response and gesture for students to repeat without engaging in activity itself, monitoring/listening stance, can take notes on errors instead of echo correction and include in take up at end, include take-up

Appropriate use of materials and whiteboard: Organised placement – new vocab, target language, homework, alternative language; allow students to have copy before or after removing target language context, size readable from back of class, tidy handwriting style

Student-Centred Classroom/Lesson To develop Competen t

Included interactive activities: Activities that include communicatively interactive roles, dominant interactive activities for speaking and listening skills, blended skills lesson can reflect interaction of communication modes e.g. might have email response after phone call or conversation about a read text

Appropriate ratio of student/teacher talk time (goal 80/20): Avoiding explanation where demonstration is possible - see Activities demonstrated and not explained below, for listening and writing activities first example provided, avoiding off the subject discussion, reflected in amount of student activities, avoidance of lecturing style, for listening and writing skills time doing an activity can be included in 80/20 goal

Activities demonstrated not explained: All pair work and role play type activities demonstrated by starting to do the actual activity as a model, avoidance of unnecessary explanation, use concept checking questions so on the word “go” students know what to do, and game rules stated and checked

Target language clearly and effectively presented: Target language may include but is not limited to grammar forms, functional phrases, vocabulary, word collocations (groups), or other linguistic aspect e.g. phonetics, rhythm, intonation, patterns of sound, gesture and language; For speaking focus lessons target language is underlined within a dialogue, pre-teaching of essential vocabulary, concepts questions focus on general meaning and target language, Some aspects of FORM and USE to board; Drilling of a dialogue or parts of a dialogue for higher levels is included; For skills lessons other than speaking form/construction can be focussed on - usually extrapolated after skills work; Target language trackable through the lessons

Used positive reinforcement: Encouraging and praising the efforts of the students Presentation Skills To develop C omp et en t

Gave clear instructions: Concise, used imperatives, no waffling, no restating in other words Used non-verbal communication effectively: Positive body language with clear, appropriate gestures that clarifies language demonstrations and instruction

Speech was appropriately graded: Not too complex or unusual vocabulary in relation to the lesson and class level; conversely, not too simple – child-speak or pidgin with verbs/articles or subjects missing or limited repetitive vocabulary

Spoke with a clear voice at a suitable pace: Clear in regards to accent, speed and volume, no mumbling Lesson was well paced: Activities were well timed for the lesson, providing adequate practice time, not prolonging - tying up activities and moving on, free activities at the end of lesson are not crowded out, not going over or under time by a large margin

Tick Overall quality of teaching performance during lesson observed

A Proficient The trainee is showing exceptionally proficient and confident delivery. Where overall lesson performance is at this level, the assessor will be able to advise the trainee that they are ready to construct blended skills lessons. It would also be appropriate for the assessor-trainer to discuss alternative ways, beyond the initial training given, for the trainee to explore their own pedagogical style, such as greater depth of skills integration, blending TPR, task based approaches, sociolinguistic emphasis.

B Very competent The trainee is showing proficient and confident delivery. Where overall lesson performance is at this level, the assessor/trainer will be able to suggest ways the trainee can hone their skills and to discuss alternative ways of handling stages of their lessons in relation to lesson aims. Language learning is clearly evident.

C Competent at the pass level [Must reach this level on at least one occasion]

The trainee is showing procedural control of the performance area. Where overall lesson performance is at this level, the assessor will be able to suggest ways the trainee can improve their skills and advise them to concentrate on these areas to consolidate their teaching performance. There may be significant discussion on improving the alignment of lesson stages with lesson aims. Language Learning is achieved all be it with room for improvement. The assessor-trainer does not feel any compunction to interrupt the teaching.

C- Less competent than expected

The trainee is not yet showing skilled and efficient performance of the performance area. The lesson will work without the assessor stepping in, though they may, from the background, need to provide verbal and physical cues. The assessor/trainer will need to review, in discussion, how procedures should be followed. Language Learning is evident only through some aspects of the lesson.

D Not competent

The trainee is unable to demonstrate competence in the performance area. The assessor-trainer may well step in to provide verbal and physical cues in order to keep the lesson on track. Where this level of performance is noted in only a few areas the assessor/trainer will likely need to support learning by providing mini teaching input as part of feedback. Where overall lesson performance is at this level, the trainee might well need to undertake retraining. Language learning is not evident.

Teach International Pty Ltd © 2012. www.teachinternational.com

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For the above Lesson Evaluation form you can either print out pages 8-9 of this document or download the http://www.teachinternational.com/downloads/PracticeTeachingHandbookLessonEvaluationform.pdf

Examples of completed Lesson Evaluation forms

The following examples on the next 14 pages cover: A Certificate III trainee doing very well, a Certificate III student doing well (to pass level), a Certificate III student struggling, a Certificate IV OR Certificate in TESOL student doing very well, a second Certificate IV OR Certificate in TESOL student doing very well, and a third Certificate IV OR Certificate in TESOL student doing very well. These are provided as a guide for assessors and for trainees to show the sort of comments you can expect. These comments will vary widely as they are made according to the assessor’s judgement of the trainees need for comment and the various stages of their practice teaching learning curve.

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Example of a completed Lesson Evaluation form: A Certificate III trainee doing very well

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Example of a completed Lesson Evaluation form: A Certificate III student doing well (Pass level)

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Example of a completed Lesson Evaluation form: A Certificate III student struggling.

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Example of a completed Lesson Evaluation form: A Certificate IV OR Certificate in TESOL student doing very well

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Example of a completed Lesson Evaluation form: A second Certificate IV OR Certificate in TESOL student doing very well

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Example of a completed Lesson Evaluation form: A third Certificate IV OR Certificate in TESOL student doing well

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Practice Teaching Feedback

After completing your practice teaching experience, Teach International would greatly appreciate it if you would complete the following feedback sheet to help us improve the delivery of the practical components of our courses.

Your Name: _____________________________________________

Practice Teaching Period: From ____________ to ______________

Assessor: ______________________________________________

Name of school/class: ____________________________________

Email address of assessor (if known): ___________________________________________

1. The information I was given by Teach International about how my practical experience would be organised was clear and easy to understand.

1 2 3 4 5

2. The information concerning what I had to do on my prac was clear and easy to follow. 1 2 3 4 5

3. Teach International staff has been very helpful in all aspects of providing me with information I needed in regard to practice teaching.

1 2 3 4 5

4. I felt welcome when I arrived at my prac teaching site. 1 2 3 4 5

5. The general office staff was helpful and courteous. 1 2 3 4 5

6. The organizational processes at the prac site were well administered (e.g. I knew where to go. I knew who my supervisor was. I knew what I was expected to do and when. Etc.)

1 2 3 4 5

7. My assessor/supervising teacher was very professional in their relationship with me. 1 2 3 4 5

8. My assessor/supervising teacher was willing to share their knowledge and experience as an ESL teacher with me.

1 2 3 4 5

9. My assessor/supervising teacher was a very experienced and capable ESL teacher. 1 2 3 4 5

10. Other teaching staff were willing to share their knowledge and experience with me. 1 2 3 4 5

11. I was able to learn a lot by observing classes at the prac teaching location. 1 2 3 4 5

12. I was able to teach a whole class group. 1 2 3 4 5

13. I was able to teach small groups of students. 1 2 3 4 5

14. The feedback I received from my supervisor/assessor was very helpful. 1 2 3 4 5

15. I received my ‘Evaluation of Lesson Delivery’ at the end of each formal observation. 1 2 3 4 5

16. I have a greater appreciation and understanding of what it is to be an ESL teacher. 1 2 3 4 5

17. The experience has been motivational for me. 1 2 3 4 5

18. I feel more confident in my ability to teach English as a Second/Foreign Language. 1 2 3 4 5

Overall Impressions:

__________________________________________________________________________

What was helpful?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

What could we do to improve the practical experience component of the course?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Please add any other comments about the practical teaching experience:

____________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

May we use your comments on our website and/or in our marketing material? Yes/No Signature: ___________________________________ Date: _______________________ NOTE for trainee: Hand a copy of this to your supervisor and forward it by post, fax or scanned and attached to an email, with your completed

Lesson Evaluation forms to: Academic Manager, Teach International Pty Ltd, PO Box 402, Upper Coomera, Queensland 4209, Australia. Fax: 61 (01) 300 884406 or Email: academicsupprt@teachinternational.com.

Please circle one number for the statements below, where

1 = strongly disagree 2= disagree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree