Materials Development in ELT

dates:  01 -12 August, 2016

The course is designed for:

• any teachers who have to produce their own materials for classroom use
• any teachers who wish to gain a practical grasp of the principles and practice of materials
  development in language teaching.
• participants with a minimum language level corresponding to B2/C1 on the Common European Framework
• Although the course is primarily targeted at teachers of English, it is also open to teachers of other languages, provided that they have a suitable level of English (as above)

Aims and objectives are to develop:

• participants' critical awareness of the theories of language acquisition and language pedagogy which are potentially applicable to materials development;
• participants' ability to formulate and apply principled criteria for the evaluation and adaptation of language learning materials;
• participants' expertise in the different aspects of materials development (e.g. text selection and exploitation, the writing of instructions, the use of illustrations, the design and layout of a unit etc);
• participants' ability to work both independently and in a team to produce a variety of different types of effective language learning materials;
• participants' ability to articulate the principles, objectives and procedures of materials which they produce

All course participants receive a pre-course questionnaire, which should be returned prior to the course. This is to ensure that the areas of most relevance to participants are covered. However, it is expected that course content will be drawn from the following broad topic areas:

• Second language acquisition and its implications for materials writing
• Language teaching pedagogy and its realisation in materials
• Needs analysis as a starting point for materials development
• Materials evaluation
  Materials adaptation
• Materials editing
• Materials design (including principles of task design)
• Materials writing (including working with authentic materials)

Participants will assemble a portfolio of materials collected and developed during the course for use in their own teaching contexts back home. They will be asked to present these materials to an audience of peers during the last 2/3 days of the course.

Time will be built into the course for reflection and for participants to consider how to adapt ideas from the course to their own professional contexts.  It will involve a significant element of English language improvement and/or development of language awareness.

The 50-hour course provision includes intensive tuition by trainers who are experts in the field of materials development, as well as opportunities for reading and research and guest lectures from well- known figures in the field of ELT.  Classes will be practical and ‘hands-on' but with reference to relevant theory.

Fees:

Please note that these prices do not include airport transfers.

The school was established in 1995 by directors with extensive experience of ELT worldwide.  It was set up as a specialist teacher development institute to provide courses of the highest quality for teachers from all over the world. The number and range of these courses continues to grow, and the range of work has been extended to cover the following main areas:

• Professional development programmes for EL teachers and trainers
• Professional development programmes for CLIL teachers (using English as a medium of instruction), including vocational teachers
• Modular postgraduate courses up to Masters level for second or foreign language teaching professionals under a programme validated by Leeds Metropolitan University
• CELTA and DELTA training (as an accredited centre for Cambridge ESOL)
• BEC and TKT exam preparation courses by arrangement
• International consultancy
• International project management
• Delivery of short courses, seminars and workshops worldwide
• One-to-one and executive language training

The school has grown to become the biggest single provider of professional development courses for EL teachers and trainers in Europe. It was the first institute to be accredited by the British Council for the provision of teacher development courses and all these courses qualify for either Comenius, Grundtvig or Leonardo funding. It is a member of EnglishUK and an official examination centre for Cambridge exams. It is also one of the very few independent UK organisations accredited to run courses offering qualifications up to Masters level, through a modular programme allowing teachers to choose to go for a PG Cert., PG Dip., or an MA. It also runs BEC and TKT exam preparation courses by special arrangement. Its Cambridge CELTA courses have a 99% pass rate.

Hundreds of courses for thousands of participants from over 60 different countries have been run. As well as running open-enrolment courses, the school works closely with education ministries, regional authorities and institutional partners around the world to design and deliver tailor-made courses. Consultants and trainers are also sent all over the world to help with practical advice and training in the field of English language education.

Homestay accommodation is provided in single study-bedrooms with carefully selected hosts. It comprises bed, breakfast & evening meal each day and light lunch (or packed lunch, as appropriate) at weekends.

Residential accommodation is provided on campus at the University of East Anglia in single study-bedrooms with private bathroom. The accommodation is on a bed & breakfast (B&B) basis in university houses or flats with a shared kitchen/dining room, fully equipped for self-catering.