TESOL Made Practical

By Paula Withers

TESOL Made Practical Second Edition is an Australian first. This 180 page (approx) book provides essential information to people entering, or practicing in, the TESOL profession. The text includes practical tasks and questions for reflection which assist the reader in processing and assimilating new concepts. Topics are addressed powerfully and practically in a coherent, succinct manner and embody the core components of TESOL including:

• Language, culture and learning,
• Analysing language
• Teaching speaking, listening, reading and writing
• Teaching English grammar
• Teaching spelling and pronunciation
• Planning syllabuses and lessons
• Assessing ESL learners
• Managing classroom logistics
• Developing resource files

Appendices contain useful additional reference material for TESOL Teachers including:

• A lesson plan pro-forma
• Verb tenses - examples and formation
• International phonetic alphabet chart with key words
• Key word chart for classroom use
• ESL exams
• Answers to transposition exercises

Purchasing Instructions

If you would like to purchase "Tesol Made Practical" please fill in the order form (available on the right) and mail it to us. Mail To: Language Training Institute P.O. Box 1061 Nambour, Qld 4560, Australia

For more a more detailed description of this dynamic publication, read the authors own words about the book that can change the way you Teach English to Speakers of Other Languages:

"TESOL made practical is a training manual written for Certificate IV level trainees from diverse backgrounds. It is intended to equip people for teaching English as a second or foreign language in a variety of settings from situations in which there is a high degree of support (eg. prescribed syllabus or course materials) to the opposite extreme where there is very little or no support. The training, as the name states, is intentionally practical in its goals with both the language learner and the teacher in mind."

"TESOL made practical refers firstly to the practical motivation behind language learning. Language learning and teaching begins with the practical tasks that people need to complete using English. Trainees develop skills in analysing tasks and texts to identify the kind of language used to achieve specific social purposes. Drawing on genre theory, the manual highlights the common structural and linguistic features associated with a variety of text types and increases awareness of the choices being made in every communicative transaction. With the ability to analyse texts comes the capacity to teach the language needed for any particular task. The approach to language teaching and learning presented in this training manual is based on systemic functional linguistics theory."

"TESOL made practical also refers to the practical goal of the training, which is to equip teachers for the whole spectrum of teaching duties from planning through to delivery. The manual outlines how to identify learners' needs and formulate them into learning goals, which in turn become the basis for a syllabus or training program. With this preparation, ESL/EFL teachers will be able to design training programs and original materials for any particular group of learners. In situations where the only directive given is as vague as, "Please, teach them English," teachers have the skills to plan a purposeful and meaningful learning program with interesting and engaging activities."

"TESOL made practical also guides trainees to recognise and exploit everyday texts for their potential use in language learning activities thus reducing dependence on published materials which may not be easily accessed in remote teaching situations, or which may even prove to be culturally irrelevant or inappropriate. This practical training means you no longer have to be tied to an inadequate course book, you'll be ready to enrich and expand, or diverge altogether."

"Practical is the most apt description of this training, and I sincerely hope and expect that you will feel confident to step into classrooms or tutoring situations around the world."

Paula Withers (Author)