English Language Teaching Methodology
Explore the topicsA Collection of TEFL Theory and Practice
Theory, methodology and practical resources for teachers, trainee teachers and students of TEFL.
This collection brings together articles and teaching materials developed over many years of experience in English language teaching and teacher education.
There are two examples of computerised Placement Tests. [A] a selective gap fill which will tell the user their level and [B] a multiple choice test which will calculate individual scores for grammar, vocabulary, reading and listening.
Explore English language teaching through ten areas of theory and practice, from pronunciation and grammar to testing, reading, writing and learner autonomy.
Explore by Topic
Ten areas of English language teaching theory and practice.
Pronunciation & Listening
Phonology, phonetics and approaches to listening and pronunciation teaching.
Explore → 02Syntax & Semantics
Grammar, vocabulary, dictionaries and varieties of English.
Explore → 03TESL / TEFL Methods
Major approaches and developments in language teaching.
Explore → 04Language Acquisition
Articles by Robert O'Neill on second-language acquisition, reproduced with his kind permission.
Explore → 05Syllabus & Course Design
Approaches to organising and planning language courses.
Explore → 06Testing & Assessment
Principles and practical issues in language testing.
Explore → 07Developing a Placement Test
A step-by-step exploration of test development.
Explore → 08Reading
Approaches to reading and the development of reading skills.
Explore → 09Writing
Writing activities, contexts, cohesion and correction.
Explore → 10Learner Independence
Helping learners develop autonomy and self-access skills.
Explore →English Pronunciation and Listening to Spoken English
Phonology, phonetics and approaches to listening and pronunciation teaching.
- Why learn or teach phonology?
- Priorities and materials for phonology and phonetics
- British English consonant sounds – final blends & assimilation
- British English vowel sounds – monophthongs
- British English vowel sounds – diphthongs
- Specifying the priorities for pronunciation teaching
- Teaching English intonation and stress
- The distinctive features of spoken English
- Difficulties in listening to spoken English
- Should spoken English be the principal objective in language learning?
- Idiom, cliché, jargon, slang, phoneme, allophone and redundancy
Syntax & Semantics
Grammar, vocabulary, dictionaries and varieties of English.
- Ways of presenting grammar
- Short texts for production and grammar presentation
- Dialogues for grammar presentation or conversation facilitation
- Uses of the Present Perfect Tense
- Grammar content of FCE course books (1979–1987)
- Key developments in teaching English vocabulary
- Books for learning and teaching vocabulary
- Concordancers and corpora in vocabulary learning
- Choosing a dictionary for language learning
- Occupational varieties of English
- Specialist dictionaries and companion workbooks
Grammar Crossword
History and Practice of TESL / TEFL Methods
Major approaches and developments in language teaching.
- Audiolingualism and Structuralism
- Cognitive theory and Mentalism
- The Notional / Functional approach
- Notional vs Structural syllabus design
- The Communicative Approach
- Definitions of learning and teaching methods
Methodology Crossword
Language Acquisition Forum
Articles by Robert O'Neill on questions and debates in second-language acquisition, reproduced with his kind permission.
Principles of Syllabus and Course Design
Approaches to organising and planning language courses.
Methods of Testing and Assessment
Principles, objectives and practical issues in language testing.
- Language testing objectives
- Objectives of test types
- Discrete-point vs integrative tests
- Subjective and objective testing
- Standardized tests
- Efficient test design
- Item analysis
- Assessing communication in L2
- Norm-referenced vs criterion-referenced tests
- Test reliability and validity
Testing Crossword
Developing a Placement Test
A step-by-step exploration of test development.
- Getting started developing a placement test
- Content specification 4 different bands
- PLACEMENT TEST [A] selective deletion set on an incline of difficulty
- Marking instructions correlation of scores and levels. Answer Key.
- Item analysis content validity and reliability
- Testing the test: measuring the facility & discrimination indexes of each item
- Testing the test: calculating the mean, standard deviation & reliability
- Reliability vs validity no aural/oral element
- Accommodating complete beginners for the duration of the test
- PLACEMENT TEST [B] Multiple Choice Parts I to IV Grammar Vocabulary Reading Listening
- Tapescript for part IV Listening
Reading in the Second Language Class
Approaches to reading and the development of reading skills.
Writing in the Second Language Class
Writing activities, contexts, cohesion and correction.
Learner Independence and Autonomy
Helping learners develop independence and self-access skills.
Robert O'Neill
I am indebted to Robert O'Neill for giving me permission to use his excellent articles on Language Acquisition.
It is with great sadness that I learnt of Robert's death. He died on 29th July 2014 at the age of 81. Both Robert and Julian Dakin, for whom Robert also had great regard, were hugely influential in their approaches and ideas, which continue to live on in their writing.
I had the great fortune to work at The English Language Centre Hove over a period of 18 years, where Robert had his office and contributed generously to teacher training and development. He will be greatly missed in many quarters.