Teaching English

This volume bridges the gap between theoretical approaches to foreign language teaching and the needs of lecturers, students, teacher trainees, and those teaching at the grassroots level. This book should help readers to profit from their own learning and teaching of English through reflected practice. Using English as a target language and language of communication, we apply Content and Language Integrated Learning to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Technical terms will also be presented in German (unless the translation is evident) in order to facilitate the transfer to Studienseminare. Teaching English covers – and reflects on – major issues and current trends in language learning and teaching, such as the turns towards constructivism, differentiation, empiricism, output-orientation, inter-/transcultural learning, and multimedia. The balance of practice and reflection in each chapter enables a flexible use of this volume in various teaching approaches. The sequence of the topics is structured for systematic introductions over the course of a semester. The first four chapters provide the historical background, the political framework, and the conceptual basis of TEFL in Educational Studies, Psychology, and Linguistics. All of the major topics of TEFL presented in the subsequent parts rely on this groundwork. In addition, individual readers can study the chapters in any order because core concepts are clearly defined at their first occurrence in the book and referenced in later chapters. The highlighting of key terms and important phrases, frequent cross-references, as well as the recapitulation and differentiation of core principles are designed to facilitate learning in the shape of a spiral curriculum. Each chapter comes with a thought-provoking cartoon, an overview of the learning objectives, key concepts, study questions, rewarding examples of classroom activities, and recommended reading. Additional material in the form of PowerPoint-presentations for teaching TEFL and pdf-files for learners is provided online. Additional examples of classroom activities are also available online at www.bachelor-wissen.de/9783823368311. Nancy Grimm deserves special recognition: in addition to writing ‘her parts’ of the book and competently commenting on the others, she masterminded the organization of the project with enormous zeal and great efficiency. Ultimately, each chapter gradually developed in a long and truly collaborative process. Many thanks are due to everyone who gave us plenty of helpful feedback on various chapters: the colleagues Melanie Green, Constanze Juchem-Grund