So You're Interested in Teaching ESL?
Participants will be introduced to all of the issues in language teaching generally. There will be lecture followed by discussion in seminar style. Many people assume that English as a foreign/second language is very difficult to learn. Of course it is difficult, but all natural human languages have their challenges and can only be judged relative to which other language English is compared to. There is a great body of research that has been done into the task of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). To some extent the course will look at English versus other common language backgrounds. This is a process referred to as "comparison and contrast." The most typical learners we encounter locally are native speakers of Spanish so some class time will be looking at what that means to us as teachers. As for our native language, most of us know the basics but there is very much more to consider in this profession. Many people want to volunteer in programs that teach ESL and it is widely assumed in America that nearly any native speaker of English is somehow equipped to teach it. This class will raise your skill level. It will survey teaching methodologies (including those featured on the World Wide Web), sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, phonetics/phonemes, pronunciation strategies, a review of English grammar including little appreciated topics such as phrasal verb behavior, tag questions, modal verbs, and more.
CLASS SCHEDULE: Subject to Change: Due to their very nature, our classes are “subject to change”. Class change notices will be sent via email to the email address on file. Please check your email OR check class status at the Community Programs website before your scheduled class.
DATES: 5 Wednesdays: June 11 - July 9, 2025
TIME: 6:00-8:30pm
FEE: $95
LOCATION: San Luis Obispo Campus Room 3412
INSTRUCTOR: John Walsh
QUESTIONS: Contact instructor at jfwalshman@yahoo.com or 661-803-2476
Meet the instructor | |
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John Walsh |
In 1983 I was awarded a Masters' Degree in TESOL/TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign/second language) at San Francisco State University. I was also selected for employment as an instructor at SFSU's American Language Institute. I began my ESL career teaching there and at the San Francisco YMCA working with people from Viet Nam and nearby Laos. Soon after I finished my degree I moved to Tokyo, Japan and stayed with the same job for 11 years, at Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuen, a premier, government sanctioned language Institute in Yotsuya, Tokyo. I also taught informally during extended periods I spent in Indonesia in the 1980s and 90s.I returned from Japan in 1995 and worked temporarily at Concordia University in Portland, OR. |