Various Teaching Styles Discussed in “Shaping the Way We Teach English.“ Click to enlarge |
As a Courserian with inherent academic interests, you’ve likely come across at least one educator that truly impressed you with their presentation style, creative lesson plans or uncanny ability to deeply engage with students. Some instructors make teaching seem like natural gift, as if they were born knowing ideal syllabus outlines and final projects topics.
Most teachers, however, know that learning from other educators, psychologists and institutions is a smarter tactic than trying to craft the classroom experience all on their own. That’s why there have been over ten thousand course completions to date from Coursera’s Teacher Professional Development suite, which are expertly designed to train teachers on the best modern instructional techniques.
In a survey of TPD students, we asked: "What teacher professional development content would you like to see more of on Coursera?”, of which 28.4% (or 1384 respondents) answered “Students with limited-English proficiency.”
We’re thrilled to announce the latest addition to the TPD portfolio: the first “English as a Foreign Language” course series, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the University of Oregon.
The free two-part series “Shaping the Way We Teach English, 1: The Landscape of English Language Teaching” and “2: Paths to Success in ELT” begins on April 7 and May 12 (respectively) and may be taken in any order. Students who successfully complete the class will receive a Statement of Accomplishment from the U.S. Department of State and the UO.
“This course allows educators anywhere to sign up for free and learn English-teaching strategies from top-ranked university faculty,” said Leslie Opp-Beckman, Director of eLearning in the UO’s American English Institute, a program of the Department of Linguistics. Opp-Beckman, who has worked for more than a decade developing the framework through a series of cooperative agreements with the Office of English Language Programs of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, highlights that “Participants will find themselves in a unique, multimedia-rich collaborative environment that allows them to interact with English-language educators from all over the world.”
Interacting with students from around the world is one of the most enriching aspects of learning on Coursera. For teachers, this means exposure to an entirely new base of educators to collaborate and gain strategies from, and allows teachers to expand beyond their usual location or industry-based networks into a diverse but like-minded community.
Enjoy taking the first “English as a Foreign Language” course on Coursera and remember to always keep learning without limits!
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