Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE)
Materials Development for Language Education
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Availability
Accommodation Homestay / Residence
Price Range £796.00 per week
Price Includes Course fees, accommodation, social programme
Beginners Not for beginners
Class Size 16 maximum
Course Length 2 weeks
Town / City & Region Norwich , Eastern England
Tuition Style Group
Tuition Hours Per Week 25.0
Ages 18 - 65
Course Type Teachers
Other Information
All of our teacher development courses are eligible for ERASMUS+ funding
Course overview
This course will help you understand both the theory and practice of materials development.
It will take a systematic approach to understanding second language acquisition theory and how this emerges in materials. You will also understand the importance of context analysis when writing materials and you will gain a comprehensive understanding in the principles of course book evaluation and adaptation and finally materials design. It will explore the various micro skills involved in materials development and will culminate in the creation of a portfolio of material for use in your specific contexts. The course will also investigate issues relating to task design and use of authentic materials.
Who is the course suitable for?
- Any teacher who has to produce her/his own materials for classroom use
- Any teacher who wishes to gain a practical grasp of the principles and practice of materials development in language teaching.
- Participants with a minimum language level corresponding to B2/C1 on the Common European Framework
Though the course is primarily targeted at teachers of English, it is also open to teachers of other languages, provided that they have a suitable level of English (as above).
What will the course include?
All course participants receive a pre-course questionnaire, which should be returned prior to
the course. This is to ensure that the areas of most relevance to participants are covered.
However, topics are likely to be drawn from the following:
- Second language acquisition and its implications for materials writing
- Language teaching pedagogy and its realisation in materials
- Needs analysis as a starting point for materials development
- Materials evaluation
- Materials adaptation
- Materials editing
- Materials design (including principles of task design)
- Materials writing (including working with authentic materials)
Participants will assemble a portfolio of materials collected and developed during the course for
use in their own teaching contexts back home. They will be asked to present these materials to
an audience of peers during the last 2/3 days of the course. Time will be built into the course
for reflection and for participants to consider how to adapt ideas from the course to their own
professional contexts. All NILE’s courses involve a significant element of English language improvement and/or development of language awareness
How long is the course?
The 50-hour course provision is built around intensive tuition from trainers who are experts in
the field of teaching English for academic purposes and also includes opportunities for reading
and research, as well as guest lectures from well-known figures in the field of ELT. Classes are
held from Monday to Friday and take place as detailed in the course-specific timetable but
always within the hours 0915 – 1715.
What approach is used?
- Classes will be practical and ‘hands-on’, but with reference to relevant theory.
- Courses are participant-centred involving tasks providing memorable learning contexts.
- Tasks will be used to illustrate the key course objectives through procedure and content.
- The approach includes opportunities for exploring key and contemporary issues
Facilities and Resources
NILE course participants have free access to an extensive ELT library and a modern suite of
computers with a broadband Internet link. The NILE course venues have a wireless (Wi-Fi)
environment. Each course has a Moodle online learning environment where course materials
and views of course participants can be shared digitally. This is kept active for at least six
months beyond the course so you can keep in touch with fellow course participants
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