Overview
Are you interested in teaching English to speakers of other languages? If so, then welcome to the world of TESOL! This course is designed to prepare you to teach English in settings where a formal credential is not required. If you are taking a short-term overseas trip to teach English, or if you work with local immigrants in your community, or if you simply want to help a friend or neighbor improve her English proficiency, this course will help you. This course will also introduce you to the field of TESOL and show you other opportunities for you to be trained.
This self-paced, fully online course contains seventeen video lessons featuring Dr. Kitty Purgason, the Program Director for Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Biola University. Each video, which averages 10 minutes in length, is accompanied by a downloadable worksheet to help you retain the concepts and a reflection question to help you process what you have learned. Additionally, at periodic intervals throughout the course, you will encounter application projects that will help you think through your goals as a TESOL instructor and prepare a lesson plan for one of your teaching sessions. Finally, a wide variety of resources will be presented so that you have ample materials for your lessons as well as plenty of avenues for further study.
The complete set of video material runs about four hours in length. We encourage you to take as much additional time as you desire to engage in the reflection questions and develop at least one lesson plan.
TESOL: Essentials is part of a series of courses that make up the TESOL Certificate, designed to equip learners with the essentials of teaching the English language, often in an informal, non-academic setting. This course can be taken individually or as a part of the Professional Certificate.
Explore other TESOL Courses:
- TESOL: Essentials
- TESOL: Teaching Speaking
- TESOL: Teaching Pronunciation
- TESOL: Professionalism
- TESOL: Classroom Management
- TESOL: Teaching Grammar
- TESOL: Teaching Vocabulary
- TESOL: Course Design
By taking this course you will automatically earn credit toward Biola LEARN’s TESOL Certificate. Individual TESOL courses will transfer over should you decide to pursue the Certificate so you won’t lose your progress. Additionally, the price of TESOL course(s) you have purchased will be automatically deducted from the total cost of the Certificate. However, the Capstone cannot be purchased separately.
About the Course Author
Dr. Kitty Purgason brings to her classes in TESOL methodology, curriculum, materials and intercultural communication her years of experience living, studying, serving and teaching in India, Russia, Korea, China, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Mauritania, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Tajikistan, Vietnam and Spain. She has received three Fulbright fellowships and the Biola Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring. She has been a U.S. State Department English Language Specialist. Her professional interests include methodology in local context and professional ethics.
Purgason has presented on methodology and materials-related topics at more than 30 local, state and national TESOL conferences, and has spoken about TESOL at Urbana and other similar conferences. She is the author of Professional Guidelines for Christian English Teachers (2016), "Planning Lessons and Units" in Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Snow (2013), "Classroom Guidelines for Teachers with Convictions" in Wong and Canagarajah (2009), and English Language Teaching in Theological Contexts (2010).
About the Course Provider
The School of Education exists to train up those who desire to make an impact as educators in classrooms, administration buildings, homeschools, the mission field and beyond. Our wide selection of rigorous, biblically centered academic offerings — ranging from undergraduate and graduate programs to teaching credentials and certificates, as well as K–12 as well as homeschool education through our Eight-Week Clinic Courses for grades 1 through 6 — makes the School of Education the premier institution for advancing your knowledge in the field of education.
Whether you’re an aspiring teacher, an experienced educator or current teacher looking to advance in your career, our unique blend of academic excellence and thoughtful mentorship will be sure to guide you to your goals. Throughout your studies, you’ll benefit from engaging with our fully doctored, full-time faculty and different learning opportunities available to you through our strong relationships in the field, making your journey at the School of Education one full of meaning, growth and impact.
Course FAQ
Each video segment lasts an average of 10 minutes, for a total of 4 hours of video for the entire course. The total amount of time it will take for you to complete the course will depend on how deeply you engage the reflection and application projects. Since this is a self-paced course, the time it will take you to complete it will depend on the speed with which you want to progress through the course.
No. The course contains everything you need to successfully complete the course. There are resources recommended at the end of the course that you are free to purchase if you wish to pursue further study on the course topic.
Since the TESOL courses are self-paced, you will have no interaction with the professor(s). However, if you are planning to submit your course assignments to obtain the TESOL Certificate, we recommend that you save all your work in one document, which will be submitted at the beginning of the Capstone course. At that point, a professor in the TESOL department will evaluate your work and provide feedback.
Learners who complete an individual TESOL course will receive a digital badge which signifies the development of a specific skill or competency. We partner with Accredible to provide digital badges that can be viewed digitally, downloaded, and shared to showcase your achievement. Add your badge to your LinkedIn profile, resume, email signature and more! For more information on how to access and share your badge, visit the Accredible knowledgebase.
VIEW A SAMPLE BADGE
Individual Courses:
Biola LEARN offers a series of 8 individual TESOL courses designed for flexible study of specific topics relevant to TESOL teachers. If you are new to the world of TESOL, it is highly recommended you engage in the TESOL: Essentials course first. The courses available in this series are listed below in the recommended order of completion, however courses can also be taken in any order, as needed.
- TESOL: Essentials
- TESOL: Teaching Speaking
- TESOL: Teaching Pronunciation
- TESOL: Professionalism
- TESOL: Classroom Management
- TESOL: Teaching Grammar
- TESOL: Teaching Vocabulary
- TESOL: Course Design
Professional Certificate in TESOL:
Biola LEARN’s Professional Certificate in TESOL is designed to equip learners with the essentials of teaching the English language, often in an informal, non-academic setting. As you work through 8 TESOL courses and a final Capstone, you will learn a variety of methods to aid in your teaching, and you will apply these methods to create your own lessons.
By taking an individual TESOL course you will automatically earn credit toward Biola LEARN’s TESOL Certificate. You can switch from the individual track to the Certificate at any time without losing progress! To unlock the Capstone and complete all requirements for the Professional Certificate you will need to register for the TESOL Certificate. However, the price of the TESOL course(s) you have purchased will be automatically deducted from the total cost of the Certificate.
Are you interested in teaching English to speakers of other languages? If so, then welcome to the world of TESOL! This course is designed to prepare you to teach English in settings where a formal credential is not required. If you are taking a short-term overseas trip to teach English, or if you work with local immigrants in your community, or if you simply want to help a friend or neighbor improve her English proficiency, this course will help you. This course will also introduce you to the field of TESOL and show you other opportunities for you to be trained.
This self-paced, fully online course contains seventeen video lessons featuring Dr. Kitty Purgason, the Program Director for Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Biola University. Each video, which averages 10 minutes in length, is accompanied by a downloadable worksheet to help you retain the concepts and a reflection question to help you process what you have learned. Additionally, at periodic intervals throughout the course, you will encounter application projects that will help you think through your goals as a TESOL instructor and prepare a lesson plan for one of your teaching sessions. Finally, a wide variety of resources will be presented so that you have ample materials for your lessons as well as plenty of avenues for further study.
The complete set of video material runs about four hours in length. We encourage you to take as much additional time as you desire to engage in the reflection questions and develop at least one lesson plan.
TESOL: Essentials is part of a series of courses that make up the TESOL Certificate, designed to equip learners with the essentials of teaching the English language, often in an informal, non-academic setting. This course can be taken individually or as a part of the Professional Certificate.
Explore other TESOL Courses:
- TESOL: Essentials
- TESOL: Teaching Speaking
- TESOL: Teaching Pronunciation
- TESOL: Professionalism
- TESOL: Classroom Management
- TESOL: Teaching Grammar
- TESOL: Teaching Vocabulary
- TESOL: Course Design
By taking this course you will automatically earn credit toward Biola LEARN’s TESOL Certificate. Individual TESOL courses will transfer over should you decide to pursue the Certificate so you won’t lose your progress. Additionally, the price of TESOL course(s) you have purchased will be automatically deducted from the total cost of the Certificate. However, the Capstone cannot be purchased separately.
About the Course Author
Dr. Kitty Purgason brings to her classes in TESOL methodology, curriculum, materials and intercultural communication her years of experience living, studying, serving and teaching in India, Russia, Korea, China, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Mauritania, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Tajikistan, Vietnam and Spain. She has received three Fulbright fellowships and the Biola Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring. She has been a U.S. State Department English Language Specialist. Her professional interests include methodology in local context and professional ethics.
Purgason has presented on methodology and materials-related topics at more than 30 local, state and national TESOL conferences, and has spoken about TESOL at Urbana and other similar conferences. She is the author of Professional Guidelines for Christian English Teachers (2016), "Planning Lessons and Units" in Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Snow (2013), "Classroom Guidelines for Teachers with Convictions" in Wong and Canagarajah (2009), and English Language Teaching in Theological Contexts (2010).
About the Course Provider
The School of Education exists to train up those who desire to make an impact as educators in classrooms, administration buildings, homeschools, the mission field and beyond. Our wide selection of rigorous, biblically centered academic offerings — ranging from undergraduate and graduate programs to teaching credentials and certificates, as well as K–12 as well as homeschool education through our Eight-Week Clinic Courses for grades 1 through 6 — makes the School of Education the premier institution for advancing your knowledge in the field of education.
Whether you’re an aspiring teacher, an experienced educator or current teacher looking to advance in your career, our unique blend of academic excellence and thoughtful mentorship will be sure to guide you to your goals. Throughout your studies, you’ll benefit from engaging with our fully doctored, full-time faculty and different learning opportunities available to you through our strong relationships in the field, making your journey at the School of Education one full of meaning, growth and impact.
Syllabus
| Overview Lesson 1 |
|---|
| Welcome to the world of teaching English! As... Overview |
|---|
| Overview of TESOL Video |
| Your TESOL Interests Reflection |
| Teacher Motivation Lesson 2 |
|---|
| What motivates you to teach English to others?... Overview |
|---|
| Christians and TESOL Video |
| Your Motivation Reflection |
| Students Lesson 3 |
|---|
| Who are your students? How you answer this... Overview |
|---|
| Students Video |
| Addressing your Students' Needs Reflection |
| Application Project 1: You and Your Students Resource |
|---|
| What to Teach Lesson 5 |
|---|
| When you hear the phrase, “I want to learn... Overview |
|---|
| What to Teach Video |
| Your Students' Needs Reflection |
| How Language is Learned Lesson 6 |
|---|
| How do students learn? How you answer this... Overview |
|---|
| How Language is Learned Video |
| Helping Your Students Learn Reflection |
| A Typical Lesson, Part 1 Lesson 7 |
|---|
| How do you structure a typical English teaching... Overview |
|---|
| A Typical Lesson, Part 1 Video |
| Questions Concerning Lesson Planning Reflection |
| A Typical Lesson, Part 2 Lesson 8 |
|---|
| Continuing from the previous lesson, Dr.... Overview |
|---|
| A Typical Lesson, Part 2 Video |
| Questions Concerning Lesson Planning, continued Reflection |
| Application Project 2: Lesson Planning Template Resource |
|---|
| Oral Skills Lesson 10 |
|---|
| How do you effectively teach your students to... Overview |
|---|
| Oral Skills Video |
| Reflection: Developing Oral Skills Reflection |
| Listening and Reading Lesson 11 |
|---|
| The skills of listening and reading are... Overview |
|---|
| Listening and Reading Video |
| Assessing Your Students' Reading Level Reflection |
| Pronunciation Lesson 12 |
|---|
| In the course of teaching how to speak English,... Overview |
|---|
| Pronunciation Video |
| Teaching Pronunciation Reflection |
| Application: Your First Lesson Lesson 13 |
|---|
| Application Project 3: Planning Your First Lesson Resource |
|---|
| Beginning Adults Lesson 14 |
|---|
| Beginning with this lesson, you will explore... Overview |
|---|
| Teaching Beginning Adults Video |
| Teaching Beginners Reflection |
| Songs Lesson 15 |
|---|
| We all love music, because it can stir our... Overview |
|---|
| Using Songs in ELT Video |
| Teaching with Your Favorite Song Reflection |
| Errors and Feedback Lesson 16 |
|---|
| All students need feedback in order to learn... Overview |
|---|
| Giving Feedback and Dealing with Errors Video |
| Giving Effective Feedback Reflection |
| Classroom Management, Part 1 Lesson 17 |
|---|
| When dealing with a group of multiple students,... Overview |
|---|
| Classroom Management, Part 1 Video |
| Classroom Management Reflection |
| Classroom Management, Part 2 Lesson 18 |
|---|
| In this lesson, Dr. Purgason continues her... Overview |
|---|
| Classroom Management, Part 2 Video |
| Classroom Management, continued Reflection |
| Teaching in the Real World Lesson 19 |
|---|
| Teaching English occurs in a variety of... Overview |
|---|
| Teaching in the Real World Video |
| Addressing Unique Challenges Reflection |
| Application Project 4: Tailoring Your Plan Resource |
|---|
| Putting It All Together Lesson 21 |
|---|
| Congratulations! You have come to the end of... Overview |
|---|
| Application Project 5: Putting It All Together Resource |
| Resources for TESOL Video |
| Related Biola University Programs Resource |
| Course Evaluation Resource |
Course FAQ
Each video segment lasts an average of 10 minutes, for a total of 4 hours of video for the entire course. The total amount of time it will take for you to complete the course will depend on how deeply you engage the reflection and application projects. Since this is a self-paced course, the time it will take you to complete it will depend on the speed with which you want to progress through the course.
No. The course contains everything you need to successfully complete the course. There are resources recommended at the end of the course that you are free to purchase if you wish to pursue further study on the course topic.
Since the TESOL courses are self-paced, you will have no interaction with the professor(s). However, if you are planning to submit your course assignments to obtain the TESOL Certificate, we recommend that you save all your work in one document, which will be submitted at the beginning of the Capstone course. At that point, a professor in the TESOL department will evaluate your work and provide feedback.
Learners who complete an individual TESOL course will receive a digital badge which signifies the development of a specific skill or competency. We partner with Accredible to provide digital badges that can be viewed digitally, downloaded, and shared to showcase your achievement. Add your badge to your LinkedIn profile, resume, email signature and more! For more information on how to access and share your badge, visit the Accredible knowledgebase.
VIEW A SAMPLE BADGE
Individual Courses:
Biola LEARN offers a series of 8 individual TESOL courses designed for flexible study of specific topics relevant to TESOL teachers. If you are new to the world of TESOL, it is highly recommended you engage in the TESOL: Essentials course first. The courses available in this series are listed below in the recommended order of completion, however courses can also be taken in any order, as needed.
- TESOL: Essentials
- TESOL: Teaching Speaking
- TESOL: Teaching Pronunciation
- TESOL: Professionalism
- TESOL: Classroom Management
- TESOL: Teaching Grammar
- TESOL: Teaching Vocabulary
- TESOL: Course Design
Professional Certificate in TESOL:
Biola LEARN’s Professional Certificate in TESOL is designed to equip learners with the essentials of teaching the English language, often in an informal, non-academic setting. As you work through 8 TESOL courses and a final Capstone, you will learn a variety of methods to aid in your teaching, and you will apply these methods to create your own lessons.
By taking an individual TESOL course you will automatically earn credit toward Biola LEARN’s TESOL Certificate. You can switch from the individual track to the Certificate at any time without losing progress! To unlock the Capstone and complete all requirements for the Professional Certificate you will need to register for the TESOL Certificate. However, the price of the TESOL course(s) you have purchased will be automatically deducted from the total cost of the Certificate.