About the Program
The TESOL practicum is an opportunity for students to team teach six weeks of classes focused on oral communication skills for adult nonnative speakers from the MSU campus and other communities: EPIC – English Partners in Communication (https://elc.msu.edu/epic). Students in LLT 896 (course in the MA TESOL program) and LLT 496 (course in the undergraduate TESOL minor) team up to increase the interaction opportunities in class for EPIC registrants and enhance their professional development as language teachers. This collaborative practicum experience involves curriculum planning, materials development, teaching, and reflection. Prior to teaching, students review lesson plans, conduct teaching demonstrations, and receive feedback. The following principles guide the practicum experience:
- Professionalism and collegiality
- Goal-driven learning
- Meaningful and level-appropriate topics for the registrants
- Helpful feedback to learners
- Concern for learning outcomes.
In the spring of 2020, when instruction was moved online, teachers had the opportunity to do the following:
- Create innovative lesson plans by changing existing content from F2F presentation to online
- Develop and practice new ways to deliver instruction online to a range of learners to improve oral communication skills
- Rethink how teachers could facilitate the development of oral communication skills through Zoom
- Modify the way teachers could reflect on teaching practice and success
- Create a great addition to the CV!
For more information on EPIC, see https://elc.msu.edu/epic/