EAL 103

Facing a changing student demography where multilingual learners are now the majority of students enrolled in international schools? This ten-week online learning experience focuses on the study of language, applied linguistics and how they influence learning and instructional practices in international-school settings.

What will I learn?

During this learning experience we will investigate:

• a deep dive into the theory of language known as systemic functional linguistics (SFL) which places the function of language as central (what language does, and how it does it), in preference to traditional structural approaches, which place the elements of language and their combinations as central (i.e. a grammar approach)

• the use of the Teaching & Learning Cycle (TLC) framework for teaching language as a part of content across all divisions and disciplines 

• research and theories of linguistic and cultural diversity 

• second language acquisition theories and research over time 

• learner variability factors in second language acquisition (e.g. interlanguage, translanguaging, language progressions, social vs. academic language registers) 

• conducting ‘analyses’ of multilingual learners’ use of language structures in order to progress their usage to next levels of proficiency (i.e. interlanguage) 

• the nature of language systems (i.e. phonology, syntax, morphology, semantics, pragmatics) within SFL and their instructional implications for promoting acquisition of oral skills, reading, and writing 

• the design of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in school discourse contexts 

• related research areas of applied linguistics (i.e. psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, and instructed second language acquisition)

You will learn and practice how to:

• rethink language teaching based on SFL-informed pedagogy 

• express your reflections upon the quality of explicit and intentional instruction provided to multilingual learners for the development of academic language by all teachers 

• reflect on the linguistic and cultural responsiveness of international schools using research-based tools 

• access and engage with information on second language acquisition research as it applies to multilingual learners in international schools 

•  learn about personal characteristics of multilingual learners in order to understand second language acquisition variability 

• use interlanguage data to hypothesize multilingual learners’ language progressions and to design next step lessons accordingly 

• use language systems (phonology, syntax, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) to promote acquisition of multilingual learners’ oral, reading, and writing skills

• implement SFL language theory by using language functions (command terms) to identify what language is needed to be taught in specific discourse contexts (e.g. classroom tasks) 

• implement SFL language theory to design a lesson using discipline-specific language, including vocabulary, sentence structures, and discourse features 

• investigate the impact of the different subfields of linguistics on second language acquisition on a macro- and micro-level

You can anticipate

• 5-6 hours of asynchronous learning, group discussion and collaboration per week

• Completing 9 formative assessment tasks (most of which provide choices)

• Completing at least one application or culminating task (depending on whether you take this course alone, take this course in order to obtain the TTC EAL certificate, and/or you take the course to obtain TCNJ university graduate credit)

What will it cost?

Per participants from a PTC member school: USD $1000.
Per participant from a non-member school: USD $1100.
Online payment by credit card. Wire transfer payment available to groups of more than five . Email registrations@theptc.org