The provision and experience of an accredited online programme for English language teacher training : an activity systems analysis

This thesis contributes to the literature on English language teacher training. Recent discussion in that literature has emphasised the need to move from a narrow focus on skills development towards understanding whole training programmes and how their provision prepares teachers for contemporary challenges. It has also specifically highlighted the need to understand how better to integrate technology use into training programmes. This thesis presents a case study of an online English language teacher training programme. The ‘Cambridge CELTA’ programme is a globally recognised English teacher training qualification which has only recently started to offer an online version. I use Activity Theory to analyse the activity systems of the programme and their contradictions, with a specific focus on identifying challenges in the integration of technology into language teacher training. Analysis draws on lesson observations, document analysis, and interviews with course candidates, tutors and managers. My findings highlight that the provision and experience of this programme are dependent on three closely related activity systems, whose objects are credentialised learning, pedagogical support and administrative support. My findings map these activity systems and the contradictions within and between them. A fourth activity system of executive support, external to the organisation providing the programme, also plays a role but can be sketched only briefly due to the boundaries of the case. My analysis highlights several core contradictions, such as a commodification of learning and equal policy resourcing. The analysis highlights how these contradictions are generated from within and between the four activity systems. My thesis contributes to the literature by introducing a new insight of an integrative model pedagogy to understand how language teacher training programmes intertwine theoretical and practical concerns and also proposing a technology in pedagogy proposition which is missing in the literature. In response to debates about challenges of integrating technology into language teacher training, my thesis concludes by contributing an online language teacher training programme framework which has been designed based on an analysis of the findings

Pro-ELT; A Teacher Training Blended Approach

Pro-ELT is a blended teacher training course. The aim of Pro-ELT is to strengthen English teaching and learning through a blended training approach that includes; quality face to face delivery, supported distance learning and integrated proficiency and methodology training. It delivers quality language teaching and teacher development courses to Malaysian primary and secondary school teachers working in Malaysian government schools in order to develop their English language proficiency and teaching knowledge and skills. Language skills and system are undoubtedly the basic components of each teacher training program, but there is a fact that for a huge number of non-native language teachers who teach at school levels, improving their own language proficiency and command of English is their own personal objective and top priority in their professional development. This presentation shows the Pro-ELT model of teacher training program and shows how teachers will be able to achieve their professional development goals.

E-Learning for Medical University

Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersZsfassung in engl. SpracheE-Learning gehört mittlerweile zu den besten und effektivsten Unterstützungsmethoden des Lernens. Bedauerlicherweise ist das Angebot an speziellen Unterstützungsmethoden an der medizinischen Universität Wien bisher nicht ausreichend für die speziellen Bedürfnisse der Studierenden. Die Entwicklung einer geeigneten Plattform für E-Learning mittels verschiedener Methoden und Werkzeuge sollte sich daher zur Unterstützung verschiedener Vorgänge als sehr hilfreich erweisen. Ein optimales Ergebnis in diesen Bemühungen kann jedoch nur dann erzielt werden, wenn sowohl alle didaktischen Methoden als auch alle Formen des E-Learning in Betracht gezogen werden. Als Basis der Überlegungen dieser Arbeit wurden daher zunächst die Geschichte des E-Learning und verschiedene Lerntheorien der Lernpsychologie betrachtet, danach verschiedene Formen des E-Learning und ihre Produktionswerkzeuge miteinander verglichen. Im Anschluss daran wurde eine Plattform präsentiert, die die notwendige Infrastruktur zur effizienten Lernprogrammentwicklung in konzeptioneller, organisatorischer und technischer Hinsicht bilden kann.E-Learning has become one of the best and most effective methods of education support. Unfortunately, the range of specific methods to support the Medical University of Vienna has not been yet sufficient to satisfy the student requirements. Therefore, the development of an appropriate Platform for E-Learning through various methods and tools should be used helpful to support different operations and processes. In these efforts an ideal results can be achieved only if all didactic methods as well as all e-learning policies will be comprehensive considered. In this work, firstly the history of e-learning and also various learning theories of the psychology of learning have been observed. Furthermore, as the basic deliberation, different forms of e-learning and their production tools have been compared. In addition to these considerations and observations, a platform has been presented, which can form the essential infrastructure for efficient education program development in conceptual, organizational and technical aspects.8

Pro-ELT; A Teacher Training Blended Approach

Pro-ELT is a blended teacher training course. The aim of Pro-ELT is to strengthen English teaching and learning through a blended training approach that includes; quality face to face delivery, supported distance learning and integrated proficiency and methodology training. It delivers quality language teaching and teacher development courses to Malaysian primary and secondary school teachers working in Malaysian government schools in order to develop their English language proficiency and teaching knowledge and skills. Language skills and system are undoubtedly the basic components of each teacher training program, but there is a fact that for a huge number of non-native language teachers who teach at school levels, improving their own language proficiency and command of English is their own personal objective and top priority in their professional development. This presentation shows the Pro-ELT model of teacher training program and shows how teachers will be able to achieve their professional development goals.

Needs Analysis and Course Design; A Framework for Designing Exam Courses

This paper introduces a framework for designing exam courses and highlights the importance of needs analysis in designing exam courses. The main objectives of this paper are to highlight the key role of needs analysis in designing exam courses, to offer a framework for designing exam courses, to show the language needs of different students for IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam, to offer an analysis of those needs and to explain how they will be taken into account for the design of the course. First, I will concentrate on some distinguishing features in exam classes, which make them different from general English classes. Secondly, I will introduce a framework for needs analysis and diagnostic testing and highlight the importance of needs analysis for the design of syllabus and language courses. Thirdly, I will describe significant features of syllabus design, course assessment, and evaluation procedures