Course Outline

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1.Teaching young learners

• have knowledge of young learners and stages of their language development

• understand principal theories of learning and acquisition

• understand multisensory learning in teaching young learners

• profile the roles and responsibilities of an ideal young learner educator

 

2. Sounds​

• understand challenges faced by second language learners when learning English sounds

• have knowledge of how to use oral articulators and the IPA chart to accurately produce major English sounds and categorise sounds

• produce major English sounds (assessment 01)

 

3. Phonics: principles, key terms and teaching approaches

• have knowledge of principles, teaching approaches and key terms of Phonics

• find evidence of Phonics approaches used in English speaking and other countries

• develop awareness of grapheme-phoneme correspondences

• understand roadmap of synthetic Phonics

• explain key Phonics terms and sound types by citing examples

 

4. Decoding and encoding skills​

• understand concepts, sub-skills and terminology of decoding and encoding

• develop the skills of blending orally and from text; segmenting orally and using graphemes

• understand the process of teaching decoding and encoding

• adapt activities to enhance the skills of decoding and encoding

 

5. Planning Phonics lessons

• understand strategies for planning effective phonics lessons

• have knowledge of ‘The Gradual Release Model’ for giving instructions effectively

• start planning a logically sequenced lesson with clear instructions using these strategies and the model (assessment 02)

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6. Delivering Phonics lessons

• microteach a Phonics lesson (assessment 02)

• have knowledge of how to self-reflect after teaching

• evaluate overall strengths and weaknesses of the taught lesson, effectiveness of materials and plan, and conclude if set aims have been met in post-observation meeting (assessment 02)

 

7. Managing challenges and exceptions in Phonics

• analyse the difficulties faced by learners when decoding and encoding and brainstorm solutions

• have knowledge of Common Exception Words, High Frequency Words and their differences

• understand how to identify irregular parts in Common Exception Words

• have procedures for teaching Common Exception Words in context

• present Common Exception Words in context using this framework

 

8. Effective use of Phonics resources

• have opportunities to use and evaluate Phonics resources such as stories and songs, TPR activities, digital tools, table activities

• have knowledge and understand importance of content, process and product differentiation in meeting the personal needs of young learners

• create / adapt a Phonics resource to be used in a demonstrated activity to support differentiated learning needs (assessment 03)

 

9. Major Phonics programmes and readers

• understand what Phonics information to share with parents and when to share it

• know core criteria set by UK’s Department for Education for synthetic Phonics programmes

• understand decodable and non-decodable readers, and their pros and cons

• have a framework for teaching reading using decodable readers

• plan a reading lesson using a decodable reader

 

10. Classroom assessments

• understand types of classroom assessments

• have strategies for incorporating classroom assessments into lessons

• have knowledge of how to assess individuals in groups using versatile classroom setups

• have a checklist for giving meaningful and specific feedback

• practise giving meaningful and specific feedback

 

11. Communicating with key stakeholders​

• have strategies for delivering feedback to parents on learner performance

• brainstorm common Phonics problems in young learners and suggest and evaluate solutions

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12. Continuous professional development

• have knowledge of the parameters, question types and marking rubrics of the final written exam

• have knowledge of further training and job opportunities

• become aware of continuous development through research

• understand how to become a reflective Phonics teacher