51ÂÜÀò

School of Education
TESOL: Essentials
Learn to teach English to speakers of other languages
Essentials of TESOL
Enroll NowSample Course
$24.9921 LessonsWorkshop
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 51ÂÜÀò. 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:

  1. TESOL: Essentials
  2. TESOL: Teaching Speaking
  3. TESOL: Teaching Pronunciation
  4. TESOL: Professionalism
  5. TESOL: Classroom Management
  6. TESOL: Teaching Grammar
  7. TESOL: Teaching Vocabulary
  8. TESOL: Course Design

By taking this course you will automatically earn credit toward 51ÂÜÀò 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.

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    What You Earn
    What People Are Saying

    This course proved to be absolutely perfect for my needs as a missionary in Cambodia. This course provided the perfect guide, taking me through all the steps necessary to design a lesson plan. I am blessed to have found this course and I sincerely thank Dr. Purgason for her time and talents! It is an ideal course for missionaries like myself; I couldn’t be happier! (Susan E.)

    As a TESOL Consultant for ABWE, it’s common for missionaries within my agency to have someone ask them to teach English, even if they don’t have any training. This is a resource I can refer them to. Dr. Kitty Purgason presents in an engaging fashion the theory and skills that a beginning English teacher needs. This course equips the novice teacher with the knowledge and skills she needs to guide her students in learning English. And although I have an MA TESOL degree, I learned some things that I will use in future teaching situations. (Nancy H.)

    I have learned so much from this course. This has always been my dream: to teach adult education in other countries. I really love the course and have learned so much. This course helped me to teach small groups in the Catholic church here where I live. We have migrant workers that need every-day survival communication. I will love to continue my ESL education. Thank you so much for a wonderful class. (Cecilia M.)

    The course gives every point very clearly for even people like me who aren’t 100% English speakers. Right now I’m a missionary in South Sudan and I know a little bit of English, and I’m trying to teach the people here who speak Arabic. This course gave a lot of tools to put into practice in my groups. Dr. Kitty really was so in every explanation and example. Thanks so much. (Claudia P.)

    Instructor
    Kitty Purgason
    School of Education

    51ÂÜÀò 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 51ÂÜÀò 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).


    51ÂÜÀò 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.

    Learn more about TESOL degree programs at 51ÂÜÀò

    Syllabus

    Welcome to the world of teaching English! As...
    Overview
    Overview of TESOL
    Video
    Your TESOL Interests
    Reflection
    What motivates you to teach English to others?...
    Overview
    Christians and TESOL
    Video
    Your Motivation
    Reflection
    Who are your students? How you answer this...
    Overview
    Students
    Video
    Addressing your Students' Needs
    Reflection
    Application Project 1: You and Your Students
    Resource
    When you hear the phrase, “I want to learn...
    Overview
    What to Teach
    Video
    Your Students' Needs
    Reflection
    How do students learn? How you answer this...
    Overview
    How Language is Learned
    Video
    Helping Your Students Learn
    Reflection
    How do you structure a typical English teaching...
    Overview
    A Typical Lesson, Part 1
    Video
    Questions Concerning Lesson Planning
    Reflection
    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
    How do you effectively teach your students to...
    Overview
    Oral Skills
    Video
    Reflection: Developing Oral Skills
    Reflection
    The skills of listening and reading are...
    Overview
    Listening and Reading
    Video
    Assessing Your Students' Reading Level
    Reflection
    In the course of teaching how to speak English,...
    Overview
    Pronunciation
    Video
    Teaching Pronunciation
    Reflection
    Application Project 3: Planning Your First Lesson
    Resource
    Beginning with this lesson, you will explore...
    Overview
    Teaching Beginning Adults
    Video
    Teaching Beginners
    Reflection
    We all love music, because it can stir our...
    Overview
    Using Songs in ELT
    Video
    Teaching with Your Favorite Song
    Reflection
    All students need feedback in order to learn...
    Overview
    Giving Feedback and Dealing with Errors
    Video
    Giving Effective Feedback
    Reflection
    When dealing with a group of multiple students,...
    Overview
    Classroom Management, Part 1
    Video
    Classroom Management
    Reflection
    In this lesson, Dr. Purgason continues her...
    Overview
    Classroom Management, Part 2
    Video
    Classroom Management, continued
    Reflection
    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
    Congratulations! You have come to the end of...
    Overview
    Application Project 5: Putting It All Together
    Resource
    Resources for TESOL
    Video
    Related 51ÂÜÀò 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 .

    Individual Courses:
    51ÂÜÀò 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.

    1. TESOL: Essentials
    2. TESOL: Teaching Speaking
    3. TESOL: Teaching Pronunciation
    4. TESOL: Professionalism
    5. TESOL: Classroom Management
    6. TESOL: Teaching Grammar
    7. TESOL: Teaching Vocabulary
    8. TESOL: Course Design

    Professional Certificate in TESOL:
    51ÂÜÀò 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 51ÂÜÀò 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.