Unit Outline

This unit will support you to gain the theoretical understandings, skills and methodologies to provide learning and teaching experiences within the Languages domain. You will be required to develop a comprehensive and coherent base of theoretical understandings upon which to base future learning and teaching experiences, which will suit the diverse contexts in which Languages teaching may occur. You will begin to explore and apply to practice contemporary language teaching theories, methodologies, principles and practices as expressed in the ACARA Curriculum: Languages. Current issues in Language teaching will be critiqued to develop the learners professional understanding of being a Language educator. This is the first of two sequential language (Languages / TESOL) teaching methodology units for Master of Teaching students.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	analyse, interpret and justify languages education in diverse contexts and to a variety of audiences.
2	explore and apply knowledge of contemporary language learning and teaching pedagogic theories, methodologies, principles and practices to a languages context.
3	critique relevant issues in languages teaching to promote continuous improvement in knowledge and skills.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	Admission to E7H, E6J, or E5N or
Concurrent Pre-requisite	EMT502

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Reflective Analysis	Week 6	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Document Development and Rationale	Week 13	65 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Reflective Analysis

Task Description:

This assessment task brings together your examination of the different language teaching methodologies, your exploration of literature and other sources that either expand on or illustrate these methodologies in action, and your consideration of their impact on your classroom teaching.

The task is in two parts:
Part 1: Prepare a 500-word reflection on what learning you gained from the presentations, what resources/literature proved to be most valuable, and the impact of the information on your thinking about Languages learning.
Part 2: Prepare a 1000 word reflective analysis essay on how you see the methodologies being applied to your classroom teaching.

Points to consider as you prepare your response:
You are not expected to utilise all of the methodologies, nor restrict yourself to one. The objective rather is to encourage you to define what your classroom approach might look like and why, with specific consideration of student needs and your own linguistic capabilities. This is not a definitive binding statement and you may refine your stance once you have undertaken a professional experience placement or two, and then change again after graduation. This is perfectly fine and is to be encouraged as you grow pedagogically. However, we need to start somewhere, and that starting point is knowing the language teaching methodologies and considering their application to your practice.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 2.1

Task Length:

1500 words

Due Date:

Week 6

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Integrates theoretical perspectives into teaching context (30%)	LO1, LO2
2	Defines key terms and links these to practice (20%)	LO1, LO2
3	Presents sound pedagogical support which reflects current practices and policies (20%)	LO3
4	Uses scholarly literature and appropriate academic language to inform and support writing (10%)	LO3
5	Employs academic writing conventions- spelling, grammar essay construction and APA referencing and formatting (20%)	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Document Development and Rationale

Task Description:

This assessment task will build on AT1, hopefully, your observations from professional experience, considerations of the Australian Curriculum, the unit content, and your own language learning experiences.

The task is made up of two parts:
Part A – Language teaching philosophy statement.
Prepare a 1200-word language teaching philosophy statement that will form the basis of your approach to further professional experiences in the classroom and support linkages with other dimensions of your pedagogy. Select one of the following as your intended audience: Supervising teacher, Principal or Parent.
What you need to provide is your language education perspective to date. You should draw on the policy documentation, the ACARA shaping paper, teaching methodologies, and other contemporary literature and resources you have continued to assemble throughout the unit.
Your philosophy statement needs to consider:
- Rationale for language learning and a response to the common misconception that English is sufficient to operate in a globalised world.
- Your considered teaching methodologies and how you anticipate these would meet the learning needs of high school learners.
- The relevance of L2 learning to other disciplines, particularly literacy and numeracy, especially where the relationship is not obvious, such as with character languages.
- Explained and justified connections to relevant literature.

Part B - Rationale
This second part will explain (up to 1300 words) how you came to the philosophy statement. In other words, it is a reflective analysis of your own definitive journey, the revelations, the confusions, the anxieties, and your requirements for further learning. It should consider:
The rationale behind your philosophy statements.
Links to relevant literature, why they were important, and how you came to discover them.
Issues that arose from your professional experience placement that will need resolution in either your own mind or classroom practice or requiring further research.
It is important to recognise that neither of these has a “correct” answer or formula that can be extracted from texts or other students. Furthermore, you will be expected to further refine and develop your thinking when we move into the more detailed aspects of classroom practice in EMT617. You do not need a perfect, definitive stance on the philosophy as it is expected to develop as you engage further with curriculum and professional studies units. However, it is important to be strategies that engage students and have genuine classroom impact.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 3.3, 6.2, 7.4

Task Length:

2500 words or equivalent

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

65 %

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.