Virtual English Teacher Training

Five-Week Online Program

The English Teacher Training Program is customized to meet the needs of primary, secondary or higher education English educators. The program is adapted for undergraduate and graduate students, including in-service teachers. The program focuses on relevant training and mentoring based participants’ pedagogical contexts. Instruction is provided by faculty from the San Francisco State University (SF State) English Department, M.A. TESOL Program and the College of Professional & Global Education. This five-week online program provides 45 hours of learning experiences including instructional sessions with faculty, group work, classroom observation experience and meetings with local teachers.

Student on laptop takes online English teacher training

Program Goals

Goals are customized based on the needs of participants in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) contexts. In a typical program participant will achieve the following learning objectives:

Deepen understanding of current English teaching theory and methodology, particularly the Communicative Language Teaching Approach
Learn new teaching methodologies for reading, writing, speaking, listening and academic skills development
Develop best practices in curriculum design, lesson planning and sourcing materials
Gain methods for assessing and evaluating students
Learn to use technological tools and digital resources for teaching English
Engage and collaborate toward a common goal in group work projects
Grow your network of U.S. and international educators and engage in cultural exchange

About the Online Program

Program Faculty

Seminars and workshops will be facilitated by staff, University faculty members, teacher trainers and local school leaders. The following are faculty who have provided instruction for past teacher training programs.

Tenured Faculty:

David Olsher, Associate Professor, M.A. TESOL Program
Priyanvada Abeywickrama, Professor, M.A. TESOL Program
Robert Kohls, Assistant Professor, M.A. TESOL Program
Maricel Santos, Associate Professor, M.A. TESOL Program
Jerald Combs, Professor Emeritus, History
Sheldon Gen, Associate Professor, Public Administration

English Language Instructors:

Anita Seralathan, M.A. TESOL, Faculty at University of San Francisco
Katherine Cornelius, M.A. TESOL, Faculty at San Francisco State University
Lina Jurkunas, M.A. TESOL, Fulbright Language Teaching Fellow
Julia Schulte, M.A. TESOL, Faculty at San Francisco State University
Lea Gabay, M.A. TESOL, English Language Fellow Program Alumna

The list above is not comprehensive and additional faculty and/or language instructors may be engaged in the program. Faculty and instructors are selected based on meeting the needs of the students and program objectives.

Program Curriculum

Language Teaching Methodologies
Types of Learners
Communicative Language Teaching
Reading and Writing Teaching Methodology
Listening and Speaking Teaching Methodology
Pronunciation Teaching Methodology
Assessing Student Learning
Instructional Technology

Optional Topics

English and STEM Integrated Instruction
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
English Medium Instruction (EMI)
Motivation and Classroom Management
Educational Leadership
English language development and presentation skills for participants

Online Classroom Observations

The program will include classroom observation experiences and that may be live online or recorded based on participants’ time zones and program scheduling.

Pre-Program Survey

Once participants are confirmed, they will be asked to complete a brief pre-arrival survey about their backgrounds and areas of interest. Survey responses will help guide administrators and faculty in developing relevant curriculum and activities to meet participant needs.

Online Program Schedule

This five-week program is live, synchronous, online nine hours a week, three hours a day, three days a week for a total of 45 hours. Based on participants’ time zones, an online schedule will be decided mutually with international partners. The time of year the program is scheduled is flexible.

Daily Schedule Summer Online Example

Example times are based on participants’ time zones across a sampling of major cities.

Sample Schedule
Location	Hour 1	10-Minute Break	Hour 2	10-Minute Break	Hour 3
Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta, Dhaka	8 a.m - 9 a.m	Break	9:10 a.m - 10:10 a.m	Break	10:20 a.m - 11:20 a.m
Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong	9 a.m. - 10 a.m	Break	10:10 a.m - 11:10 a.m	Break	11:20 a.m - 12:20 p.m.
Karachi	7 p.m. - 8 p.m.	Break	8:10 p.m. - 9:10 p.m.	Break	9:20 p.m. - 10:20 p.m.
Istanbul	6 p.m. - 7 p.m.	Break	7:10 p.m. - 8:10 p.m.	Break	8:20 p.m. - 9:20 p.m.
Sao Paulo, Santiago, Mexico City	2 p.m. - 3 p.m.	Break	3:10 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.	Break	4:20 p.m. - 5:20 p.m.

Online Program Includes:

Access to SF State Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas
SF State Zoom access
Live office hours and advising
Certificate of Completion
Custom scheduling for custom groups of 15 or more

Technology Requirements

Participants use a laptop or desktop computer for live lessons with Zoom. Chromebooks, tablets, iPads and smartphones are not used. A stable internet connection is required.

Fee

Estimated $1,200 per participant. 15 people minimum.