Teacher language awareness, or TLA, is defined by Thornbury in About Language (1997) as “the knowledge that teachers have of the underlying systems of the language that enables them to teach effectively.” The same Thornbury, in a 2017 edition of the same book, says that “teachers of English not only need to be able to speak and understand the language they are teaching; they also need to know a good deal about the way the language works: its components, its regularities, and the way it is used.” (Thornbury, 2017)

Stephen Andrews, in his seminal Teacher Language Awareness, published in 2007, tells us that “the possession of an adequate level of TLA is an essential attribute of any competent L2 teacher. (…) there is a relationship between the language awareness of the L2 teacher and the effectiveness of that teacher as indicated by the language learning achieved by his/her students.”

In this mini-course, we’ll discuss the importance of TLA for (especially) Brazilian teachers of English, discuss some important areas of language we should all be (more) aware of, and discuss ways in which we can all improve our TLA and become, to use Andrews’ term, more competent L2 teachers.

Some areas that will be addressed in this 6-hour course include:

  • the importance of sound TLA;
  • the impact of TLA on students’ learning;
  • important areas of grammar, phonology, lexis, and more, that we should all be more aware of;
  • “silly” grammar rules we teach and perhaps should stop;
  • how to improve our TLA.

This mini-course will be divided into two meetings, on March 25 and April 1, 2023, both Saturdays, from 1 to 4 p.m. (BRT). It will take place live, via Zoom, but a recording will be available for 15 days in case you cannot attend it live.

To register, click/tap here.

Investment:

R$ 250,00, payable via a bank transfer or by credit card.

NB: Certificates are issued the following Monday exclusively to those who participate live in both sessions.

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Bibliography:

  • Andrews, S. 2007. Teacher Language Awareness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Thornbury, S. 1997. About Language – 1st Edition. London: Macmillan.
  • Thornbury, S. 2017. About Language – 2nd Edition. London: Macmillan.