Resources for professional self-development
Resources on language learners and language learning
Resources for teaching grammar
Resources for teaching listening
Resources for teaching speaking
Background Resources on Communicative Competence
The four competences were first defined, and ways of developing them in language teaching were described, in the work of Sandra Savignon, Merrill Swain, and Michael Canale.
- Savignon, Sandra. (1976). Communicative competence: Theory and classroom practice. Paper presented at the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Detroit, MI. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED135245.pdf
- Canale, Michael, and Swain, Merrill. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1(1): 1-47. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Merrill_Swain/publication/31260438_Theoretical_Bases_of_Communicative_Approaches_to_Second_Language_Teaching_and_Testing/links/0c960516b1dadad753000000/Theoretical-Bases-of-Communicative-Approaches-to-Second-Language-Teaching-and-Testing.pdf
- Canale, Michael. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In J. Richards and R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and Communication. London: Longman.
The concept of communicative efficiency comes from the work of Jeremy Harmer.
- Harmer, Jeremy. (1991). The practice of English language teaching. London: Longman.
Background Resources on Learner-Centered Instruction
The learner-centered approach to teaching grows out of the educational philosophy known as social constructivism, which emphasizes the active role of the learner in the learning process. Early proponents of the constructivist nature of education include Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, Maria Montessori, and John Dewey.
Summaries of these theorists’ contributions to constructivism are available here:
- Social Constructivism. Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center, University of California at Berkeley. http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/social-constructivism/
- Education Theory: Constructivism and Social Constructivism. University College Dublin Open Educational Resources. http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Education_Theory/Constructivism_and_Social_Constructivism
For a list of major works in constructivist theory, go here:
- Annotated Bibliography on Constructivism in Education. Institute for Learning Centered Education. http://www.learnercentereded.org/jpact/Current/bibliography.htm
General Language Teaching Resources
Open Educational Resources
Freely available guidelines and similar documents developed by language teaching professionals across a number of different organizations and associations.
Be Prepared: Survival Tips for New Language Teachers
(National Capital Language Resource Center, 2008)
Fundamental Principles of Effective Adult Language Education
(Center for Applied Linguistics, 2015)
Resources Available at a Cost
ACTFL Keys Series (available in print and e-book formats at actfl.org/publications/books)
- The Keys to the Classroom
- The Keys to Planning for Learning
- The Keys to Strategies for Language Instruction
- The Keys to Assessing Language Performance