[MUSIC] Welcome back to our fifth course in the Teach English Now series. We are delighted to have you here. For those of you who are first time visitors or learners to our course, we're delighted to have you. You should know that we often do things a little differently around here, so be prepared to take notes, watch the video several times, and put on your critical thinking caps. Come to think of it, those are listening strategies we will discuss in more detail In just a little while. >> But before we begin, we want to share with you a few bits of advise so that you could understand our purpose in giving you this course. This is the second course of our second specialization. And this specialization focuses entirely on the practice of teaching English as a second language. As such, we're trying to provide you with as many opportunities to practice as we possibly can. So this course will give you some theory about listening, speaking, and pronunciation. But more importantly, we intend to give you theory that can be immediately put into, what was that word again? That's right. We're talking about practice >> Since practice is our major focus in this second specialization you will be asked, as you were in the reading and writing course, to write a lesson plan. That lesson plan will demonstrate your ability to look at the strategies and activities that we suggest and create something that could be used in an actual classroom environment. Remember what we said in course one, that in a sense, language is cake. Well here, definitely think of yourself as chefs. Put together these lesson plans with love and thought and we are certain that it will be a rewarding experience for you. We recognize that some of you may have taught in multiple environments already. And some of you may never have walked into the language classroom as the instructor. We're hopeful, however, that all of you have been in language classroom environments as learners and have seen language instruction in action. If you feel nervous about creating a lesson plan, we encourage you to take course three, Lesson Plan and Design to help get your feet firmly planted on sound pedagogical ground. >> Similar to course four, which covers reading and writing, as part of this course at the end we will ask you to perform a portion of your lesson plan, [LAUGH] in front of a camera. Scary? Well, don't worry we intend to give you enough information and guidance so that you will feel comfortable. This final assignment, along with your lesson plan, will be reviewed by your peers. We have found that generally peers have given good feedback. But we would like to remind you to please be the kind of peer reviewer that you yourself hope to get. Listening and speaking, you see, is a two-way street. And we're hopeful that you will not only receive great advice but that you will give it as well. >> Finally, we want to help you, again, set your sights on our ultimate goal. Remember that all of these course will give you the opportunity to take our final capstone course. It is in this final capstone that Arizona State University professionals will personally review your work and give individual feedback. If you create original, strong, lesson plans, submit videos that show your teaching skill, even if it is done in the privacy of your own home, you can qualify yourself for a TESL certificate from Arizona State University. That's the goal. And we are happy to report that thousands of you are on your way. >> It has truly been an incredible journey. All right, ready with your notepad? Your thinking cap? [LAUGH] Great. Hope you have a great experience listening and speaking here at, Teach English Now. [MUSIC]
