TESOL Methods I
ENG 557 01W
Fall 2025
Instructor: Dongmei Cheng, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics
Office Location: Talbot Hall (Hall of Languages) 116
Office Hours: Online (Zoom) M&W 12:00-1:00
More hours available upon request
Office Fax: 903-886-5980
Office Phone (Department): 903-886-5260
University Email Address: [Link]@[Link]
Zoom Meeting ID: 440 114 5788
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is the first course in a two-course sequence designed to prepare individuals to become
competent language teachers, particularly in the ESL/EFL context. This course introduces
historical and methodological background of the TESOL profession. It aims to explore various
issues related to the principles, approaches, and techniques of English language teaching and
learning. Course topics include history of language teaching approaches, teaching by principles,
teaching language skills, class interaction, classroom management, and professional
development. The knowledge and skills acquired in this course are expected to be applied in
TESOL Methods II (with a focus on curriculum design and assessment) as well as students’
future teaching practice and career. This is an introductory level graduate course and no
background in this area is required.
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of this course, students will:
1. Understand the history of language teaching approaches and the current theory and
research concerning principles of second language teaching and learning.
2. Develop the ability to examine a variety of current TESOL methods and techniques for
individual and integrated skills instruction.
3. Develop the competence to create effective lesson plans geared towards a specific
instructional setting.
4. Be able to create and design effective multimodal instructional materials based on the
current teaching methods.
5. Be able to utilize the newly learned knowledge to analyze and critique theory and
practice of second language teaching and learning following the APA style.
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COURSE MATERIALS
Required textbooks:
Brown, H.D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language
pedagogy (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education. ISBN-13: 9780133925852
Larsen-Freemen, D. & Anderson, M. (2011). Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching
(3rd ed). Oxford University Press. ISBN-13: 9780194423601
Other materials:
Additional readings will be available on the Desire2Learn course site.
Computer and technologies:
This class will be delivered completely online using Desire2Learn Brightspace. To get started
with the course, go to: [Link] You will need your Campus-wide ID
(CWID) and password to log in to the course. If you do not know your CWID or have forgotten
your password or have other technological difficulties, please contact the Center for IT
Excellence (CITE) Help Desk at 903.468.6000 or helpdesk @[Link].
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COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
The following assignments help students achieve the learning outcomes. Detailed information
and guidelines for each assignment are posted on the course website.
• Online Café (2 points) ---Online café provides an opportunity for class members to
know each other. Students will self-introduce themselves in the discussion forum. They may
include information such as the name, major, academic/personal interests, learning/teaching
experiences, as well as their career goals.
• Online Discussions (28 points) --- Online discussions are a crucial part of building our
classroom community. They are the equivalent of in-class discussions about the readings and
activities we do. Reading the required texts, supplemented with personal findings, will help the
quality of the contribution. There are two deadlines each week: one for posting a reply to
discussion prompts (i.e., by Friday midnight), and one for responding to at least two classmates’
posts (i.e., by Sunday midnight). There will be 7 online discussion assignments. [Meet Learning
Outcomes # 1, 2, and 5]
• Lesson Plans (21 points) --- Students will produce a series of structured lesson plans
(for 50-minute classes) in relation to different language structures and skills. Careful reading of
required texts and supplementary materials is essential. There will be 3 lesson plan
assignments. See the attached grading rubric. [Meet Learning Outcome #3]
• Response Papers (16 points) --- Students will write 2 short essays in which they thoughtfully
respond to the designated readings on L2 teaching and learning in 600-700 words in each paper.
The students are expected to incorporate the course readings, relevant L2 teaching/
learning theories, and their real-world teaching and/or learning experience. The papers will
follow the APA style. See the attached grading rubric. [Meet Learning Outcome #5]
• Multimodal Instructional Materials (17 points) --- Students will design multimodal
instructional materials using the technology tool of their choice for their current/future
students. Based on the teaching context, they utilize one or more teaching methods (e.g.,
task-based instruction, content-based instruction, genre-based instruction) introduced in this
course. Students will submit the multimodal project as well as a narrative briefly introducing the
technology tools they used and explaining how the materials were developed in light of specific
teaching methods. Project sketch needs to be completed before the project, and online peer
review will be conducted afterwards. [Meet Learning Outcome #4]
• Final Exam (16 points) ---These assignments are to provide students with opportunities to
demonstrate their knowledge of various topics covered in this course and their ability to analyze
and evaluate real-life issues about TESOL methods. Question types of the exam mainly include
short-answer questions and short essays. [Meet Learning Outcomes # 1, 2, and 5]
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Grading Scale
The total score is 100 points. The course grade will be determined based on the following
criteria:
Online Café 2 points
Online Discussions 28 points (7x4)
Response Papers 16 points (2x8)
Lesson Plans 21 points (3x7)
Multimodal Project 17 points
Project sketch 3 points
Multimodal instructional material 12 points
Peer Review 2 points
Final exam 16 points
A = 90-100 B = 80-89 C=70-79 D= 60-69 F= 0-59
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE
Weeks Topics Readings & Assignments Due
Week 1 Introduction Brown & Lee Chapter 1
Overview of TESOL Methods Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, Chapter 1
Weekly lecture
Liu & Berger (2015)*
Online Café
Online Discussion 1
Week 2 History of language teaching approaches B&L Chapter 2
L&A Chapters 2 & 3 Weekly lecture
Ellis (2005)
Response Paper 1
Week 3 Language teaching methods L&A Chapters 4, 5, & 6
Weekly lecture
Online Discussion 2
Week 4 Language teaching methods (cont’d) L&A Chapters 7, 8, & 9
Weekly lecture;
Online Discussion 3
Week 5 Communicative teaching approaches B&L Chapter 3
L&A Chapters 10 & 11 Weekly lecture
Nunan (2014)
Ellis (2009)*
Online Discussion 4
Week 6 Teaching by principles B&L Chapters 4 & 5
Weekly lecture
Kumaravadivelu (2006)
Zuenglar & Miller (2006)*
Response Paper 2
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Week 7 Class interaction & technology use B&L Chapters 12 & 13 L&A Chapters
13 & 14 Weekly lecture
Chun, Smith, & Kern (2016)*
Online Discussion 5
Week 8 Classroom consideration—Curriculum, B&L Chapters 9, 10, & 11
lesson planning, & materials Graves (2014)
Weekly lecture
Online discussion 6
Week 9 Classroom consideration— B&L Chapters 6, 7, & 14
Teaching across age and proficiency Hinkel (2006)
levels, and classroom management Weekly lecture
Lesson Plan 1
Week 10 Teaching language skills—Listening and B&L Chapters 15 & 16
Speaking Weekly lecture; Hubbard(2017)
Multimodal project sketch
Week 11 Teaching language skills—Reading & B&L Chapters 17 & 18
Writing Weekly lecture
Godwin-Jones (2018)
Lesson Plan 2
Week 12 Teaching language skills—Grammar & B&L Chapter 19
Vocabulary Ware (2017)
Lesson Plan 3
Week 13 Language Assessment B&L Chapters 20 & 21
Weekly lecture
Jamieson & Musumeci (2017)*
Multimodal Project
Week 14 Sociopolitical contexts & Teacher B&L Chapters 8, 22, 23
development L&A Chapter 12
Weekly lecture
Online discussion 7
Week 15 Final review Canagarajah (2016)
Final Exam
Note: This is a tentative schedule. The instructor reserves the right to make modifications as
needed.
* indicates optional readings.
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COURSE/ UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Course Ground Rules
Being successful in an online course requires tremendous self-discipline and high motivation. In
this course, all work will be completed through D2L. You should log into the course website
frequently for the course syllabus, assignments, announcements, and discussions. I strongly
recommend dedicating set days/times to completing your work and working in advance so that
you are always a day or two ahead. You are expected to put 2-3 hours a day to work on the
course materials (involving reading and class assignments). Please note that assignment due
dates are crucial and that you are expected to exert your maximum effort to meet these deadlines.
We are co-constructing our knowledge in the online community. Please be prepared, read
carefully, share thoughtfully, respond respectfully, and engage in all learning processes.
Netiquette
I expect that students will exhibit courtesy toward others in this online class. Courtesy
means NOT engaging in online rudeness or refusing to focus on group or class discussion.
Courtesy means engaging in such behaviors as listening carefully to others, accepting that
various points of views can be valid, maintaining a focus on the discussion in hand and treating
others as you wish to be treated. Online courtesy requires meeting some different standards than
face2face situations: a good guide to Netiquette can be found at:
[Link]
Assignment Submissions
• All assignments must be submitted to D2L Brightspace by the designated due date (generally
Sunday midnight).
• The submission should be in an appropriate academic format (i.e., APA). Failure to confirm to
the standards will result in points deducted. To learn more about the APA format, please consult
an APA style manual or check the website of Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL).
• If you have trouble uploading the assignment to the course site, please e-mail your paper to me
at [Link]@[Link]
Learning Management System D2L (Brightspace)
D2L is committed to performing key application testing when new browser versions are released.
New and updated functionality is also tested against the latest version of supported browsers.
However, due to the frequency of some browser releases, D2L cannot guarantee that
each browser version will perform as expected. If you encounter any issues with any of
the browser versions listed in the tables below, contact CITE Helpdesk or D2L Support.
Note the following:
• Ensure that your browser has JavaScript and Cookies enabled.
• For desktop systems, you must have Adobe Flash Player 10.1 or greater.
• The Brightspace Support features are now optimized for production environments when
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using the Google Chrome browser, Apple Safari browser, Microsoft Edge browser, Microsoft
Internet Explorer browser, and Mozilla Firefox browsers.
• You will need regular access to a computer with a broadband internet connection. The
minimum computer requirements are:
o 512 MB of RAM, 1 GB or more preferred
o Broadband connection required courses are heavily video intensive
o Video display capable of high-color 16-bit display 1024 x 768 or higher resolution
• You must have a:
o Sound card, which is usually integrated into your desktop or laptop computer
o Speakers or headphones.
• Both versions of Java (32 bit and 64 bit) must be installed and up to date on your machine. At
a minimum Java 7, update 51, is required to support the learning management system. The most
current version of Java can be downloaded at: JAVA web site
[Link]
• Current anti-virus software must be installed and kept up to date.
Communication
I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions about the contents of this course. Please
send messages directly to [Link]@[Link]. I generally reply email within 24 hours. If
you desire an online conference via Zoom or face-to-face meeting, please always email me first
to set up an appointment. If you are having technical difficulty with any part of Brightspace,
please contact Brightspace Technical Support at 1-877-325-7778.
Syllabus Change Policy
The syllabus is a guide. Circumstances and events, such as student progress, may make it
necessary for the instructor to modify the syllabus during the semester. Any changes made to the
syllabus will be announced in advance.
Student Conduct
All students enrolled at the University shall follow the tenets of common decency and acceptable
behavior conducive to a positive learning environment. The Code of Student Conduct is
described in detail in the Student Guidebook:
[Link]
[Link]. Students should also consult the Rules of Netiquette for more information regarding how
to interact with students in an online forum: http:// [Link]/netiquette/[Link]
TAMUC Attendance
For more information about the attendance policy please visit the following webpages: http://
[Link]/admissions/registrar/generalInformation/[Link]
[Link]
nts/academic/[Link]
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Academic Honesty Policy
Texas A&M University-Commerce does not tolerate plagiarism and other forms of academic
dishonesty. Conduct that violates generally accepted standards of academic honesty is defined as
academic dishonesty. "Academic dishonesty" includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism (the
appropriation or stealing of the ideas or words of another and passing them off as one's own),
cheating on exams or other course assignments, collusion (the unauthorized collaboration with
others in preparing course assignments), and abuse (destruction, defacing, or removal) of
resource material.
Avoid Self-plagiarism
Self-plagiarism is reusing one’s own previously written work partially or entirely in another
piece of work without referring to the previous use. Instructors expect unique coursework for
individual classes to demonstrate students’ persistent learning and growth. Submitting an
assignment that has already been submitted for another class, also called “recycling fraud”, is a
form of academic misconduct and never allowed. In case you want to further explore a research
topic that you have examined in another class, please do ask for the instructor’s permission
beforehand.
AI Use in Course
Texas A&M University-Commerce acknowledges that there are legitimate uses of Artificial
Intelligence, ChatBots, or other software that has the capacity to generate text, or suggest
replacements for text beyond individual words, as determined by the instructor of the course.
Any use of such software must be documented. Any undocumented use of such software
constitutes an instance of academic dishonesty (plagiarism).
Individual instructors may disallow entirely the use of such software for individual assignments
or for the entire course. Students should be aware of such requirements and follow their
instructors ’guidelines. If no instructions are provided the student should assume that the use of
such software is disallowed.
In any case, students are fully responsible for the content of any assignment they submit,
regardless of whether they used an AI, in any way. This specifically includes cases in which the
AI plagiarized another text or misrepresented sources.
13.99.99.R0.03 Undergraduate Academic Dishonesty
13.99.99.R0.10 Graduate Student Academic Dishonesty
Dr. Cheng’s guidelines on the use of AI in coursework:
• You cannot trust anything said by an AI tool. If it gives you a number or fact, assume it is
wrong unless you can verify it with another credible source. You will be responsible for
any errors or omissions provided by the tool. It works best for topics you understand.
• Do not trust AI to supply citation information. Do your own research and include the
proper citation information in your writing.
• You are not allowed to use AI to generate an entire assignment.
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• You are permitted to use AI to facilitate your completion of the course assignments if you
acknowledge your use of it and document how you use it. Please include a statement at
the end of any assignment that uses AI explaining what you used the AI for and the link
of your chat history. Failure to do so is in violation of academic honesty policies.
• When in doubt about whether your use of AI in a course assignment is appropriate, check
with me before submitting your work for a grade.
ADA Statement
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides
comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this
legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that
provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you have a disability requiring an
accommodation, please contact:
Office of Student Disability Resources and Services
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Gee Library- Room 162
Phone (903) 886-5150 or (903) 886-5835
Fax (903) 468-8148
Email: studentdisabilityservices@[Link]
Website: Office of Student Disability Resources and Services
[Link]
Nondiscrimination Notice
Texas A&M University-Commerce will comply in the classroom, and in online courses, with all
federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination and related retaliation on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, genetic information or veteran status. Further,
an environment free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or
gender expression will be maintained.
Campus Concealed Carry Statement
Texas Senate Bill - 11 (Government Code 411.2031, et al.) authorizes the carrying of a
concealed handgun in Texas A&M University-Commerce buildings only by persons who have
been issued and are in possession of a Texas License to Carry a Handgun. Qualified law
enforcement officers or those who are otherwise authorized to carry a concealed handgun in the
State of Texas are also permitted to do so. Pursuant to Penal Code (PC) 46.035 and A&M-
Commerce Rule 34.06.02.R1, license holders may not carry a concealed handgun in restricted
locations. For a list of locations, please refer to the Carrying Concealed Handguns On Campus
document and/or consult your event organizer. Web URL:
[Link]
yOfEmployeesAndStudents/[Link]. Pursuant to PC 46.035, the open carrying of
handguns is prohibited on all A&M-Commerce campuses. Report violations to the University
Police Department at 903-886-5868 or 9-1-1.
Counseling center statement
The Counseling Center at A&M-Commerce, located in the Halladay Building, Room 203, offers
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counseling services, educational programming, and connection to community resources for
students. Students have 24/7 access to the Counseling Center’s crisis assessment services by
calling [Link] more information regarding Counseling Center events and confidential
services, please visit [Link]/counsel