TESOL Certificate study plan
TESOL Certificate · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Language awareness and systems (phonology, lexis, grammar, discourse)
Transcribe 30 words into IPA from a phonemic chart, marking primary and secondary stress
Classify all English consonant phonemes by place, manner, and voicing without reference notes
Identify and correct 15 described L1-influenced pronunciation errors in short learner speech samples
Sort 25 lexical items into collocations, idioms, and formulaic chunks and explain the sorting criteria
Your checkpoint
A one-page annotated phonemic chart plus a 30-word IPA transcription log self-checked against a dictionary key at 90% or better accuracy.
Language awareness and systems (phonology, lexis, grammar, discourse)
Annotate a 300-word authentic text, labelling 10 grammatical structures by tense, aspect, modality, and clause type
Map 8 cohesive devices and 3 discourse patterns (e.g. problem-solution, general-particular) in the same text
Complete a three-column form/meaning/use table for 6 target grammar items
Rewrite 5 sentences to shift register from informal to academic and justify each change
Your checkpoint
An annotated 300-word text with a 6-item form/meaning/use table and a 5-sentence register-shift log with justifications.
Teaching methodology and approaches
Compare 6 teaching approaches across 5 criteria (view of language, view of learning, teacher role, typical activity, typical error treatment) in a grid
Match 4 learner profiles to a justified methodological choice with a written rationale for each
Sequence the same 45-minute objective twice, once as PPP and once as TBLT, showing stage aims and timings
Defend 3 instructional decisions by citing specific second language acquisition principles
Your checkpoint
An approach comparison grid covering 6 methodologies plus two 45-minute lesson skeletons (PPP and TBLT) built on one shared objective.
Teaching methodology and approaches & Lesson planning and materials design
Select and justify a teaching approach for three contrasting syllabus types (structural, functional, task-based)
Write 3 measurable lesson objectives that specify audience, behaviour, condition, and degree
Draft a 60-minute lesson plan with timed stages, interaction patterns, and one named contingency
Adapt one authentic text for a stated level by simplifying lexis and syntax while preserving meaning
Your checkpoint
A complete 60-minute lesson plan with stage rationale, timings, interaction patterns, and one attached text adaptation.
Lesson planning and materials design & Second language acquisition and learner characteristics
Adapt a single authentic text to two proficiency levels and label the specific simplification moves used
Build an 8-criterion materials evaluation checklist and apply it to 2 coursebook units
Explain 5 SLA constructs (comprehensible input, interaction, noticing, pushed output, scaffolding) and derive one classroom implication from each
Describe how 4 learner differences (age, motivation, L1 background, aptitude) change instructional choices
Your checkpoint
A materials pack containing the same text at two levels with labelled adaptations plus completed 8-criterion evaluations of two coursebook units.
Classroom management and interaction & Second language acquisition and learner characteristics
Script 12 instruction-checking and concept-checking questions and mark which concept each verifies
Design an interaction and grouping plan for 3 activity types in a class of 20
Write a 5-step, non-punitive procedure for responding to a persistently disruptive learner
Plan differentiation for a mixed-ability class, specifying support and extension for 3 tasks
Your checkpoint
A classroom management playbook: 12 ICQs/CQs, a seating-and-grouping plan, a disruption protocol, and a mixed-ability differentiation plan.
Assessment, feedback, and error correction & Professional development and reflective practice
Classify 20 learner errors as phonological, lexical, grammatical, or pragmatic and judge each as slip, error, or attempt
Write 10 corrective feedback moves, matching each to an error type and a suitable lesson stage
Construct a 4-band analytic rubric for a speaking or writing task with described descriptors
Write a reflective entry on one observed or recalled lesson using a structured cycle (description, analysis, action)
Your checkpoint
A 20-item error and feedback log with classification decisions plus a 4-band analytic rubric with written descriptors.
Professional development and reflective practice & Language awareness and systems (phonology, lexis, grammar, discourse) & Assessment, feedback, and error correction
Complete a full-length timed mock exam under test conditions and score it by domain
Build a personal error profile and re-teach the 3 weakest sub-domains using targeted practice sets
Write a 12-month continuing professional development plan with 4 concrete, dated actions
Assemble a portfolio index linking each domain to one piece of evidence produced this term
Your checkpoint
A mock exam score report by domain, a 50-card flashcard deck for the three weakest sub-domains, and a 12-month CPD plan.
Milestones
Week 2: Explain in writing, without notes, the difference between form, meaning, and use for 6 grammar items and score 8/10 or better on a self-made phonology and lexis quiz.
Week 4: Score 75% or better on a 40-item timed quiz covering Domains 1 and 3, and confirm the 60-minute lesson plan meets all 3 written objectives.
Week 6: Score 75% or better on a 50-item mock covering Domains 1, 2, and 3, logging every incorrect item against its sub-domain.
Week 8: Score 80% or better on the full-length timed mock exam, with no single domain below 70%, and submit the CPD plan with dates attached.