Comprehensive Notes – Secondary English & EdTech Training

Module Introduction

  • Developed to address secondary school English teachers’ challenges in implementing Ethiopia’s new competency–based curriculum (Grades 9-12)
  • Dual focus:
    • Updating teachers’ subject-matter knowledge + pedagogical skills (ESP-oriented)
    • Sustaining a “teacher–learning continuum” for long-term professional growth
  • Core emphases
    • Experiential & inquiry-based pedagogy (brainstorming, micro-teaching, debates, interviews, feedback cycles)
    • Continuous classroom assessment: self/peer assessment, trainer feedback, monitoring, progress recording
  • Structure
    • Part I: Teaching English Language (6 units: Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary)
    • Part II: Educational Technology (6 units aligned to UNESCO ICT-CF & MoE Digital Competency Framework)

UNIT ONE – Teaching Speaking Skills

Session 1.1 – Introducing Oneself & Others

  • Objectives: effective self-introduction; sharing thoughts/experiences
  • Key classroom tasks
    • Activity 1: 7-item self-intro (name, age, birth/work place, hobbies, attitude, family, likings)
    • Activity 2: Name-hunt mingle → information exchange → peer introduction to whole class
  • Key ideas ➜ Self-intro begins with greeting; includes personal data + thanks
  • Teaching implication: teacher’s opening routine → greeting, register, readiness check, warm-up, materials check, start signal
  • Take-away: stock phrases for greeting / introduction

Session 1.2 – Key Components of a Speaking Lesson

  • Four macro stages
    1. Before: greeting, register, readiness
    2. Beginning: revision → brainstorming/predicting → anticipation
    3. Running: presentation → practice (dialogues, role-plays) → production
    4. Ending: summarise → learner reflection (known vs. new) → home task
  • Lesson-plan template: stage | time | learning contents | teacher & student activities | assessment
  • Typical language for “before a lesson” (hurry up, come in, hang up your things…)

Session 1.3 – Peer-Teaching

  • Each trainee: selects speaking topic from new textbooks → designs full lesson (4 stages) → 15 min micro-teach
  • Self-reflection sheet (strengths / challenges) + class feedback
  • Principles (Brown 2007): balance fluency/accuracy; intrinsic motivation; authentic language; appropriate feedback; link speak–listen; encourage initiation; teach strategies

Session 1.4 – Self-Study / Home Tasks

  • Vocabulary diary (≥ 5 new words daily)
  • Home reading: role-play research article
  • Key features of speaking for EFL (produce sounds, stress, intonation; select appropriate forms; organise thought; judge; fluency)

UNIT TWO – Teaching Listening Skills

Session 2.1 – Nature of Listening

  • Listening = cognitive process (sensory → STM → LTM) incl. speech recognition & schema activation
  • Neglected historically (seen passive, hard to assess, time-consuming, equipment-dependent)
  • Bottom-up vs. Top-down processing definitions (Richards 1990)

Session 2.2 – Stages of Listening Lesson

  • Pre-Listening: brainstorm, predict, preview pictures, purpose-setting
  • While-Listening: image-building, confirm predictions, comprehension tasks (T/F, MCQ, gap-fill, sequencing, matching, draw-while-listen…)
  • Post-Listening: form/chart completion, compare text to reality, evaluate writer attitude, role-play, summary
  • Format table provided (revision + 3 stages + assessment)

Session 2.3 – Model Lesson (Grade 10 “Travelling to Omo National Park”)

  • Three-cycle reading of text with note-taking; post-tasks: share notes, mental pictures, connect to experience, retell
  • Emphasis: design own pre/post tasks; preview vocab (5-10 words); boost higher-order thinking

Session 2.4 – Peer-Teaching

  • Prepare listening lesson (15 min) with textbook audio or teacher-read text; self/peer feedback focusing on 3 stages

UNIT THREE – Teaching Reading Skills

Session 3.1 – Approaches / Models

  • Models: Bottom-up, Top-down, Interactive; reading = active meaning negotiation between reader’s schemata & text
  • Five “Big Ideas” of beginning reading: Phonemic awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension

Session 3.2 – Stages of Reading Lesson

  • Pre-Reading: introduce topic, activate background, predict, set purpose
  • While-Reading: prove/disprove predictions, visualise, locate topic sentences, infer, deduce vocab from context
  • Post-Reading: connect to life, evaluate, summarise, retell, create new text
  • Effective vs. ineffective strategies list (ignore details, translate word-by-word, etc.)

Session 3.3 – Model Lesson (Grade 12 “Integrated Natural Resource Management”)

  • Pre-: agro-forestry brainstorm
  • While-: 6 comprehension Qs + contextual vocabulary
  • Post-: MCQs, reference Qs, synonyms, mind-pictures, compare with own life, retell

Session 3.4 – Peer-Teaching

  • Reading-plan template; 15 min micro-teach; feedback

UNIT FOUR – Teaching Writing Skills

Session 4.1 – Nature & Approaches

  • Writing = process (idea gen → organise → draft → revise) vs. product (model imitation)
  • Process approach emphasises brainstorming, multiple drafts, peer review; product focuses on accuracy & final text (suitable lower grades)

Session 4.2 – Stages

  • Pre-Writing: brainstorm & organise ideas, define purpose/audience
  • While-Writing: draft → peer/edit → redraft
  • Post-Writing: presentation, feedback, assessment (rubric ex.: grammar 2, cohesion 3, linking 2, clarity 3)

Session 4.3 – Model Lesson (Grade 9 expository paragraph on horticulture)

  • Guided brain-storm list; first draft; peer review; rubric

Session 4.4 – Peer-Teaching

  • Trainees craft 3-stage writing lesson; micro-teach; reflection; team-teaching benefits

UNIT FIVE – Teaching Grammar

Session 5.1 – Nature & Contextual Approach

  • Grammar = “system of meaningful structures” (Larsen-Freeman) + rules of sentence formation (Thornbury)
  • Teach grammar in context for meaning; shift from rule drilling to communicative usage

Session 5.2 – Stages (3 P’s)

  1. Presentation (form + meaning, contextual examples)
  2. Practice (controlled → contextual)
  3. Production (free use)
  • Supporting routine (greet-revise-present-practice-produce-round-up)

Session 5.3 – Model Lesson (Grade 10 Degree of Comparison)

  • Rules 1-6, irregular adjectives table; activities: analyse sentences, discovery rule, pair production, story writing

Session 5.4 – Peer-Teaching

  • Lesson design with 3 Ps; micro-teach; reflect; emphasize inductive vs. deductive; PPP overview

UNIT SIX – Teaching Vocabulary

Session 6.1 – Concept & Role

  • Vocabulary = foundation of language competence; determines reading comprehension & speaking fluency
  • Word-knowledge dimensions: form, meaning (dictionary & contextual), pronunciation, spelling, grammar pattern, collocation, frequency, register

Session 6.2 – 3-Stage Vocabulary Lesson

  1. Presentation (contextualise, pronounce)
  2. Practice in context (activities from textbook)
  3. Production (free usage in speech/writing)
  • Lesson-plan template provided

Session 6.3 – Model Lesson (Grade 11 contextual meaning of words)

  • Teach “vulnerable, stricken, sustainable, diligence” + phrasal verbs (look up, make up …)
  • Production: context description, sentence/story creation, peer guessing

Session 6.4 – Peer-Teaching

  • Prepare vocabulary lesson; micro-teach; reflect on peer feedback

PART II – EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Intro

  • Manual aligned to UNESCO ICT-CF + MoE frameworks + TPACK; experiential pedagogy; promotes TALULAR (Teaching & Learning Using Locally Available Resources)
  • Delivery: online platforms (Slido, Padlet, Telegram) + f2f; require internet & smart devices
Unit 1 – Understanding EdTech
  • Explore locally available digital resources; TALULAR concept; create school inventory
  • Debunk myths (edtech ≠ mere basic computer skill)
  • Define educational technology (enhancing learning via appropriate tech)
Unit 2 – Basic Digital Skills
  • Computer hardware categories (input-process-output)
  • Internet basics, browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)
  • Email creation (Gmail, Outlook) & classroom application
  • Google Workspace: access via 9-dot launcher; Docs, Slides, Forms, Meet …
Unit 3 – Social Media for Education
  • Telegram: create group/channel, share tasks, polls, videos; free-data in Ethiopia
  • Facebook: closed class groups; guidelines (privacy, age limit, etiquette)
Unit 4 – Online Educational Tools
  • Communication & Collaboration: Google Meet (schedule/instant), Padlet, Jamboard
  • Assessment tools: Quizizz, Google Forms, Slido, Mentimeter, Kahoot, EvalBee (mobile OMR)
  • Creative/AI tools: Microsoft Copilot/Bing, Google Bard/Gemini – lesson plan, materials, assessment generation; cautions re plagiarism & verification
Unit 5 – Create & Access Digital Contents
  • Digital content types: text, image, audio, video, animation
  • Slide creation (PowerPoint/Google Slides) – 5/5/5 rule
  • Word processing basics; Google Docs collaboration
  • Image sourcing (Creative Commons, Pixabay, Unsplash, Noun Project); media literacy question set
  • MoE e-Library (http://elearn.moe.gov.et) navigation; Learn-English zero-rate site; Khan Academy OER; YouTube cautions
  • 5R rights for OER (retain, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute)
  • EdTech 101 Canvas online course enrolment link
Unit 6 – Digital Citizenship
  • e-Safety: social networking risks, age limits, privacy, cyber-bullying, fake news, copyright, excessive screen time
  • Fact vs. opinion vs. fake news; media detection questions (Who? What? Where? Why? How?)
  • Device & health safety: regular cleaning, secure passwords, antivirus, screen-time hygiene
  • Draft school e-safety rules (keep information private, adhere T&Cs, respectful communication, obey age rules)

Common Assessment & Reflection Prompts (all units)

  • Compare prior knowledge vs. new learning; identify challenging sessions; plan future improvements
  • Continuous formative techniques: self-reflection diaries, peer feedback, trainer monitoring

Key Pedagogical Threads Across Units

  • 4-stage lesson model for skills (greet-revise-present/practice-produce-round-up)
  • Experiential, inquiry-based learning; micro-teaching & feedback loops
  • Integration of tech for communication, assessment, content creation
  • Alignment with competency-based curriculum outcomes (language + digital literacy)