Includes a glossary.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Becoming a Language Teacher is a ground-breaking resource in an era when mainstream classroom teachers must focus on language development. Unlike other methods books which concentrate on language for conversational purposes only, Becoming a Language Teacher recognizes that academic literacy is the goal of many language teachers and essential to the school success of English Langauge Learners.
Employing a warm and supportive style, respected author Elaine Kolker Horwitz clearly explains fundamental knowledge about second language acquisition and language teaching and answers practical questions such as: How will I know if the students are learning?
How do I teach language when I am also teaching content material?
How do I effectively use technology in language teaching?
How can I ensure the academic success of my students?

By considering actual classroom situations, students learn how to make instructional decisions in their own teaching settings. Becoming a Language Teacher will surely become a must-have for any language teacher." (Book Cover)

CONTENTS:

Preface

PART I What Do Language Teachers Think About?

1. What Should I Know about Language Learners and Language Teaching Settings?
Types of Language Learning Settings
Learner Characteristics
Younger Learners and Stages of Cognitive Development

2. What Should I Know about Second Language Acquisition?
Theories of Second Language Acquisition
The Critical Period Hypothesis
How the Theories Differ on Important Language Teaching Issues
Implications for Language Teaching

3. What Should I Know about Language Teaching Methodologies?
Language Teaching Methods
What Is the Best Language Teaching Method?
Content-Based, Learner-Centered, and Task-Based Approaches to Language Teaching
From Teacher-Centered to Learner-Centered Approaches

PART II How Do You Teach a Language?

4. What Should I Know about Teaching Listening? The Importance of Listening Comprehension
Obstacles to Teaching Listening Comprehension
The Listening Process
Some Guidelines for Developing Listening Activities
Activity Ideas
Assessing Listening Comprehension

5. What Should I Know about Teaching Speaking?
The Importance of True Communication in the Language Classroom
Obstacles to Teaching Speaking
The Development of Speaking Ability
Some Guidelines for Developing Speaking Activities
Activity Ideas
Assessing Speaking

6. What Should I Know about Teaching Reading?
The Importance of Reading
The Reading Process
Types of Second Language Reading
Learning to Read in a Second Language
Types of Reading Materials
Helping Students Develop Effective Reading Strategies
ESL Teachers and Content Reading
Some Guidelines for Teaching Reading
Activity Ideas
Assessing Reading Comprehension

7. What Should I Know about Teaching Writing?
The Writing Process
Types of Second Language Writing
Helping Students Develop Effective Writing Strategies
Some Guidelines for Teaching Writing
Activity Ideas
Assessing Writing

8. What Should I Know about Teaching Academic English in Content Classes?
The Development of Academic Language
Generation 1.5 and Transnational Students
Scaffolding, Contextualized Input, and Thematic Units
Promoting Second Language Development in Content Classes
Academic Literacy
Integrating Language Skills Using Thematic Units and Task-Based Activities
Some Guidelines for Teaching Language through Content Activity Ideas
Assessing Language in Content Classes

PART III How Do I Know What to Teach?

9. How Do I Assess Language Learning?
Standards
Issues in Language Testing
Testing Approaches
Testing for a Variety of Purposes
Testing the Standards
The TOEFL and the ACTFL OPI

10. How Do I Plan My Classes?
Planning for Your Students
Common Language Teaching Activities

PART IV Where Do I Go from Here?

11. So, Am I Now a Language Teacher?
Thinking of Yourself as a Language Teacher
Becoming Open to New Ideas about Language and Language Teaching
Becoming a Better Language Teacher
Your Future as a Language Teacher
Beginning Your Journey as a Language Teacher

Appendix A: The Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) ESL Version

Appendix B: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)

Appendix C: Teacher Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (TFLAS)

Glossary

Index