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TeachingEnglish: How to teach speaking

Find out about our upcoming free online course 'TeachingEnglish: How to teach speaking' starting on 10 April 2023. Enrolment ends on 22 September 2023 and the course closes on 29th September.

Two young adults - male and female - talking and smiling in an outdoor cafe
© Matt Wright

Welcome to 'TeachingEnglish: How to teach speaking'

Develop your understanding of speaking skills and explore teaching techniques and activities which promote oral communication in the classroom for a range of ages and levels.

How do I sign up for the course?

Please follow the steps below carefully to access this free training course.

IMPORTANT: If you are already logged in to your free TeachingEnglish account, we recommend that you log out and log in again.

Step 1: Log in to your existing TeachingEnglish account or create a free TeachingEnglish account.

You MUST be logged into your free TeachingEnglish account to access the course. Click or tap to Create a free account or log in to your existing account. 

Step 2: Enrol on your course

Click or tap the button below to enrol on this free course.

Enrol button

Having problems enrolling?

Please see our troubleshooting guide at the bottom of the page if you are having problems accessing the course.

How do I access the course after I have enrolled?

IMPORTANT: If you didn't log out of TeachingEnglish after your previous visit, do this first.

From your desktop or laptop computer

  1. Log in to your free TeachingEnglish account.
  2. If you have enrolled in the course, you will see 'MY PORTFOLIO' in the menu bar at the top of the page next to the Home button.
  3. Move your mouse over MY PORTFOLIO to see the drop-down menu.
  4. Click on ‘My courses’ to access your training.

From your mobile device

  1. Log in to your free TeachingEnglish account.
  2. Tap the three horizontal lines next to the home button to open the menu.
  3. Below ‘Home’, you will see MY PORTFOLIO and ‘My courses’ below. Tap on MY PORTFOLIO if you don’t see ‘My courses’.
  4. Tap on ‘My courses’ to access your training.

Having problems accessing the course?

Please see our troubleshooting guide at the bottom of the page if you are having problems accessing the course.

About the course

'TeachingEnglish: How to teach speaking' is a free 12-hour training course. Enrol now and access the course from April 10. You can complete all four modules any time before 29th September. If you have completed the module 'Getting started' on another course with us, you don't have to repeat it.

  • Engaging and interactive content to help you learn and develop your teaching skills at your own pace
  • Up-to-date insight, resources and innovative ideas for you to try out
  • Engaging discussions in a dedicated community of course participants
  • Live events with your course tutor and language teaching experts.
     
Module 1: Understanding speaking – key terms and issues

The aim of this module is to explore key terms and issues in the teaching of speaking. You'll look at how to evaluate and modify activities in terms of communicative quality, and consider how to get your learners using 'real speaking', not just completing grammar tasks. 

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

- recognise issues related to accuracy and fluency in speaking practice
- distinguish between oral activities which practise grammar and oral activities which are communicative
- evaluate a range of speaking activities
- modify activities to make them more effective in developing oral communication skills.

Module 2: Understanding speaking – maximising interaction

The aim of this module is to introduce you to a range of techniques and activities which promote speaking in your classroom. You'll look at the benefits of pair and group work and adapt tasks to maximise student interaction.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

- distinguish between oral activities which practise grammar and oral activities which are communicative
- adapt reading tasks to make them more communicative.

Module 3: Understanding language practice activities

The aim of this module is to explore and evaluate a range of practice activities. The module also looks at flexible activities that can be adapted for different ages and levels. You have the opportunity to select appropriate activities which match with lesson aims, and justify your choices.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

- identify the skills and language that different activities practise and address some common concerns about practice activities
- use songs, stories and mobile phones in a variety of ways for classroom language practice
- choose language practice activities which correspond to your lesson aims and learners' needs.

Course format

This is a self-study course.  

Participant workbook

All course participants will receive a link to download a Participant Workbook, which they can use during the course to reflect on their learning and access additional resources.


Start dates and duration

The course modules are open for self-study from 10 April 2023. Each module involves approximately three hours of study.

Community and forum

Interact with other course participants in our vibrant course community. Join us in our community on Facebook to take part in live events, access extra content and discuss how to apply ideas from the course in your teaching.

Click or tap here to join the course community

Cost

Free

Certificates

For participants who successfully complete 100% of all tasks in the online exercises, there will be a downloadable certificate of completion at the end of the course.

Level of English required

Minimum CEFR B1


Support and troubleshooting

If you have signed up for this course and have problems accessing your learning, please make sure you are logged in, then click or tap the link below:

https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/Home/MyProgrammes

If you are accessing from a mobile device, please see the following additional guidance:

If you are still having problems accessing your course, please see the advice below:

I can't register for the course

Please make sure you have created a free TeachingEnglish account or that you are logged in to your existing account. If registration is available, you will see instructions for 'How do I register for this course?' at the top of this page. If registration is not available, you will see the message 'This course is not available for registration'.

I can't access the course. I am logged in to my account, but when I click or tap 'My courses' from MY PORTFOLIO I just go to my profile page

Check that you are not logged into your TeachingEnglish account on a different device or browser. Log out of your account on all devices and browsers, and log in again. Click or tap 'My courses' from MY PORTFOLIO. You should be taken to your training course. If you still can't access your course, log out, clear the cache on your browser and log in again.

I can't get my certificate

Certificates are available to participants who complete 100% of the course material. To access your certificate, go to the course platform where you have done your training. Click or tap 'My awards'. If you have completed 100% of the course, your certificate should be available to download.

The name on my certificate is wrong

On the course platform where you access your training, please use the 'Help' button to request a new certificate. Names on certificates are taken from your personal details in your free TeachingEnglish account. To change your name, click or tap on your name to edit your profile. Update the details on your profile page and save the new details.

 

 

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Comments

Submitted by Samidha on Thu, 06/08/2023 - 05:17

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I want to thank British Council to arrange online courses which truly benefit trainers like me.
I teach students online, and I am happy and proud to get certified by the British Council.These courses have given me numerous paths and opened many doors of success.
There is a date of 'validity' on the certificate, does that mean after that date the certificate is of no use and I cannot display it in my portfolio or CV? Please guide.

Hi Samidha

Glad to hear you find the courses useful. Our certificates are really just to show that you have successfully completed our professional development courses, there is not a "validity" date as such. 

Thanks,

Cath
TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by waoody on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 22:06

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Hello there,
I really would like to enroll this course to develop my skills in english speaking.
How can i enroll for it please .

Hi,

To enrol in the course, you need to follow the two steps above under the instructions "How to sign up for the course". If you have problems, please let us know.

Thanks,

Cath
TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by FarahOmar85 on Wed, 05/24/2023 - 18:29

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Hello everyone

I really would love to take the course but I can't see the register link or button.
Even the instructions say that there is a troubleshoot corner ( I couldn't find it as well)

Kindly Advise

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Thu, 05/25/2023 - 07:57

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Hi 

If you go to where it says "How to sign up for the course", you will see there are two steps. Each step has a drop-down menu with an arrow next to it. You need to click on the arrow, which will give you the instructions. Step 1 is how to set up an account. Once you have an account, you need to be logged in. Then click on the arrow next to step 2, where you will see the Enrol button.

If you are still having problems, please send a message to TeachingEnglish@britishcouncil.org

Thanks,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Hi Ha Pham

This is a self-access course. To enrol, you need to follow the instructions on this page "How do I sign up for the course?" and follow the two steps to enrol.

Hope you enjoy it!

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Hi Yoon Waddy

Sorry to hear you are having problems. To find the "Enrol in activity" button, you need to be on the courses website. Once you have logged in to your TeachingEnglish account, you need to click this link:  https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/Home/ExploreProgrammes

You will find all of our courses that are currently available here. Each one has an "Enrol in activity" button. I've just checked the courses site and it is working fine. 

Please let us know if you are still having problems.

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by KBLH on Sun, 04/23/2023 - 19:05

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Hi, I would love to enroll in several of your training courses, BUT there really are no enrollment-buttons shown on your website. As you can read in the comments, several people are having this problem and it's not because they are not seeing the button, but because there really is no enrollment-button shown. It's the same for all of the available courses. I am logged in and I followed your instructions. I tried on several days. I also tried to enroll both with safari and firefox , so there must be a technical error. Please fix that, so people can enroll. Thank you.

Hello KBLH

Sorry to hear you are having problems. To find the "Enrol in activity" button, you need to be on the courses website. Once you have logged in to your TeachingEnglish account, you need to click this link:  https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/Home/ExploreProgrammes

You will find all of our courses that are currently available here. Each one has an "Enrol in activity" button. I've just checked the courses site and it is working fine. 

Please let us know if you are still having problems.

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by rafaeldona on Sat, 04/22/2023 - 09:25

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Hello!

Please, will the content be available after completing the course so we can consult it in the future? Or can it be downloaded?

Thank you!

Hi rafaeldona

You will have access to the course until it closes on 29th September. However, remember you can also download the participant workbook - the link is above or here: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/2023-03/Workbook_for_How_to_teach_speaking.pdf

Hope that helps and that you enjoy the course!

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Elizabeth Gome… on Wed, 04/19/2023 - 00:40

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Hi
Enrolling its always a bit confussing on this courses. I've follow all the steps:
STEP 1: Click or tap Create a free account or log in to your existing account. You need to be logged in to visit the course website.
STEP 2: After you have logged in, click or tap to visit our course website to see all available courses.
...
But I dont see how can I enroll in the page of the course. I see there are a lot of comments like mine so I think it would be great if you could provide a screenshot or further instructions on how to enroll.

Thank you for your attention

Hi Elizabeth

If you have logged in and can access the course website, you need to click on the "Explore all courses" tab - there you can see all courses currently available (including this one!). Then you just need to click on the "Enrol in activity" button.

Please let us know if you are still having problems.

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Elizabeth Gome… on Sun, 05/07/2023 - 05:04

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Hi Cath
Thank you for your guidance
Now I can see the button "Enroll on this free course" but after clicking on it nothing happens.
I go to My portfolio and there's nothing there

I'll really appreciate some help to solve this inconvenience

Hi Elizabeth

You need to be logged in to the website to enrol. If you are logged in, when you click on the "Enrol in this free course" button you will be taken to the courses page. 

If you are still having problems, can you try logging out of your account, clearing the cache on your web browser, and then logging in again. This should resolve any issues. If not, please send us an e-mail at teachingenglish@britishcouncil.org

Thanks,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Hi mohamedwahban

This is a self access course. To enrol, you need to follow these steps:

How do I sign up for the course?

Let us know if you have any problems.

Thanks,
Cath
TeachingEnglish team

Hi Pedro

This is a self access course. To enrol, you need to follow these steps:

How do I sign up for the course?

Let us know if you have any problems.

Thanks,
Cath
TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Lorena Morales on Tue, 04/11/2023 - 16:41

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Hello! I Enroll to this program, I alredy received the booklet, but yesterday April 10th I was waiting for a link or something to start the course.... or how this is gone a be? thanks

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Wed, 04/12/2023 - 07:44

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Hi Lorena

There are instructions above on how to start the course. It's a self access course which you need to access through the courses website. Here are the instructions again:

  1. Log in to your free TeachingEnglish account.
  2. If you have enrolled in the course, you will see 'MY PORTFOLIO' in the menu bar at the top of the page next to the Home button.
  3. Move your mouse over MY PORTFOLIO to see the drop-down menu.
  4. Click on ‘My courses’ to access your training.

I would also recommend joining the Facebook group for the course (there's a link on the course homepage). It's a good way to interact with other course members and to ask any questions, make comments etc.

Hope you enjoy the course!

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Jorge Alberto … on Mon, 04/10/2023 - 14:10

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Happy Monday,

I have not received the link I was supposed to get after registering some days ago. My portafolio does not appear either.

Could you tell me what to do, please?

I only got this email.

Thank you for registering at TeachingEnglish.

Welcome to TeachingEnglish, a website dedicated to supporting your work as an
English language teacher.

As a registered user, you can access all of our free online training
opportunities - just log in to your account and visit our 'Training courses'
pages to enrol on of our courses.

Why not sign up to our newsletter for teachers or teacher educators to
receive news and information about our upcoming events, classroom materials
and professional development opportunities.

I am looking forward to hearing from you,

Jorge Alberto

Dear Jorge Alberto

To enrol on the course, please do the following:
 

If you are logged in to your account, please log out and log back in again.

Go to the following link: https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/Home/ExploreProgrammes.

Enrol on the course you want to study.

When you have finished, please make sure to log out of your account

The next time you log in you should see 'MY PORTFOLIO' in the menu at the top. Click or tap MY PORTFOLIO > My Courses to go to your training course.

Thanks

Paul (TeachingEnglish team)

 

Submitted by Dian.Jiang on Fri, 04/07/2023 - 14:16

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Hi TeachingEnglish team,

I have been enrolled in several courses of yours. The training resources truly benefits my career as well as personal learning of English. However, I do have one question about ending dates of the courses. Sometimes I forgot when a course would end and I failed to find this information on the dashboard. As for this course, How to Teach Speaking, specifically, if I understand correctly, it will stop enrollment until September, right? Does that mean I could have nearly 5 months from now to complete the training? Thank you in advance for the clarification.

Hello

Once you have successfully completed all of the modules, you will be able to access your certificate on the courses webpage. Log in as usual, and then click on "My awards" - if you scroll down to "My certificates" you should be able to click to download the certificate there.

Hope that helps,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Maytetxu on Sun, 04/02/2023 - 09:54

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hi there! I have already done several courses with you. I've logged in, but I cannot find any hyperlink whatsoever to click on the "enrollment button". Neither is with the rest of the available courses at your site. Is there any problem? thanks very much.
best
Mayte

Hi Mayte, 

You need to follow the steps for registration above - here they are again:

If you are still having problems, please let us know which step you are stuck on. 

Thanks,

Paul (TeachingEnglish team)

as I already mentioned in my previous query, I have already done several courses with you. the problem is that the word "enroll" in the course has not any kind of hyperlink which usually leads you to enroll in the course.
that's the problem. I have already registered, logged in , out, and in again and out.... just in case. I can send you a screenshot if you like. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
thanks a lot for your answer

Hi Maytetxu
Sorry to hear you are having problems. I have just checked the courses website and the hyperlink is working fine for me. Could you try using a different browser? If that doesn't work, can you write us an e-mail to teachingenglish@britishcouncil.org?
Thanks,

Cath
TeachingEnglish team

Hi Abdelkalek,

You need to follow the steps for registration above - here they are again:

If you are still having problems, please let us know which step you are stuck on.

Thanks,

Paul (TeachingEnglish team)

Hi Jesse

 

This How to teach speaking course is available from 10th April. At the moment we don't have a date for when the Teaching pathways: How to teach pronunciation course will next run.

Hope that helps,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Hi Fatima

You need to follow these steps:

If you are still having problems, please let us know.

Cath
TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Nuhatti on Fri, 03/03/2023 - 18:14

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,As speaking depends on listening so the fist thing that the teacher put in his mind is learners should be good listener in order to be good speakers. Book transcription could be a helpful resource if the teacher is not a native speaker.
Another effective resource is to plan well prepare a lot and give the learner interesting topics depending on their age let them keep talking without over correction. Finally the teacher should avoid metalanguage.

Speaking is a process of building and sharing meaning or ideas, to teach speaking you have to use this method ESL classes students will have the opportunity of communicating with each other in the target language. In brief, ESL teachers should create a classroom environment where students have real-life communication, authentic activities, and meaningful tasks that promote oral language.

Submitted by Hassanmohammedhamed on Thu, 03/02/2023 - 19:46

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Teaching speaking is a very important skill because it improves the ability of communication and pronunciation so the learners must be taught this skill from the very beginning stage and there are some English letters have more than one sounds they should learn these sounds well

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