English language and Children’s literature

English has become an essential communication tool all over the world. Therefore, the Faculty of Education at USAL provides a number of challenging courses that allow students, who are specializing in this domain, to acquire the needed skills and information necessary for cycles 1 & 2 teachers. These students will learn and apply revolutionary teaching methodologies that encourage children to learn and acquire the language in an interesting as well as an educating way.

The Teaching English Language and Children’s Literature graduates will be able to obtain the competences that allow them to deal with elementary students in a professional manner. They will be able to prepare, plan and apply appropriate methods in teaching which adds to their qualifications and expertise. The graduates will develop profound understanding of children’s abilities and address them accordingly keeping in mind that the elementary level constitutes the basis of the whole learning process. Knowledge is acquired and learnt at this critical age, i.e. cycles 1 & 2.

Our mission in the English Department at the University of Sciences and Arts in Lebanon (USAL), is to promote learning and support the educational and professional development of our students and equip them with the necessary information that enables them to tackle teaching difficulties.

The best way to achieve that is by providing engaging materials with talented and experienced instructors and an opportunity to develop every day conversational abilities, utilizing the four basic skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing.

• Carry out a thematic analysis for the lesson plans.
• Design or select and administer effective assessments which accurately measure what has been taught and what students have learned.
• Apply different teaching strategies in different settings.
• Prepare effective lesson plans for elementary classes with a variety of interesting activities which promote children’s participation and involvement in the learning process.
• Acquire skills in a variety of research methods to develop an appropriate final graduating project.
• Master written & oral communication skills by demonstrating the ability to develop paragraphs, essays, summaries and written reports.
• Acquire the knowledge of linguistics, literary works, genres and critical traditions.

As a Teaching English Language and Children’s Literature graduate, you will have the opportunity to be: a primary school teacher – teacher of English as a Foreign Language (cycles 1 & 2) – tutor, children’s books writer … etc.

The English Department at the University of Sciences and Arts provides, and based on the university curriculum which consists of a variety of courses that constitute around 97 credits, all what a student needs to graduate within at least three years. The courses are distributed among six academic semesters: fall and spring of every academic year. They include material required for specialization, in general, plus other courses specified to the English Language and Children Literature.

University Requirements (12 Credits)

Core Courses (42 Credits)

Concentration Courses (31 Credits)

• Obtaining the Baccalaureate / Part II Certificate or any equivalent document.
• Passing a placement test in the English language.
• Passing the orientation guidance stage which aims to determine the suitability of the student’s qualifications with the specialization.