Supporting learners in a second language environment requires more than content knowledge — it requires thoughtful design. This course will guide you through practical scaffolding strategies that make academic content more accessible, reduce cognitive load, and build learner confidence. Whether you teach English for Academic Purposes, foundation studies, high school subjects, or vocational training, these tools will help you create lessons where all learners can succeed.

What You Will Learn (Learning Outcomes)

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

Explain what scaffolding is and why it is essential in second language teaching.
Apply three core scaffolding strategies — chunking, multimodal support, and vocabulary scaffolds — to help learners process and engage with complex content.
Integrate these strategies into real lessons through practical, step-by-step examples.
Reflect on your own teaching to identify where scaffolding can improve learner comprehension and confidence.
Gradually release support so students become more autonomous and capable in academic English contexts.

🧭 Course Structure

This course is divided into short, focused lessons designed to be completed at your own pace:

Before You Start – Activating Your Knowledge
A short quiz to warm up your thinking and connect the course to your current practice.
Lesson 1 – Understanding Scaffolding
What scaffolding is, why it matters, and how it supports multilingual learners.
Lesson 2 – Core Strategies
How to use chunking, multimodal support, and vocabulary scaffolds to reduce language load and improve comprehension.
Lesson 3 – A Practical Example
How these strategies work together as part of a real lesson sequence.
Lesson 4 – Applying Scaffolding in Your Teaching
A guided demonstration followed by a short planning task.
Conclusions & Key Takeaways
Final insights, plus a bibliography and directions for further learning.

What to Expect

Short videos you can watch on any device
Clear, practical explanations
Examples drawn from real classroom scenarios
Reflection questions and short quizzes
A final summary to help you apply the strategies immediately

Our goal is to give you tools you can use in tomorrow’s lesson — not theoretical concepts that gather dust.

⏱ Time Commitment

The full course can be completed in 30–45 minutes, depending on how deeply you engage with the reflection tasks.
You are welcome to pause, revisit sections, or return anytime.

How to Get the Most Out of This Course

Take the initial knowledge activation quiz with an open mind — it helps surface your current assumptions.
Watch the videos in order, as each lesson builds on the last.
Try at least one scaffolding strategy in your next lesson — even a small change makes a noticeable difference.
Use the reflection prompts to connect the content to your own teaching context.
Download or bookmark the bibliography at the end for further reading.

👥 Who Is This Course For?

This course is ideal for:

EAP and ELICOS teachers
School and VET educators working with multilingual learners
Subject specialists teaching learners in English-as-an-additional-language contexts
Early-career teachers wanting practical support
Experienced teachers seeking fresh strategies or validation of current practice

If you work with learners who are juggling both language and content, this course is for you.