Most ESL teachers spend years figuring out why their students can't hold a conversation — then discover the answer was always phonology and listening discrimination, not grammar gaps. The Teach English Now! Second Language Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation course on Coursera addresses exactly that blind spot, but it's not the right fit for everyone. This review breaks down what the course actually covers, who gets the most out of it, and how it compares to other options in the TESOL space.
What the Teach English Now! Second Language Listening Course Actually Covers
This course is part of the Arizona State University TESOL Certificate specialization on Coursera, delivered by the same instructors behind the broader Teach English Now! series. The title is accurate: the focus is specifically on the oral skills side of language instruction — listening comprehension, connected speech, phoneme discrimination, and pronunciation teaching strategies.
The course is structured around the idea that speaking and listening are inseparable in second language acquisition. Students struggle with listening not because they lack vocabulary, but because native speech doesn't sound like written text. Words blend, contract, and reduce. The course trains teachers to understand that phenomenon and build classroom activities that address it directly.
Core Topics Covered
- How second language learners process spoken English differently from L1 speakers
- Minimal pairs and phoneme discrimination exercises
- Stress, rhythm, and intonation as meaning-carrying features (not decoration)
- Techniques for teaching connected speech: reduction, linking, elision
- Designing listening tasks that build bottom-up and top-down processing simultaneously
- Communicative speaking activities that encourage fluency over accuracy
- Error correction strategies that don't shut down student output
One thing this course does well is grounding the theory in classroom application. Each module pairs the linguistics background with a practical teaching activity — not hypothetical ones, but the kind of thing you could use in a class the following week.
Who the Teach English Now! Second Language Listening Course Is For
The course is positioned as beginner-level, but "beginner" here refers to teaching experience, not the complexity of the content. If you've never taught ESL before and are working toward a TESOL certificate, this fits directly into the Teach English Now! specialization sequence and gives you a focused module on oral skills.
It also serves practicing teachers who have a gap in this specific area. Many ESL teachers came up through grammar-translation or reading-heavy programs and were never formally trained in phonology or listening instruction. This course fills that gap efficiently — it's narrow in scope, but deep enough to change how you approach a speaking lesson.
This Course Is a Strong Fit If You Are:
- Pursuing the full ASU TESOL Certificate specialization on Coursera
- An existing teacher who relies too heavily on grammar correction and wants to add oral skills methodology
- Teaching in a context where students struggle to understand spoken English despite passing written tests
- Looking for a free, accredited introduction to pronunciation teaching before investing in a paid CELTA or DELTA
This Course Is Not Ideal If You Are:
- Looking for a standalone, full TESOL qualification — this is one module in a specialization
- Expecting coverage of reading, writing, grammar, or curriculum design (those are separate courses in the series)
- Teaching an online-only asynchronous environment where spoken interaction is minimal
- Already holding a CELTA, DELTA, or equivalent — the content will largely repeat what you know
Course Quality and Instructor Credibility
The course carries Arizona State University's branding, and the instruction quality reflects that. The video lectures are professionally produced, the quizzes test genuine comprehension rather than word-matching, and the peer-reviewed assignments push you to apply concepts to lesson planning rather than just describe them.
The 4.8/5 rating on Coursera (across a substantial number of reviews) is consistent with the broader Teach English Now! specialization, which has maintained strong ratings for years. The instructors — the same team throughout the ASU TESOL series — are experienced EFL/ESL educators, not just academics, which keeps the content grounded.
One honest limitation: the course relies on peer review for assessed assignments, which means feedback quality varies depending on who's in your cohort. For the free audit track, you won't receive a certificate, and some assignments may be locked — standard Coursera policy, not specific to this course.
Top Courses to Take Alongside or Instead
The Teach English Now! Second Language Listening course is most effective as part of a broader TESOL pathway. Here are the courses worth combining with it or considering as alternatives.
Teach English Now! Technology Enriched Teaching
Pairs directly with the listening/speaking course by adding digital tools for pronunciation practice and listening activities — especially relevant if you teach online or in a blended environment. Rated 9.7, also part of the ASU specialization.
Teach English Now! Lesson Design and Assessment
The natural companion to the oral skills module: once you understand what to teach about listening and pronunciation, this course trains you on how to structure lessons and assess progress. Rated 9.7 and covers everything from objectives to rubrics.
Teach English Now! Capstone Project 2
The culminating project course in the ASU TESOL specialization, where you design and demonstrate a full teaching unit. Only worth taking if you've completed the core modules, but it's what converts the specialization into a credentialed certificate.
Teach English Now! Capstone Project 1
The first capstone, focused on demonstrating teaching competency in a recorded lesson. If your goal is the ASU TESOL Certificate, this and Capstone 2 are required endpoints — the listening/speaking course feeds into this.
Learning to Teach Online
Rated 9.8, this course from UNSW covers online teaching methodology broadly — not ESL-specific, but highly relevant if your listening/speaking instruction happens in a video or asynchronous format. Strong complement if you're teaching remotely.
Foundations of Teaching for Learning: Developing Relationships
A broader pedagogical foundation from the Commonwealth Education Trust. Useful if the Teach English Now! series is your first exposure to formal teaching methodology and you want general classroom management principles alongside the ESL-specific content.
How the Teach English Now! Second Language Listening Course Fits Into a TESOL Career
If you're planning to teach English abroad or in a formal ESL program, the credential landscape matters. Here's honest context:
The ASU TESOL Certificate (of which this course is a part) is a recognized online credential, but it sits below a CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL in terms of hiring weight for competitive positions in Western Europe, the Gulf, and top-tier language schools in East Asia. For those markets, the ASU certificate is a useful addition but rarely a substitute for in-person CELTA training.
Where the ASU specialization — and this course specifically — holds its own:
- Online English teaching platforms (VIPKid, iTalki, Preply) that require a certificate but not a specific one
- Community college ESL programs in the US that accept diverse credentials
- Teaching assistantships and volunteer positions where any formal training is better than none
- Existing teachers at institutions that fund professional development — this qualifies for many CPD requirements
The oral skills focus of this specific module has a more universal application: understanding why second language learners struggle with listening comprehension is foundational regardless of what credential or institution you're affiliated with. A teacher who understands connected speech, phoneme discrimination, and fluency-building activities is a better practitioner across any context.
FAQ
Is the Teach English Now! Second Language Listening course free?
You can audit the course for free on Coursera, which gives access to video lectures and most readings. To submit graded assignments and earn the certificate, you need to pay or access through Coursera Plus. The full ASU TESOL specialization is available through Coursera's subscription model.
Does this course count toward the full ASU TESOL Certificate?
Yes. This is one of the core modules in the Teach English Now! specialization on Coursera, offered through Arizona State University. Completing the full specialization (including both capstone projects) earns you the TESOL Certificate credential from ASU.
How long does the second language listening course take to complete?
At a typical pace of 3-5 hours per week, most learners complete it in 3-4 weeks. The course is self-paced, so there's no hard deadline — the video content and assignments can be completed on your own schedule.
Is this course suitable for someone with no teaching experience?
Yes, with a caveat. The conceptual content is accessible to beginners, but the peer assignments ask you to design and sometimes demonstrate teaching activities. You'll get more out of it if you have access to some form of practice context — even informal tutoring or a language exchange — to test what you're learning. It works as pure theory, but the application gaps become apparent later when you're in a real classroom.
How does this compare to a CELTA for pronunciation teaching?
CELTA covers pronunciation as part of a broader, intensive curriculum and requires demonstrated teaching practice under observation. The Teach English Now! course goes deeper on the linguistics of listening and pronunciation than most CELTA programs — CELTA covers it but doesn't dwell on it. For pure phonology and listening instruction methodology, the ASU course is more thorough. For overall teaching competence and employability, CELTA still has the edge in most markets.
What's the difference between the listening/pronunciation course and the speaking skills course in the specialization?
The specialization has multiple modules. The second language listening, speaking, and pronunciation module covers the full oral skills domain as an integrated area, since listening and speaking are processed together in real communication. Some modules in the specialization focus more narrowly on specific skill areas. Check the current Coursera listing for the specialization structure, as the module breakdown has been updated over the years.
Bottom Line
The Teach English Now! Second Language Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation course is worth completing if you're working through the ASU TESOL specialization or if you're an existing teacher with a genuine gap in oral skills methodology. The phonology content is more rigorous than you'd expect from a free Coursera course, and the classroom application is practical rather than theoretical.
It is not a shortcut to competitive TESOL employment on its own. If you're targeting positions at established language schools or EFL programs that specify CELTA or equivalent, treat this as supplemental training rather than a replacement credential.
The free audit track is low-risk enough that the decision is straightforward: if the topic is relevant to your teaching context, spend the three weeks on it. The listening and connected speech modules alone are worth the time for anyone who hasn't formally studied phonology since their teacher training.