Effective Language Teaching: CEFR, UDL, and Acquisition Methods
Unit 1: Foundations of Language Learning
UDL (Universal Design for Learning): Developed by David Rose and CAST, based on inclusive design principles from architecture. UDL aims to create conditions where information is accessible to all. UDL Guidelines 3.0 provides elements for curriculum design: aims, key competences, specific competences, evaluation criteria, basic knowledge, and learning situations. Areas include growth in harmony, discovery and exploration of the environment, and communication and representation of reality. Foreign language integration occurs across all three areas.
CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages): Describes what learners need to know to communicate effectively, viewing them as social users rather than students. The aim is to unite member countries through similar educational policies. It is comprehensive, transparent, and coherent.
The Language User/Learner
The language learner becomes plurilingual and acquires intercultural competence. Thematic categories are elicited, and mediation and non-verbal communication are considered.
User/Learner Competences
All competences relate to language use, including communicative competences.
Learning and Teaching
Learners need to acquire competences, the ability to put them into practice, and the strategies to do so. This involves language acquisition vs. language learning. The CEFR considers different attitudes and actions to address errors vs. mistakes.
European Language Portfolio
Created by the Language Policy Unit of the Council of Europe, it aims to support autonomy, plurilingualism, and intercultural awareness, and to record language learning experiences beyond the mother tongue. It has three parts: a language passport, a language biography, and a dossier.
Assessment
Assessment is conducted through various means, such as checklists, direct observation, or tests.
- Validity: The assessment measures the intended learning outcomes.
- Reliability: Results would be consistent if assessed by another evaluator.
- Feasibility: Useful and discriminates the necessary information.
Descriptors are useful for assessing and reporting results.
KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned): A chart to organize information before, during, and after a unit.
VYL (Very Young Learners): Pupils aged 3 to 6, typically in Early Childhood Education (ECE).
TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language): The practice of teaching English to non-native speakers.
Acquisition: The natural internalization of a language without conscious effort.
Unit 2: Practical Applications in Language Education
- Lesson Plan: A teacher-made design for a single session within a unit of work.
- Learning Scenarios: Teacher-made, multi-day activities aligned with decree 80/2022.
- Year Syllabus: A year-long plan comprised of learning situations, prepared by the department.
- eTwinning: A community for teachers and schools across Europe to collaborate on projects.
Learning Scenarios
Situations and activities that demonstrate pupils’ key and specific competences, contributing to their acquisition and development.
Stages of Language Acquisition
- 3 Years Old: Can classify objects, uses most sounds, and can repeat sentences.
- 4 Years Old: Can understand complex questions and use some irregular past tenses.
- 5 Years Old: Can understand about 2000 words, distinguish a time series, and hold a conversation fluently.
Vocabulary
Slide, seesaw, swing, jump rope, hide and seek, steal the bacon, tag, duck duck goose.
Direct Observation
A regular classroom procedure to monitor pupils’ evolution by focusing on their performance.
Bullseye
A tool for teachers and students. Students use it to prepare for exams, while teachers use it in class by having children place stickers with vocabulary.
Checklists
Used for continuous or summative assessment. Descriptors are listed, and the teacher checks if they have been achieved, measuring performance and relevant behavior.
Grids
Descriptors can be placed on a grid, either as a rating scale or a rubric. A rating scale grades the extent to which descriptors are met, while a rubric grades how well pupils performed.
Dossiers
A selection of relevant outcomes from class, examining production rather than performance.
- ADL (Activities of Daily Living): Basic self-care tasks like eating, bathing, dressing, and toileting.
- Adult-Child Ratio: The number of qualified adult caregivers relative to the number of children in a child care program.
- Affective Development: The area of a child’s growth related to personality, emotions, friendships, and social skills.
Unit 3: Language Teaching Methodologies
The Grammar-Translation Method
The main aim was reading in the foreign language. Students learned much about the language but struggled to speak it. The approach is grammatical, with the native language always used, prioritizing accuracy over communication.
Natural Methods
These methods try to replicate how children learn their first language naturally. The Direct Method is the best-known and gained relevance after Krashen’s work.
The Direct Method
Classes are taught only in the target language, using only useful vocabulary introduced through demonstrations, objects, or pictures.
The Oral Approach
Oral skills are developed before written production. The target language is spoken at all times, and language is introduced and practiced in context.
Audiolingualism
Structuralism theories studied language regarding the organization of its elements.
Communicative Approach
Promoted by the Council of Europe and developed by the International Association of Applied Linguistics. It is an approach rather than a universally accepted method.
Total Physical Response (TPR)
Connected to first language acquisition. Games and movement reduce learner stress and have a positive impact. Language is internalized in chunks, not isolated items. TPR is a natural method.
CEFR in Practice
Encourages working habits and promotes socialization in the classroom. Students learn from the teacher, themselves, and their peers. Contents are learned through group discussions and problem-solving, combining individual learning with collaboration.
Interactive Groups
A variation of cooperative work including an adult in each group, ensuring equal participation through monitoring.
Task-Based Approach
Tasks combine action with meaningful language use, requiring strategic activation of specific competences for purposeful action. A task is divided into subtasks, with the same input leading to different outcomes quantitatively (amount of info) and qualitatively (standards of performance).
- Task Categories: Real-life, target, or rehearsal tasks; communicative, pedagogic, and pre-communicative pedagogic tasks.