hlfbkqq

Posted on Aug 16, 2022 in Electronics

UNIT 1. LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION: SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE. ELEMENTS DEFINING A COMMUNICATIVE SITUATION: SENDER, RECEIVER, FUNCTIONALITY AND CONTEXT.

INTRODUCTION
LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION
1. Language definitions
2. Communication definition.
3. Communicative competence

SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE
1. Historical attitudes
2. Differences between writing and speech

FACTORS IN A COMMUNICATIVE SITUATION: SENDER, RECIEVER, FUNCIONALLITY AND CONTEXT.
1. Communication process
2. Key factors
3. Language functions
4. Context
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, all of us know the differences between written and spoken language. However, traditional foreign language teaching methods concentrated on making students to learn isolated items of the language. These elements were only used to read texts and, rarely, for oral communication. Therefore, people used to know about the language, but they were unable to use it for communication.

2. LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION

2.1. Language definitions

The concept of language has many different definitions (ones are focused on the general concept of the word and others on a more specific view). In this sense, we can mention authors such as:

TRAGER (1949) who defined language as system of arbitrary vocal symbols and, through them, the members of any society interact among them.
SAPIR (1921) defined it as a purely human and non-instinctive way of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.

Besides from the definition of the itself, language has the following characteristics:

It should be significant.
Language can transmit messages and create them.
It is organized by certain rules.
Language is articulated by monemes and phonemes.

2.2. Communication definition

In the definition of communication, there must be three fundamental notions:

It is a process of information exchange. It implies a desire to communicate and to solve the information gap.
The use of a code is necessary. All the members included in the communication have to share the same code for the communication to be meaningful.
There are message comprehension and production processes. It requires the command of complex cognitive skills both to codify and decode the message.

According to Canale (1983) communication is understood as “the exchange and also negotiation of information between individuals through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, oral and written or visual modes and production and comprehension processes”.

In general terms, it can be affirmed that most linguist agree on the concept of communication as a process that involves a sender who encodes and sends a message which is carried via the communication channel to the receiver who decodes the message, processes the information and send an appropriate reply via the same communication channel.

Therefore, there are different types of communication. Regarding human communication, it can be defined as the act whereby someone communicates to someone their feelings, emotions, knowledge or wishes. This communicative act can take place in a written or oral form.

2.3. Communicative competence

Now we are going to concentrate to develop the concept of communicative competence. This concept was deliberately contrary to Chomsky’s Linguistic Competence, who tried to explain how a child learns language. He referred to a process of deduction using the input received and constructing an internal grammar with natural resources.

In the Royal Decree 126/2014 28th February, which establishes the Basic Curriculum for Primary Education, it states that the final goal of language is not the language in itself but the use of the language as a vehicle for communication to take place. This is the main idea of the development of a communicative approach in a foreign language learning classroom. Learning a language is not considered anymore learning by heart a few words from a specific vocabulary, or a list of verbs but to be competent in a language to be able to communicate in that language no matter the context where you are involved. Our objectives as teachers should be to give our students the opportunities to acquire the abilities to use the language in real communicative situations.

Hymes provided a more complete definition which stated that a native speaker does not only utter grammatically correct forms, he also knows where and when to use a sentence, and to whom. In his idea of communicative competence, he distinguished four aspects:

Systematic potential. The native speaker has a system with a potential for language creation.
Appropriacy. When a native speaker speaks, he/she knows what language is appropriate in a given situation.
Occurrence The native speaker knows how often something is said in the language.
Feasibility The native speaker knows whether something is possible in the language or not.

Canale and Swain in 1980 distinguished between communicative competence and communicative performance. The first one refers to the number of skills and the sufficient knowledge to communicate in a language. However, the former refers to the ability to use this knowledge in the appropriate context.

But these two big concepts are divided into what we know as sub-competences, which are also included in the Royal Decree 126/2014 28th February, which establishes the Basic Curriculum for Primary in the part of foreign languages. “Communicative competence consists of:

Linguistic competence or the ability to recognize and formulate correct messages by means of phonetic, semantic or morphosyntactic elements.
Sociolinguistic competence, or the ability by which utterances are produced and understood appropriately in different sociolinguistic contexts depending on contextual factors such as status of participants, purposes of the interaction, and norms or conventions of the interaction.
Discursive competence, or the ability to understand and produce different types of oral and written texts organised according to the communicative situation in which they are produced and interpreted.
Strategic competence or ability to use verbal and non-verbal communicative strategies to compensate interruptions in communication.
Sociocultural competence or the ability to become familiar with the social and cultural context in which the foreign language is spoken.”

This is our communicative frame for teaching foreign language in a Primary classroom following our legislative context. This perspective is known as Communicative Approach. Being an approach, it embraces many methodologies that can be used in the context of the foreign language teaching, it is based on constructivism.

3. SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE

3.1. Historical attitudes

With regard to the historical attitudes, written language was traditionally considered to be superior to spoken language for many centuries. This is due to the fact that written language was the medium of literature, and literature was considered the standards of linguistic excellence. On the other hand, spoken language was ignored, being the central point that spoken language lacked of care and organization, which assumed that speech could not be studied scientifically. Given that the norms were based on written standards, the tradition rested on this supremacy of writing over speech.

3.2. Differences between writing and speech

However, many other differences can be pointed out. I will analyze the relationship between speech and writing in terms of seven points of contrast.

Speech is time-bound, dynamic, and transient. It is part of an interaction in which both participants are usually present, and the speaker has a particular addressee in mind. Writing is space bound, static, and permanent. The writer is usually distant from the reader, and often does not know who the reader is going to be.
The spontaneity and speed of most speech promotes looser construction, repetition, rephrasing, and comment clauses (“you know”, “mind you”, “as it were”). Writing promotes careful organization with often intricate sentence structure.
Because participants are typically in face-to-face interaction, they can rely on such extralinguistic clues as facial expression and gesture to aid meaning. Lack of visual contact in written language means that participants cannot rely on context to make their meaning clear.
Unique features of speech include most of the prosody. Intonation, loudness, tempo, rhythm provide highly efficient hints. Unique features of writing include pages, lines, capitalization, spatial organization and several aspects of punctuation.
Lengthy coordinate sentences are normally used in speech. Multiple instances of subordination in the same sentence, elaborately syntactic patterns, and the long sentences are typical in written texts.
Speech is very suited to social or “phatic” functions. Writing is very suited to the recording of facts and the communication of ideas, and to tasks of memory and learning.
In speech, there is an opportunity to rethink an utterance while it is in progress (starting again, adding a qualification). However, errors, once spoken, cannot be withdrawn. Errors in our writing can be eliminated without the reader ever knowing. Interruptions, if they have occurred while writing, are also invisible in the final product.

Despite these differences, there are many aspects in which the written and the spoken language have mutually interacted. We normally use the written language in order to improve our command of vocabulary, active or passive, spoken or written. Loanwords may come into a country in a written form, and sometimes, everything we know about a language is its writing, e.g., Latin. It is true that writing has derived from speech in a historical sense, but nowadays, their dependence is mutual.

4. FACTORS IN A COMMUNICATIVE SITUATION: SENDER, RECIEVER, FUNCIONALLITY AND CONTEXT

4.1. Communication process

For the last thirty years, the most common and popular conception of human linguistic communication has been what we will term the Message Model. Here a speaker has some ideas in mind that he wants to communicate to a hearer. The speaker then builds up a linguistic product, “puts his ideas into words”, that is, he encodes a message that will put meaning across. Upon hearing the beginning of the expression, the hearer starts a decoding process that sequentially identifies the incoming sounds, syntactic categories, and meanings, then composes these meanings in the form of the successfully decoded message.

This model accounts for certain commonsense features of talk exchanges. It predicts that communication is successful when the hearer decodes the same message that the speaker encodes; and it predicts that communication breaks down if the decoded message is different from the encoded message. Likewise, it portrays language as a bridge between speaker and hearer whereby “private” ideas are communicated by “public” sounds, which thereby function as the vehicle for communicating the relevant message.

4.2. Key factors

Jackobson (1978) proposed a model of communication where he identified six main elements within communication: A context, an addresser (the sender), an addressee (receiver), a contact between the sender and the receiver, a common code and a message.

This concept was developed later by HALLIDAY and HASAN (1985) who argued that communication cannot take place without a situation as the context which allows the participants of a communicative act to interpret and understand a message.

Finally, and, in order to explain the last point in this essay, I will present the most important communication factors which are the following ones:

SENDER is the person who sends the message.
RECEIVER is the person who gets the message.
PURPOSE is the intention of the message.
CONTEXT is the physical or social situation where communication takes place. It affects the comprehension of the message.
CHANNEL is the means through which the message travels.
MEDIUM is often used to describe a means of communication. It should be applied to those media which include more than one form such as television.
MESSAGE is the content of information produced by the sender to the receiver. They work at two different levels: what the sender means and what he says unintentionally (use of non-verbal signs).
FEEDBACK is the response one gets from sending a message and the adjustments made according to the response.
ENCONDING/DECODING implies both: the sender encodes the message and the receiver has to decode it.
CONVENTIONS are the unwritten rules that govern the use of the different forms of communication.
SIGNS are part of language. Consequently, they are also part of any communicative act.
CODE is a set of signs organized by rules. It has to be mastered by all the participants of a communicative act in order to get understanding among them.

4.3. Language functions

Now that I have established the main features of language, If we pay attention to the intention on the part of the speaker, we can distinguish six language functions. In 1860 Jakobson, a linguist from the school of Prague developed this classification:

Representative function: when the speaker uses the language to show reality. It´s parallel to the context
Conative function: Here the speaker sends a message to change the listener’s behavior or to call his/her attention. It´s parallel to the receiver.
Emotive function: The speaker sends a message in order to express its own feelings. It´s parallel to the sender.
Phatic function: when the language is used to keep the communication going. It´s parallel to the contact.
Metalinguistic function: when we use the language to talk about the language. It´s parallel to the code
Poetic function: when we use the language the best as we can. The speaker is more interested in the way of communicating. It´s parallel to the message.

4.4. Context

We, as teachers, must create a learning environment in order to develop an appropriate and relaxed atmosphere in our foreign language class. That is where the context takes place as one of the main features in the communicative situation process. There are 2 types of contexts: situational and linguistic.

SITUATIONAL CONTEXT. It’s the place where the situation language happens. In a well-chosen situational context, the elements bring out the meaning and the new vocabulary captures our pupils’ attention.
LINGUISTIC CONTEXT. It’s the language surrounding a particular piece of language. Linguistic context should be meaningful, for the presentation of new language. So, pupils should relate the previous knowledge with the new one.

5. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

In order to develop foreign language learning, teachers must bear in mind that learners are the centred of the educational process when learning a foreign language. If we want to develop an individualized education, we must use the four linguistic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) correctly. This process should progress from the spoken language to the written language and evolve from the receptive skills to the productive skills.

Furthermore, teachers must bear in mind other important aspects that can determine the foreign language accuracy and the education success, in general. Therefore, we want to focus our attention on fostering diversity and equality, reading and ICT’s plans. All these programs allow us to centre in realistic and relevant situations of education and to develop a personalized education, which is adapted to the pupils’ needs. More specifically, ICT’s can be fantastic tools to adapt the materials to the learning needs and teaching situations and to foster learning to learn competence, among others.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more language we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

TEMA 2. LA COMUNICACIÓN EN LA CLASE DE LENGUA EXTRANJERA: COMUNICACIÓN VERBAL Y NO VERBAL. ESTRATEGIAS EXTRALINGÜÍSTICAS: REACCIONES NO VERBALES A MENSAJES EN DIFERENTES CONTEXTOS.

UNIT 2. COMMUNICATION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM. VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION. EXTRALINGUISTIC STRATEGIES: NON-VERBAL RESPONSES TO MESSAGES IN DIFFERENTS CONTEXTS.

INTRODUCTION
COMMUNICATION
1. Definition
2. Types of communication
3. The nature of communication

COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM
1. Communicative language teaching
  1. Communicative approach
  2. Theory of language, communicative competence
  3. Communicative learning and teaching activities
  4. Role of the teacher and student

Non-verbal communication
EXTRALINGUISTIC STRATEGIES: TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
1. Theory of language
2. Role of the teacher and student

CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. INTRODUCTION

In our society, the ability of communicating in a foreign language is an evident need. To learn in different languages does not only means to acquire marks system but also the cultural meanings of the country which has this language. Modern approaches say that this communication is not only an audio-visual experience, but a total one which includes gestures, behaviour, mime and other aspects happening in first language communication.

2. COMMUNICATION

2.1. Definition

Communication is the exchange of meanings, the negotiation of information, between individuals through the use of verbal and non-verbal system of symbols, oral and written modes, and production and comprehension processes.

In the definition of communication, there must be three fundamental notions:

It is a process of information exchange. It implies a desire to communicate and to solve the information gap.
The use of a code is necessary. All the members included in the communication have to share the same code for the communication to be meaningful.
There are message comprehension and production processes. It requires the command of complex cognitive skills both to codify and decode the message.

The elements that make communication possible, that is to say the transmission of information, according to Jacobson’s model (1978), are the following: the sender, the receiver, a code, a context, and a channel.

2.2. Types of communication

Auditory-vocal. Speech, musical effects and voice qualities.
Visual. Sign languages, writing codes and kinesics.
Tactile. Deaf and blind languages, secrets codes and Proxemics.
Olfatory and gustatory. Communication through smell and the symbolism of food and taste.

2.3. The nature of communication

Some of these aspects have a linguistic nature, such as speech, deaf and blind sign languages, and written languages. The communicative use of the visual and tactile modes in their non-linguistic aspects is referred as non-verbal communication or body language. Communication between humans is a very complex phenomenon; scholars have found certain characteristics which seem to apply in every situation. In addition, if we want our teaching to be really communicative, these characteristics must be followed:

When a person speaks: He/she wants to speak, He/she has a communicative purpose, He/she selects from his language stores.
On the other hand, the person listening: He/she wants to listen to something, He/she is interested in the communicative purpose of what is being said, He/she processes a variety of language.

3. COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM

3.1. Communicative language teaching (CLT)

Traditional foreign language teaching concentrated on learning items of language in isolation and its main aim was to read texts and only occasionally for oral communication. The focus was not on communication but on a piece of language, and people got to know about the language and (learning) but could not use it in a real context (acquisition). However, in the last decades, the movement toward a communication-oriented approach has been a remarkable tendency in the context of teaching English as a foreign language.

3.1.1. Communicative approach

By 1970, the common feeling among language teaching experts was general dissatisfaction. Even in those cases in which the student succeeded, the proportion effort-result proved to be quite poor and frustrating.

Present-day trends in language teaching are based on what we know as the Communicative Approach, which apparently receives this name simply because its first aim is real communication. This Approach bases its teaching procedure on the 8 functions and the 5 notions of Language, as described and analysed by Wilkins and his interdisciplinary team by request of the Council of Europe in 1975:

Functions: modality, evaluation, suasion, argument, rational inquiry, personal emotions, emotional relations, and interpersonal relations.
Notions: duration, frequency, quantity, dimension and location.

Theoretically speaking, this Approach is based on the following premise: a native speaker’s competence involves the ability to know when, with whom, how and where to use determined grammatical structures or lexical items.

From the point of view of practice, the Communicative Approach takes into account the following aspects in a speech act or discourse performance:

Topic: what the speaker talks about.
Setting: where he talks.
Participants: addresser and addressee.

3.1.2. Theory of language: communicative competence

Now we are going to concentrate to develop the concept of communicative competence. This concept was deliberately contrary to Chomsky’s 1970 Linguistic Competence, who tried to explain how a child learns language. He referred to a process of deduction using the input received and constructing an internal grammar with natural resources.

But later, Hymes (1967,1972) provided a more complete definition which stated that a native speaker does not only utter grammatically correct forms, he also knows where and when to use a sentence, and to whom. In his idea of communicative competence, he distinguished four aspects:

Systematic potential. The native speaker has a system with a potential for language creation.
Appropriacy. When a native speaker speaks, he/she knows what language is appropriate in a given situation.
Occurrence. The native speaker knows how often something is said in the language.
Feasibility. The native speaker knows whether something is possible in the language or not.

Linguistic competence or the ability to recognize and formulate correct messages by means of phonetic, semantic or morphosyntactic elements.
Sociolinguistic competence, or the ability by which utterances are produced and understood appropriately in different sociolinguistic contexts depending on contextual factors such as status of participants, purposes of the interaction, and norms or conventions of the interaction.
Discursive competence, or the ability to understand and produce different types of oral and written texts organised according to the communicative situation in which they are produced and interpreted.
Strategic competence or ability to use verbal and non-verbal communicative strategies to compensate interruptions in communication.
Sociocultural competence or the ability to become familiar with the social and cultural context in which the foreign language is spoken.”

3.1.3. Communicative learning and teaching activities

The use of communicative activities does not imply that other activities, such as drills, should not be used. Communicative activities are the most important in the language classroom, since here students can do their best to use language as individuals and achieve a degree of autonomy and competence.

Littlewood (1981) distinguishes between:

Functional communication activities (individual/pair work) include: problem solving activities: linking activities (finding connections: to make up a story with three words); finding similarities and differences between two pictures; planning activities: agree or disagree in an activity to do plan a trip, picnic, cinema… information gap activities which include information transfer activities find out some missing information; following instructions; to order a story.
Social interaction activities (group work) include: role-plays, simulations, discussion sessions, debates.

According to Harmer, communicative activities should have the following characteristics:

A desire to communicate something with a specific purpose.
It should provide a variety of language.
Teachers should not interevent on the activity itself.

a) Communication games.

For example, problem-solving activities. Problem solving activities are very much like ‘consensus’ activities. The difference is that students are faced with a problem to which there is a logical solution. We will look at the following example: “Desert dilemma”: A group of people have to survive in the desert after a plane crash. They have to discuss on what to do, what objects are necessary from the plane, etc.

b) Interpersonal exchange.

We will look at one example where the stimulus for conversation comes from the students themselves: “Finding out”: Students work in pairs to find out about each other’s experiences. In the example we will talk about films.

c) Story construction.

This is based on the ‘information gap’ type of activity. The procedure consists on giving some students pictures with partial information and then ask them to use that information as part of a story which they must complete by asking other students who have other bits of information for other parts of the story.

d) Simulation and role play.

The aim of simulation and role play is to create the pretence of a real-life situation in the classroom: students ‘simulate’ the real world. Thus, for example, we ask students to pretend that they are at an airport, or we ask them to get together to organise a meeting. What we are trying to do is to give them practice in real English, as it should be used in English-speaking environments.

3.1.4. Role of the teacher and student

The teacher and learner roles are vital during the process of communicative learning and the development of the activities.

Teacher has two main roles in communicative language training:

To facilitate the communication process between participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the materials used.
To be involved as a participant within the group.

Other secondary roles are:

To engage learner in effective communication, providing feedback and detecting needs.
To acquire classroom management skills in a learner-centered environment.
To organize the resources so students may use them as a source of information.

Learners are meant to learn in an independent way; thus, their role should stress on the emphasis on the process of communication. They must negotiate within the group and the classroom procedures and activities that the group undertakes. The group interaction leads to a successful communicative process.

3.2. Non-verbal communication

According to CRYSTAL (2000), body position and movement, gestures, facial expression, tactile and smelling sensations are some ways of conveying emotions and information. Some indications may be of great use for teaching (disagreement: to look somewhere else) or we can control the behavior of a person with eye movements. There are also some body movements with a given meaning: cutting the throat, etc.

We can do a general classification of non- verbal communication, that is:

Kinesics: it is the study of non-verbal phenomena such as facial expressions, head or eye movements and gestures.
Proxemics: it is the study of the physical distance between people while they are talking to each other: their postures and whether there is physical contact during the conversation or not.

Also, there are another specific classification of non-verbal communication from KNAPP 1992:

Body movement: gestures, movements of the body, hands, head, eyes.
Physical characteristics: physical appearance, body scents, height, hair.
Tactile conduct: The importance of knowing how it affects people from different countries and cultures.
Paralanguage: voice quality, voice register, rhythm, and vocalization…
Artifacts: These include the manipulation of objects with interacting persons, perfumes, clothing, etc…
Surrounding factors: Elements that interfere in human relations: furniture, decoration.

4. EXTRALINGUISTIC STRATEGIES: TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR)

4.1. Theory of language

Non-verbal communication seems to have little place in a language teaching environment. However, certain attempts have been made to use extralinguistic responses to linguistic messages in language instruction. The best-known is the Total Physical Response method.

The Total Physical Response method, developed by JAMES ASHER (1974), is related with the educational and developmental psychology, language teaching and humanistic pedagogy. Its main aim is to teach oral proficiency through physical activity at a beginner’s level. The main features of T.P.R Method are:

Comprehension abilities precede productive skills in learning a language.
The teaching of speaking should be delayed until comprehension skills are established.
Skills acquired through listening transfer to other skills.
Teaching should emphasize meaning rather than form.
Teaching should minimize learner stress.

The general objectives of the T.P.R. are to teach oral proficiency at a beginner’s level, and this goal must be reachable by means of action-based drills in the imperative. A few examples of commands students respond to in relatively early training will serve to illustrate this methodology:

Listening training: students sit in a semicircle around the instructor. The instructor asks them to be silent, listen to command in English, and then do exactly what he does.
Production: after about ten hours of training in listening, students are invited but not pressured to reserve roles with the instructor and give their own commands in English.
Reading or writing: At the end of each class students copy the expressions into the notebooks.

4.2. Role of the teacher and student

The teacher main role is to facilitate the communication process between all participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts. He is an organizer of resources and a classroom manager (he acts as a guide within the classroom procedures activities). A teacher should be a general overseer (supervisor) of his students’ learning and an instructor (he presents the new language, evaluates and corrects his learners). A good teacher is an adviser, helping where necessary; monitors the strengths and weaknesses of learners. A teacher should be, overall, a good a communicator.

It is very important to take into consideration the psychological aspects of our students. If the students feel in a permanent position of inferiority before a critical audience, they are unlikely to feel drawn to communicate with those around them. The development of communicative skills can only take place if learners have motivation and opportunities to express their own identity and to relate with the people around them. They need a secure atmosphere.

As regards the role of the teacher and the learner, according to ASHER, the teacher is the director of a play and pupils are the actors. In this sense, teacher will have to use gestures and mime actions in order to enable their pupils to fully understand what we want them to do. Our main objective is to provide children with as much understandable listening as we can while they are doing an enjoyable activity. Learners have the primary roles of listeners and performers.

5. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more language we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 4. THE IMPORTANCE OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF COMMUNICATION AMONG PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES. DEVELOPING INTEREST IN LANGUAGE DIVERSITY THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF A NEW LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURE.

INTRODUCTION
THE WAY FOREIGN LANGUAGE CAN ACT AS A BARRIER TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.
1. English language as an international language
2. Why learning foreign language is necessary

THE INTEREST IN LANGUAGE DIVERSITY BY GETTING TO KNOW A NEW LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURE.
1. Teaching language and culture
2. Incorporating language and culture into the EFL classroom

CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHy

Language is the main means of human communication, although, ironically, it also constitutes the main barrier. The fact that so many languages exit prevents people from understanding each other. We quickly notice this barrier when travelling, in international political relationships, in research and business. Keeping the previous text in mind, the present essay aims to argue the relevance of teaching a foreign language as an instrument of communication and the increasing interest in language study.

2. THE WAY FOREIGN LANGUAGE CAN ACT AS A BARRIER TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION.

The discovery that language can be a barrier to communication is clearly made by anyone who travels to a foreign country, or in some cases, within our own country. There are several ways of getting around this barrier formed by lack of knowledge of the foreign language but none has yet been entirely successful. The most important are:

Increasing the number and availability of translating and interpreting services but the problem is that an exact equivalent is impossible.
Developing an auxiliary language that everybody will understand, but the problem is that it is not attached to any particular country. As Esperanto language.
Using an existing language that everybody will understand, as it is the case of English nowadays, because it is used as a second language all over the world.
Providing increasing motivation and opportunity to learn foreign languages.

The most realistic way to overcome the language barrier and so, organizations such as The Council of Europe has adopted recommendations to the member states governments to ensure their population has access to effective means to acquire knowledge of foreign languages. However, making linguistic predictions is difficult and it is not easy to know which the common international language will be.

English language as an international language

English is said to be the universal, diplomatic and commercial language, for these reasons it is an essential language all over the world. But there are more reasons:

Historical Reasons: Because of the legacy of British or American imperialism.
External Economic Reasons: The USA’s dominant economic position.
Practical Reasons: English is the language of international air traffic control, international maritime, policing emergency services, business and academic conferences and international tourism.
Intellectual Reasons: Most of the scientific, academic, technological information is in English.
Entertainment Reasons: It is the main language of popular music, films, tv programmes, home computers, video games.

Why learning foreign language is necessary

The necessity of learning languages is questioned by many people who are reluctant to learn a second language. However, there are some answers to defend the opposite idea and protect the need to teach and learn foreign languages. We should try and summarise here, following Crystal in 1995, some of the reasons why foreign languages are taught and learnt:

First, it can be said that foreign language learning is not a luxury but a need in an international world. The path towards a united Europe demands citizens to communicate. Learning a foreign language in Europe is a criterion of responsible international membership.

Second, learning a foreign language promotes understanding, tolerance and respect for the cultural identity, rights and values of others. Language learning broadens our minds, because we encounter other ways of thinking about things.
Third, foreign language teaching has an essential role in preparing our pupils to cope with an every-changing environment. They may overcome their insecurity and develop their confidence as they face up to social and personal demands, which are not usually encountered in a Spanish context.
Fourth, success in international commerce is becoming more and more dependent on foreign language learning. All grades and categories of personnel may profit from foreign language learning.
Finally, we can say that foreign language learning is the only way to fully appreciate your own language.

THE INTEREST IN LANGUAGE DIVERSITY BY GETTING TO KNOW A NEW LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURE.

Chomsky (1970) claimed that there are some elements shared by different languages. Some studies show that bilingual children develop more flexibility of thought. Teachers must use the similarities between two or more languages by sharing the linguistic principles common to these languages.

In order to make a clear classification of the English varieties we will pay attention to the study of varieties on English speaking countries made by Quirk and Greenbaum in 1990.

According to them, varieties can be classified by paying attention to the region, education, subject, context, attitude or interference. We cannot study them in isolation, they are interrelated and each one influences the others.

Region: it is focused on dialects. A dialect may be defined as a subdivision of a language that is used by a group of speakers. Regional variation can be observed in the use of English in the USA, in Ireland, in Wales, in Australia or New Zealand. Some examples: lift-elevator, theatre-theater, colour-color, autumn-fall.
Education: the social and educational level of the speakers influenced the use of the language. The degree of acceptance of standard English throughout the world is a truly remarkable phenomenon. However, other varieties occur in the English-speaking world and are normally linked to the low social or cultural level of the speakers. For example, Cockney English is spoken in some areas of London.
Subject: this is the ability the speaker has to change the register of the speech from formal to non-formal. Depending on the specific situation the speaker will use a specific expression or not.
Context: it refers to the use of the English language paying attention to the oral or written medium and their special features. Spontaneous speech towards preparation on written language.
Attitude: the speaker determines the use of the language; the style can be formal, neutral, or informal.
Interference: that is the influence of other languages into the use of English. The influence of our L1 into the production of L2.

Now we will see how we can motivate our students to develop their cultural awareness through the integration of the target culture in our class. So, we first think of a topic which can be related to some aspects of the foreign culture, for instance, “travelling around the world”.

3.1. Teaching language and culture

Let us start saying that anyone learning a foreign language nowadays will also learn about the target language culture itself. The DECREE 89/2014 establishes the blocks of contents to work English Primary education and the fifth of them is related to organised cultural contents.

It has been widely recognized that culture and language are interrelated and that language is used as the main medium by means of which culture is expressed. Therefore, culture and communication are inseparable: culture dictates how communication proceeds, establishes the relationships between the participants and also helps to determine how people encode messages and the conditions and circumstances under which various messages may or may not be sent, noticed or interpreted.

Now, I will highlight the main goals intended when teaching culture to Primary students:

To be aware of the existence of different culturally-conditioned behaviours.
To develop an understanding that social variables (such as age, sex, social class) influence the ways in which people speak and behave.
To be aware of conventional behavior in common situations in the target culture.
To increase awareness of cultural connotations of words and phrases in the target language.
To avoid stereotypes in the target language.
To stimulate students’ intellectual curiosity about target language, and to encourage empathy towards its people.

3.2. Incorporating language and culture into the EFL classroom

According to the ROYAL DECREE 126/2014, 28th February, students need to develop a communicative competence and as part of this communicative competence, cultural aspects need to be included in the learning process. Linguistic varieties are part of the cultural life of a language. In our Primary Education stages, it will be advisable to include some references to the varieties just to make students aware of the cultural influence on the English language.

In order to build up a real cultural reference in our students we have to pay attention to the vocabulary differences between American English (AmE) and British English (BrE). The study of some examples will enrich the knowledge of the language and bring them into reality. For example: color-colour, favor-favour, elevator-list, Do you have a car?- Have you got a car?, program-programme. The linguistic varieties of a language can be considered difficulties to learn that language, but difficulties make a language more interesting and more useful once they are mastered.

One useful resource will be to relate the learning of the English language to the influence of English in our mother tongue. In Spanish we can also find the influence of the English language in words such as corner, autobús, escáner, espray… Anglicisms are words of English origin that have been borrowed by other languages. Students will realise the influence on the English language in our daily life.

Nowadays, our students are really accustomed to the use of English words basically in songs, movies, TV series, and magazines. The Internet offers a great variety of teaching sources to include the use of real cultural references in our classrooms. New technologies represent the door to a wide range of resources, we need to select what our students need according to their age and interest. Students are really motivated towards the use of real materials. If we have travelled to an English-speaking country, we can bring some material to the class. It allows them to see real devices such as coins, maps, tube timetables, bus timetables, leaflets, magazines, newspapers, etc… Real materials sometimes imply geographical or historical references that allow us to integrate other subjects in the learning process of a foreign language developing a multidisciplinary context.

Teachers can determine a specific timetable to work on socio-cultural contents. This should be written into the Annual Planning (PGA). For example, Halloween, 31st October, would be an appropriate date to introduce some American traditions and features, or St. Patrick’s Day, 17th March, would be a suitable time to introduce some Irish culture. “Cutural/English Week” is also another specific date that could be used to introduce the social and cultural contents of the different English-speaking communities. If possible, it can imply the participation of the whole school, and every level could collaborate in the set project/s. This event must be included in the Annual Planning.

However, the development of cultural awareness is not an easy task. To facilitate it we should give our pupils regular opportunities to:

Come into contact with native speakers in this country (English club) and abroad (Project Lingua, pen-friend club)
Work with authentic materials from the countries of the target language (it may be a good idea to have a permanent link with a school in our country, watching cartoons)
Consider and discuss the similarities and differences between our pupil’s culture and British, American… culture.
Identify with the experiences and perspective of British, American… people. An effective activity would be to invite learners to role-play emotions.
Learn the appropriate social conventions (formulaic language)
Solve cultural problems in specific situations (for example in a restaurant)
Provide pupils with opportunities to learn and use verbal and non-verbal communication, such as gestures, facial expressions, typical from the target culture.

We find the need to include cultural references when teaching a language. As we have explained in the previous section, culture is part of the learning process. It is difficult to find a text, a listening, a speaking or writing activity without any reference to the cultural life of the English-speaking community. For this reason, our students need to develop a positive attitude to other realities in the world and in our case to the English culture.

In relation to methodology it states that in Primary Education the main objective is to develop communication, which is directly connected to this topic. Following the Royal Decree we have to integrate the skills and include them as much as possible showing respect for the silent period of our pupils or any difficulty they could have when learning English.

After methodology we find evaluation criteria and standards of evaluation where communication takes an important role. Understanding oral and written messages is the first one, and in order to acquire these evaluation criteria we have to work on the four skills. It is also related to the production of messages in communicative situations and reading comprehensively.

The value of developing an attitude of tolerance towards the foreign language speaking countries allows our students to develop this attitude towards other students, teachers, local context and above all towards any different point of view of reality in their lives. That is the main objective of developing competences.

CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

In order to develop foreign language learning, teachers must bear in mind that learners are the center of the educational process when learning a foreign language. If we want to develop an individualized education, we must use the four linguistic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) correctly. This process should progress from the spoken language to the written language and evolve from the receptive skills to the productive skills.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more languages we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 21. FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA PLANNING: DIDACTIC UNITS. CRITERIA FOR THE SEQUENCE AND TIMING OF CONTENTS AND OBJECTIVES. SELECTION OF METHODOLOGY TO USE IN LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES.

INTRODUCTION.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA PLANNING: DIDACTIC UNITS.
1. Planning principles
2. Pre-plan
3. Planning units: elements

CRITERIA FOR THE SEQUENCE AND TIMING OF CONTENTS AND OBJECTIVES.
1. The students
2. The procedure
3. The skills
4. The nature of communication

METHODOLOGY TO USE IN LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
1. Communicative competence
2. Activities

CONCLUSION.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. INTRODUCTION.

The best techniques and activities will not have much point if they are not integrated into a programme of studies. According to Harmer, the best teachers are those who think carefully about what they are going to do in their classes and who plan how they are going to organise the teaching and learning.

2. FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA PLANNING: DIDACTIC UNITS

The elements of a prescriptive curriculum Royal decree 126/2014 are: contents, evaluation criteria and standards of evaluation. They must be further specified in the teaching planning and particularly in the didactic units, everything according to an aim, to provide an education adapted to the characteristics, needs and interests of the students.

The teaching planning constitutes the third level of curricular specification: First level the curriculum Royal decree 126 and Decree 89 with the general objectives of primary stage, and focusing in foreign language area, the contents, evaluation criteria and standards of evaluation, divided into four blocks, attending to the four skills. Second level, are the documents that are going to be elaborating in the centre focusing in the school necessities as, School Educational Project (PEC), Curricular proposal of the centre (Propuesta curricular de centro) and general annual programming (PGA). Third level the teaching planning can be defined as the process whereby teachers plan their lessons that are organized in a set of didactic units designed for a particular level. Fourth level, will be the curricular adaptations.

2.1. Planning principles

The two main principles behind good lesson planning are variety and flexibility.

Variety. A lesson needs variety in terms of types of activities (problem solving, a song, a game…), types of interaction (teacher and whole class, teacher and individual pupils, pairs, groups), language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), tempo (it is important to vary the length of the activities) and materials, so that learning is always interesting and never monotonous for the student.
Flexibility is the ability to use any number of different techniques and not to be a slave to one methodology. A flexible teacher will also be able to change the plan if what she or he has planned may not be appropriate for a class on a particular day.

2.2. Pre-plan

We need to know about two main areas: our pupils and our profession.

Our pupils. Every class is unique. We must select the activities that are suitable for our pupils.

Description of our pupils. It will include who our pupils are (age, sex. Social background, parents…) and what our pupils bring to the class (motivation, knowledge of the world, knowledge of English…)
Description of our pupils’ needs. Once we have an idea of our pupils’ characteristics, we must come to a conclusion about what their needs are.

Our profession. Well-prepared teachers must know a lot about foreign language teaching and the educational system.

Considering both our pupils and our profession, we must consider what activities would be most suitable and motivating for our pupils, what language skills are more useful and what is the subject and content of our units.

2.3. Planning units: elements

Presentation, practice and production stage are the three core elements of any unit or lesson planning. (Brewster).

Presentation stage. The main aims of this stage are: pupils realise the usefulness of the new language; to concentrate on the meaning, pronunciation and spelling; and to focus on grammar. We must introduce the new language to our pupils in two kinds of context:

Situational context. It is where the situation of language happens. In a well-chosen situational context, the elements of that situation bring out the meaning and the new language capture our pupil’s attention.
Linguistic context. It is the language surrounding a particular piece of language. Linguistic contexts should be meaningful and clear. So pupils relate the previous knowledge with the new one.

Once we have chosen a context for the presentation, we must decide on a procedure. It will include the following points:

Build up the situational context, pictures, board story…
Obtain the new language from our pupils or tell it to them
Focus our pupils’ attention on the marker sentence (model)
Check our pupils’ understanding of the concepts.

Practice stage. After we have presented a few linguistic items in a meaningful context, we must give our pupils ample opportunity to practise these items for themselves. Practising in a controlled framework will allow our pupils to memorise and assimilate the new language more fully. A successful oral practice stage will provide our pupils with:

Practice: our pupils must be allowed to use the items.
Oral practice: not constant reference to the text.
Guided oral practice: ensuring that they have something to say and can say it without too much hesitation.
Meaningful oral practice: practice must take place in a meaningful context.
Extensive oral practice: our pupils must get enough practice.

These points can be achieved through different activities such as drills; short dialogues which use relevant and appropriate language; information and opinion gap activities.

The roles of the teacher are mainly conductor and corrector.

As Conductor we must be able to:

Obtain responses from our pupils.
Initiate rules and check that our pupils have grasped the concepts involved.
Provide a model for our pupils to imitate
Give instructions for activities and monitor whether the pupils are doing the activity in the proper way.

As corrector we must decide what, how much, when and how to correct.

Showing incorrectness: we only indicate to our pupils that a mistake has been made. If our pupils understand this feedback, they will be able to correct themselves.
Using correcting techniques: we can distinguish two kinds of correction techniques:

Production stage. The main role is to give our pupils the opportunity to experiment on their own and allow them to see how much they have really understood and learnt of the language. Another aim of the production stage is to provide both, teachers and pupils with feedback about the learning / teaching process. The production stage gives priority to experimentation, creative language use, spontaneity and motivation, and the most suitable groupings to achieve this are pair work, group work and mingle.

3. CRITERIA FOR THE SEQUENCE AND TIMING OF CONTENTS AND OBJECTIVES

The criteria that we will establish to sequence the contents and objectives will be related to the final aim in the study of foreign languages to reach the Communicative competence. This will make us to emphasize the importance of the four linguistic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) according to the capacities and needs of our students.

We must consider the current legislation the Organic Law 3/2020, of 29th of December which modifies the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3rd of May of Education (LOMLOE), where the objectives that we must consider that are stablished for all the primary stage. The contents will appear in the decree of our community and they will be developed for each level. Not only de objectives also the contents will be concreted at each didactic unit.

3.1. The students

There are different elements in relation to the students that we must bear on mind when we are planning a didactic unit:

How mature our students are: we should take into consideration their psychological development to learn a language properly (their interests, level of comprehension, their attitude towards the process of learning…).
Previous knowledge: are the students familiar with the topic? Is it too abstract?.
How dependent on a context they are: do we need to use a lot of gestures, objects or pictures for the comprehension or the expression of the subject?.
What are our students´ needs in terms of language? What do they need to express?
What concepts, procedures and attitudes should we introduce to contribute to the psychological development and education of our students?

3.2. The procedure

There are different elements considering the procedure, being the following:

The kind of text to be used: how dense is it? What vocabulary, linguistic and discursive elements does it have?
The channel: are we going to use a written text, a listening? or is the channel going to be the teacher?
The comprehension of the elements of the text: do we want it to be global or selective?
The speaker of the language: does it belong to the school? Is it somebody new for the students?
Grade of coherence and accuracy we expect in the comprehension and expression of the language.
The use of communicative strategies: verbal and non-verbal.
What kind of aid do we have: materials, other teachers, books, etc.

3.3. The skills

Throughout the whole Primary Education teachers should give importance to the four linguistic skills, knowledge of the language and sociocultural aspects. However, taking into account our pupils ‘level of psychological and linguistic development and the process of learning, we will concentrate more in one or other skill and in different aspects of the language and its culture.

In the first and second level: comprehension of short and simple messages related to their close environment (school, family, greetings, asking permission…) using different aids (visuals, computer…). We will emphasize the oral comprehension prior to the expression. We will make our students to be familiar with the language sounds, rhythm and intonation. Students will be exposed to the written language from the early stages (words, small phrases…) they will also be encouraged to read words and short phrases. Positive attitude towards people who speak a different language.

In the third and fourth level: we should concentrate in the comprehension of oral messages and little by little make learners to produce more language (describing objects, people, places…). Reading simple texts, descriptions, songs, stories…. For writing, we should link any writing with their personal interests (invitations, birthday greetings, notes). For cultural aspects students will show interest in getting information about other people and their culture.
In the fifth and sixth level: we will put more emphasis in the capacity of students to produce oral messages and written texts as well as to read more independently. We will emphasize the importance of a good pronunciation and intonation and the usage of some grammar structures. Pupils will realize of the different ways and manners other people have in relation with a situational or cultural context (being courteous, ways of spending their free time, family, types of housing, environment, etc.).

3.4. The nature of communication

When a person speaks: He/she wants to speak, He/she has a communicative purpose, He/she selects from his language stores.
On the other hand, the person listening: He/she wants to listen to something, He/she is interested in the communicative purpose of what is being said, He/she processes a variety of language.

4. METHODOLOGY TO USE IN LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES.

4.1. Communicative competence

Now we are going to concentrate to develop the concept of communicative competence. This concept was deliberately contrary to Chomsky (1965) Linguistic Competence, who tried to explain how a child learns language. He referred to a process of deduction using the input received and constructing an internal grammar with natural resources.

Systematic potential. The native speaker has a system with a potential for language creation.
Appropriacy. When a native speaker speaks, he/she knows what language is appropriate in a given situation.
Occurrence. The native speaker knows how often something is said in the language.

Feasibility. The native speaker knows whether something is possible in the language or not.

Canale and Swain (1983) developed the idea of communicative competence, a design taken on RD. 126 of Primary Education, as the basis for objectives in the curricular design and as a guide for teaching methodology. This communicative competence consists of five sub competences:

Grammatical competence or the ability to recognize and formulate correct messages by means of phonetic, semantic or morphosyntactic elements. e.g. The position of an adjective.
Sociolinguistic competence, or the ability by which utterances are produced and understood appropriately in different sociolinguistic contexts depending on contextual factors such as status of participants, purposes of the interaction, and norms or conventions of the interaction. Eg. Social class, regional languages or registers
Discourse competence, or the ability to understand and produce different types of oral and written texts organized according to the communicative situation in which they are produced and interpreted.
Strategic competence or ability to use verbal and non-verbal communicative strategies to compensate interruptions in communication.
Sociocultural competence or the ability to being familiar with the social and cultural context in which the foreign language is spoken. E.g. When we speak about the tea time.

4.2. Activities

Littlewood (1981) distinguishes between “functional communication activities” and “social interaction activitities”:

Functional communication activities in which the teacher structures the situation so that learners have to overcome an information gap or solve a problem. Learners must work towards a definite solution or decision. They include activities such as:
1. Relaying instructions:
2. Reaching a consensus
3. Communication games
4. Problem solving
5. Interpersonal exchange
6. Story construction
Social interaction activities: they include conversation and discussion sessions, dialogues and role plays, simulations, improvisations, and debates.

Harmer has defined a set of characteristics that communicative activities share:

A desire to communicate.
A communicative purpose.
A variety of language.
No teacher intervention.
No materials control.
Content not form.

He has also divided communicative activities into oral and written:

OraI communicative activities:
Communication gap games.
Story construction.
Simulation and role-play.

Written communicative activities:

Relaying instructions.
Exchanging letters.
Writing games.

5. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

In order to develop foreign language learning, teachers must bear in mind that learners are the centred of the educational process when learning a foreign language. If we want to develop an individualized education, it is essential to design a syllabus which is adapted to the pupils’ needs and teaching situations of the school.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more language we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

6.BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 25: LEARNER-CENTRED FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING. IDENTIFICATION OF MOTIVATIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.

INTRODUCTION
CONCEPT OF LEANER-CENTRED TEACHING
THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF A LEARNER-CENTRED CURRICULUM
1. Advantages of using this kind of teaching
2. Theorical bases
3. Methodology
4. Materials
  1. Authenticity
  2. Learning how to learn
  3. Heterogeneity
5. Assessment and evaluation
6. Roles of the teacher
7. Potential problems

IDENTIFICATION OF MOTIVATIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH, AND ITS APPLICATIONS.
1. The needs-analysis
2. The student’s needs
3. Techniques and applications

CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

The main principle in learner-centred teaching is that all class activities can be done using information that the learners bring to the classroom. Therefore, every activity can be based on the knowledge, experience, and expertise of pupils.

Learner-centred teaching can be applied in 3 main ways in the English classroom:

– The only method to be used in the classroom.

– A complement of other materials.

– A set of remedial procedures to use in unpredicted situations.

CONCEPT OF LEANER-CENTRED TEACHING

Learning needs have to be based on topics and activities that are central to children’s immediate interests. A child-centred approach encourages active participation and involvement as well as personalized and individual response. Children have to use English to do things that are purposeful, relevant and funny, such as listening to stories, singing songs, playing games and finding out about the world they live in. Learner-centred teaching is teaching designed for the student. This means that planning often begins with the student in mind as opposed to a school policy or curriculum, for example.

In this teaching situation the learners take responsibility for their own learning and are the agents of the learning process, so their role is very active, they influence what happens and how it happens, that is, they influence the syllabus, materials, methodology and evaluation strategies. In this sense the students are more likely to enjoy learning English and succeed at it.

Today, LOMLOE also embraces this Child Centred approach. The legislation establishes that education will be flexible to fulfil different needs from different interests, abilities, expectations and changes in students or social environment. This includes special attention for children with special needs, intellectually gifted, with social disadvantage or coming from different educational systems.

Attending to the Curriculum (Royal Decree 126/2014 and Decree 89/2014 modified by Decree 17/2018 and Decree 8/2019), this approach is also considered when defining the Key Competences. Learning to learn competence, means to be aware of one’s owns abilities and how to use and control them. This includes the ability to cooperate, to self-evaluate, and the use of intellectual techniques that will be different in every child. Autonomy and Self-initiative also include the Child Centred Approach. Developing this key competence means to be able to imagine, initiate, to develop and to evaluate actions and individual or collective projects with creativity, trustfulness, responsibility and critical thinking.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF A LEARNER-CENTRED CURRICULUM

Children have characteristics that make them similar to other children. These common characteristics offer a general frame in which the teacher can plan a program for the whole group (‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘when’ to teach and assess). Within a group of children teachers can find different levels of cognitive, motor, social, linguistic and affective development. And therefore, the teaching process should first determine these different levels and then plan according to them.

All the differences also apply to language learning. But there are specific individual differences that influence language learning and second language learning. Learning a language is a creative constructive process in which the child uses natural strategies to analyse the linguistic input and later elaborate internal rules to assimilate language. This process allows him/her to organise language in a meaningful and understandable way and then to produce language in different communicative situations. As constructivism states.

Cognitive style refers to the way every person usually learns different concepts. This term is used in the Spanish educational law mainly when dealing with individual differences. We all learn based on previous knowledge and using different strategies to understand and assimilate new concepts or skills. This previous knowledge and these strategies will be different for every person, since we all have different experiences of reality and we all use different strategies according to our cognitive style.

Gardner (1983) establishes seven different cognitive styles, this is, strategies to learn. He calls them Multiple Intelligences: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinaesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal. They will all have to be considered when planning the teaching process.

Advantages of using this kind of teaching

Now we will present the advantages of a student-centred learning situation according to Campbell (1992):

Potential of the learner. The students bring their ideas, needs and interests and attitudes into the classroom and if they see them reflected in the contents and in the way they learn English. Their motivation will be better and they will also learn better.
Constant need analysis (constant revision). The students need a constant analysis, analysis is a continually developing process. As learner-centred learning is a dynamic process, activities are chosen to satisfy the students’ needs. When they carry out an activity, we spot the problems they have and introduce suitable activities in the next lesson.
Topicality. It refers to the introduction of topics chosen by the students into the classroom for two reasons either to supplement topics or to replace uninteresting course book topics.
Previous learning experience. We give the students basic knowledge which they will expand according to their interests, needs and previous learning experiences. Therefore, we will get different results depending on the group.
Learners as authors. This means that the students are involved not only in the use of the materials but also in the materials design.
The element of surprise. The fact that the students do not know the lesson planning, even how the lesson will be developed. Therefore, an element of surprise is introduced in lessons.
Peer teaching and correction. Pupil-centred teaching encourages the students to work together and learn from each other developing socialization skills. In many activities, they must listen to each other and in this way, they can teach and correct one another.
Group solidarity. The fact that the students work together in activities contributes to creating a spirit of group solidarity and a good atmosphere in the classroom.

Theorical bases

The Organic Law 3/2020, of 29th of December which modifies the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3rd of May of Education (LOMLOE) speak about a permanent education which can only be achieved if the instructional programmes are centred on learners’ needs, because learners are the centre of the educational process.

The first chapter in LOMLOE is about principles and purposes in education, and some of them are related to the learner-centred curricula:

The quality of education for all the pupils, independent of their conditions and circumstances.

d. The condition of the education like a permanent learning, developed throughout the life.

e. Flexibility to adapt education to the different pupils’ aptitudes, interest, experiences and needs, as well as pupils and society changes.

f. The students’ educative and professional direction, as necessary way to acquire a personalized education that provide an integral education in knowledge, skills and values.

g. The pupils’ individual effort and motivation.

Methodology

Traditional approaches to language teaching have tended to separate considerations of syllabus design from methodology.

Syllabus: specify the ‘what’ to teach.
Methodology: specifies the ‘how’ to teach

In learner-centred model, all the elements are in interaction and each may influence the other. For a communicative language teaching, there was a need for methodologies to reflect curriculum goals.

A communicative curriculum uses pedagogic tasks which must be linked to the real-world tasks, pupils might be required to engage in outside the classroom. Learner-centred approaches draw on these activities and in studies on classroom acquisition which may provide psycho-linguistically motivated learning tasks. To do that, it is necessary an analysis of pupils:

Concrete learners: prefer learning by games, pictures, video, talking in pairs, learning through the use of the cassette…
Analytical learners: grammar, studying English books, studying alone, finding their mistakes, having problems to work on…
Communicative learners: they enjoy learning by observing and listening to native speakers, watching TV in English…
Authority-oriented learner: they like the teacher to explain everything, writing everything in a notebook, having their own textbook…

It is very difficult to use a communicative approach with analytical and authority-oriented learners if, at the same time, we want to follow the principles of learner-centred teaching.

If pupils do not believe in the learning value of communicative activities, we can begin by setting traditional learning activities. The danger is that they get used to traditional activities and do not want to change into communicative ones later.

Materials

Materials are limited to be produced by learners in class. The focus will be on assisting pupils to do in class what they will be able to do outside.

When dealing with materials in a learner-centred teaching we must attend to authenticity, learning how to learn and heterogeneity.

Authenticity

Nunan defines authentic materials as those which have been produced for purposes other than to teach language: extracts from television, radio and newspapers, signs, maps and charts, photographs and pictures, timetables and schedules. Comprehending and manipulating authentic texts does not mean that our pupils will comprehend and manipulate language in real communicative situations, and this is one of the principles of communicative language teaching.

The Organic Law 3/2020, of 29th of December which modifies the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3rd of May of Education (LOMLOE) mention the communicative competence.

Nunan considers that the most important type of authenticity is learner authenticity, by this we have to bear in mind two conditions:

Materials must be recognised by learners as having a legitimate place in the language classroom.
Materials must engage the interests of pupils by relating to their interests, background knowledge and experience and stimulate the communication.

Candlin and Edelhoff suggest 4 kinds of authenticity which are important:

Authenticity of goal
Authenticity of environment
Authenticity of text
Authenticity of task

Learning how to learn

Learning to learn approaches take into account that different pupils have different ways of learning, according to the multiples intelligences (Gardner). This means that children also have different preferences regarding learning materials. We must develop self-awareness and gradually lead pupils to a conscious development of their own learning strategies:

Metacognitive strategies: planning for learning, hypothesizing, self-assessment and reflection on the learning process.
Cognitive strategies: sorting, classifying, matching, predicting, using dictionaries, repeating…
Social mediation strategies: collaborating and peer-correction, which may be developed by means of materials designed for pair or group work.
Communication strategies: Can you say that again, please?

Acquiring learning to learn processes develops pupils’ curiosity and fosters a positive attitude towards foreign language learning. This is extremely important as one of the main aims of Primary Education is to familiarize pupils with English.

Heterogeneity

Materials can be used at different levels of proficiency. The heterogeneous exercises give them learning value out the practice and have a positive effect on pupils’ attitude as responses at different levels.

Assessment and evaluation. We can define assessment as the set of processes by which we judge pupil’s learning.

On the other hand, evaluation entails assessment but also some additional processes which are designed to assist us in interpreting and acting on the results of our assessment. The Order 3622/2014 regulates the evaluation.

In any pupil-centred system, evaluation processes involving both teachers and pupils need to be developed. Pupils should learn how to assess their own progress, evaluate, from their own perspectives, materials, activities and learning arrangements. Pupils could use a diary to evaluate themselves.

Roles of the teacher

According to NUNAN, traditionally, in curricular systems, the teacher was a servant of a process in which the syllabus, the methodology and the evaluation were previously designed.

However, the teacher must have a central role to play in all aspects of the curriculum. In a learner-centred curriculum, the teacher is a curriculum developer:

He must adapt the curriculum to his pupils’ characteristics (3rd level of concreteness).
He must adapt the planned curriculum which is set down in curriculum documents, to his teaching situation, implemented curriculum.
He will assess what the pupils actually learn (assessment curriculum).

All in all, main roles of the teacher are:

Participant: contribute ideas and opinions or personal experiences.
Resource: answering questions on vocabulary, grammar or activity procedures.
Monitor or assessor: checking what learners have produced. In communicative activities is better not interrupt them.

Potential problems

According to CAMPBELL, if we apply learner-centred approaches, we may find 3 main potential problems:

Potential resistance: groups of learners who have specific preconceptions about the learning process. Some of them feel that they are only learning when doing the type of activities, they are used to. A gradual introduction of learner-centred activities may convince them of their value.
External restraints: to cover part of the syllabus using pupil-centred activities, despite having been approved by School Board and the teaching staff.
Demands on the teacher: we may give pupils a newsletter which has all the information about the pupil progress.

IDENTIFICATION OF MOTIVATIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH, AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Both, individual differences and social context play an important role in motivation and interest, and these in a successful learning.

During the 60’s, in Canada, LAMBERT followed an interesting experience in a school and his investigation drew important conclusions as results about how motivation and interest take part in the process of learning a second language. Lambert also concluded that children in this school developed positive attitudes towards both French-speaking and English-speaking people. In the U.S.A. WALDMAN (1975) observed that English-speaking students participating in Spanish programs developed more open-minded ideas and positive feelings and attitudes towards the Hispanic culture.

In conclusion, motivation and interest take a very important role in the process of learning a second language. Leaving individual factors apart, the social context also plays an important role in motivation: motivation and interest will increase if the second language is important in the society where children live and if families and schools value the second language acquisition showing not only interest but also support and suitable answers.

The needs-analysis

To design a pupil-centred curriculum for students with different attitudes and motivation towards English, we must start from a description of our pupils. We have to know their age, their family background, their knowledge of English, interests and students with special needs or discipline problems.

Once we know our students, we have to analyse their needs. This analysis has two purposes: to develop objectives and contents we want to achieve and to provide data for changing and evaluating programmes.

The student’s needs

We should distinguish two types of needs:

Objective needs: they are diagnosed by teachers and derived from an analysis of the communicative situations.
Subjective needs: motivations, attitudes, expectations pupils have towards English. Derived from the learners themselves.

Techniques and applications

Their motivation will be better if they see the purpose of what they are doing. We can use two techniques for the identification of motivations and attitudes towards English.

Formal techniques: interviews and tests.
Informal techniques: classroom observation and questionnaires.

Finally, we will concentrate on applications to foreign language learning. Now we will examine a number of questionnaires which are practical applications of the learner-centred approach in order to identify the motivation and attitudes of our students towards English. There are questionnaires in which the students have to say what uses of English are relevant to them. What has been expounded so far has the following practical applications to foreign language teaching:

The main principle in deciding a suitable approach or method is whether it will be useful for these particular students.
Students will have many opportunities for productive practice. Techniques of oral work, pair work or group work should be introduced. If pupils work together, they will learn from each other and they will develop socialization skills.
Teachers should foster the development of learning strategies.
Teachers should involve students in material design.

5. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

In order to develop foreign language learning, teachers must bear in mind that learners are the centred of the educational process when learning a foreign language. As we have seen, introducing learner-centred principles in our classroom is a good point to take into account learner’s needs, interests, motivations and attitudes.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more language we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 9: DESCRIPTION OF THE PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. MODELS AND TECHNIQUES OF LEARNING. PERCEPTION. DISCRIMINATION AND EMISION OF SOUNDS. INTONATIONS, RHYTHMS AND ACCENTS. THE PHONETIC CORRECTION.

INTRODUCTION
SEGMENTAL FEATURES
1. Vowel system
2. Consonant system

SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES
1. Stress and accent
2. Rhythm
3. Intonation

DIDACTIC APPLICATION
1. Learning models and techniques
2. Teaching and learning pronunciation
3. Phonetic correction
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

Phonetics is the science concerned with the study of speech process, including the perception, transmission and reception of speech sounds from both an acoustics and physiological point of view. By contrast the aim of phonology is to discover the rules which organize sounds into a language system.

2. SEGMENTAL FEATURES

Phonetically, a vowel sound is a sound articulated with no obstruction to the voice produced by the vocal cords in the larynx. A consonant is pronounced with some kind of obstruction to the passage of air, with or without voice. Phonologically, a vowel phoneme is capable of behaving as the nucleus of a syllable. In other words, a vowel is necessary to form a syllable. On the other hand, a consonant phoneme is accessory in syllable formation. We can have a syllable formed by one single vowel, with no consonants.

A semivowel or semi-consonant is a phoneme that behaves phonetically as a vowel (it is a voiced sound pronounced without obstruction), and phonologically as a consonant, as it cannot be the nucleus of a syllable (it is an accessory element in syllable formation). Semivowel or semi-consonant phonemes in English are /j/, /r/ and /w/.

The articulation of segmental features makes references to 6 main factors:

Air stream: the source and direction identify the basic class of sound.
Vocal cords: voiced sounds are produced when the vocal cords vibrate, whereas, voiceless sounds are produced when there is no vibration.
Soft palate: its position indicates whether a sound is nasal (lowed position) or oral (raised position).
The place of articulation: it refers to the point in the vocal tract.
The manner of articulation: the type of constriction that takes place at any place of articulation.
The position of the lips: it is especially important when describing vowels (rounded or spread).

2.1. Vowel system

Twelve vowels are distinguished in standard British English. A vowel sound is always voiced and articulated without an obstruction to the flow of air. Voice is “shaped” by some kind of narrowing in the mouth. The terms used in the description of vowels refer to the following features in this order:

Highest part of the tongue: front, central and back
Proximity (of the tongue to the palate): close, half-close, half-open and open.
Position of the lips: spread, neutral and rounded.
Length: short and long.
Spelling.

For teaching purposes, we have followed DANIEL JONES’ proposal, which defines the Cardinal Vowel System as follows (CHART 1). Secondly, we show the English vowel phonemes:

/ɪ/ – sit, ink, ill, it

/i:/ – seat, east, eagle

/e/ – get, set, red, bell

/æ/ – cat, rat, bat, mat

/ɑ:/ – arm, ask, calm, car, father

/ʌ/ – cut, shut, cup

/ə/ – about, ago, along, letter, better

/ɜ:/ – pearl, earn, yearn, girl, turn, curd

/ʊ/ – cook, book, look, took

/u:/ – spoon, shook, fool, food

/ɔ/ – pot, lot, shot, on, lock, dot

/ɔ:/ – all, call, brought, sought

2.2. Consonant system

In English all sounds are pulmonic egressive so we only have to pay attention to the remaining criteria. When we have 2 consonants in the same place, the one to the left is voiceless and strong (more energy) and the one to the right is generally voiced and lenis (less energy).

Consonant sounds can be classified according to:

The place of articulation:

Bilabials: [p] (public), [b] (baby), [m] (mountain) and [w] (want).
Labiodentals: [f] (four) and [v] (vote).
Dentals: [θ] (thunder) and [ð] (though).
Alveolars: [t] (train), [s], (stop), [d] (door), [z] (president), [n] (green) and [l] (love).
Post-alveolars: [tr] (treasure), [dr] (drum) and [r] (rule).
Palate-alveolar: [tʃ] (chicken), [ʃ] (share), [dʒ] (german), [ʒ] (television).
Palatal: [j] (year).
Velar: [k] (cup), [g] (green) and [ŋ] (thing).
Glottal: [ʔ] (uh-oh) and [h] (hot)

The manner of articulation:

Plosives: [p], [b], [t], [d], [k] and [g].
Affricates: [tr], [dr], [tʃ] and [dʒ].
Fricatives: [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [s], [z], [ʃ], [ʒ] and [h].
Nasals: [m], [n] and [ŋ].
Laterals: [l].
Semivowel: [w], [r] and [j].

SUPRASEGMENTAL FEATURES

Stress, rhythm and intonation are connected to the prominence we produce some parts of an utterance. When we speak of stress, we refer to the prominence of a syllable. Rhythm is the combination of different pitch of prominence. When we speak of intonation apart from prominence, we must consider the loudness and tempo.

3.1. Stress

Stress can be defined as the greater degree of prominence, in terms of length, loudness and articulatory force, perceived in the pronunciation of certain syllables.

Up to four or five degrees of stress are often distinguished in English phonetics. For practical purposes of meaning distinction, we will consider three:

Primary stress, indicated by a high vertical stroke before the stressed syllable.
Secondary, marked by a low vertical stroke before the syllable.
Zero or no stress, unmarked.

Stress in English, as in Spanish, has no permanent fixed position. It can be on the last, second last, third or even fourth last syllable of a word.

Nevertheless, stress in English can be divided into two main patterns:

First-element stress or single accented compounds:

Second indicates the performer of the action: ‘car dealer, ‘dish washer.
Nouns formed from a verb and a preposition: ‘pick-up, ‘flashback.
Names of academic subjects: ‘history book, ‘medical school.

Second-element stress or double accented compounds:

the first element is a material used to manufacture the whole: apple ‘tart.
food items: port ‘wine, Christmas ‘pudding.
names of magazines and newspapers: Daily ‘Star, Radio ‘Times.

They normally have the stress on the second element, but if these words are followed by another stressed word with which they have close grammatical connection, the stress may shift to the first element (e.g. ‘snow-white hair but, snow-’white).

3.2. Rhythm

The rhythm of a language is its ‘beat’, a direct consequence of stress. Technically, it is the pattern of stress, made by the frequency of stressed syllables in speech. It is defined as the rate at which syllables, words and sentences are produced to convey several kinds of meaning. Pitch, loudness and tempo together enter a language’s expression of rhythm.

Spanish has syllabic rhythm. All syllables in each word have more or less equal prominence, except the stressed one. There are no weak forms. Thus, Spanish speech is perceived as rather “flat” compared to English. English has stress-timed rhythm. This means that stress occurs at roughly regular intervals of time. Stress-timed rhythm makes English sound more “musical” than Spanish. These characteristics also explain, to a large extent, why oral English is often so difficult to understand, at least in early stages, for Spanish native speakers.

3.3. Intonation

It is the most important suprasegmental feature. Different levels of pitch (tones) are used in particular sequences to express a wide range of meaning. Intonation performs a wide range of functions:

Emotional: to express a wide range of attitudinal meanings, from excitement to boredom.
Grammatical: it is the identification of units such as clauses and sentences.
Information structure: intonation conveys a great deal about what is already known in an utterance.
Indexical: intonation helps to identify people from different social groups and occupations.
Psychological: it helps to organize language units into ‘chunks’ (parts) which are more easily perceived and memorized.
Textual: prosodic coherence is an important element in the construction of larger stretches of discourse (adequate use of suprasegmental features).

4. DIDACTIC APPLICATION

Language starts with the aural receptive skill: listening. Babies imitate the sounds they hear, they are very good at it. But this gift of imitation does not normally last indefinitely. Young children can learn any language perfectly in a native language environment. But we all know that adults usually have great difficulties in mastering the pronunciation, as well as other parts, of foreign languages.

The explanation is that by the time we are grown up our native language habits are so strong that they are very difficult to break. It is as if we had in our brains a limited fixed number of sound units. These cannot be reduced, increased or altered. So, any new sound will automatically be perceived for its similarity with one of our units and produced in that way too.

There are important differences between Spanish and English in terms of pronunciation. In general, English requires a new set of sound units and prosodic sounds, that is, new ways of hearing and using speech organs. As we have said above, acquiring these new habits is relatively easy at a young age. That is why it is so important that teachers train their students in pronunciation from an early age.

4.1. Learning models and techniques

There are several methods available to the teacher to teach phonetics, and now we are going to have a look to the most representative ones:

Audio-lingual method, the continuous repetition of sounds until the child can reproduce it correctly. Some techniques are drills, choral and individual repetition.
Audio-visual method, the language is taught through a series of mimes and gestures that can reflect intonation, stress and rhythm of the native speaker.
Audio-oral method, it involves a high level of exposure to the sounds of the target language. The student repeats a model sentence that is provided instead of the simple reproduction of sounds.

We have already chosen British Received Pronunciation/ General English as our basic model but we must also consider our performance targets, our pronunciation goals. Factors which will determine our pupils’ aims are concerned with their age, natural ability, motivation and the objectives set out by the Decree 89/2014 which established the block of contents to work English in Primary Education.

4.2. Teaching and learning pronunciation

If a new word appears, our pupils must learn how to pronounce it. Pronunciation learning is automatically integrated in our lessons. In the early stages of learning, learners are dependent on us for information about critical sounds of English. The selection of materials will enable us to present them with correct examples of those features they must learn. As their exposure to English increases, and as they acquire the necessary discriminatory skills, pupils begin to develop their own internal criteria of what is acceptable and what is not. This exposure must be enjoyable and motivating: games, songs, rhymes, short dialogues on interesting topics will provide the necessary input.

Pronunciation teaching does not concentrate on the production of individual sounds (segmental features) it is also important to train our students in suprasegmental features. The students must recognize where the stress is in different words. Once they recognize word-stress we may begin with rhythm and intonation. RHYTHM can be shown by clapping the strong beats in songs and rhymes. INTONATION awareness can be developed by telling our students to hum (tararear) a dialogue. This is important because students forget the pronunciation and concentrate on intonation.

We must take into account these general guidelines:

1. We need to provide a good model of pronunciation at primary school.

2. Pronunciation should be integrated as a part of language teaching and learning.

3. Activities should be enjoyable and motivating such as songs, rhymes…

4. We must make the student be aware of the English pronunciation features. They must be able to perceive and discriminate.

The output that our students produce must be evaluated. The Order 3622/2014 regulates the evaluation in the Madrid Community and the Decree 89/2014 establishes the standards of learning for the evaluation.

We can either record or ask for a repetition of a speaking activity. As our pupils already know what they have to say they have more energy available for self-monitoring this type of technique. By involving them, occasionally, in activities which require them to use their best pronunciation, our students are getting more confident about their progress.

4.3. Phonetic correction

From early stages, a lot of specific training will be necessary on the following points of English pronunciation, to overcome the problems and to get familiar with the articulation and perception of the new language. As we have already seen throughout the topic, the main difficulties appear in aspects that are significantly different from the mother tongue:

a) The vowel system. There are only five vowels in Spanish, while in English there are twelve. Thus, some of them are difficult to distinguish in perception and pronunciation for Spanish speakers. For example, three English vowels are fairly similar to Spanish /a/, two to /i/, two to /o/ and two to /u/. Long and short ‘schwa’ (/ə/) does not exist in the Spanish phonemic system.

b) Consonants. They are not a particular source of difficulties, except when they appear in different or long clusters (groups).

c) Prosodic signs. As we have seen, there are more degrees of stress in English than in Spanish. The rhythm is stress-timed instead of syllabic.

Finally, English has its peculiar melody or intonation patterns. Some tunes are different from Spanish, and those that coincide are often used for different communicative purposes, so it is quite easy for a Spanish native speaker to make a mistake or sound inappropriate in English simply by using the wrong intonation.

5. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop FL learning, pronunciation accuracy plays a decisive role in the learning of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing).

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more language we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 3: DEVELOPMENT OF THE LINGUISTIC SKILLS: LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING AND WRITING. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH

INTRODUCTION
SPOKEN AND WRITTEN CHARACTERISTICS AND DIFFERENCES
THE SPOKEN WORD
1. Listening
  1. Methodology to teach oral comprehension (listening).
2. Speaking

2.2.1. Methodology to teach oral production (speaking).

THE WRITTEN WORD
1. Reading
  1. Methodology to teach written comprehension (reading).
2. Writing

3.2.1. Methodology to teach written production (writing).

INTEGRATING THE SKILLS
1. Reason for integrating the skills
2. Integration advantages

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. INTRODUCTION

To use a language effectively, we need to interchange different abilities or skills in our lessons such as: listening, speaking, reading and writing. We will study how to integrate these skills into communication. All the skills above may be necessary to our pupils and we will have to consider when and how to introduce them.

2. SPOKEN AND WRITTEN CHARACTERISTIC AND DIFFERENCES

As a starting point we are going to deal with the characteristics and differences between the main features in communication: spoken and written language.

Speech is universal, but when we are learning a language, we must take into account that spoken and written communication function with rules. Systems of symbols used to convey meaning, there are enough differences in pragmatic rules between writing and speaking to justify discussing some of their differences. The spoken language has dialects and variations but written has standard forms of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. Speaking is a spontaneous, informal and repetitive way of communication while writing is more formal and planned.

Where speakers use their voices and bodies, writers use words on the paper.

3. THE SPOKEN WORD

According to The Organic Law 3/2020, of 29th of December which modifies the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3rd of May of Education (LOMLOE) our main goal is to teach students how to communicate orally and in writing. Let’s begin with the listening one.

3.1. Listening

Whenever a person studies a foreign language the first skills to deal with are receptive skills. Among the two receptive skills, listening for the foreign language is the very first one. The comprehension of a language is the ability to understand communicatively what we listen to in the foreign language.

If we want to have authentic communication between two human beings, oral understanding (listening) and an ability to express oneself in a language (speaking) are both necessary.

According to Harmer, the most important listening skills are:

Predicting. We must encourage our pupils to predict what they are going to listen to.
Extracting specific information.
Getting the general picture in order to get the gist of the message.
Recognising discourse patterns and markers in communication.
Inferring opinion and attitude.
Deducing meaning in context.

Analysing the acquisition of our mother tongue (L1) we realise that the fact of speaking does not take place until proper understanding occurred. Listening to a language could seem a passive process; however, it is not quite true. Before understanding a language, the listener has to process what he or she hears and this is an active process without any doubt. Understanding implies decoding the message.

For a message in foreign language to be completely understood students need to follow the following stages:

a) Identification of vocabulary, grammar or sentence structures and of course the phonetic contents or sounds.

b) Identification of the key words, that is to do a selection of the most relevant elements of the message.

c) Be able to retain the information for the necessary amount of time to answer and develop the communication among speakers.

3.1.1. Methodology to teach oral comprehension (listening).

To teach how to do a listening exercise we need to bear in mind some of the main principles that are established in the Royal Decree 126/2014. In the section related to the methodological aspects we find many references with the need to maintain our students in a communicative context. To do so we have to follow a number of principles:

• We should select activities related to the students’ interest.

• We need to provide the context of the situation we are going to deal with.

• We must select material of the best quality possible.

• Dialogues are preferable; listening to just one person could be monotonous.

• We should avoid background noises to facilitate the understanding.

• The listening should fit our students’ level of the foreign language.

After following these principles, we need to analyse the three phases for making a listening activity:

a) Pre-listening: It allows our student to introduce themselves in the context where the listening activity takes place. It helps them to review the vocabulary there are going to listen and even to clarify ideas before listening.

b) While- listening: In these stages students are supposed to focus their attention on the listening itself, to concentrate on the listening task.

c) Post-listening: We will develop activities that help us to check the understanding of the listening task and the answers of our students.

According to the level of our student we can propose two types of listening activities, extensive listening and intensive listening. Extensive listening is interested in the global meaning of the message, whereas intensive listening is focussed on specific ideas, on specific vocabulary, intonation or stress. Possible activities for extensive listening will be answering questions, and possible activities for intensive listening will be close text or multiple choice.

From the great number of listening activities that we can find, we are going to select some of them as examples. From the very first levels we can choose listen and repeat, very useful for a first contact with the foreign language; listen and identify, usually linked to the use of images to point to: listen and draw; listen and colour; listen and match; listen and put in order; listen and classify… Most of them are used to consolidate vocabulary and the identification of new words and structures. In higher levels we can use listen and guess activities or listen and complete the information; listen and answer a multiple choice, or listen and answer.

3.2. Speaking

Speaking is a productive skill, it implies production on the part of the speaker, for this reason a student needs to have a previous input, previous learning stages before speaking in the foreign language. In order to develop this skill our students need to listen to the foreign language as much as possible and we as teacher should take advantage of this idea and use English in our foreign language classroom as much as possible. Students need to be in the appropriate context to develop their knowledge of the English language.

Among the many methodologies that we can find nowadays, we should focus our attention to those methodologies that underline the importance of the oral language in the foreign language teaching context. Modern methodologies highlight the oral skills above the written skills, demanding the production of written text to a second stage of learning a language and maybe not so recommendable for the Primary Education levels where students do not have mastered the language.

According to the Primary Education Curriculum in Madrid Community, we as teachers should bear in mind our main purpose that is to develop the communicative competence in our pupils. To do so we have to introduce the oral production of the foreign language in our classroom activities. Nevertheless, it is true that teaching our students to speak English sometimes is a hard work because of the many difficulties that we can find. First of all, we should avoid frustration in our students in order to acquire a comfortable feeling towards the foreign language. One of the mistakes we should avoid is to require from our students an early production of the FL; they need to feel skilful enough to speak in the foreign language and to do so we should create the appropriate communicative context. We should respect the silent period of each student and wait to the maturity of their knowledge. In the early stages repetition of words allow them to feel confident enough in the oral production and step by step they will be able to produce sentences and then speaking fluently.

The starting point should be repetition of easy sentences and daily used utterances that become familiar to them. We can select easy greetings, or the specific language of the classroom, asking for permission to go to the toilet, asking for clarification.

We as teachers should allow our students to speak in class as early as possible and they will understand the importance of using the foreign language as a vehicle of communication.

In the next section we are going to develop some of the methodological aspect we have to follow to teach speaking properly.

3.2.1. Methodology to teach oral production (speaking).

As we have just said in previous section teaching our students to speak in the foreign language is sometime a hard work. We need to identify the different phases that speaking production requires:

1) Assimilation phase: is the stage to create the appropriate communicative context introducing the new vocabulary letting students to assimilate new structures, lexical meanings, linguistic expressions, and also socio-cultural aspects. We should use micro-dialogues not very long, dialogues between two speakers without any disturbance, use of visual elements to introduce the context, mimicry, using model sentences…

2) Controlled phase: students should take part in this phase and interact with the teacher and even with other students. We should pay attention to repetition of sentences, check errors by

self-correction or even peer-correction, controlling every production to guide them to accuracy. We can use intonation, mimicry, facial expressions to guide them to the correct answer. The use of already assimilated structures will help us to introduce new ones, new vocabulary and reinforce the previous knowledge.

3) Creative phase: in this stage we allow our students to make mistakes what we need is to make them feel confident enough to use the foreign language no matter the mistakes. Using the foreign language is the goal no matter the mistakes, it is an excuse to use the language and so they can realise of their abilities to speak in the FL.

4) Free practice phase: they are able to use the oral language and decide what they what to communicate. The goal is to reinforce the communication in the FL and to use it as much as possible with a clear objective. They will use the structures and vocabulary they have learnt in previous stages through dramatization, role play, debates. Teacher control is minimum we should observe and help for any clarification but students talking time should be higher than ours.

As an example, we can select some of the activities we can include when teaching oral production of the FL: reading aloud, memory game, guessing the words through a visual aid, dramatization, role-play, relating a story, reading rhymes, use of song or chants, information gap…

4. THE WRITTEN WORD

After having a look to oral skills, we will continue with the written ones, following the natural order of acquisition.

4.1. Reading

We can apply many of the theories to learn L1 to the L2 when we refer to written comprehension. Reading implies learning vocabulary, learning sentence structures, learning linguistic expressions, and even more important reading in a foreign language implies exposure to that language. It facilitates to integrate our students in the socio-cultural context of the foreign language speakers. In the Educative Law, The Organic Law 3/2020, of 29th of December which modifies the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3rd of May of Education (LOMLOE), in the section related to foreign languages, it states students need to develop their communicative competence and to do so they need to acquire a Sociocultural competence. Reading allows us to introduce this culture into the FL classroom.

One of the main objectives of written comprehension is to acquire the necessary abilities to be able to reach the second stage and develop written production. We could not be able to write in the foreign language if we do not read first in the foreign language.

3.1.1. Methodology to teach written comprehension (reading).

The first thing we have to think about is the reason to read. We need to create in our students the desire to read a text. To do so we should generate interest in the texts and create the appropriate context to discover the new ideas in the specific text we are going to work with. Some steps are advisable to follow when doing so:

Introduce the vocabulary so that our students will find familiar words when reading and allow them to go on reading because they are able to understand the context.
Use visual aids to introduce the context of the texts, explain possible differences on cultural references we will find in the text.
Answer some question predicting what the text is about to create a will to read it.
Listen to the texts to give our students an opportunity to hear the words and to clarify the pronunciation of difficult vocabulary.
Read it in silent to create an individual feeling of reading.
Answer questions after reading in small groups or with the whole class to check understanding globally in order to avoid panic if the y have not understood something.

Often, as in the case of listening, -the other receptive skill- we will follow a pre-elaborated model where the different activities will be divided into three stages:

Pre-reading. To generate the interest to read the chosen text.
While-reading. Reading in itself. All or some major reading skills are to be used at this stage.
Post-reading. To activate students’ new knowledge by asking them to produce new messages.

We read a text for many reasons, but we can highlight two techniques for doing so: skimming and scanning. In real life we use them when reading a text and we can use them in our FL class.

Skimming or extensive reading is the ability to read a text quickly looking for the general meaning, without paying attention to specific unknown vocabulary or difficult sentence structures, just general ideas. It is a good source of general information and a good technique for our students of low level in order to make them feel confident when reading a short text. We read for pleasure; we can apply this technique to read a grader reader.
The second technique will be scanning or intensive reading. It is the ability to read a text looking for specific information, identifying key words and selecting the information we are looking for. We can answer multiple choice questions, or true/false activities.

All these techniques will help our students to avoid fear of reading and motivate them in the FL reading. We can also use leaflets, short news from newspapers, short texts, magazines, rhymes, short literary texts, books, to motivate them at the beginning.

As well as in other areas, we must work with our students’ reading activities. Related with them, there is the Foster Reading Plan, which appeared in The Organic Law 3/2020, of 29th of December which modifies the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3rd of May of Education (LOMLOE) and in the Decree 89/2014 of 24th of July.

Some of the activities we can use to promote reading in the foreign language class are the following ones: bingo, domino, spot the difference, skimming for gist, suggesting a title, underline, reading leaflets, reading words, rearrange words, sentences, texts, put them in order, reading rhymes, matching sentences, reading comics, reading song lyrics…

We should be realistic and adapt our methodologies to the age of our students and in order to create the will to read we can use a text no matter if it is a song, a comic, a literary text, or just a holiday camp leaflet. Our main objective is to read in the foreign language.

4.2. Writing

Writing in the foreign language is without any doubt the last skill to be developed. We need to master the language to be able to write in a FL. Writing is a product we need to acquire a previous knowledge of vocabulary, sentence structures, connectors, linguistic expressions before writing a text.

We as teacher need to have strategies to promote writing in our students and to give them the specific knowledge to be able to write in the FL.

4.2.1. Methodology to teach written production (writing).

At the initial level of learning the FL we should develop activities to word and sentence level. They will write very little and we have to focus our attention to short list of vocabulary, matching pairs, using visual aids, crosswords, classifying words, or even writing captions for pictures, …

We as teachers should compensate the difficulties of our students when they start to write. For this reason, we need to consider the kind of activities that we include in our foreign language classroom. We need to motivate them, create the need to write, and promote the use of English.

Three stages can be differentiated:

Controlled practise: in this type of activities texts are written and our students have to put them in order, re-arranged paragraphs… Our main objective is to make students familiar with the structures, connectors, temporal references…
Guided writing: we should present our students models to follow, for example writing a letter, providing visual references of what they are supposed to write.
Free writing: the last step will allow our student to write spontaneously, freely. They have freedom to write sentences, short texts and then texts.

5. INTEGRATING THE SKILLS *********************

After having examined the spoken and the written word, let us turn to the definition of integrated skills as well as to the concept of communicative competence. Integrated skills can be defined as the process by means of which a series of activities of tasks use any combination of the four linguistic skills.

We as teachers must bear in mind the natural order of acquisition when we are working the several skills, as Harmer said in 1983: “the best teachers are those who think carefully about what they are going to do in their classes and who plan how they are going to organize the teaching and learning”

5.1. Reason for integrating the skills

Carol Read (1991) finds two main reasons for devising activity sequences with integrated skills:

To practise and extend the pupils´ use of a particular language item
To develop the pupils´ ability in two or more skills within a constant context

5.2. Integration advantages

Apart from this, it is necessary to establish several important advantages in skill integration: (RRICCAV)

Realism: a realistic communicative framework cannot be based in isolated skill work.
Recycling: integration clearly allows for recycling and revision of language.
Input before output: one activity’s input will provide with the language and, motivation for next activity output.
Continuity: activities are not performed in isolation but rather in a closely related way.
Confidence: it gives confidence to the pupil because he can compensate his weaknesses in one skill with his strengths in order.
Appropriateness: Language, which is used in different opportunities and modes, is normally more appropriate.
Variety: activities involving the four skills are more varied and thus foster motivation.

6. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Systematic potential. The native speaker has a system with a potential for language creation.
Appropriacy. When a native speaker speaks, he/she knows what language is appropriate in a given situation.
Occurrence. The native speaker knows how often something is said in the language.
Feasibility. The native speaker knows whether something is possible in the language or not.

Linguistic competence or the ability to recognize and formulate correct messages by means of phonetic, semantic or morphosyntactic elements.
Sociolinguistic competence, or the ability by which utterances are produced and understood appropriately in different sociolinguistic contexts depending on contextual factors such as status of participants, purposes of the interaction, and norms or conventions of the interaction.
Discursive competence, or the ability to understand and produce different types of oral and written texts organised according to the communicative situation in which they are produced and interpreted.
Strategic competence or ability to use verbal and non-verbal communicative strategies to compensate interruptions in communication.
Sociocultural competence or the ability to become familiar with the social and cultural context in which the foreign language is spoken.”

7. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop foreign language learning, teachers must bear in mind that learners are the centred of the educational process when learning a foreign language. If we want to develop an individualized education, we must use the four linguistic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) correctly. This process should progress from the spoken language to the written language and evolve from the receptive skills to the productive skills.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more language we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 5: GEOGRAPHIC, HISTORIC AND CULTURAL FRAMEWORK OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING CONUNTRIES. DIDACTIC APPLICATION OF THE MOST MEANINGFUL GEOGRAPHIC, HISTORIC AND CULTURAL ASPECTS.

INTRODUCTION
THE UNITED KINGDOM
1. Geography
2. History
3. Culture

THE IRISH REPUBLIC
1. Geography
2. History
3. Culture

THE UNITED STATES
1. Geography
2. History
3. Culture

DIDACTIC APLICATION OF GEOGRAPHIC, HISTORIC AND CULTURAL ASPECTS: SOCIOCULTURAL AWARENESS
conclusion
bibliography

1. INTRODUCTION

English is widely spoken in all six continents. Geographically, English is the most widespread language on Earth, and the second in the number of people who speak it. This wide English-speaking community is stable in the British Isles, North America and Australia, but the most English-speaking countries are: The United Kingdom (UK), the Irish Republic and the United States (USA).

2. THE UNITED KINGDOM

It is a constitutional monarchy, with two houses: House of Lords and House of Commons. The Chief of State is the sovereign, and the head of the government is the Prime Minister. Its geographic situation has marked its history, characterized by its independence to the continent. Nowadays, this distance has disappeared with the building of the Channel Tunnel. It is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth as the head of state of the UK as well as of the other Commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc). Her Majesty (HM) is also the head of the Church of England since 6 February 1952. The total population of the United Kingdom is estimated at 58.5 million.

2.1. Geography

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is a member of the Commonwealth and Europe Community. Its capital city is London and its currency is sterling pound.

England accounts for just over half of the total area of the UK. Most of the country consists of lowland terrain, with mountains such as the Cumbrian Mountains or the Pennines. England’s highest mountain is Scafell Pike (978 metres). Its principal rivers are the Severn, Thames, Humber, Tees and Tyne.

Scotland accounts for just under a third of the total area of the UK and including nearly eight hundred islands, predominantly west and north of the mainland. The topography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault. The fault line separates two distinctively different regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west, and the lowlands to the south and east. Ben Nevis, with 1,343 metres, is the highest point in the British Isles. Lowland areas are flatter and home to most of the population including Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, and Edinburgh, its capital and political centre.

Wales represents less than a tenth of the total area of the UK. Wales is mostly mountainous. The main population and industrial areas are in South Wales. The capital city is Cardiff. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) which, is the highest peak in Wales.

Northern Ireland includes Lough Neagh, which is the largest lake in the British Isles by area. The highest peak in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains. Its capital is Belfast.

The United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons. Summers are warmest in the south-east of England, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground. Due to this weather, forest covers less than one tenth of the total area of the UK.

2.2. History

The early pre-Roman inhabitants of Britain were Celtic-speaking people. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC, but the islands were not subdued by Rome until the 1st century AD.

In the 5th century Nordic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain. During the 8th and 9th centuries the Vikings arrived in the coast of Britain. In the 9th century Alfred ‘the Great’, ruler of Wessex, unified England to prevent a Danish invasion.

William of Normandy conquered England in 1066 and became William I (1066-1087). London was the largest town in Roman Britain and has been the capital of unified England since the Norman Conquest. England has played a dominant role in British history ever since.

The Tudors became the ruling family of England following the War of the Roses (1455-1485). Henry VIII (1509-1547) established the Church of England. The Acts Union of 1536 and 1542 unified Wales and England politically, administratively and legally. In 1603 James VI of Scotland ascended to the English throne, becoming James I and establishing a personal union of the two kingdoms.

In 1707 England and Scotland assented to the Act of Union, forming the kingdom of Great Britain. The Hanoverians ascended to the English throne in 1714. During the reign of George III, the American colonies won independence in 1783. This was followed by a period of war with revolutionary France. In 1801 the Act of Union created the legislative union of Great Britain with Ireland under the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

During the reign of Queen Victoria (19TH century) Britain’s colonial expansion reached its zenith, though the older dominions were gradually granted independence. The UK also led Industrial Revolution which transformed the country and fuelled the British Empire.

The United Kingdom entered World War I allied with France and Russia in 1914. In 1939, the United Kingdom entered World War II and battled German and Japanese forces in Europe, Africa, and Asia. This war left the UK financially damaged and brought people from all over the Commonwealth.

In 1973, UK joined the European Union. Nowadays, UK has just initiated its withdrawal from the European Union (EU). This process started in 2016 through a referendum and its known as ‘Brexit’.

2.3. Culture

The traditions of the UK are influenced by the English culture, enriched by the contributions of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and to a lesser degree by the cultures that the period of English colonialism brought.

In terms of sport association football, rugby football and cricket are the major ones in the UK. Outdoor sports play an important role in the life of Scotland. Golf was originated in Scotland and is accessible to most Scots through widespread public facilities.

After 1945, Liverpool and then London emerged as a world centre of popular culture: The Beatles, the best-known British rock band, or the coloured outfits sold in Carnaby Street are only two of the most symbolic features of Britain. Folk music and songs are popular. Writers can choose between three languages: Gaelic, Scots and English.

Schooling is compulsory and starts from age 5 to 16. Afterwards, there are 2 voluntary years of schooling. The school year goes from early September to mid-July.

England and Wales share the same legal and educational system. The subjects taught in state schools are determined by the national curriculum. The curriculum prescribes a course of core subjects (English, maths and science) and includes seven foundation subjects (geography, history, technology, art, music, P.E. and a modern foreign language). The main exam is the General certificate of Secondary Education taken at the age of 16.

Children may attend either a state school (a state-funded school with no fees) or an independent school (a private fee-paying school).

Scotland has its own educational system. State schools are known as public schools. The main exam is the Scottish Certificate of Education and it is taken at the age of 16.

3. THE IRISH REPUBLIC

Officially, the Republic of Ireland occupies the greater part of an island lying on the west of Great Britain. The Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1973, provides that “the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland”. Ireland has a population of about 3,5 million inhabitants. The chief of State is the President and the chief of the Government is the Prime Minister. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern side of the island. The national language is English. The monetary unit is the Euro.

3.1. Geography

The Republic of Ireland consists mainly of north-central lowlands and coastal highlands. These lowlands are mainly composed of low hills, bog areas, lakes and low ridges. The coastal landscape mostly consists of rugged cliff, hills and mountains. The highest point is Carrauntoohil, located in the Macgyllicuddy’s Reeks Mountain range in the southwest. River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland.

Ireland is one of the least forested countries in Europe. Until the end of Middle Ages, the land was heavily forested with native trees such as oak, ash or birch. The growth of blanket bog and the extensive clearing of woodland for farming are believed to be the main cause of deforestation.

The climate is especially mild. Rainfall is more prevalent during winter months and less so during the early months of summer.

3.2. History

Human settlement in Ireland began around 6000 BC by hunters and fishers on the eastern coast.

By the late 5th century AD, St. Patrick arrived in Ireland and Christianity has begun to gradually replace the earlier Celtic Polytheism.

Vikings raids and settlement from the late 8th century AD resulted in extensive cultural interchange, as well as innovation in military and transport technology.

The Norman invasion in 1169, leaded by Henry II, resulted in a partial conquest of the island and marked the beginning of more than 800 years of English political and military involvement.

During the 17th century the division between Protestant minority and Catholic majority was intensified and conflict between them was to become a recurrent theme in Irish history.

In 1801 the Act of Union created the legislative union of Great Britain with Ireland under the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This act has negative economic consequences: The Great Irish Famine and over 2 million people emigrated.

The United Kingdom entered World War I allied with France and Russia in 1914. Following the war, revolutionary disorder erupted in Ireland, and the Irish State was granted, except the Ulster (Northern Ireland).

In 1939, the UK entered in World War II. Following the war, the Irish State became the Irish Republic. The status of Northern Ireland became controversial as British troops were brought in to maintain order from 70’s on. Violence and terrorist acts increased between Catholics and Protestants.

Since 1973, Ireland is member of the European Union.

3.3. Culture

Ireland’s culture was for centuries predominantly Gaelic, and it is one of the six principal Celtic nations. Following the invasions, conquests and colonization, it became influenced by English and Scottish culture.

Irish writers have made a significant contribution to world literature in both the English and Irish language. Modern Irish fiction began with publishing the novel Gilliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. Since then, numerous novelists emerged during the next centuries as: Bram Stoker, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Annie M.P. Smithson, Patricia Lynch or W.B. Yeats.

Irish traditional music has remained vibrant, despite globalising cultural forces and retains many traditional aspects. It has influenced various music genres. Ireland’s best-selling musical act is the rock band U2.

Education is compulsory for all children in Ireland form the ages of 6 to 16 or until students have completed 3 years of second-level education. The Irish language remains a core subject taught in all public schools.

Most of the schools in Ireland are National schools: state-funded but under Roman Catholic church control.

Most students attend and complete secondary education, taking the terminal examination at the age of 16: The Leaving certificate.

4. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)

The United States of America is a Federal Republic composed of a national government and 50 states governments. The chief of state and government is the president. It has a population of more than 325 million inhabitants. The capital city is Washington D.C. The currency or monetary unit is the dollar ($).

4.1. Geography

The climate ranges from the arctic in the northwest to the subtropical in the south and southwest, from the moist rainforest in the northwest to the arid desert in the southwest, from the rugged mountain peak to the flat prairie.

It is divided in five major regions: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Appalachian Mountains, the Interior lowlands, the Western Mountain Range and the Western Intermountain Plateau.

The hydrology is dominated by the Mississippi river basin, including its two major tributaries, the Missouri and the Ohio Rivers and by the Great Lakes.

The central lowlands and Great Plains are mainly used for agricultural purposes, especially for crops. Additionally, there are vast rangelands, pasturelands and forests. Alaska’s vegetation varies from coastal rainforest to the tundra. Hawaii’s plants are lush and tropical. The native wildlife among others includes the bald eagle (national bird of the U.S.), wolf and cougar, also typical furbearers such as skunk, beaver, and raccoon. There are in addition many natural resources like petroleum, natural gas and gold.

4.2. History

The United States is a relatively young country in terms of colonization. The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain and it has achieved its current size only in the mid-20th century.

The colonial period (1492-1763). It begins with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus and the first two successful British settlements to the New World. It ends with the war in which the colonies won their independence from Great Britain. Traditions such as Thanksgiving, when Native Americans helped the Pilgrims to survive, come from this period.

The revolution and the creation of the Federal republic (1763- 1800). After 1763 there is a change in the administration of the British Imperial Colonial policy, this new policy led colonials into the American Revolutionary War. Under the command of George Washington, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The United States Constitution was approved in 1788 and George Washington, was the first President to take office.

Democracy and Secession (1801-1865). Under President Jefferson democracy gradually began to take form. Tensions grew between slave and free states. Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860 and belonged to the antislavery Republican Party. This started the American Civil War that traumatized the nation.

The economic revolution (1860-1913). The industrial revolution in the North takes place and the extraordinary arrival of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe accelerated industrialization. It was supported by the transport revolution. It is the beginning of the big trust (railways, banks and oil). Consequently, a gradual transfer of Americans to the West and a virtual destruction of native culture also occurs.

Wars and the Socio-economic crisis (1898-1945). United States entered in 1917 in World War I. The decade that followed the war was a period of isolation, prosperity and protestant morality. Then, in 1929 the Great Depression began, with terrible economic consequences. In 1932, Roosevelt, is named president. He made a new economic policy that increased government intervention, the New Deal. In 1941 USA joined World War II. The allied victory in 1945 left the USA as the leader of the western world. However, right after, the country was implied in a cold war with Soviet Union, which resulted in the Vietnam War.

The United States: the leader of the free world. (1945 – today) It is the period of American leadership in international affairs (Marshall Plan, UN and NATO). African Americans such as Martin Luther King led a growing civil rights movement. It was also the time of great success in the Space Race. The 90’s is the period of technological changes and the emergence of new professions. The beginning of the 21st century has been marked by the al-Qaeda terrorists’ attacks and by the war in Iraq. In 2006, Barack Obama (Democratic Party) was elected as the first Afro-American president of the United States. Nowadays, Joe Biden (Democratic Party) is the current president.

4.3. Culture

No other country has a wider range of racial, ethnic and cultural diversity. Both the Native Americans and the millions of immigrants who left their countries in search of greater social, political and economic opportunities have enriched the U.S., they have built the Nations’ character

There are many outstanding American writers and artists. Writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Ernest Hemingway are known worldwide. The U.S. film industry, especially Hollywood, has produced iconic figures, for instance, John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe. Also, filmmakers like John Ford, Frank Capra and Steven Spielberg. In addition, American culture has developed several styles of popular music: blues, jazz, country music and rock and roll.

There is no official religion in the USA. Americans enjoy an absolute freedom of cults. Most of the population, however, identifies themselves as Christian; the largest denomination is Protestant.

Schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16. Afterwards, there are 2 voluntary years of schooling. Children can either attend a Public School (State maintained school) or a Private School (fee-paying school). They are placed in different year groups known as grades:

Grade K: Kindergarten or nursery school (voluntary). Before 6.
Grades 1 to 6: Elementary school. Children aged 6–12.
Grades 7 to 9: Junior high school. Children aged 12–15.
Grades 10 to 12: Senior high school. Children aged 16–18.

There is no national curriculum or any national examinations, but some States developed their own State examinations.

5. SOCIOCULTURAL AWARENESS

According to the Royal Decree 126/2014 students need to develop a sociocultural competence and as part of the communicative competence, that is cultural aspects need to be included in the learning process. Linguistic varieties are part of the cultural life of a language. In our Primary Education stages, it will be advisable to include some references to the varieties just to make students aware of the cultural influence on the English language.

Nowadays, our students are really accustomed to the use of English words basically in songs, movies, TV series, and magazines. Internet offers a great variety of teaching sources to include the use of real cultural references in our classrooms. New technologies represent the door to a wide range of resources, we need to select what our students need according to their age and interest. Students are really motivated towards the use of real materials, such as coins, maps, tube timetables, bus timetable, leaflets, magazines, newspapers, etc… Real materials imply sometimes, geographical or historical references that allow us to integrate other subjects in the learning process of a foreign language developing a multidisciplinary context.

Teachers can determine a specific timetable to work on socio-cultural contents. This should be written into the Annual Planning (PGA). For example, celebrations such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Saint Patrick’s Day, Pancake’s Day or Easter are important dates which can introduce the social and cultural contents of the different English-speaking communities. If possible, it can imply the participation of the whole school, and every level could collaborate in the set project/s.

As a final but not conclusive point, another specific moment could be any time one of the socio-cultural contents appear in our text books, in our class reading (i.e., Loch ness Monster – present Scotland), in a traditional song (i.e., “London’s burning”). This should be placed in the Didactic Unit Plan.

However, the development of cultural awareness is not an easy task. To facilitate it we should give our pupils regular opportunities to:

Come into contact with native speakers in this country (English club) and abroad (Assistants).
Work with authentic materials from the countries of the target language.
Consider and discuss the similarities and differences between our pupil’s culture and target culture.
Learn the appropriate social conventions (i.e., formulaic language)
Solve cultural problem in specific situations (e.g., in a restaurant)
Provide pupils with opportunities to learn and use verbal and non-verbal communication, such as gestures, facial expressions, typical from the target culture.

6. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop FL learning, teachers must bear in mind the socio-cultural competence as an essential element when learning a FL. As we have seen, knowing geography, history and culture let us know a FL more in depth/detail.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more language we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 18. FUNCTIONS OF GAMES AND CREATIVITY IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING. DEFINITION AND TYPOLOGY OF GAMES FOR LINGUISTIC LEARNING AND IMPROVEMENT. THE GAME AS A CREATIVE AND PLAYFUL TECHNIQUE TO ACCESS COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE.

1. INTRODUCTION.

2. FUNCTIONS OF GAMES AND CREATIVITY IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING.

3. DEFINITION AND TYPOLOGY OF GAMES FOR LINGUISTIC LEARNING AND IMPROVEMENT

3.1. Competitive and cooperative games

3.2. Linguistic and communicative games

3.3. According to the technique

3.4. According to grouping

3.5. According to the medium

3.6. According to learner and teacher roles

4. THE GAME AS A CREATIVE AND PLAYFUL TECHNIQUE TO ACCESS COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE

4.1. How to choose the right game

4.2. How to introduce games in class

4.3. Classroom organisation

5. CONCLUSION

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. INTRODUCTION.

The game is a good resource to teach a Foreign Language. Besides, it is a vehicle to transmit many cultural aspects. To work English in Primary Education is about the English culture. Children enjoy games, as these activities provide a link between home and school-life.

2. FUNCTIONS OF GAMES AND CREATIVITY IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING.

We need to bear in mind the age of our students of Primary Education. In this stage the learning process is closely linked to the development of creativity. Students of these ages need playful and highly participative activities to get involved in the learning of the foreign language. In this sense games are a very useful resource to acquire the abilities to be able to communicate in English.

First of all, we must know that children need games to develop their learning abilities. Among the most important FUNCTIONS OF GAMES, we can highlight the following ones:

Development of autonomy, self-esteem and self-confidence in their learning process.
Development of attention, memory, imagination, coordination.
Consciousness of their close environment and learning context.
Acquisition of physical abilities, motor functions, coordination of movements.
It is a useful tool to learn vocabulary, new linguistic structures, pronunciation, intonation, rhythm…
Development of social abilities, negotiation, interaction with other students and adults, cooperation, respect, tolerance towards other members’ opinion, and solution of conflicts.
Emotional balance in a community (being part of the educational community implies to establish relations among the members).
Generate fluency; speaking is required to solve many of the solutions of games so motivation for speaking in the foreign language is granted.

Those are some of the functions of games from the point of view of the students’ acquisition of abilities and learning but we may not forget that games also have a DIDACTIC ROLE in the English classroom.

Games are useful source to evaluate our students; they allow us to observe them working in pairs or in groups, using the foreign language in a specific context that we have already selected before. They learn by doing, thinking, and re-phrasing. Games are a really motivating activity. We cannot forget for example those situations when we play a quiz in the class with two big groups. They use as many abilities as they have to answer the right question just for the purpose of winning.

Motivation is the source that allows them to make efforts to communicate and to remember their previous learning to get the solution. Games are a pleasant way to review and even evaluate what they know and do not. They also allow us as teachers to change the type of activities in the classroom, giving to the students an excuse to practice the learning but almost in an unconscious way.

Games are also a way of motivating the creativity of our students. Creativity has an important role in the learning of a foreign language. First, we need to take into account that creativity can be learnt, we need to facilitate our students with the specific tools to create the language and to develop the learning process of the foreign language. There are many researchers that believe in the idea that creativity can be taught. If we follow this idea, we, as teachers, must be able to create the appropriate learning context in the classroom for our students to use the language.

Our main objective is that our students will be able to acquire a communicative competence to be able to communicate in the foreign language (LOMLOE). To do so, they need to use the language freely. To get to that point it implies that creativity must be present in the foreign language learning so creating the language is the main part for communication.

When students can produce the language on their own, they need to be creative so they can communicate their own ideas. But to consider a work creative it has to be original, open to different interpretations, spontaneous, unique and even unpredictable. If we want to promote creativity in our students, we need to include different methodologies that allow them to develop their abilities. We must consider the specific features of our students to give them the opportunities to learn according to their specific needs. Creative students are those students who are sometimes unpredictable in the sense that originality is present in their daily productions. They do not react the same to the conventional way of learning, so we must consider their interests, sensibilities and abilities.

3. DEFINITION AND TYPOLOGY OF GAMES FOR LINGUISTIC LEARNING AND IMPROVEMENT

A game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun. There are many kinds of games, which can be grouped under different headings:

According to the degree of cooperation.
According to the purpose.
According to technique.
According to grouping.
According to the medium.
According to learner and teacher roles

3.1. Competitive and cooperative games

HOWARD GARDNER proposes cooperative learning according to the multiple intelligences. We can distinguish between competitive and cooperative games. In competitive games, our pupils race to be the first to reach the goal. In cooperative games, our pupils work together towards a common goal. Generally speaking, it is better to use cooperative games, as the competitive element or the need for speed often distorts the language used.

It is advisable to vary the method of scoring.

They can be marked on ladders (human or animal shapes with blue tack), moving the figure one step or rung up, for each correct response.
Draw or stick one symbol for each point along a horizontal line. Names of the teams could be animals, flowers…
Other possibilities may include adding waggons to a train. stars to a sky
It is better adding than taking away points in the scoring.

The main point here is that games should be well prepared and pleasantly conducted, so that our pupils use language actively.

3.2. Linguistic and communicative games

The Decree 89/2014 establishes the key Competences, and one of them is the Linguistic Competence. Also, the Organic Law 3/2020, of 29th of December which modifies the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3rd of May of Education (LOMLOE) mentioned the communicative competence. Games can be divided into linguistic or code-control games and communication games. Linguistic games aim to practise new language items and develop accuracy, often taking the form of hidden drills. For example, if we give our pupils the beginning of a sentence such as I went to the zoo and saw… They have to remember in the correct order several animals that we will show with flashcards.

Communication games tend to move away from a focus on accuracy to the development of fluency and more purposeful communication. These games often rely on an information gap. Successful completion of the game will involve the carrying out of a task such as drawing in a route on a map, filling in a chart, or finding two matching pictures, rather than the correct production of a structure.

Communicative games put more emphasis on successful communication than on correctness of language. They can serve both as the culmination of a lesson, enabling our pupils to freely use what they have learnt, and as an evaluation technique, enabling us to note areas of difficulty that we will resume with remedial and follow-up activities.

3.3. According to the technique

Games make use of a variety of different techniques and procedures. Variety is one of the principles of successful language learning as it helps to maintain motivation. A part of the information gap mentioned yet. Other techniques may include:

Guessing games. Variant of the information gap principle. The pupil with the information withholds it, while others must guess what it might be.
Searching for games. They use the information gap principle. Pupils must obtain a large amount of information to fill in a questionnaire or solve a problem.
Matching games. They also involve a transfer of information. Our pupils must match identical pairs of cards or pictures.
Matching-up- games. They are based on a jigsaw principle. Each member of the group has a piece of information needed to complete a group task.
Exchanging and collecting games. They are based on the barter principle. Pupils must exchange articles or cards for others to complete a set.
Combining activities. The players must act on certain information to arrange themselves in groups.

All these games may include elements of puzzle-solving, role play, or simulation. Puzzle or problem-solving activities occur when our pupils must obtain or share information to solve a problem or mystery.

Puzzle-solving.
Role-play.
Simulation.

3.4. According to grouping

Games may be divided into different types according to the type of grouping it will make use of. We may distinguish:

Individual games
Pair games.
Group games.
Team games.
Whole class games.

All these activities required some flexibility in the constitution of groups and organisation of the classroom.

Division into groups or teams should not be done afresh on every occasion.

HADFIELD (1984) suggests a U-shape if possible. Pupils can work with the person sitting next to them for pair work and groups of four or five, moving their chairs to the inner side of the U or we can separate the class in two groups easily, one in front of the other. Whole class activities can take place in the empty area in the centre of the U.

Individual games. They are not very common, but we may have this type of arrangement with writing games or computer games.

3.5 According to the medium

Not only have we seen games which were entirely, or at least predominantly oral, but also there are writing games.

HADFIELD (1984) distinguishes eight basic types of writing games:

Audience and context activities (pupils’ birthday).
Imaginative stimulus-activities. They use poems, music, pictures or objects to fuel our pupils’ imagination.
Formula poems or stories. They use a simple linguistic pattern to build up a poem or story.
Creative gap. They make use of random associations (cut several headlines in two).
Making the familiar strange. It makes our pupils look at familiar things from a new angle.
Describing what you see. Pupils must describe a picture or an object.
Brainstorming. It is used to collect as many ideas as possible about a topic.
Fast writing. It involves writing spontaneously after having received a stimulus. (Write words beginning with a definite letter).

3.6. According to learner and teacher roles

Our pupils must always be participants. If we find a pupil who occasionally does not want to participate in a particular game, we can make him scorer or consultant if it is a co-operative game.

Teacher plays the roles of monitor and resource centre, and he may be a participant.

4. THE GAME AS A CREATIVE AND PLAYFUL TECHNIQUE TO ACCESS COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE.

The concept of GAMIFICATION is basically new, and according to WERBACH AND HUNTER (2012), is the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts. Basically, any task, assignment, process or theoretical context can be gamified.

The main objective focuses on increasing the participation of a person, which most of the time is called or mentioned as an “user” and motivates him/her by incorporating game elements and techniques, like leader boards and immediate feedback.

The use of Gamification in educational settings toward second language learning involves pedagogical approaches, methodologies, and strategies. All of these are part of the transition made by language learning instruction throughout generations. Several motivational strategies and approaches used in traditional pedagogy are also part of this transition. Including Behaviourism, Cognitivist approaches, along with social interaction and sociocultural theories.

To be successful in language learning the selection of teaching strategies needs to be accurate. According to BROWN (1994), these strategies will create the relaxed atmosphere necessary to comfort the learner. Some of the strategies are:

Total Physical Response. Promotes interactivity and is based on the silent period explained by KRASHEN (1982). Speaking is not necessary because comprehensible input is given. The instructor needs to provide a variety not to bore the students.
Cooperative Learning. This strategy follows the use of groups and pairs in order to achieve positive interaction. Plenty of strategies are presented through the peers.
Dialogue Journals. Promote written conversations between the teacher and learner. Reflexive journals are promoted. Good for assessing writing in a different and relaxed format.
Scaffolding. The advanced learners help their peers achieve success. It’s part of Krashen (1982) comprehension input. Fluency is built through positive reinforcement. This type of activity is not suited for virtual settings.

There is a strong bond between Gamification and emergent technologies. The main objective of Gamification is to increase participation and motivate users using game elements such as points, leader boards, and immediate feedback among other things. This is like the strategy of using technologies in language learning. The use of technology in language learning and instruction has played an essential part throughout the years. This is in part based on PRENSKY’s (2001), definition of the Digital Natives.

the Web 2.0 are web applications that facilitate interactive information for sharing, interoperability, user-centred design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. They are the evolution of traditional technologies into web applications focusing on the user.

4.1. How to choose the right game

Games like any other activity or tool can be over exploited when used too much so that the motivating element disappears rapidly. If, however, the teacher chooses the game carefully, keeping in mind the interests and needs of the learners, games can provide a valuable learning experience in which the children practise and revise language in a meaningful way. Important things to consider when using games in the classroom:

Choose suitable games (depending on the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings).
Give clear instructions, give clear rules and give clear time limits.
Rather demonstrate than explain.
There must be a clear purpose and achievable goals.
Clear objectives and goals must match the difficulty level of the game and ability level of the students.
Ensure that shy or quiet students are not alienated and have an opportunity to take part.
Evaluation of results in the game is crucial to the game’s success.
It must be fun, but still help the students to learn.

When choosing a game, it is important to pay attention to these items:

Aim of the game: There is always a linguistic aim involved in every game. This has to be related with the language the children are practising at the moment or have already practised. But there are always other educational aims such as being able to cooperate with your team, keep the rules, be a good loser or a good winner, etc.
How to set up the activity: It is important to know in advance the best way of placing the furniture in the class if it has to be changed or how to explain to the children how to play that game.
Materials you need: There are games that do not need any special material. But for many others you will need to make your own materials and this can take a good period of preparation. Materials should always be attractive and colourful and, in order to keep them for longer, they should be laminated and well stored.
Duration of the game: This includes not only the time the children are playing but also the time to prepare the activity and also the time to tidy up.
Main language focus for the learners: We have to make sure that the language they have to use in the game has already been learnt and practised. The children need to know what kind of words or expressions are required to play the game.

4.2. How to introduce games in class

Simple games use simple vocabulary, no complicated resources and are normally played individually. Three steps should be enough to introduce this kind of games in class:

Explain the rules
Demonstrate how to play – the teacher or some volunteers can make a demonstration.
Play

Complicated games use more complex language, more sophisticated resources and are normally played in groups. Therefore, they need a longer introduction:

Reinforce key language
Link game with previous activities i.e., stories, songs…
Introduce the game:

Remember class rules when playing: keep a low volume in class, look after materials, tidy up, use English all the time…
Explain game rules: final objective, steps.
Present materials used in the game.
Demonstrate how to play.

Explain roles of different members in every group i.e. children in charge of materials and tidy up, use of English, respect games rules, etc.
Let children ask any doubt. Make sure everybody knows how to play.
Let children play while the teacher monitors the activity.
Follow-up activities: discuss how the game was developed in every group, difficulties, language learnt… Assess children’s performance.

4.3. Classroom organisation

Many games involve pairwork and groupwork. Pairwork and groupwork have the advantage that learners are working simultaneously and, therefore, not only is language practice time greatly increased, but children are less likely to become bored or lose interest because they are actively involved.

Cooperation is also encouraged through pairwork and groupwork, as learners will learn to help each other. Some of the games require teamwork in which the children pool together the information they have collected or learnt, so that stronger learners will help weaker learners and the shy children also have the opportunity to speak if they want to. New groups can be formed by `moving games´ that involve group formation, e.g., ask the children to stand up and call out `Make groups of 3 / 4…´ Groups can also be formed by asking the children to get together with others wearing something of the same colour or those who have birthdays on the same month etc.

In some cases, you might find that you have odd numbers in the class when the game being played requires pairwork. This can be overcome by forming one group of three in which two children work as a team. Extra children in larger groups can also be dealt with in this way.

5. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop a good foreign language teaching, teachers must bear in mind socio-cultural competence as an essential element when learning a foreign language. As we have seen, introducing games in our classroom is a good way to teach a foreign language and the culture more in depth.

Furthermore, teachers must bear in mind other important aspects that can determine the foreign language accuracy and the education success, in general. Therefore, we want to focus our attention on fostering diversity and equality, reading and ICT’s plans. All these programs allow us to centre in realistic and relevant situations of education and to develop a personalised education, which is adapted to the pupils’ needs. More specifically, ICT’s can be fantastic tools to adapt the materials to the learning needs and teaching situations and to foster learning to learn competence, among others.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more languages we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 19: ANIMATION AND EXPRESSION TECHNIQUES AS A RESOURCE FOR THE LEARNING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES. DRAMATISATION OF DAILY LIFE SITUATIONS AND THE REPRESENTATION OF TALES, CHARACTERS, JOKES, ETC. GROUP WORK IN CREATIVE ACTIVITIES. THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER.

INTRODUCTION
DRAMA TECHNIQUES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

2.1. ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

2.2. PLANNING AND TIMING

2.3. DRAMA ACTIVITIES

2.3.1. DRAMA GAMES

2.3.2. EXTENDING THE COURSEBOOK

2.3.3. PRONUNCIATION

2.3.4. SPOKEN SKILLS

2.4. DAILY LIFE SIMULATIONS AND ROLE PLAYS

GROUP WORK IN CREATIVE ACTIVITIES: THE DRAMA PROJECT
THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHy

INTRODUCTION

When we learn a foreign language, our main objective is to communicate with each other. There are many active ways to make the students participate imaginatively in dramatisations and to encourage motivation such as games, simulations, role-plays and a wide range of extralinguistic activities. Furthermore, the use of drama gives them the opportunity of expression in day-to-day real-life situations

DRAMA TECHNIQUES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Drama is a technique of communicative language that can help to develop certain linguistic skills and communicative competence, particularly strategic competence. It can be used to teach structures and vocabulary and is an effective technique for revision and reinforcement. It helps non-verbal communication to take place and make the students be an important element of the communication process. In this way, the student becomes an active participant.

As far as drama is concerned, CHARLYN WESSELS (1987) begins her book “Drama” by stating that “drama is going”. This simplified definition accurately illustrates drama as the direct involvement of learning by experience. Rather than just listening and remembering, or seeing and explaining, the students take a personal journey through experiential learning, by developing practical skills for applying meaning into real-life situations. In this way, drama allows students to become active participants in the learning of English and transforms the classroom into a small stage. The benefits of drama are:

Allows the interaction between student-teacher, student-student.
Places the student in real communicative situations.
Enhances the student’s self-confidence.
The acquisition of meaningful, fluent interaction in the foreign language.
The assimilation of pronunciation and prosodic features in contextualised and interactional manner.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

According to WESSELS seven essential elements can be marked out:

Relationships. This means that it is very important to create good relationships between the students. The students should be willing to work in pairs or groups. The students should have a respectful attitude towards each other, so that there is a friendly atmosphere in the class.
Physical environment. A good physical environment is also important. If the students must move around the class. We can rearrange the class for drama activities in different ways: we can stack tables and chairs against walls, having a large space in the centre; we can form a horseshoe arrangement with chairs only or by using chairs and tables; we can form a full circle with the chairs; we can make them sit in groups.
Warm-ups games. Another condition required for a successful drama lesson is the starting of the lesson with warm-up activities such as: games or songs which are connected with the main activities and whose aim is to arouse the students’ interest.
Goal orientation. This refers to the fact that the students are given a time limit in which the students must reach a common goal. In this way they concentrate more and organise their group work faster.
A background goal for the teacher to allow students to work by themselves.
Pupil’s leadership: a leader will encourage the rest of the group.
Using the most cooperative pupils: each group should have one of these pupils because they will keep the activity group.

PLANNING AND TIMING

We must select the most suitable activities according to our students’ interest and capacity and they will have time to do them. As far as the election of games is concerned, and once we have already decided to use one in class, the following aspects should be considered:

The size of the classroom.
The student’s age.
The general level of the group.
The structures being practised at the moment.
The level of noise.
The students’ interests.
The equipment and necessary materials.
The cultural aspect.
The time needed.

DRAMA ACTIVITIES

In the second part of the topic, I will focus on different drama techniques that can be used in the classroom.

DRAMA GAMES

Drama games should not last more than 15 minutes.

We can classify drama games in:

Starters: icebreakers or warm-ups. They are used to make the students feel comfortable. E.g.: 1. Interviewing as many people as possible, for 10 minutes. Then, they report back. 2. What are we doing? In groups of three, two of them mime an action and the third tries to guess.
In-Between games: They help students to internalise the language they have seen. For example: 1. The preposition game: In pairs. One student says a preposition and the other mimes the correct position, using things to illustrate. 2. The telephone call: In groups of three. A student “A” has the words of a telephone conversation and student “B” responds to “A” with non-verbal sounds. Student “C” has to guess the answers and write them down. Then, they compare.
Endgames: they are used to round off a lesson or as fillers. For example: Simon Says.
EXTENDING THE COURSEBOOK

Drama as a supplement for the course book (which usually is the main source of foreign language input). Drama can make the learning of English an enjoyable experience and enliven (encourage) the unexciting experience of studying only with a textbook. We can make the characters and their actions stand up from the printed page and become real people.

The most used technique based on the course-book as the source of foreign language input is the dramatised reading. This technique brings the characters to life and the children get more involved in the learning activities. However, other basic techniques may be used to transform a boring printed page from a course book into an intense learning experience. These additional techniques are:

Mime is motivating as weak students do not need to use words initially, but they understand the lesson. Coursebooks can also present some texts in mime and the students should match the words of the dialogue to the actions.
Improvisation can be used in the upper levels, when the students are able to break the constraints of the course texts and can improvise possible continuations of dialogues.
Parallel role-play: the original play can be practised through a parallel dialogue that requires the same functions and vocabulary as the original one.
Changing the dialogue, students can be asked to lengthen or shorten dialogues.
PRONUNCIATION

Drama to improve pronunciation. We can use some techniques commonly used by actors to prepare their voices for the stage to practice different aspects of English pronunciation. Following factors should be considered:

Firstly, students must be encouraged to relax their bodies and adopt a correct stance, since that promotes good and clear pronunciation. Then we should teach them to breathe properly, that is to breathe with the stomach and too with the chest.

Secondly, we can begin the pronunciation practice, focusing on segmental or supra-segmental features:

To practise segmental features, students may copy the mouth shape of the teacher making a particular sound. Then they can create short dialogues using the vocabulary learnt or try to read the lips of the teacher.
To practise supra-segmental features, students try to imitate what is said in a cassette, at the beginning just by humming and copying the intonation, rhythm and stress, and then they should try to imitate the speaker exactly.

For example: The teacher will act as a model and a participant. 1. Lip-reading: Student “A” mouths a word and student “B” tries to guess it. 2. Copying: The teacher makes a particular sound and the students have to reproduce it with different words.

SPOKEN SKILLS

A lesson based on drama techniques to develop spoken skills is divided into 4 stages:

1. Warm-up this stage will take 5 minutes.

2. Presenting the main activities. It will take 5 minutes.

3. Main activities to develop spoken skills such as:

– DRAMATISE PLAY READINGS. We should choose a text with simple vocabulary and short sentences. The teacher will give each student a copy and will read the text aloud, in order to ask some comprehension questions. Next, the students will build up a context for the text and dividing the class into groups. The students have to look at the text and they have to look at the text for a few minutes and then, to say the lines of the text without looking. After that, we can design follow-up work such as improvising continuation for the text.

– IMPROVISATION. In this activity we can use music. The students listen to some music and then they must imagine some actions that can be related to the music.

– REPRESENTATION OF TALES AND JOKES. This activity helps to create a pleasant atmosphere in the class and to provide the students with sociocultural knowledge because tales and jokes always convey elements of the target culture, to make the students aware of the importance of pronunciation and the tone of voice. The representation of tales and jokes is a source of motivation. The students are required to use non-linguistic devices such as gestures, facial expressions and body language to communicate.

4. Feedback after the main activities have finished, we must provide feedback to the students to see how well they have performed.

2.4. DAILY LIFE SIMULATIONS AND ROLE PLAYS

Both are drama techniques, but in a simulation, students take part as themselves; and in a role-play, students play a role already known.

Daily life simulations are very limited. They deal with situations that are likely to occur to students in their daily life, and most situational simulations are prepared according to the needs of the group. They rely heavily on the skill of improvisation and on our ability as teachers to teach in role, because sometimes we will have to play a role to enable our pupils to interact as themselves. The simulation differs from the role-play in that students play as themselves.

E.g., an English family has moved in next door. Your parents speak no English and you have to act as an interpreter to: invite them to dinner, to tell them about the nearest bakery, ask them for some salt…

On the other hand, in role plays, students have freedom to produce language that they feel appropriate to that context and to their assigned roles. In addition to this role plays are less limited as students can play any role. However, students’ level of proficiency is very low and role plays should be simplified accordingly. Students’ interests and psychological characteristics may be considered.

The elements of the role play are:

1. Situation, we must give them real situations, students must identify with the characters.

2. Vocabulary and structures have to be explained before, so that the students find them meaningful and dynamic.

3. Characters, they can be real or imaginary. With young children it is better to use imaginary characters and with adults it is better to use real characters.

There are various types of role-plays. The simplest consists of making the students create short dialogues using the language and gestures that the role requires. If students have never done this before, the teacher could begin with a demonstration of how to perform a role-play. Finally, the class will discuss the aspects of each performance to discover what was right and wrong about the activity.

Types of role-plays are:

1. Dialogue improvisation.

2. Interviews based on a text.

3. Free role-play. Students must make up the language when they play a given role. Examples of topics are school, education, health.

4. Controlled role-plays: imitative reproduction of functional dialogues.

5. Guided role-plays: The teacher provides the context and part of the language to be used.

GROUP WORK IN CREATIVE ACTIVITIES: THE DRAMA PROJECT

Language is a creative and communicative process and activities should be therefore designed to promote interaction and comprehension through participation.

A drama project is an enjoyable activity which can be used as an informal mean of learning a language. It helps our pupils acquire new vocabulary, structures and socio-cultural conventions. It fulfils our communicative aims. By carefully adjusting the level of difficulty, language can be more accessible to our pupils and, as they see they can do things with English, it builds confidence in them.

A drama project considers the socio-psychological aspects of learning. It involves developing cooperation and socialisation skills. The drama project can build appreciation and understanding of culture and codes of behaviour of English-speaking cultures so it can reduce resistance in the learner towards English.

Drama provides children the opportunity to interact in English and this can be done in different ways: individually, in pairs or in groups.

To use pair work efficiently we must consider the following aspects:

Motivation increases when there is a final aim.
Linguistic ability can define the couples when working in pairs. Sometimes children with similar levels should work together but, on other occasions, more advanced children can be a great help for less advanced ones.

Group work, instead, enables children to get the best of their linguistic skills. The size of the group depends on the activity, but it is important to realise that the bigger the group the less participation.

Drama can also be worked individually in Arts and Crafts activities. These are activities in which children made things such as simple puppets, puzzles, cards to play a game… They provide globally integrated language and cross-curricular learning, they stimulate children’s imagination and develop visual and manual skills. They give comprehensive language input supported by demonstration.

The procedures to follow for a correct use are:

-Prepare an example of final work.

-Prepare and show the materials.

-Give clear instructions and demonstrate each stage.

-Monitor children’s work and interacting with them.

-Store their work in order it can be used again.

-Display children’s work as it gives them a sense of achievement.

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

When we are using drama, we are reducing the barriers between teacher and pupils. We need to use our story-telling skills and use visual aids, dramatic tone of voice, gesture and mime to bring the story alive.

A drama lesson should be strictly timed and controlled. We must decide on the aim of the lesson and the steps we will follow. So, the first role we play is to monitor these activities. We must be able to adopt many different roles as the lesson goes on to help maintain a high degree of interest. We must be a resource, a prompter, but mainly a monitor who does not intervene directly but who observes, takes notes…

It is important that the teacher values the effort and participation of each child in drama since the purpose is to help children internalise and remember language.

To sum it up, we adopt any role that helps to bring real life into the classroom. This is the final objective of using drama techniques in the classroom.

CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop a good foreign language teaching, teachers must bear in mind socio-cultural competence as an essential element when learning a foreign language. As we have seen, introducing drama in our classroom is a good way to teach a foreign language and the culture more in depth.

Furthermore, teachers must bear in mind other important aspects that can determine the foreign language accuracy and the education success, in general. Therefore, we want to focus our attention on fostering diversity and equality, reading and ICT’s plans. All these programs allow us to centre in realistic and relevant situations of education and to develop a personalised education, which is adapted to the pupils’ needs. More specifically, ICT’s can be fantastic tools to adapt the materials to the learning needs and teaching situations and to foster learning to learn competence, among others.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more languages we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 22: UNIT 22: VARIABLES TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT IN THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASS: PUPILS GROUPING, SPACE AND TIME MANAGEMENT, SELECTION OF METHODOLOGIES, ROLE OF THE TEACHER, ETC.

1.- INTRODUCTION

2.- PUPILS GROUPING

2.1.- Introducing group work

2.2.- Who works with whom?

3.- SPACE AND TIME MANAGEMENT

3.1.- Classroom organization and layout

3.2.- Organising time

4.- SELECTION OF METHODOLOGIES

4.1.- Dealing with errors

4.2.- Classroom language

4.3.- Routines

4.3.1.- Global routines

4.3.2.- Warm up

4.3.3.- Closing routines

4.4.- Learning to learn

4.5.- Assessment

5.- THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

5.1.- Helping the children to feel secure

5.2.- The role of parents and teacher-parents communication

6.- CONCLUSION

7.- BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. INTRODUCTION

Classroom management has to do with organising different aspects of the learning environment and the relationship with students to enhance the teaching-learning process. The main aim is to create a happy, relaxed and working atmosphere in which the norms and rules of classroom behaviour are respected and children feel secure and supported by the teacher at the same time as they are helped to become increasingly independent in the way they approach their own learning.

2. PUPILS GROUPING

When teaching a foreign language, working in groups becomes an essential way of working to interact and communicate with others, which is the main objective to achieve. Therefore, working in groups will help our students to develop communicative and linguistic competence. But it will also help them to develop social and citizen competence because they will have to listen to others, understand, participate, and find solutions and strategies to get to agreements and common goals. Finally, working in groups will also help our students to develop their sense of initiative and entrepreneurship since they will have to think by themselves, get personal ideas and take the initiative to cooperate and to sort out different problems and situations within the group.

Different groupings respond to different needs. When working individually, children have the chance to internalise language normally by reading or writing, work at their own pace and in a quiet atmosphere. But there is no interaction. When working in pairs or in small groups, every child has the chance to interact by listening, reading and producing English, although these activities are less controlled by teachers. Finally, when working with the whole class, teachers can easily control the activity and children are less stressed, but interaction and production are smaller. Therefore, teachers should choose the best grouping for different aims and activities.

When working in groups, it is important for children to get orientation and for the teacher to check they are using English. Teachers should wait until the activity is finished to correct errors. They can take notes of main errors and come back to them later. Interrupting to correct mistakes stops fluency in communication and distracts the attention from the message.

Forming groups should not take too long. A number can be given to every child, e.g., from 1 to 4, and children can be asked to work together with those who got the same number. Teachers can give children colours or any other word from the vocabulary they are working with now.

2.1. Introducing group work

If your pupils are not used to work in groups in other classes or if they do not naturally develop a group identity, as they may do if they are sitting permanently in a group, then you can introduce them into group work gradually.

Start by having teaching groups, groups which you teach separately from the rest of the class. This allows you to give some pupils more individual attention.
Then you can go on to introducing self-reliant groups – groups which are given something to do on their own, with the teacher only giving help when needed.
Start with just one group. Tell them clearly what the purpose is and why they are working together.
Go through this process with all the groups before you let the whole class work in groups at the same time.

2.2. Who works with whom?

Children should not be allowed to choose their groups, partly because this takes a lot of time, but mainly because it usually means that someone is left out. If your pupils sit in groups all the time, then it is natural for them to work most of the time in those groups. There is no reason why pupils should not be moved about from time to time.

Particularly from eight-to twelve-year-olds, you might want to put them in mixed ability groups some of the time, but sometimes group them according to ability. Advanced children can and do help the slower ones if the groups are mixed, but sometimes you want to give extra help to either the advanced or the slow on their own.

When setting up a group activity, it is important to pay attention to:

The size of the group will depend on the activity, the group will be bigger or smaller, but the bigger the group the less individual participation.
The objective must be clear and completely understood by every child in the group. All of them must know the final goal, the procedures and the time in which they have to finish the activity.
The role of every individual child in the group can be different for every activity. In some cases one of them can be in charge of the whole group making sure that everyone participates in order to get the final goal, another child can be the secretary in charge of taking notes of what everybody in the group says, another one can be in charge of the material and so on.

3. SPACE AND TIME MANAGEMENT

3.1. Classroom organization and layout

Careful organization helps us to create and organize a motivating atmosphere.

BREWSTER suggests 6 points we must consider:

To plan a layout that best suits our interest in a special language room.
Sit them in rows or group: good for pair and group work.
Pupils who sit closest to the teacher concentrate more and work harder. We must change the pupils to be sitting closest to us.
To have a small classroom-library.
To have a listening corner.
To have areas where they can display their work (important).

A classroom display gives them a higher motivation and standards. We must keep several points in mind:

Try to keep the work at our pupils’ eye level.
Encourage looking, reading and listening.
Be eye-catching: titles, lettering large and attractive. Photographs.
Pupils’ names. All of them have something on display.

3.2. Organising time

Although teachers do not have any experience, they can find that two different groups go at different speeds and what they planned is good for one but not for the other.

It is useful:

To plot realistic timings for the completion of activities.
To be left with the time to spare at the end of the lessons (have some extra-activities).

Furthermore, there are important points when ending a lesson (BREWSTER):

Try not to finish in the middle of the activity.
Finish work on the main teaching point a little early rather than late: we can always find a short activity to fill up a few minutes.
Try to give praise and encouragement about what the children have achieved in the class.

We should also establish routines for setting up groups or using equipment so that we should avoid wasting time.

4. SELECTION OF METHODOLOGIES

In this section I am going to show how to work in different moments of the teaching learning process.

4.1. Dealing with errors

The ultimate long-term aim when teaching a language is that the learner can communicate using the language correctly. Teachers should always bear in mind that it would be too ambitious to expect correct production from all children. Errors should be recognized as part of the learning process.

When correcting errors teacher should always consider the following ideas:

Never interfere when a child is saying something. Do not interrupt. Let him/her finish. When he/she has finished you can use correct English to gently paraphrase what he/she was trying to say.
Encourage children to risk saying things in English even if their production is far from accurate. Do not forget to praise their attempts.
Be patient. When babies are learning their mother tongue they are exposed to an incredible amount of input for a long time before they can produce any language. When they begin talking, they still make mistakes for a long time. Therefore, a second language would follow the same process taken to an extreme since the amount of input is much lower.
Encourage the children to use accurate pronunciation and intonation when reading aloud, but do not stop them while reading. Wait until they finish and then read the text /part of the text, emphasising what they found difficult to read.
Make the children aware of spelling mistakes in those words and expressions that they know very well orally, but do not expect correct written sentences all the time.

Making mistakes is unavoidable when trying to speak a foreign language. For this reason, when the teacher corrects a child the tone and context must be clearly helpful. It is counterproductive to correct with a negative attitude. It destroys the children’s self-confidence and disrupts their genuine efforts at fluency.

Mistakes that occur during activities with the objective of producing correct language (repetition and drilling activities) are corrected immediately. However, teachers should not make corrections during role-plays and other situations (production and fluency stage) in which the children are trying to be fluent and creative. The teacher shows interest in what the child is communicating.

4.2. Classroom language

If cooperation and communication are to be part of the process of learning a language as well as part of the process of growing up, then the sooner the pupils learn simple, meaningful expressions in English, the easier it will be. A very important way of helping pupils progress from dependence on the book and on the teacher to independence is to give them the necessary tools. One of the tools is the classroom language.

A lot of English can be used in the class in a very natural context: greeting the children, calling the register, giving them instructions and praising finished work provide wonderful opportunities to use English meaningfully in class. New language should be gradually incorporated into the class routines, for example by saying the date, talking about the weather, asking for homework, giving instructions on how to present the work, etc. Writing new classroom language on sets of coloured cards and displaying them around the class helps the children remember it.

Teaching children phrases like ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know’, ‘I don’t understand’, ‘Can I have…, please?’ or ‘How do you say…in English?’ helps their development, their language, and their ability to communicate meaningfully in the classroom and elsewhere. These sentences should be taught as phrases, not as words or structures. Children are only interested in what the phrases are used for. They give children a short cut to being able to function in the English classroom.

4.3. Routines

English teaching involves constantly changing classroom scenarios. Alongside the changing scenarios, other processes are constantly taking place at a socio-emotional level. One child is being disruptive, another wants the teacher’s attention, a third explains an activity to their partner; another is looking for their pencil or borrowing a rubber, etc.

The teacher tries to guide these processes verbally. The important thing is that the teacher begins to develop routines to control these complex processes, using English to an ever-increasing degree. Teachers can establish global routines for different situations or use regular warm-up and closing routines.

4.3.1. Global routines

Set the tone for the whole year.
Create an atmosphere which welcomes the children into the classroom.
Establish classroom routines. For example, greet the children in English as they come in, and say ‘goodbye’ as they leave.
You may want to turn instructions into games, such as opening your books all together: ‘one, two, three!’.
Teach children to organise their desks.

4.3.2. Warm-ups

The circle: Starting in a circle, in which the children and teacher greet each other, can help encourage punctuality. All the children will want to take part and enjoy the feeling of belonging from the very start.
Rows: When children stand in two rows facing each other, they can perform activities such as clapping, foot-stamping and greeting one another, e.g., Learner 1 ‘Hello María –clap, clap, clap’; Learner 2 ‘Hello Pedro – stamp, stamp, stamp’. When children are in rows or circle formation, you have an opportunity to get them to work on their basic motor skills (circle formation, moving around, facing each other in rows, clapping, touching hands, then fingers, and “mirroring” each other’s movements).

4.3. Routines

4.3.1. Global routines

Set the tone for the whole year.
Create an atmosphere which welcomes the children into the classroom.
Establish classroom routines. For example, greet the children in English as they come in, and say ‘goodbye’ as they leave.
You may want to turn instructions into games, such as opening your books all together: ‘one, two, three!’.
Teach children to organise their desks.

4.3.2. Warm-ups

The circle: Starting in a circle, in which the children and teacher greet each other, can help encourage punctuality. All the children will want to take part and enjoy the feeling of belonging from the very start.
Rows: When children stand in two rows facing each other, they can perform activities such as clapping, foot-stamping and greeting one another, e.g., Learner 1 ‘Hello María –clap, clap, clap’; Learner 2 ‘Hello Pedro – stamp, stamp, stamp’. When children are in rows or circle formation, you have an opportunity to get them to work on their basic motor skills (circle formation, moving around, facing each other in rows, clapping, touching hands, then fingers, and “mirroring” each other’s movements).

4.3.3. Closing routines

Sing a song
Say bye-bye, see you tomorrow/ on Tuesday…
With the group in a circle, each child says a word he/she likes and this is repeated by the rest of the class.

4.4. Learning to learn

Learning to learn can already be developed with young learners. The goal is for children to gradually become slightly conscious of how they understand what they are presented with, what helps them remember words, phrases, texts, and whether the pace of the lesson is adequate for them. In order to reach this goal, it is important to talk with children about goals and how they are learning. Part of the learning requires being able to assess oneself and the materials one is working with. Evaluation and assessment need to be developed from the start. Children gain confidence and security when they know how well they can do it. In addition, they become more able to prioritise, to express preferences and to evaluate the activities they carry out.

4.5. Assessment

Evaluating our pupils’ learning is a regular feature of classroom practice. Even if educationalists argue about the desirability of exams, we must continue to establish whether our pupils have been learning. There are many ways in which we might try to assess progress- from simple class observation to objective examinations- and so it will not be possible to touch on all the wide range of methods, which we could adopt. Instead, we will study the principles which make continuous assessment a good method when evaluating language learning.

Continuous assessment is now the most widespread method of assessment in our schools, where it includes essays, projects, department papers, observation of our pupils and perhaps some formal examinations.

Many teachers think that learning in this way is more effective and less anxiety provoking as we make the evaluation process happen along our normal lesson planning and not on isolated dates. Continuous assessment does not only show our pupils’ level of attainment (summative evaluation) but also enables us to draw conclusions about the effectiveness and efficiency of our methods and the suitability of content for our pupils (formative evaluation). Its usual first step is the diagnosis (initial evaluation) of our pupils’ proficiency when they begin the school year.

The fulfilment of all these methodological criteria rests on the adaptability of the teacher on his possibility of adopting more than one role.

5. THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

HARMER distinguishes six main roles for the teacher: (CAOPPR)

Controller. We play this role when we are totally in charge of the class. Visible at the presentation stage. This role is not the most effective one we can use. If we control and determine all the languages, they will never reach communicative competence. This role is only appropriate during the accurate reproduction stage, being inappropriate during the production stage.
Assessor. It is good for assessing the pupils’ work. Distinguish between correcting and organising feedback:

Correcting feedback: the function is to show incorrectness and help our pupils to realise what has gone wrong and to put it right.
Organising feedback: it’s part of assessing pupils’ performance so that they can see the extent of their success or failure. After the activity is finished, the teacher tells them how well they did. This feedback can be:
- Content feedback: it is centred on the subject matter of an activity. The most important thing is the effort to communicate, not the accurate use of language.
- Form feedback: it is centred on accurate use of language. Not to use form feedback dominant after communication activities in order not make them feel demotivated.

Organiser. The success of many activities depends on good organisation and on the pupils knowing exactly what they are going to do. The main aim: to tell them what they are going to talk, listen, write or read about (topic), what they are going to do (tasks): we must also get the activity going, solving initial problems and finally organise feedback.
Prompter. Encourage pupils to participate or make suggestions about how they may proceed in an activity when there is silence, or our pupils are confused. Prompter has to perform with discretion.
Participant. If we do not tend to dominate, we are giving them an opportunity to practise English with someone who speaks it better than they do.
Resource. We must be ready when they need help. This help should only be given when they have made a previous effort.

5.1. Helping the children to feel secure

Once children feel secure and content in the classroom, they can be encouraged to become independent and adventurous in the learning of the language. Security is not an attitude or ability, but it is essential if we want our pupils to get the maximum out of their language lesson.

Children are developing their personality. The teacher should contribute to this development while teaching English. The teacher should maintain and foster motivation towards English as a contribution to personal development by:

Creating a relaxed atmosphere.
Building up the children’s self-confidence.
Encouraging children to learn independently.
Promoting different kinds of interaction: individual work, pair work and group work.
Fostering positive attitudes and developing co-operation within the group class: sharing knowledge and classroom equipment with others, finding information.
Making the children aware of their achievements.
Allowing the children to work at their own pace and making sure they know that this is acceptable.
Encouraging the children to use English as a real communicative tool, without being afraid of making mistakes.

5.2. The role of parents and teacher-parent communication

In general, the parents of primary school children have a very positive attitude towards the early learning of English and want to actively support their children’s development. In taking the time to communicate with parents, we maintain their support for what we do in the classroom. Parents deserve to know and we need to explain to them the educational purpose behind the methodology we use.

At the beginning of the school year and before your classes start, invite parents to attend an orientation meeting where teachers can discuss the following points with them:

Children should have positive learning experiences; they gain self-esteem and motivation and lose their shyness about expressing themselves in English.
Parents should not expect their children to be able to speak English from the start. Children should learn above all to understand language, and later to respond orally in simple language.
During the English class not only will language be developed but also children’s intellectual, social, emotional and motor skills.
Learning a foreign language at an early age stimulates an open-minded attitude toward other peoples and cultures.
Point out to parents that it is very important to praise the children for the slightest progress in learning. When a child comes home and says ‘today we have learnt yes and no’ they should receive recognition.
When children want to show at home what they can do, parents should listen patiently and show interest. Errors are a sign of progress in learning. It is quite normal for children to make a lot of errors at the beginning.
Parents can “play school” with their children and take on the role of the pupil. Children take great pleasure in teaching their parents the foreign language.

6. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop an appropriate foreign language learning, teachers must consider the wide range of variables about classroom management. As we have seen, these elements can highly determine the efficiency of the teaching-learning process, if we adapt them to the learner’s needs and teaching situations.

Furthermore, teachers must bear in mind other important aspects that can determine the foreign language accuracy and the education success, in general. Therefore, we want to focus our attention on fostering diversity and equality, reading and ICT’s plans. All these programs allow us to centre in realistic and relevant situations of education and to develop a personalised education, which is adapted to the pupils’ needs. More specifically, ICT’s can be fantastic tools to adapt the materials to the learning needs and teaching situations and to foster learning to learn competence, among others.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more languages we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 23: PRODUCING ENGLISH LESSON CURRICULAR MATERIALS. CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING AND USING COURSEBOOKS. AUTHENTIC AND NON-AUTHENTIC (ARTIFICIAL AND SIMULATED AUTHENTIC) MATERIALS: USE CONSTRAINTS. INVOLVING THE PUPILS IN MATERIAL DESIGN.

INTRODUCTION
PRODUCING ENGLISH LESSON CURRICULAR MATERIALS
1. Reasons to produce our own materials

2.2. Key features of produced curricular materials

2.3. Types of produced materials

CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING AND USING COURSEBOOKS
1. Choosing a coursebook
2. Using a coursebook

AUTHENTIC AND NON-AUTHENTIC (ARTIFICIAL AND SIMULATED AUTHENTIC) MATERIALS: USE CONSTRAINTS.
INVOLVING THE PUPILS IN MATERIALS DESIGN
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

There is an abundance of English language teaching materials on the market. These materials cover a wide range of approaches, situations and methodologies. At various times of our professional life, we will be involved in the selection of materials for our pupils and if we do not find any materials which respond to our pupils’ needs, we will have to design them.

PRODUCING ENGLISH LESSON CURRICULAR MATERIALS

English teachers need to create a communicative atmosphere in which students face the new language in a natural and meaningful way. Teachers also need to help their students to develop a cultural awareness about English speaking countries. To cover both objectives, adequate materials should be selected and used in class. There is a huge variety of materials to teach English. But sometimes they will not be completely suitable to our students’ needs. Or maybe they will not be available. In those cases, and to cover specific needs teachers should be prepared to create their own materials.

2.1. Reasons to produce our own materials

Producing our own materials requires a time-process and it is not often that teachers produce all the materials for a whole group because it is a lot of time, but most of the teachers produce supplementary materials which are finely tuned to their pupils’ needs.

Brewster gives some reasons for producing our supplementary materials, even if we have a course book. They are:

When our course book does not provide enough practice activities.
Some of the materials in our course book are not appropriate for our class.
We want to use a methodology which is not the one used by the course book
To add some activities for the sake of variety.

For solving these situations, we can produce materials such as worksheets, flashcards and digital resources.

2.2. Main features of produced curricular materials

As I have already mentioned in the previous section, producing curricular materials for English lessons is often a necessary activity. It could be an easy or more complex task but, in any case, it is time consuming. In order to make the most of the materials we produce, the following considerations should be taken into account:

The teacher will design, plan, organise and direct the production of materials. Children could cooperate in many cases feeling they are taking part in their learning process and developing the Learning to learn competence.
The materials should be suitable for:

Children’s needs, abilities and interests: they should be attractive and significant for children.
The teaching program: materials should fit in the teaching program, and they should be aimed at specific linguistic objectives.

Since they are time consuming the production of materials should be:

Easy enough to prepare (ICT’s offer a significant help to find authentic materials or to produce non- authentic ones – internet, Prezi, Word processors…).
Multipurpose: some of the produced materials could be used for different activities and objectives.
Resistant and lasting: it is a clever idea to use resistant materials and laminate what we produce in order to use it many other times.
Well classified and stored.

2.3. Types of produced materials

We can produce any kind of material, especially nowadays with the significant help of ICT.

Puppets: we can make easy puppets as class mascot or for plays, short stories… They are excellent materials for very young learners.
Play scripts: we can invent or adapt short stories into play scripts to perform them on a stage or to represent short role plays.
Games: We can adapt well-known games using the English language -Trivial, Bingo…
Songs and chants: We can change well known tunes, adapt popular songs and make a CD with all the songs and chants children know so they can listen to them at any time
Stories: we can change well known stories, their characters, settings, endings, or invent new ones based on children’s reality…
Picture dictionaries: an innovative idea to collect all the vocabulary learnt in a school year and to revise it every so often.
Worksheets. We can use them to:

Organize oral activities in pairs or/and small groups.
Develop reading and writing tasks.
Practise one particular language point, for example, a structure or a lexical set.
To link English with other subjects in the curriculum.

They must be clear, simple and attractive:

Instructions must be in very simple English.
Each worksheet must provide opportunities to be personalized (coloured, labelled…)
Each worksheet must involve pupils in different skills.
They should not take too long to complete.

Visual aids: flashcards, posters, wallcharts…
Digital resources and gamification:

They can be used to introduce, practice or revise language. For example: kahoot, quizzlet…

They should:
- Be large enough and easy to see
- Convey meaning clearly.
- Be attractive and colourful.
Digital resources and gamification: One of the cross curricular elements established by the Decree 89/2014 is the use of ICTs in all the areas and also established in the Key Competences, since one of them is the Digital Competence. Nowadays we are in the digital era and we must incorporate in our classroom these kinds of resources. It opens new ways to work with our pupils in a more attractive way and there is a wide range of possibilities. They contribute to the learning process and complement the rest of resources. They let us, as teachers, design our own material with free software that you can download through the net, or in some pages in which you only have to sign up. In many of these pages there is a bank of resources where you can include your created materials and you have access to the rest published till that moment, also you can download and adapt them to your pupils. It is an easy way to search for resources among teachers from all over the world. Some of them were designed more than twenty years ago, as “Hot potatoes” and “Jclic”, and others are more updated, as “Plickers”, “Kahoot”, “Socrative” …

CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING AND USING COURSEBOOKS

Coursebooks are the most common material used in English classes. They are excellent tools to use in class, but there are some important considerations to take into account when selecting a book and using it. It is not the only material to use and sometimes, depending on the teacher’s criteria, they could even be avoided. The following section aims to analyse main reasons to use a coursebook and criteria to choose and use it.

CHOOSING A COURSEBOOK

Selecting a coursebook is quite a difficult task and we cannot know if it is suitable enough until we have been working through it for some time and, even so, it will depend on our pupils and their needs. The main criteria for choosing a book are our students: age, interests, abilities, previous knowledge, etc.

According to NUNAN (1988) the following criteria should be taken into account when selecting a course book:

The course book makes clear the link between the classroom and the wider world.
It fosters independent learning.
It focuses children on their learning process and therefore helps develop the learning to learn competence.
It is readily available.
It suits our pupils’ needs.
It can be used at different levels of difficulty.
It sets clear objectives.

HARMER (1983) designed an evaluation form to analyse a course book and its suitability. This evaluation form refers to different criteria:

Practical considerations: prize, availability.
Layout and design: attractive and clear
Activities: balanced, aural, communicative, within realistic contexts, revision and extension activities…
Skills: balanced, more aural, more receptive…
Language type: realistic, authentic, appropriate progressions…
Subjects and contents suitable for children (according to their age, interests, values…)
Guidance for teachers and children
Extra materials: qr code access, digital book, games, posters, flashcards…
Recycling contents.

USING A COURSEBOOK

We must decide how to use it in the classroom. HALLIWELL suggests that the coursebook helps both the teacher and the pupils in several aspects.

The coursebook helps the teacher by providing:

A clearly thought-out programme which is appropriately sequenced and structured to include revision.
A wider range of material than we can collect individually.
Economy of preparation time.
A source of practical teaching ideas.
Work that our pupils can do on their own so that we do not need to be on stage all the time.
A basis for homework if that is required.
A basis for discussion and comparison with other partners.

It also helps our pupils because it offers them:

A sense of purpose, progression and progress.
A sense of security.
Scope for independence and autonomous learning.
A reference for checking and revising.

However, we can also find some things that we can do better, such as: participating in oral interactions, adjusting the level and quantity of work to our pupils’ needs and encouraging our pupils when they are not motivated.

Any chosen text must be adapted to the requirements of the class. We must be able to produce plenty of additional and varied practice of the same topic.

AUTHENTIC AND NON-AUTHENTIC (ARTIFICIAL AND SIMULATED AUTHENTIC) MATERIALS: USE CONSTRAINTS.

Our main objective as Primary school teachers is to help our students to be ready for the outside world. This is why we should bring life into the class. As English teachers, we have to bring the English language and the English-speaking countries closer to children. That is why authentic materials are important in an English classroom. They are also essential because they help children to face language in its real context and therefore develop a meaningful learning.

Authentic materials are materials not written specifically for the teaching of English as a foreign language. Nunan (1988) describes authenticity as follows

“Authentic materials are usually defined as those which have been produced for purposes other than to teach language. They can be selected from many different sources: Video clips, recordings of authentic interactions, extracts from television, radio and newspapers, signs, maps and charts, photographs and pictures, timetables and schedules”. Today we should also add the Internet and ICT as a source of authentic materials.

While authenticity is generally thought of in terms of the materials used in a given teaching activity, there are other factors, which may be equally important. CANDLIN and EDELHOFF (1982) suggest that there are at least four types or authenticity, which are important in our classrooms:

Authenticity of goal
Authenticity of environment
Authenticity of text
Authenticity of task

NUNAN thinks that the most important type of authenticity is what he called “learner authenticity”. By this he means “the realisation and acceptance by the learner of the authenticity of a given text, task, set of materials or learning activity”. If we want our pupils to think that the materials, we use are authentic they must fulfil two conditions:

They must be recognised by learners as having a legitimate place in the language classroom.
They must engage the interests of our pupils by relating to their interests, previous knowledge and experience, and through these, stimulate genuine communication.

Non-authentic materials: simulated authentic and artificial. HARMER defines non-authentic materials as those “that have been designed especially for language learners”.

Non-authentic materials can be divided in two groups:

Simulated authentic: they are designed for language learners and they appear to be authentic.
Artificial materials: they are designed for language learners and they illustrate particular language points.

Non-authentic materials are important for beginners who are not able to handle genuine authentic materials because of their difficulty but still need to practise in texts or resources that look authentic.

INVOLVING THE PUPILS IN MATERIALS DESIGN

Material production must be designed, planned, organised and directed by the teacher. The teacher is the one knowing best methodological approaches and children’s needs. But children can cooperate in this production in two different ways:

First of all, by showing their interests, needs and difficulties so that the teacher can think about new resources that will help them to learn in an efficient way.
Secondly by producing different resources following the teacher’s indications.

Children participating in the production of materials used for their own learning bring great advantages in the teaching learning process:

They feel responsible for their own learning (autonomous learning principle)
They feel teachers value their help and work and trust them. This will increase their self-esteem and motivation.
They will develop a sense of group and fellowship because the group is involved in a final project (meaningful learning and development of the social and citizen competence)
They will develop their creativity and social skills such as cooperation, participation, respecting others, etc. (global learning and development of social and citizen competence.)

A very simple example of children producing curricular materials for English lessons could be the following one: children could make their own BINGO card listening to the teacher’s instructions. They could draw food pictures or write food vocabulary and use the cards to play the game. They could keep their cards for other BINGO games using different vocabulary.

But children can also produce more sophisticated materials using ICTs. For example, investigating a specific topic and preparing a Prezi or Canva presentation for their classmates. Or writing a short script and recording a little role play to show to their classmates.

According to the Foreign Language Area Curriculum the student is the centre of the learning process. Our curriculum establishes a learner-centred teaching and one of the best ways to consider our students’ needs and characteristics is by making them participants of the material design process.

CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop an appropriate foreign language learning, teachers must consider the wide range of didactic materials for the classroom. As we have seen, these elements can highly determine the efficiency of the teaching-learning process, if we adapt them to the learner’s needs and teaching situations.

Furthermore, teachers must bear in mind other important aspects that can determine the foreign language accuracy and the education success, in general. Therefore, we want to focus our attention on fostering diversity and equality, reading and ICT’s plans. All these programs allow us to centre in realistic and relevant situations of education and to develop a personalised education, which is adapted to the pupils’ needs. More specifically, ICT’s can be fantastic tools to adapt the materials to the learning needs and teaching situations and to foster learning to learn competence, among others.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more languages we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

UNIT 24: TECHNOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS OF AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS USE (THE NEWSPAPER, THE TV, THE TAPE, THE VIDEO, ETC.). THE COMPUTER AS AN AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES.

1. INTRODUCTION

2. TECHNOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS OF AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS USE (THE NEWSPAPER, THE TV, THE TAPE, THE VIDEO, ETC.).

2.1. Audio resources

2.1.1. The CD, the cassette recorder and pen drive

2.1.2. Radio

2.2. Visual resources

2.2.1. The Blackboard

2.2.2. Flashcards

2.2.3. Realia

2.2.4. Wallcharts

2.2.5. Projectors

2.2.6. Textbooks and newspapers

2.3. Audio visual resources

2.3.1. Television

2.3.2. Video and DVD

2.3.3. Video camera or camcorder

3. THE COMPUTER AS AN AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES.

3.1. Using ICT efficiently

3.2. Methodological considerations

3.3. Different ways of using ICT in class.

4. CONCLUSION

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. INTRODUCTION.

New techniques for teaching English have been developed during the last ten years. New video methods, software and APPs make learning more enjoyable and enable the teacher to widen teaching techniques. Nowadays, the most attractive one is the Interactive White Board (IWB) which is a window to the outside world and has a wide range of possibilities of use. Nevertheless, these materials can be divided into four main groups: visual, aural and audiovisual materials. They offer a different way to reinforce the learning. They are another channel to transmit a message in the communication process.

2. TECHNOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS OF AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS USE (THE NEWSPAPER, THE TV, THE TAPE, THE VIDEO, ETC.).

2.1. Audio resources.

Audio resources are any kind of aural input that our students can listen to. They can vary from just noises, to songs, poems, dialogues, drills, etc. They can be found in radio programmes, CDs, TV…. In the English class they are essential resources to face our students with the foreign language, with different voices and accents.

2.1.1. The CD, the cassette recorder and pen drive

Most new Primary English coursebooks have a teacher’s CD or a QR code with the corresponding texts and songs and some of them games. These audios provide a good model of spoken English and allow our pupils to work independently at their own pace by listening to the audio at home or in their “music players” introducing a well-needed element of heterogeneity.

We can also accustom our pupils to listen to recordings and record simple stories or fairy tales with activities to follow if we set up a listening corner in our classroom where we can have two or three computers or tablets and the activity books. Most of the course books bring a CD for each pupil with songs, chants, stories and some of them even games for computers, so that they can practise at home.

Most schools have an old cassette recorder or they can do the same with new technologies like computers, tablets or even a mobile phone for recording our pupils on some occasions. The recorder is a good technique to reinforce, practice and correct the suprasegmental features: stress, rhythm and intonation.

Listening materials suitable for our level are very simple and the activities are limited. We must try to offer a wide range of activities including pre-, while- and post-listening activities which will improve the listening skills of our pupils.

2.1.2. Radio

Radio has two functions in learning a language. First, it offers a more intensive backup to language presented on TV. Secondly, radio is a marvellous way to develop listening skills. These two factors: ear-training and fluency development are perhaps the most important reasons for using the radio in the foreign language learning situation. Thirdly, graded radio lessons offer the opportunity to listen to programmes adapted to our pupils’ abilities motivating them to future authentic listening. All these reasons are important and seem to favour the use of radio listening as an aid.

We can find radio programs authentic and adapted for teaching purposes such us:

Authentic English dial of radio.
Common Spanish radio dials with a foreign language teaching program to a determinate hour.
A Spanish language radio dial only for teaching language such as Vaughan Radio, which transmit different graduated programs for the different levels.

Some of these dials of radio can be listened to with a computer through the Net.

2.2. Visual resources

Visual resources are any visual aid used in the English class to convey meaning. Together with English words, visual aids help children to understand. They are also used to elicit language, words, sentences, conversations, etc. Visual aids can be Flashcards, realia, photographs, wallcharts, etc.

Many media and many styles of visual presentation are useful to the language learner. There is no general rule to indicate which visual style is appropriate at any time. The choice is affected by: the age, interests, and experience of the student; the physical circumstances of the classroom or laboratory; and the cost and convenience of the materials available.

Pictures can be used to teach vocabulary and often have been used to elicit conversation on topics such as shopping, holidays, parties, etc. Visual materials can be used for speaking activities:

To motivate the student to speak.
To create a context within which speech will have a meaning.
To provide the student with information to use in speech, including objects, actions, events, relationships.
To provide the student with non-verbal cues for manipulation work.
To provide non-verbal prompts to dialogue reproduction or to dialogue invention.

2.2.1. The blackboard

The blackboard is an important aid because it provides a focal point of attention for the whole class. These points should be noted when using the blackboard:

The blackboard should be completely clean before beginning any new lesson or a new point of the lesson
An attention pointer should be written when new materials are taught. An attention pointer is not a full explanation but a hint as to where to look for the crucial point in the lesson or exercise
Coloured chalk is very effective in all grades
Only short sentences should be written on the board during the presentation stage, long sentences make the class lose interest.

The blackboard can be used to provide the written models or sketches of material to be practised orally. For the written practice we can use: model sentences, model dialogues, memorization of a text, correction, key words, or minimal contrasting pairs. For the sketches, it will be more economical to have these on picture cards or in the form of wall pictures, but there are occasions when it is invaluable for the teacher to be able to draw. Drawings should be as functional and simple as possible.

2.2.2. Flashcards

Flashcards are sets of cards with a picture on one side and the second language word on the other. In many textbooks all the units are illustrated, therefore extra visual aids are not essential. However, a collection of flashcards is also provided to reinforce language. Flashcards can also be easily built up, by sticking pictures from magazines or to plain cards or just by simply drawing. Magazine pictures are usually authentic and colourful and contain pictures, which are imaginative or unexpected. These could be grouped into sets to cover: occupations, nationalities, actions, comparisons, mass and unit, adjectives and adverbs, famous people, describing places, things, etc. Sets can be related to specific units in the course. They must be of a size easy for the teacher to handle and to flash at the pupils.

Flashcards can be used in the following ways:

Vocabulary cards for self-study: the student looks at the word/picture and attempts to recall the meaning.
Phonological practice: To practice pronunciation using cards with similar phonemes (Shoe/ shower / shop) or contrasting pairs (ship/sheep)
Word cards for sentence making. The pupils, each equipped with a word card, can arrange themselves so that they show a sentence for the rest of the class to construct.
To cue substitution items in oral drills. Used in groups, can be used as wall charts to stimulate oral or written composition or to prompt discussion.

2.2.3. Realia

Sometimes teachers can use objects rather than pictures of objects, for example, a bag of “props” containing easily assembled objects. This could include individual objects (a pen, a comb, an envelope, etc.), pairs of objects (knives, forks, spoons, etc.) for plurals and comparisons, and empty food containers (bottles, tins, packets, etc.) for mass and unit or a prop classroom clock with movable hands. Realia can also bring to the class some cultural aspects of the English-speaking countries. For instance, we can use an English toy bus or mailbox and compare it with the Spanish ones.

Many games can be played using realia:

What colour is it? using flashcards or realia.
Whose is this pen? using realia by having first mixed the students ‘possessions.

Is there (a pen) in the box? using a box of realia.
Where is it? practice prepositions placing objects in different places in the classroom.
Guessing game: Description of people in the class.

2.2.4. Wallcharts

Charts have great advantages for oral practice as they keep the attention of a whole class together on the same stimulus, and can be used repeatedly in full daylight, whereas individual pictures in the students’ books tend to scatter the attention of the class and other aids require electric connections, darkening of rooms, special equipment, etc.

Wall pictures can be used to practise grammatical patterns, and for guided practice at all levels from elementary to advanced, to present and practise concepts (approval, disapproval, etc.) or vocabulary, to provide a context for language games, and free expression and discussion at the production stage, as well as oral composition or descriptions. They can be the base for question-and-answer work in providing visual prompts for drills. A good place for a wall chart is next to the blackboard, or on the board itself, so that you can write up relevant words next to it.

2.2.5. Projectors

The filmstrip, the opaque projector and the overhead projector were very popular in the past.

Nowadays these materials have been changed for a projector used with a computer, most of classrooms have an interactive board where the screen of the computer is projected with a simple projector, and where our students can interact with the board, being able to complete activities, listening tracks, watching videos, playing games, see pictures, Charts…

2.2.6. Textbooks and newspapers

In the early stages of language learning the textbook should be regarded as a form of visual aid whose primary function is to reinforce what has been learnt orally. Ideally, oral work should be carried out as far as possible without appeal to a written text on the part of the learners. In many textbooks all the units are illustrated, and extra visual aids are therefore not essential.

Newspapers can also be used in the English class, although in Primary stage its use will be limited. They are authentic material that can provide great help to develop the cultural competence as well as being a stimulus for oral and written communication. We include newspapers as visual aids because pictures are the most suitable parts of newspapers to be used in Primary: size of newspapers, pictures of British/American local places, ads, weather forecast, TV programmes, etc.

2.3. Audio-visual resources

The main audio-visual methods used in the schools are the next ones:

2.3.1. Television

There are TV language teaching programmes in some channels, which are direct broadcast programmes transmitted by a TV network (like “Follow Me” or “That’s English!”), or even channels (like Vaughan) to teach a foreign language, also in cartoons such as “Lunnis”, “Dora the Explorer”, Little Einstein. Television can do a lot in the language classroom. Furthermore, most TV channels have the possibility to select the language to Original Version and in smart TVs we can use platforms such as Netflix.

Firstly, TV offers audio-visual clues to meaning. Our pupils do not only hear the language, they also see it in context. Secondly, TV brings the outside world into the classroom. It gives the class something to talk about; it is a powerful stimulus to communication in class. Thirdly, TV can introduce the culture of the target language into the foreign language classroom. Lastly, TV is a powerful motivator. Our pupils tend to find it attractive. It does make a change from the teacher and the textbook.

2.3.2. Video and DVD

Nowadays there is a great variety of videos or DVDs for English classes: Magic English, Muzzy, Sesame Street, etc. Some coursebooks also provide videos with the main stories in the book i.e., Super Bus (Heinemann), Footprints (McMillan). These kinds of resources are excellent tools to facilitate linguistic input in a highly motivating and efficient way because they have been specifically designed for young English learners. Included at the right time in the teaching programme, they are a wonderful way to reinforce linguistic knowledge, to change the pace of the everyday class routine and to keep our children motivated towards English.

Before playing the video:

Elicit from the student what happened in previous chapters or contextualise the story if this is the first chapter.
The students try to anticipate what is going to happen in the chapter they are going to watch.
The teacher can pre-teach some of the vocabulary or expressions. If necessary, he can also give an outline of the content of the chapter.

Play the video with the sound off. The teacher can use the pictures to ask questions, describe settings, characters or try to elicit the dialogue.
Set a listening task. It can be questions, taking notes of the order of events, etc.
Play the video with the sound on. Students listen and watch.
Check the listening task.
Watch again, stopping where necessary and asking comprehension questions.
If the chapter was not too long students can read or listen and read the transcription of the dialogue.
Follow up activities. Students explain orally or written what happened in the chapter.
From time to time, it can be fun to turn the sound off and have the students read or improvise the dialogues as the tape is being played.

Video applications can also be used to record children’s performances. Most schools have tablets, which can be used to record dialogues that the students have learnt or even short sketches. Students will be more motivated to do the sketches if they know they will later be on TV. In addition to that, the recordings can be used as teaching material with other groups.

Finally, parents can be encouraged to suggest their children watch films in English using DVD facilities at home or English channels like Cartoon Network.

2.3.3. Video camera or camcorder

Working with a video camera in class offers both the learners and the teacher many possibilities for creative language work.

Nowadays with new technologies we can record video with many resources such as a camcorder which is more classic and sophisticated or some new ones more extended and accessible for people such as a webcam or a mobile phone.

Four steps can be suggested to make use of the camcorder:

A talking head: one person talks to the camera for a few minutes.
Dialogues: two or three people are filmed talking together.
Group discussion: a larger group of people are filmed in discussion.
Project work: a freer use of the video facilities.

Whatever is recorded on video tape should reflect the interests and needs of the language learners.

3. THE COMPUTER AS AN AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES.

The European Commission for Education has adopted the “e Learning” initiative to adapt the EU’s education and training systems to the knowledge and use of the digital culture. This initiative has four components:

to equip schools with multimedia computers
to train European teachers in digital technologies
to develop European educational services and software
to speed up the networking of schools and teachers.

Following European initiatives, the Spanish Ministry of Education is determined to promote the use of ICTs in schools as it is reflected in LOMLOE, where information management and digital technology is one of the competences to work on. Therefore, all the Autonomous Communities have developed more specific programmes to implement and promote the use of ICT in schools.

Today most schools have not only a computer room (Althia room) but also a computer for every teacher. In the fifth and sixth level of primary education every classroom has an interactive board and a laptop for every student in the class. Computers and the internet are available in most schools. Besides, these facilities have been also offered to every school. This is a white board connected to the classroom computer. Children and teachers can work on the computer just by touching the interactive board; this is in front of everyone in the class. Interactive boards are an incredibly useful tool in the English class because you can present any information and any software to all children at once.

3.1 Using ICT efficiently

The use of ICT by itself does not necessarily mean a more efficient learning. As any other educational resource, it will depend on how we use that tool. According to scientific research and based on the current social needs, the use of ICT must cover five minimum requirements to help learning in an efficient way:

Universal access: all students must have access to ICT no matter their personal circumstances, social background, disabilities, country of origin, etc.
Strategic and creative use of resources: the use of ICT does not only refer to a basic knowledge. It also means using these resources in a strategic and creative way so students can get a benefit out of them for every context in their lives.
Thoughtful and critical thinking: Due to the amount of information available through ICT, the speed to get it and the continuous changes in values and habits, students need to develop a thoughtful and critical thinking to assess and select the relevant information or the most suitable contents.
New ways of social relationship. The collective construction of knowledge: ICT offers the possibility of relating with people all over the world sometimes instantly (chats, video conference, e-mails…) It also allows sharing information, images and sound (web pages, blogs…) so we can construct knowledge in a collective way. This is especially relevant in the English class, because ICT opens a huge door of communication with real English speakers (through the e Twinning programme, the Comenius programme or any other link with schools abroad). It also motivates children to find information and share their knowledge and creations with other friends in English.

3.2 Methodological considerations

The use of ICT implies a specific methodology. This methodology is suitable for the main learning process´ principles:

Students take an active role in their learning process using meaningful and functional contents. Computers, just like video or audio tapes, provide the student the opportunity to work on his own and to progress at his own pace. They can provide immediate feedback on the progress of the student, allowing only correct answers and giving help when necessary.
Teachers’ role is not so much to transmit knowledge but to guide their students’ learning process.
A cooperative work is often needed to fulfil a task and to creatively construct knowledge. Communicative skills and organisational skills will be developed when working in groups.
A network can be constructed within the class, the school, the educational community or even other schools to share knowledge, information and experiences.

3.3. Different ways of using ICT in class

Most software programmes to teach English include a variety of exercises like these ones:

Vocabulary. These are programmes which help revise or even develop new vocabulary. The student can choose among several pictures (the beach, a kitchen, a workshop, etc.) each of which shows objects that can be found in those places. Then the student can either type the name of the object pointed by the computer or use the cursor or mouse to point to an object prompted by the computer.
Use of English. This is a computer version of multiple choice, fill in the gap, rephrasing, etc. Students can choose exercises suitable for their level and as with most programmes obtain a report at the end which tells them how well they did.
Prepositions. With the help of pictures students type the preposition that best describes the relative position of objects highlighted by the computer.
Work with texts. The same text can be used for a number of exercises. It can be used for reading comprehension, later to fill in the blanks, to put the sentences in the correct order, or to complete the sentences. Dialogues can be used in this way too. Some programmes, which accompany the dialogues with comic-like pictures, even allow the possibility of writing a completely new dialogue that can fit the situation.
Conversational games. These games, usually adventure’s ones, allow the student to give written instructions to the computer ordering where to go, what to do or what to tell another character. Students find them very motivating and fun, but they have an important limitation.

4. CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop an appropriate foreign language learning, teachers must consider the wide range of visual, aural and audiovisual materials that can be used in the English area. As we have seen, these elements can highly determine the efficiency of the teaching-learning process, if we adapt them to the learner’s needs and teaching situations.

Furthermore, teachers must bear in mind other important aspects that can determine the foreign language accuracy and the education success, in general. Therefore, we want to focus our attention on fostering diversity and equality, reading and ICT’s plans. All these programs allow us to centre in realistic and relevant situations of education and to develop a personalised education, which is adapted to the pupils’ needs. More specifically, ICT’s can be fantastic tools to adapt the materials to the learning needs and teaching situations and to foster learning to learn competence, among others.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more languages we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

UNIT 20. THE FOREIGN LANGUAGES AREA IN THE CURRICULUM. CRITERIA TO BE REFLECTED IN THE SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL PROJECT AND IN THE SCHOOL CURRICULAR PROJECT.

INTRODUCTION

THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA IN THE CURRICULUM
1. OBJECTIVES
2. CONTENTS
3. KEY COMPETENCES
4. EVALUATION

CRITERIA TO BE REFLECTED IN THE CENTRE PROJECTS
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

In this school year 2021/22 we can find important changes introduced by the Education Ministry. A reform of the Educational System entails important innovations that affect the conception, the structure and the development of the new school. A new educational law is introduced, LOMLOE 3/2020, that is developed by R.D. 126/2014, establishing the Curriculum for Primary Education and developing objectives, contents, the evaluation criteria and learning standards for all areas, including the Foreign Language Area.

THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA IN THE CURRICULUM

In this section we will study the main aspects of the area of foreign languages in our curriculum. Before doing this, we need to clarify that we are speaking about the first level of curricular design from which all the school educational projects develop their works. Nowadays we have four different levels of curricular design:

First Level: Basic Curricular Design, here we include the R. D. 126/2014, 28th February for Primary Education, D. 89/2014, which establishes the curriculum for Primary Education in Madrid. The main aim of this level is to develop objectives, contents, methodology, evaluation criteria, standards of evaluation, key competences; to set the timetable of schools; and to establish orientations for the development of the pedagogic autonomy of schools. That is to say What, How and When do we have to teach, and What, How and When to evaluate.
Second Level: School Project of the center (PEC), and annual general planning (PGA). The main objective of this level is to analyse the context of the school; to develop general and basic objectives of the school; to contextualise objectives and contents for each level and year of education together with methodology, materials, and evaluation and promotion criteria. That is to say What are we going to teach, when, how to evaluate, taking into account the specific characteristics of each school.
Third Level: Didactic Teaching Program and didactic units. The main objective of this level is to organise what we are going to teach, when, how in order to avoid improvisations in the lesson planning.
Fourth Level: Curricular Adaptations. We include meaningful and non-meaningful curricular adaptations. The main objective of this level is to attend to the specific characteristics of our students in class. To develop an individual education in our students from a collaborative perspective.

Although our curriculum is already designed in the Organic Law, Royal Decree and a Decree in Madrid, it is a flexible one. We as teachers need to follow the legislative considerations to achieve specific objectives, to teach specific contents through a well-established methodology and evaluation but taking into account the specific needs of our students and our individual teaching-learning context. For this reason we can consider our curriculum a flexible one.

As an Introduction of Foreign Languages, from the second half of the twentieth century there has been a process of globalisation from an economic, political, social and cultural point of view. For this reason borders are disappearing and as a consequence communication among people from many countries is required. In this sense it is really useful that from early stages of education citizens have the opportunity to acquire competences to adapt themselves to a global society. The learning of a foreign language has a special and important role because the ability to communicate is one of the main requirements of this global society. That is why the European Union promotes the learning in our educational system of at least two foreign languages apart from our mother tongue.

The ability to communicate in a foreign language is a need in our lives for many reasons: for educational reasons, for political reasons, to find a job, for cultural reasons due to globalisation… Communication is the aim of learning a foreign language; our curriculum established that learning a foreign language should be developed through a communicative approach. Communicative competence makes reference to the use and production of meaningful oral and written messages, receptive and productive, in order to understand and be understood. The new data will allow the learner to create new meanings that will help them to evaluate their own learning process.

First of all we must bear in mind that our country is going to set a common curriculum for all the states in Royal decree 126/2014, 28th February, where the basic curriculum for primary education is developed for all the areas. The area of foreign language is considered a trunk area. In the case of foreign language teaching, the curriculum is stabilised for all stages, and it is divided into four main blocks. Each block is going to be subdivided into contents, evaluation criteria and learning standards. These blocks are:

• Block 1. Comprehension of oral texts (listening)

• Block 2. Production of oral texts: expression and interaction (speaking, talking)

• Block 3. Comprehension of written texts (reading)

• Block 4. Production of written texts expression and interaction (writing)

In our community of Madrid the curriculum is going to be developed in our Decree 89/2014, of 25th of July, where main features are set. As a main principle its decree says: “The possibility to communicate in a foreign language is a need in present-day society. So, there is a great social demand for compulsory education to give students communicative proficiency in a foreign language, it is to say the communicative competence in our students”. According to Hymes 1972, defines communicative competence as an intuitive mastery that the native speaker possesses to use and interpret language appropriately. When a native speaker speaks he knows grammatical correct forms and where and when to use these sentences. Hymes distinguished four aspects of this competence: Systematic potential; Appropriacy; Occurrence and Feasibility.

OBJECTIVES

Objectives are the guideline for teachers to develop the contents through the use of activities in the classroom context. However, the new Organic Law 8/2013, 9th of December for the improvement of Quality in Education establishes as a starting point the evaluation criteria and learning standards as guidance in the designing of the teaching activity. It will represent a big change in the structure of didactic units. According to the law: “The objectives of the area of foreign languages in Primary Education must be considered as contributions made from this area in order to achieve the objectives of the stage”.

As is established in its article 7, Royal Decree 126/2014, of 28th of February, the primary education will establish the main objectives. Our community is going to continue this working on D. 89/2014, 10th July, where the objectives will contribute to develop children’s skills which enable them to:

d. Knowing, understand and respect different cultures and the differences between people, equal rights and opportunities of men and women as non- discrimination with people with disabilities.

Acquiring at least one foreign language communicative competence which allows them to express and understand easy messages and develop on everyday situations.
Developing basic mathematical skills and initiation in solving problems which require elementary maths operation, geometric knowledge and estimates, as well as being able to apply them to everyday situations.
Knowing the fundamental aspects of natural science, social science, geography, history and culture.
Starting in the use, for the learning, of information and communication technology developing a critical mind to the received and produced messages.

CONTENTS

In our community of Madrid the curriculum that we must take as a referent when we are planning our teaching practise is Decree 89/2014, here our community, taking as a base the state curriculum, is going to develop the four blocks of contents to each level, as well as syntactic discursive contents for all the stage. Taking as an example the first level of primary education, we can find the following contents:

Oral comprehension

Characteristic sounds of English language. The sound and name of alphabet letters.
Comprehension of key words and simple messages.
Comprehension of brief and simple texts from different sources, including audiovisual and ICT.
Comprehension of English language messages emitted on different stresses.

Oral expression

Knowledge of basic phonetics differences from English language, through words and simple sentences.
Emission of words and brief and simple messages with a correct pronunciation, intonation, stress and rhythm. Use of routines, songs and rhymes.
Use of habitual expressions inside the classroom as greetings, say thank you, ask for help or permission, etc.
Basic vocabulary.
Use of simple sentences about oneself: name, age, etc.

Reading comprehension

Recognition of principal sounds from English language letters and groups of sounds for the words reading.
Reading of words and simple sentences.
Introduction to tales, comics and other narrative texts with a high visual aid.
Recognition of high frequency words.
Use of picture dictionaries.

Written expression

Capital letters and stop.
Copy and write basic vocabulary.
Use of picture dictionaries.

Syntactic- discursive contents

Expression of logical relationships: conjunction (and).
Affirmation: affirmative sentences.
Negation: negative sentences with not.
Exclamation: exclamatory sentences (I love…!).
Interrogation: wh- questions (what; where; hoy many; who).
Expression of time: present (present simple).
Expression of aspect: punctual (simple tenses).
Expression of mode: permission (can), capacity (can), obligation (have (got) to).
Expression of existence (to be; there is/are); la entity (nouns, pronouns, articles, demonstratives); la quality ([very]+ adjective).

At the end of the stage the community is going to set the following English culture contents:

Costumes and cultural traditions in English speaking countries.
Songs, dialogues and discussions.
Introduction to children literature in English language (tales, poems, rhymes and easy theatre representations).
History and characters from English speaking countries.

KEY COMPETENCES

At the end of the primary stage our pupils must achieve the following competences that we could find in the Decree 89/2014. In a wide way, they will be explained in Order ECD/65/2015, of 21st of January. From our area we are going to work them in the following way:

1º Linguistic communication competence. The linguistic communication competence refers to the use of language as a means of both oral and written communication as well as a device for learning and controlling behaviour and emotions. Communication in foreign language also demands capacities such as meditation and intercultural understanding. This competence contributes to the creation of a constructive relationship with the environment. Learning to communicate is to establish links with other people, approaching other cultures that gain in consideration and sympathy as they become less unknown.

2º Mathematical competence and science and technology basic competences. It is the skill that uses numbers and the basic operations, symbols and forms of expression and mathematical reasoning in order to produce and interpret information, know more about quantities and spatial aspects of reality and solve problems related to daily life and the world of professional work. It is the ability to interact with the physical world, not only its natural aspects but also in the ones that are generated by human action, in a way that facilitates the comprehension of events and the prediction of consequences.

3º Treatment of information and digital competence. It refers to the ability to search, obtain, process and communicate information and turn it into knowledge.

4º Learning how to learn competence. Learning how to learn entails getting initiated in the learning process and being able to continue it autonomously. It also involves performing well when faced by uncertainties and searching for answers that meet the logic of rational knowledge.

5º Social and civic competence. This competence allows social coexistence, understands the social reality of the world we live in and makes use of democratic citizenship. It incorporates forms of individual behaviour that enable people to live in an increasingly plural society, mix with other people, commit and take on conflicts.

6º Self Autonomy and initiative competence. This competence refers to the possibility of being able to choose using their own judgement and carry out the initiatives that are needed to develop the choice selected as well as being responsible for it from an individual, social and professional perspective.

7º Cultural expression and conscience This competence involves appreciating, understanding and valuing cultural and artistic expressions from a critical perspective.

EVALUATION

The learning standards are going to be set for all the primary education stages in Decree 89/2014. They are going to be classified into 4 blocks: oral comprehension; oral expression; reading comprehension and written expression. In the first foreign language the evaluation criteria and standards of evaluation are the ones established in Royal Decree 126/2014, which are the corresponding to the end of the stage. We will take them as a referent to establish indicators at each unit as a useful way to evaluate the progress of our students in a didactic unit. In Decree 98/2014 we cannot find the evaluation criteria due to the fact that we are going to take them from Royal Decree 126/2014 as a reference. The learning standards established for all the primary stage are the followings:

Oral comprehension

Understanding the essentiality of advertising announcements on products in that it is interesting.
Understanding messages and public announcements that contain instructions, indications or another type of information.
Understanding what is said to him in habitual simple transactions.
Identifying the topic of a daily predictable conversation that takes place in his presence.
Understanding the essential information in brief and simple conversations in which it informs that they treat familiar topics.
Understanding the principal ideas of simple and well-structured presentations on familiar topics or of his interest.
Understanding the general sense and the essential thing and distinguishing the changes of topic of television programs or other audio-visual material inside his area of interest.

Oral expression

Doing brief and simple, before prepared and tested presentations, on daily topics or of his interest.
Getting involved in daily transactions.
Taking part in face-to-face conversations or for technical means.
Taking part in an interview.

Reading comprehension

Understanding instructions, indications and basic information.
Understanding essential information and locating specific information in informative simple material.
Understanding brief and simple correspondence that treats familiar topics.
Understanding the essential part and the principal points of brief news and articles of magazines for young people who talk about what they are familiar or interested in.

Written expression

Completing a brief form or a card with his personal information.
Writing personal brief and simple correspondence.

CRITERIA TO BE REFLECTED IN THE CENTRE PROJECTS

We can find in our teaching practise four levels of concretion; the first level of concretion is going to deal with the official curriculum established by the state and concreted by each community; the second level of concretion is going to be concerned at each school by the teaching teams in the educational project of the centre; and the last and third level of concretion is going to be done by each teacher at the corresponding class in the didactic programme.

First we are going to deal with THE EDUCATIONAL PROJECT OF THE CENTRE (PEC).

One of the aspects of the reform is to give autonomy to the academic institution. This autonomy means that the Educational Project must not be the same in every centre, on the contrary, it must respond to the economic and sociocultural context in which it is involved, to the particularities of the students and the educational concept of the teachers. The Educational Project contains a set of decisions adopted by the School Community with respect to the educational options and the general organisation of the institution. In the Educational Project of the Centre the following decisions must be established:

WHO ARE WE?

Identity signs.
Aims of the Centre where these identity signs are specified.

WHAT DO WE WANT?

Review of general objectives of the curriculum for the stages that are taught at the centre.
Relationships of collaboration among all those involved in the Educative Process.

HOW ARE WE ORGANISED?

The organisational structure that will make those objectives possible.

CONCLUSION

Over the years, the foreign language teaching has totally changed. Nowadays, it is really important to get communicative competence in the teaching-learning process.

To develop an appropriate foreign language learning, teachers must consider that learners are the centre of the educational process when teaching a second language. If we want to develop an individualised education, it is essential to follow the guidelines of the curriculum, adapting its elements to our learners’ characteristics and needs and to the teaching situations of our school.

Furthermore, teachers must bear in mind other important aspects that can determine the foreign language accuracy and the education success, in general. Therefore, we want to focus our attention on fostering diversity and equality, reading and ICT’s plans. All these programs allow us to centre in realistic and relevant situations of education and to develop a personalised education, which is adapted to the pupils’ needs. More specifically, ICT’s can be fantastic tools to adapt the materials to the learning needs and teaching situations and to foster learning to learn competence, among others.

Regarding methodologies, the contributions of the multiple intelligences and cooperative learning (GARDNER) and neuroscience are also very outstanding in this unit.

Learning a language can be compared to having the key to open the door to a new culture. The more languages we speak, the more knowledge of understanding of our world we get.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

hlfbkqq

UNIT 21. FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA PLANNING: DIDACTIC UNITS. CRITERIA FOR THE SEQUENCE AND TIMING OF CONTENTS AND OBJECTIVES. SELECTION OF METHODOLOGY TO USE IN LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES.

Theorical bases

Methodology

Materials

Authenticity

Learning how to learn

Heterogeneity

Recent Notes

Subjects

Publicidad