Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Methods for Teaching English As a Foreign Language 1: Grammar and the Communicative Approach
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish
Teaching staff
Introduction
The subject EFL Teaching Methods I offers students the opportunity to focus on and develop an advanced understanding of different theories and practical ways of developing children’s communicative and grammatical competence in the additional languages classroom. Apart from the focus on more well-known approaches for developing children's linguistic competences, the subject also considers more recent shifts in the field of language teaching and learning towards understanding communication and interaction in the languages classroom more holistically. For this reason, the subject takes into consideration plurilingual, multimodal and action-oriented approaches. In addition, students will integrate and reflect on effective uses of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) tools with respect to their professional practice.
The subject requires students to engage and apply the theoretical principles learnt in class to their own teaching and learning scenarios as real cases and then feed this back into the group for further analysis and discussion. The subject considers different cases in order to identify the most effective strategies for developing different children’s communicative and grammatical competence, taking into consideration each learner profile (e.g. age, language level, interests, previous knowledge and if they have any additional needs) as well as different school contexts.
Pre-course requirements
The subject EFL Teaching Methods I takes into consideration students’ previous knowledge and skills related to teaching and learning additional languages. The subject requires that students work or have contact with children in order to practise various approaches and techniques taught in class.
Objectives
EFL Teaching Methods I is a subject with the aim of engaging students with teaching and learning approaches and techniques in order to develop children’s communicative and grammatical competence. It is worth 6 ECTS. Students will learn and reflect on the process of language learning, analyse different approaches and current pedagogical practices and plan lessons for different stages of the school curriculum while attending to children’s different language levels and previous knowledge. In addition, students will design innovative language learning activities that encourage children to develop linguistic, plurilingual and intercultural competences in accordance with the Common European Framework of Languages (CEFR) and know how to evaluate these. The achievement of these objectives will be carried out through the completion of continuous evaluation activities throughout the course.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CN01 - The student will be able to identify the processes of acquiring and learning English as a foreign language on English literature and culture.
- CP03 - The student will be able to work as part of a team effectively in multilingual, multicultural, interdisciplinary, professional and/or academic environments.
- CP04 - The student will be able to use adequate resources and strategies to improve as a professional.
- CP05 - The student will be able to integrate information and communication technologies into teaching and learning activities, teaching management and professional development.
- CP06 - The student will be able to generate innovative and competitive suggestions as a professional and as a researcher
- CP07 - The student will be able to plan the process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language, in addition to English language literature and culture at different educational levels, taking into account the level and previous education of pupils.
- CP08 - The student will be able to design innovative teaching proposals that encourage pupils to develop their linguistic, multilingual and intercultural skills, according to the requirements of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
- CP09 - The student will be able to assess the development of pupils’ English language skills during different stages of education, according to the requirements of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
- CP11 - The student will respect the fundamental rights of equality between men and women, the promotion of human rights, and the values inherent to a culture of democracy and peace, using language that avoids androcentricity and stereotypes.
- HB01 - The student will be able to recognise the phonetic and phonological aspects of English in the classroom, to begin teaching the pronunciation of English as a foreign language.
- HB02 - The student will be able to make judgements based on limited or incomplete information, including reflections on social and ethical responsibilities
- HB03 - The student will know how to communicate conclusions and the reasoning behind them to specialised and non-specialised audiences in a clear and unambiguous way
- HB04 - The student will be able to apply skills that allow them to continue studying in a largely self-directed or autonomous way.
- HB05 - The student will be able to apply information (spoken, written, video, digital or multimedia) to the teaching of English as a foreign language.
- HB06 - The student will be able to apply information (spoken, written, video, digital or multimedia) to the teaching of English as a foreign language
- HB07 - The student will be able to organise their working time according to their learning priorities and objectives, encouraging self-learning.
- HB08 - The student will be able to offer informed decision-making in the field of teaching English as a foreign language.
- HB09 - The student will be able to apply educational innovation and research models to the acquisition, teaching and use of English as a foreign language in specific circumstances, in the school context, and/or in contexts related to education, in a way that links theoretical knowledge with educational practice.
- HB10 - The student will be able to provide a critical analysis of their own work.
- HB13 - The student will be able to differentiate between methodological approaches and current and innovative pedagogical practices at different educational stages and in bilingual and multilingual contexts.
- HB14 - The student will be able to make effective use of digital resources for teaching and learning the English language.
- HB17 - The student will be able to express themselves in English, both orally and in writing, and both inside and outside the classroom, undertaking all the communication functions that are typical of an English language teacher.
Learning outcomes of the subject
The learning outcomes will be linked to the selected competences in each case. Among others, the following stand out:
Students should be able to:
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Analyse the diversity of current and innovative methodological approaches and pedagogical practices applied to the different educational stages in bilingual and multilingual contexts.
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Effectively apply digital resources for English language teaching and learning and manage and promote computer-assisted English language teaching programmes.
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Plan the process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language, while taking the level and previous knowledge of the students into account.
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Design innovative didactic proposals that promote the development of the linguistic, multilingual and intercultural competences of the students, based on the requirements of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; while also promoting reflection, openness and respect towards other languages and cultures.
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Analyse and evaluate the development of the students’ linguistic competence in English at different educational stages, based on the requirements of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Syllabus
Completion of various practical activities connected to each taught session. The sessions will include the following topics:
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Introduction and revision of previous knowledge related to theories of and approaches to additional language learning.
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Planning for learning: developing learners’ communicative and grammatical competence within an integrated, task and/or project-based, action orientated approach.
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Insights from classroom practice and current trends in language teaching and learning and their application to the additional languages classroom: plurilingual and intercultural approaches for developing communicative competence.
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Insights from classroom practice and current trends in language teaching and learning and their application to the languages classroom: Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and multimodal approaches for developing communicative and grammatical competence.
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Assessing learning: choosing and developing evaluation tools for assessing linguistic competences of children.
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Insights from classroom practice and conclusions.
Teaching and learning activities
Online
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1 |
Online Lectures |
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2 |
Online Practical Classes |
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4 |
Case Study |
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5 |
Project-Based Learning |
Evaluation systems and criteria
Online
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Degree of Participation in Online Forums and Debates |
30% |
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Design of Teaching Materials and/or Proposal of an Educational Intervention |
70% |