Teaching English

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

• 4. Quality education
• 8. Decend work and economic growth

Objectives

The subject aims to introduce students to key concepts in the teaching of English to young learners in Primary school. Since it is a compulsory module for all teacher trainees, the scope of the subject goes beyond providing students with resources or strategies in the EFL class, and endeavours to foster positive attitudes to foreign languages in future educators in order to promote plurilingualism and a sense of European citizenship. The specific objectives of the program are for the students to gain a professional understanding of:

• how foreign languages are contextualised at school
• how foreign languages are acquired by young learners
• how to create the most suitable classroom environment for young learner acquisition of foreign languages
• how to design and create materials for the young learner classroom
• how English can become a key tool for intercultural communication
• how active participation may result in more effective language learning

Learning outcomes

• Analyse the most important variations of English language learning situations. (LO3)
• Propose learning objectives and strategies based on the analysis of specific situations. (LO2)
• Understand the general structure and objectives of the primary school language curriculum. (LO2)
• Design and plan learning situations consistent with the curricular organisation of the language and literature area. (LO6)
• Understand the linguistic learning processes (oral and written) of primary school students. (LO3)
• Analyse the oral, written expression and reading comprehension of primary school students. (LO3)
• Understand didactic approaches, materials, types of learning, evaluation activities, and project work proposals applicable to the language area of primary school. (LO5)
• Design and plan learning and evaluation activities. (LO2, LO5)
• Act with commitment and responsibility in familiar situations and those specific ones of the profession. (LO7)

Competencies

Specific skills

• Design, plan and assess teaching proposals for different areas of the curriculum, consistent with theories of learning and encouraging cooperative work.
• Develop and adapt educational resources for different curricular purposes, using information and communication technology as basic tools for learning.
• Manage learning spaces in contexts of diversity and inclusion, taking into account the needs arising from disorders and learning difficulties, in order to establish appropriate guidelines for intervention in collaboration with other services, professionals and families.
• Promote the development of global communicative competence in multilingual contexts by using different strategies and linguistic and literary resources.

Core skills

• Be a critical thinker before knowledge in all its dimensions. Show intellectual, cultural and scientific curiosity and a commitment to professional rigour and quality.

Content

1. Teaching English in primary education
   1. The primary EFL curriculum. Characteristics and language development
   2. English as Foreign Language (EFL)
   3. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
   4. Innovation projects and European programmes (eTwinning)
2. How children learn a foreign language
   1. Basic principles of foreign language acquisition
   2. Learning grammar and vocabulary
3. How to teach English in primary education
   1. Listening and reading
   2. Writing and speaking
   3. Textbooks, teaching materials and classroom resources
   4. Assessment

Evaluation

Process evaluation

The subject will be continuously assessed, with evaluation of personal work, directed work and two exams. The students will be required to develop their communicative competence in English language, both in spoken and written form.

The assessed pieces of work will be done both individually and in groups. They will be performed in the university. 

Grading system

The final mark will be the result of adding up the following percentages:

• Exam 1: 25% (individual mark)
• Exam 2: 25% (individual mark)
• Class activities: 30% (individual and group mark)
• Final project: 20% (group mark)

Attendance is compulsory in all activities related to the subject.

Students are required to obtain a mark of 5 or more for each of the assessed tasks and exams. All assessed pieces of work must be presented in accordance with the established deadline. It is not possible to resit any assessed work that was not presented on time.

Some of the assessed tasks can be presented again, with the appropriate improvements made, during the final week of the subject. The 2nd sitting exam will be done during the resit week.

In the event of any doubt regarding the authorship of a written assignment, the teacher reserves the right to orally question the student to verify their understanding of the content.

Resits are only for those students who failed the first evaluation. It is not possible to hand in again pieces of assessed work that obtained a mark of 5 or more, or retake exams that were passed, in order to try to obtain a higher mark.

If one (or more) of the assessed pieces of work fails to obtain a mark of 5 or more after the resit period, the whole subject will have to be repeated.

If the percentage of the failed tasks and exam is more than 50% of the totality of the subject, this will be failed without an option to resit any of the parts during the resit week.

Both content and language will be assessed in all the tasks and exam. The language will be assessed in accordance with the document called Criteria of Evaluation which will be presented to the students at the beginning of the course.

Methodology

This module is an introduction to foreign language teaching in primary education, and the aim of the methodology is to foster active individual participation and group interaction in the class. It is of paramount importance for the students to attend regularly and to complete assignments on time. The subject is structured around 4 main elements:

• Whole group sessions: Contents will be presented and analyzed
• Split group sessions: Hands-on practical lessons
• Mentoring: Individually and in groups
• Home Assignments: These are compulsory and should be completed as intructed by the teacher

The module is entirely taught in English and students are strongly encouraged to use it at all times.

In case of a major public health emergency that involves confinement, teaching will be implemented online and the methodology will be modified accordingly.

Bibliography

Key references

• Cameron, Lynne (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge University Press.
• Enever, J. (2015). The advantages and disadvantages of English as a foreign language with young learners. Bloomsbury Academic, 13-29.
• Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. M. (2013). How languages are learned (4 ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Lobo, M.J. (2012). When I grow up I want to be a teacher. APAC Quarterly Magazine, 74, 32-38.
• Pinter, Annamaria (2017). Teaching young language learners. Oxford University Press.

Further reading

Teachers will provide complementary bibliography and compulsory reading throughout the course via the Virtual Campus.