Syllabus Information

1.1. Introduction

The main objective of the course is for learners to develop communicative competence, consolidating an intermediate level, with special attention to those aspects in which learners’ prior knowledge may be scarce or deficient (such as pronunciation and the language functions that are necessary to activate higher order cognitive skills, as well as the development of metalinguistic and metapragmatic awareness), at the same time as learners reflect on classroom procedures, learning processes and strategies for a more effective learning and in order to develop a specific knowledge of the English language in the professional field of education.

1.2. Recommendations to take this course

The student will be required to adopt an active role to take part in the different activities to be done in and out of class (oral comprehension and interaction, reading and writing), as well as in those activities focused on reflecting on metacognitive strategies and the learning process itself. For this reason, it is highly advisable to have an intermediate level of competence before taking the course.

1.3. Context and importance of this course in the degree

This course responds to the necessity of the Primary Education teacher to communicate effectively both in oral and written form in English. This competence in the foreign language is a key tool for the learners’ future continuous professional development.
On the other hand, this course will help learners to acquire and develop skills that will allow them to reflect both on their own process of learning of the foreign language and on classroom dynamics and practices, with a view to contributing to their professional development.
Finally, the communicative, content-based approach to the learning of the foreign language will facilitate a significant exchange of ideas and opinions on Education (adopting an intercultural perspective), which will have a positive effect on general competence development of the future teacher.

1.4. Activities and key dates

Activities and key dates will be made known to students on Moodle or through a written document handed out when the course starts. Final exam dates are available at the site of each of the three Faculties where the Degree in Primary Education is taught.

2.1. Learning goals

1: Understand intermediate level written texts about specific topics in Primary Education (such as the ones listed in the following section) and about other, general interest topics that may also be relevant to the Primary Education teacher.
2: Listen and understand both main ideas and specific details in oral texts of different nature and speakers from different backgrounds
3: Express themselves and interact with other speakers of English about both specific and general interest topics
4: Produce coherent, well-structured written texts that follow certain given genre conventions, in an appropriate register and taking into account the particular communicative situation
5: Identifies, describes and evaluates classroom practices (procedures, techniques, methodological resources and didactic sequences) characteristic of an L2 teaching-learning process based on the development of communicative competence

2.2. Importance of learning goals

Future teachers will acquire and develop the knowledge and skills required to communicate in the foreign language, and to share knowledge with their peers of various cultures and countries
Future teachers will be able to make use of materials and resources of their professional interest in the foreign language

Society demands a high level of communicative competence in the foreign language so that teachers can use it as the vehicle of instruction in the English as a Foreign Language classroom, as well as to teach content subjects in the foreign language, in order to contribute to their potential learners’ development of communicative competence.

3.1. Aims of the course

Since the main objective of the course is that learners should develop communicative competence in English, at the same time as they reflect on their own learning process, expected learning outcomes are both the development of oral and written skills and of the learners’ capacity to describe and evaluate classroom practices and procedures.

3.2. Competences

1: Interact in oral and written form in the target language
2: Effectively deal with varied learning situations in multicultural and multilingual contexts
3: Reflect on classroom practices and procedures for effective teaching and learning; develop attitudes and skills for both autonomous and cooperative learning with a view to applying such skills in their future teaching situations.
4: Take ownership of their own learning
5: Effectively work in teams, adopting different roles when necessary
6: Use and apply ICT for their own learning, for communication and for knowledge sharing in varied contexts
7: Manage their own continuous professional development and encourage quality education

4.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)

1: Assessment with take the form of two tests, a written test and an oral test, each one containing several activities (see below), which will be focused on the following skills (note percentages in brackets):

1.  Written test:

a. Reading comprehension activities (15%)

b. Listening comprehension activities (15%)

c. Writing activities (20%)

d. Use of English activities (20%)

e. Analysis and evaluation of classroom practices and skills development and strategies (10%)

2. Oral test:

Oral interaction activities (20%). Note that, since it is an individual test, it is scheduled on a different time and place.
Reflection on classroom practices will be addressed in both, oral and written, tests.

Evaluation criteria

In reflection activities on classroom practices, the student should be able to identify, describe and evaluate procedures, techniques and methodological resources used in the classroom, as well as applied processes and strategies that lead to the development of communicative competence in English as Foreign language using metalanguage in an appropriate manner

In oral and written comprehension activities, students will be required to understand both the general idea and the details of texts on specific topics in the field of education and the teaching of foreign languages, in varied communicative situations.
In writing activities and in oral interaction activities, students will be required to produce messages on specific topics, with accuracy and a certain degree of creativity and complexity, and adapted to the particular communicative context.
In the Use of English activities, students will be required to demonstrate their competence in the foreign language at a consolidated intermediate level in the use of specific vocabulary in the field of education as well as lexical-grammatical and discursive structures.

Assessment criteria and requirements to pass the subject

Given the instrumental character of a foreign language, the following hurdle requirements are mandatory:

A mark of at least 60% in the sum of all the activities is required for passing, on condition that the student gets a mark of at least 50% in the Use of English section and in each of the four skills listed above.
If students do not get a 50% mark in the Use of English section and in each of the four skills listed above, or a 60% mark in the sum of all the activities, they will be given a fail mark.When you pass one of the two tests as a whole (oral or written) with at least 60% of the maximum grade in first call, it is not necessary to retake it in second call.
To calculate the final mark the following formula will be used:
If N is the mark out of 10 in the sum of the oral and written text, and CF is the final mark, the latter is calculated with this formula:
- If N is lower than 6, CF=N*5/6
- If N is higher than or equal to 6, CF=(N-6)*5/4 + 5

Overall test and second call

In September the tests and the hurdle requirements will be the same as in June, but the students will only have to re-sit the test they failed. The marks of the test they passed will be kept.

Fifth and sixth retake

In fifth and sixth retake, the tests and the hurdle requirements will be the same as in all previous retakes, but the tests will be assessed by an examining board.

5.1. Methodological overview

-The task-based approach such that students must perform tasks using the language for a given communicative purpose and working collaboratively and cooperatively in groups in which students acquire specific roles and responsibilities.

-The use of authentic materials that are relevant and meaningful to Education students

-The use of technology in and outside the classroom as a motivating element for students and to promote autonomy in the learning of a foreign language.

-Autonomous guided learning in the development of linguistic competence outside the classroom (flipped learning).

-The development of thinking skills to promote a deep and meaningful learning of the language and of the specific themes developed.

5.2. Learning tasks

1. Oral and written practice of the language through the integration of the skills and the use of the language with a clear communicative purpose for the resolution of significant and relevant tasks for Education students.
2. Extensive reading outside the classroom and intensive reading in the classroom to develop effective reading strategies
3. Viewing of video sequences and audio listening for comprehension and analysis.
4. Oral activities for identification and discrimination of segmentals and suprasegmentals; controlled and guided practice oral production activities for the improvement of pronunciation with a view to ensuring the students’ oral intelligibility.
7. Activities that integrate reading and writing for the identification and accurate use of discourse markers and structure
8. Role-plays and simulation activities
9. Debates and oral presentations
10. Writing as product through the use of models; writing as cognitive process; collaborative writing
11. Online activities
12. Creative writing activities (stories, rhymes, poems)
13. Self- and peer- assessment activities through checklists
14. Participation in cooperative groups where members take specific roles and responsibilities

5.3. Syllabus

Contents:

Learning activities will turn around the following specific topics of interest for the Primary teacher:

-   Education today (e.g. schooling, alternative education systems, university life, school projects, new methodologies)

-   Children and their world (e.g. games, gamification in the classroom, stories, picture books)

-   Technologies and education (e.g. social networks, cyberbullying, Edu-Tech)

-   Diversity and education (e.g. multiple intelligences, interculturality, gender equality, English as a Lingua Franca –ELF)

5.4. Course planning and calendar

Class sessions
Submission of assignments
Exams

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources

[BB: Bibliografía básica / BC: Bibliografía complementaria]

• Zaragoza:
• [BB] Alexander, L.G.. Longman English grammar practice : for intermediate students / L. G. Alexander . 1st ed., 19th impr. London ; New York : Longman, 2006
• [BB] Hancock, Mark. English pronunciation in use : self-study and classroom use. Intermediate / Mark Hancock . 2nd ed., reprint. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012
• [BB] Harmer, Jeremy. Essential Teacher Knowledge : Core concepts in english language teaching : Essential / Jeremy Harmer . Harlow, Essex : Pearson Education, 2012
• [BB] Harmer, Jeremy. The practice of English language teaching / Jeremy Harmer. 4th ed., 8th imp. Harlow : Longman, 2013
• [BB] Jones, L. (1985). Use of English : grammar practice activities for intermediate and upper-intermediate students. Cambridge University Press, ; Cambridge [etc.]
• [BB] McCarthy, Michael. English Vocabulary in Use : Upper-intermediate / Michael McCarthy, Felicity O'Dell . - 2nd ed., 9th print. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005
• [BB] Redman, Stuart. English vocabulary in use : pre-intermediate and intermediate / Stuart Redman . - New ed., reimp. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003
• [BB] Vince, Michael. Intermediate language practice : with key / Michael Vince . 1st ed. Oxford : Macmillan Heinemann, 1998
• Huesca:
• [BB] Alexander, L.G.. Longman English grammar practice : for intermediate students / L. G. Alexander . 1st ed., 19th impr. London ; New York : Longman, 2006
• [BB] Hancock, Mark. English pronunciation in use : self-study and classroom use. Intermediate / Mark Hancock . 2nd ed., reprint. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012
• [BB] Harmer, Jeremy. Essential Teacher Knowledge : Core concepts in english language teaching : Essential / Jeremy Harmer . 1st. ed., 2nd. impr. Harlow, Essex : Pearson Education, 2013
• [BB] Harmer, Jeremy. The practice of English language teaching / Jeremy Harmer. 4th ed., 8th imp. Harlow : Longman, 2013
• [BB] Jones, Leo. Use of english : grammar practice activities for intermediate and upper-intermediate students. Teacher's book / Leo Jones . 1st publ., 3rd. repr. Cambridge [etc.] : Cambridge University Press, 1986
• [BB] McCarthy, Michael. English vocabulary in Use : [upper-intermediate] / Michael McCarthy and Felicity O'Dell . 3rd. ed. Cambridge : University Press, 2013 (repr.)
• [BB] Redman, Stuart : English vocabulary in use : pre-intermediate and intermediate, With answers and CDROM / Stuart Redman . - 1st. ed., 7th. print. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2015
• [BB] Vince, Michael : Intermediate language practice : English Grammar and vocabulary. With key / Michael Vince . - New ed. Oxford : Macmillan Heinemann, 2010
• Teruel:
• [BB] Alexander, L.G.. Longman English grammar practice : for intermediate students / L. G. Alexander . 1st ed., 19th impr. London ; New York : Longman, 2006
• [BB] Hancock, Mark. English pronunciation in use : self-study and classroom use. Intermediate / Mark Hancock . 2nd ed., reprint. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012
• [BB] Harmer, Jeremy. Essential Teacher Knowledge : Core concepts in english language teaching : Essential / Jeremy Harmer . Harlow, Essex : Pearson Education, 2012
• [BB] Harmer, Jeremy. The practice of English language teaching / Jeremy Harmer. 4th ed., 8th imp. Harlow : Longman, 2013
• [BB] Jones, L. (1985). Use of English : grammar practice activities for intermediate and upper-intermediate students. Cambridge University Press, ; Cambridge [etc.]
• [BB] McCarthy, Michael. English Vocabulary in Use : Upper-intermediate / Michael McCarthy, Felicity O'Dell . - 2nd ed., 9th print. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005
• [BB] Redman, Stuart. English vocabulary in use : pre-intermediate and intermediate / Stuart Redman . - New ed., reimp. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003
• [BB] Vince, Michael : Intermediate language practice : English Grammar and vocabulary. With key / Michael Vince . - New ed. Oxford : Macmillan Heinemann, 2010