Syllabus Information

1.1. Introduction

This is a compulsory course which focuses on aspects related to oral production in English. In particular, the objective is to make students aware of the particular features and communication strategies of oral discourse, as well as the implications for the teaching of this skill in the ESL classroom. In addition, it attempts to consolidate the student’s previous knowledge and abilities for identifying, producing and representing the English vowels and consonants, as well as its suprasegmental feature (stress, rhythm and intonation), and to provide some pedagogical guidelines for teaching.

1.3. Context and importance of this course in the degree

For the ESL teacher developing oral skills is of paramount importance in order to undertake perform proficiently and to actively promote the acquisition of this skill among their students.

This course will allow students to obtain a deeper knowledge of the features of oral discourse and English phonology. Students will also learn to develop and teach these aspects so as to integrate them with other skills and contents from other subjects within their Master’s.

2.1. Learning goals

In order to pass the course, the student will be expected to achieve the following outcomes

1 Communicate orally and interact in English correctly, fluently and intelligibly taking into account the context and the communicative setting.

2 Use the English language appropriately in the classroom in order to explain, provide instructions, convey meaning, elicit student participation and foster classroom interaction.

3 Identify, describe and explain the main distinctive features of oral English.

4 Identify the implications of the specific features of oral discourse for the teaching of English as a second language and to apply them to the creation or adaptation of classroom materials.

5 Identify, represent and produced accurately the English vowels and consonants.

6 Identify patterns of stress, rhythm and intonation in English and to produce patters appropriate to the communicative situation.

7 Create, design and adapt activities for teaching the English phonological system, stress, rhythm and intonation.

8 Plan, implement and evaluate activities for the teaching of Oral production in English.

2.2. Importance of learning goals

For the future ESL teacher in Secondary Education it is essential to have an adequate oral proficiency in this language so as to be able to communicate fluently and accurately in the classroom, as well as to model pronunciation and interaction for his students.

Having an explicit knowledge of the features of oral English, English phonemes and prosodic aspects, as well as being aware of the main difficulties which Spanish learners face when communicating in English can be very useful for developing the objectives related to the teaching of oral skills in the curriculum. Finally, the teacher in training needs to acquire the competences and strategies required for elaborating, planning and implementing activities which will help their students at secondary level develop their own oral interaction skills.

3.1. Aims of the course

The aim of the course is to improve the oral competence of the students, in particular those subcompetencies which are most relevant for the ESL teacher and which have the largest effect on the learning process in the ESL classroom.

In order to do this, we will describe systematically the features of English oral discourse and will study the vowel and consonant phonemes, as well as the prosodic aspects (stress, rhythm and intonation) of the English language. We will analyze the challenges for the teaching and learning of oral skills, and will develop tasks and activities aimed at developing that skill in the classroom.

3.2. Competences

1 Communicate orally and interact in English correctly, fluently and intelligibly taking into account the context and the communicative setting.

2 Identify, describe and explain the main distinctive features of oral English

3 Create, plan, implement and evaluate activities for the teaching of English phonology and oral production.

4 Address their students in English fluently and accurately, providing instructions and explanation, and promoting interaction in the ESL classroom.

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

FIRST CALL
OPTION A Students attending a minimum of 85% of the sessions can be assessed through the following evaluation activities:

1. Design and elaboration of a lesson plan for the teaching of specific sounds or phonemes (30%)

1.a. The lesson plan will need to be contextualized and integrated in the teaching of oral skills.

1.b. Students will need to draft the objectives for the activities and to clearly describe the steps for their exploitation in class, as well as the materials to be used.

1.c. The outcomes set must be realistic and adapted to the level of the students.

1.d. Creativity and originality of the task and materials will be valued.

2. Design and elaboration of a lesson plan with activities for the teaching of suprasegmental features (30%)

2.a. The lesson plan will need to be contextualized and integrated in the teaching of oral skills.

2.b. Students will need to draft the objectives for the activities and to clearly describe the steps for their exploitation in class, as well as the materials to be used.

2.c. The outcomes set must be realistic and adapted to the level of the students.

2.d. Creativity and originality of the task and materials will be valued.

3. Implementation of the activities designed and planned (25%)

3.a. The student will need to put the activity into practice class and demonstrate that he is able to organize and manage the class for the implementation of the task and the achievement of the objectives set, providing clear and precise instructions and explanation and promoting interaction

3.b. The student will need to provide instruments to evaluate classroom interaction during the activity.

4. Completion of activities and tasks suggested by the teacher both in class and at home, including readings, analysis of readings, practical exercised, evaluation of fragments of oral discourse, participation in classroom discussion, self and peer evaluation activities, etc. (15%)

4.a. The students will need to show they have assimilated key contents

4.b. The students will need to show evidence of having completed the readings and reflected about the aspects proposed.

4.c. Students will need to connect and analyzed the key contents discussed in class.

OPTION B Students who fail to attend classes regularly (minimum of 85%), whose assignments have not reached a minimum satisfactory level or who wish to improve their grade can sit a final exam which will consist of: 

Written exam

- short questions related to the theoretical aspects of the units in the program through which students will demonstrate sufficient understanding of those concepts. (35%)

- a critical analysis of a transcribed oral text and identification of its key features attending to the communicative situation (15%). This task will be assessed based on the same criteria established for continuous assessment.

- an analysis of an oral production activity, including the identification and assessment of its objectives stages and context. (10%)

- planning and design of an activity focused on a specific phonological aspect and/or an oral communicative activity. Evaluation of this activity will follow the same criteria established for continuous assessment. (20%) 

Oral exam

- Implementation of one of the activities developed in the written exam. Evaluation of this activity will follow the same criteria established for continuous assessment. (20%)

2 SECOND CALL

The final exam for the second evaluation call will have an identical structure and evaluation criteria as that in the first call. The students grade will be based entirely on the mark obtained in this exam.

5.1. Methodological overview

The methodology followed in this course is oriented towards achievement of the learning objectives. It promotes student centered learning, including learner’s needs and interests. The activities proposed focus on students’ individual work. The student will need to work autonomously (completing readings, reflection tasks, practical exercises, creating materials) and in group (taking part in discussions, presentations and microteaching sessions in class).

5.2. Learning tasks

The course includes the following learning tasks:

• Lectures.
• Individual and group work activities aimed at practicing stress, rythm and intonation patterns in English.
• Oral presentations in English focusing on the materials created or adapted, as well as implementations of those materials.
• Completion of suggested readings.
• Analysis and essay on an oral text.
• Practical exercises on the English phonological system and on its stress, rhythm and intonation patterns.
• Planning, elaboration and assessment of activities for teaching pronunciation and oral production

5.3. Syllabus

The course will address the following topics:

1. Teaching and learning oral communication: expectations, challenges and difficulties.
2. Teaching and learning oral communication in English in the curricula for Secondary Education and Official School of Languages; connection to the CEFR.
3. English vowels and consonants; guidelines for teaching
4. Prosodic aspects: stress, rhythm and intonation in English; guidelines for teaching
5. Oral discourse in English: main characteristics and distinctive features; communication strategies
6. Pedagogical guidelines for implementing and assessing activities for the integrated teaching of oral production in the ESL classroom..

5.4. Course planning and calendar

Further information concerning the timetable, classroom, office hours, assessment dates and other details regarding this course, will be provided on the first day of class or please refer to the Faculty of Education website.