Syllabus Information

1.1. Introduction

The course will provide students the necessary professional knowledge and competences to critically and rationally analyse and evaluate materials, resources, techniques and strategies to be used in teaching EFL. Furthermore, the course will enable students to adapt, plan, create and implement activities which focus on the development of basic competences and, in particular, those related to EFL in secondary education.

This is mostly a practical course and it bears a close relationship with the contents of “Curricular Design in Foreign Languages” and “Foundations of Instructional Design and Learning Methodologies in the Field of Foreign Languages”.

1.2. Recommendations to take this course

The course will be taught in English and most of the assigned readings and bibliographical references will be in English. English will also be used in the assignments, activities and classroom debates. The English language level used in this course will correspond at to at least a B2+ or C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

1.3. Context and importance of this course in the degree

This course could be considered a follow-up of “Curricular Design in Foreign Languages” and “Foundations of Instructional Design and Learning Methodologies in the Field of Foreign Languages”. Furthermore, the competences being developed in this course will be useful in Practicum II.

1.4. Activities and key dates

• Students will have to hand in assignments and activities on their due date.
• Lectures will set those dates and inform students during the course.
• Attendance to the required tutorial sessions is compulsory.

2.1. Learning goals

In order to pass this course, students will have to achieve the following learning outcomes
1) Students will be able to critically analyse the roles of teachers and pupils and the varied contributions of different communicative approaches to learning and teaching.
2) Students will be able to critically activities and materials for the teaching of the different skills in EFL, and also for teaching grammar and vocabulary, according to the teaching and learning principles discussed in the course.
3) Students will be able to evaluate, adapt, create and implement tasks and materials for the teaching of the five skills of EFL, and also for teaching grammar and vocabulary, according to the teaching and learning principles discussed in the course.
4) Students will be able to critically evaluate the most significant didactic aspects of a sequence of activities or a learning unit.
5) Students will be able to plan and create a learning sequence following communicative principles and a task-based approach.
6) Students will be able to design activities, resources and different techniques to assess oral and written skills in their future pupils.
7) Students will be able to efficiently organize classroom work, giving prominence to cooperative work.
8) Students will be able to adapt and elaborate resources which cater for diversity.

2.2. Importance of learning goals

Once the required learning outcomes are achieved students will be able to face their future teaching practice in a rational, reflexive, critical and creative way. They will also be able to apply the acquired principles and skill to the selection and design of materials and resources for developing skills in learning EFL.

3.1. Aims of the course

The course and its learning outcomes are based on the following principles and aim:
The main aim of this course is providing students with the main principles to analyse, select, create and evaluate teaching and learning activities, following the principles of the official curriculum: Compulsory Secondary Education, Baccalaureate and Official Language School. The course will also foster the development of the competence to organize and administrate classroom activities, pupils’ work and assessment.

3.2. Competences

After successfully passing the course, students will be able to
1. critically analyse and evaluate current methodological approaches to be used in their teaching practices
2. use appropriate teaching practices to motivate EFL pupils in Secondary Education by means of task based projects and activities.
3. apply well-designed and well adapted to specific contexts criteria in the evaluation and selection of activities, resources and textbooks.
4 design learning units following the guidelines of the official national and regional curricula.
5 design and apply teaching methodologies using individual and team work and also catering for diversity.
6. analyse and value strategies which promote learning autonomy in pupils.
7. analyse criteria and procedures in order to organise and administer classroom activities, focusing on enhancing the pupils’ engagement, monitoring, cooperative learning, classroom presentations and formative assessment.
8. prepare learning environments which are appropriate to EFL, and organizing and administering the designed activities, following the official quality criteria.
9. be aware of the most relevant elements to be considered in assessment methods and approaches according to the different contexts and situations.

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

June (end-of-term) exams

Continuous assessment
Students will have to hand in a number of tasks, activities and other assignments as required by the lectures of the course which will serve the purpose of assessing both the process of learning and the product. Lectures will inform students about the specifications of each tasks and the assessment criteria and their due dates along the course. These assessment activities may vary according to the number of registered students and the general development of the course. The achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed as follows:

1. Design of a learning unit or teaching sequence: 35% of the final mark.

The learning unit will be handed in after Practicum II and III are finished on a date to be fixed. Students will be given some guidelines for their learning unit and a rubric for evaluation. The learning unit will comprise between six and eight lessons, it will be designed to be implemented in a Secondary School, it will focus on working on the five skills plus vocabulary and grammar, and will also include some form of pupils’ assessment.

The learning unit will be assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Clarity and coherence in the description of the most relevant aspects of the context and in the justifications of the planning choices.
2. Clarity and coherence in the designed aims and objectives and in the intended contributions to the development of competences.
3. A clear, appropriate and coherent description of the methodological principles.
4. Effectiveness and coherence of the proposed activities.
5. Adequacy and justification of the planning principles.
6. Clarity and accuracy in the design of assessment criteria. Diversity and reliability of the activities for assessing learning. General coherence of the assessment proposal.
7. Diversity and reliability of the evaluation activities of the teaching and learning process. Degree of insight and coherence in the reflexions and conclusions about this process.
8. Clarity, fluency, accuracy and efficacy in the use of L2.
9. Quality and originality of the adapted and/or designed learning materials and resources.

2. Presentation and public defence of a proposal for a learning unit or teaching sequence. 15% of the final mark.
This presentation will take place once Practicum II and III have finished and it will include an evaluation of the learning unit and its implementation during Practicum II.
This activity will be assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Appropriate description of the key aspects of the context and of the planning and implementation choices.
2. Clarity and coherence in the proposed aims and objectives.
3. Clarity, accuracy and scope in the description of the methodological principles. Evidence of use in the teaching sequence.
4. Appropriateness of the activities according to the teaching approaches dealt with in the course.
5. A clear and well-argued description of the activities. Originality and interest of the activities and materials.
6. Diversity and adequacy of the activities for assessing learning. Clarity and accuracy in the design of assessment criteria.
7. Diversity and adequacy of the tools for evaluating the proposal and its implementation.
8. Clarity, fluency, accuracy and efficacy in the use of L2.
9. Efficacy and originality in the use of audio-visual resources.

3. A port-folio of activities, to be completed along the course, which will include:

1. The design of an activity which will focus on the development of oral skills and will include the planning of aims, contents and learning outcomes 15%
2. An exam on the basic theoretical and practical principles dealt with in the course 10%
3. Two activities in which students will have to design materials focused on the development of one of the macro-strategies, vocabulary and/or grammar 10%
4. Planning a lesson, focusing on the development of one of the written macro-skills. 15%

The assessment of this port-folio will consider the classroom interventions of each students and their progress and efforts. These considerations may change up to 10% of the final mark of the port-folio.

Final, global assessment
Students who do no choose continuous assessment, fail the course or want to raise their marks, may sit a final exam. The final mark of the course will be the highest mark obtained by the students in continuous assessment or final exam. The official academic calendar will set the date for the final exam. The exam will have the following parts:

1. A written exam on the contents of the course (60% of the final mark). The assessment criteria of this exam will be those of continuous assessment. It will consist of several short questions to be discussed and developed.
2. A learning unit which will be designed according to the guidelines and assessed according to the criteria established in this guide for continuous assessment (30% of the final mark). The learning unit will be handed on the exam date.
3. Presentation and public defence of the learning unit. This defence will last between 15 and 20 minutes, it will be assessed according to the criteria established in this guide for continuous assessment, and it will take place after the written exam.

September re-sits

Final, global assessment
A final, global exam, to be conducted along the same lines as the June final exam.

Assessment criteria
Lectures will inform students about the different assessment criteria for each activities, and qualitative and quantitative rubrics will be given to the students

5.1. Methodological overview

The methodology followed in this course is oriented towards achievement of the learning objectives. It combines theory and practice to enhance the implementation of theoretical principles in common teaching practices. An active and participative methodology will be fostered in the lectures and seminars, thus avoiding the lecturers becoming the only source of information and promoting the students’ participation.

Students will have to present their work using ICTs and also take part in different individual and group-work activities, which will help them to understand the concepts of the course and relate them to previous knowledge. Students will also design tasks, activities, materials and techniques, both for teaching and assessing practices, in which those ideas will be implemented and evaluated.

5.2. Learning tasks

The course includes the following learning tasks:

• Lectures (30 hours).
• Seminars (40 hours). Sessions for reflection, discussion and practical implementation of theoretical principles. Students will, either individually or in groups, do some activities which will be discussed in public, so that creativity and reflective teaching is enhanced. These activities may include:
  • Design and discussion of analysis and reflection tasks on some of the contents of the course.
  • Analysis and evaluation of teaching materials and activities and textbooks.
  • Design and presentation of original or adapted teaching materials which put the contents of the course into practice.
• Peer review and assessment of the designed learning units and their implementation (10 hours). These peer assessment activities may include:
  
  • Presentation and public defence of the learning units or the activities implemented in the Practicum periods.
  • Discussion on questions and doubts raised by the students
• Homework (up to 120 hours).
• Reading of assigned documents and recommended books.
• Writing of well-informed reflective essays and reports on contents related to working as a teacher in Secondary School and Baccalaureate. Other topics may include: methodological techniques and models, teaching macro-skills in EFL, classroom management, classroom interventions, etc. Reflections can be based both on the course contents and on the Practicum experiences.
• Critical analysis of activities and materials for teaching EFL. These activities and materials will include both those designed by students during the course and the Practicum.
• Design of tasks and activities for the teaching of the different macro-skills in EFL.

5.3. Syllabus

The course will address the following topics:

• Topic 1. Role and competences of the teacher today in the English language classroom: Communicative approaches.
• Topic 2. Activities for developing oral communication skills (speaking, spoken interaction and listening): evaluation of existing material, adaptation, design and implementation of activities.
• Topic 3. Activities for developing reading comprehension skills: evaluation of existing material, adaptation, design and implementation of activities.
• Topic 4. Activities for developing writing skills: evaluation of existing material, adaptation, design and implementation of activities.
• Topic 5. Activities for vocabulary learning and teaching
• Topic 6. Activities for teaching and learning grammar
• Topic 7. Adaptation, design and implementation of activities for evaluation and assessment.
• Topic 8. Design of a learning unit. Analysis and assessment of the Learning Units designed by students.

5.4. Course planning and calendar

The course will be divided in two parts:

• In the first part, students will present in public in the classroom the assigned oral and written activities. They will also have to hand in a draft of the learning unit to be implemented in the practicum.
• In the second part, and after the learning units have been implemented in the schools during the Practicum, these learning units and their implementation will be assessed.

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.

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources

The bibliographical references of the assigned readings are kept and updated by the University Library (search for “bibliografía recomendada” at biblioteca.unizar.es)