PRESENTATION OF THE SUBJECT AND CONTEXT

Foreign Language Didactics II is one of the five subjects included in the Foreign Language Minor of the Pre-Primary and Primary Education Degrees.

This subject will look especially at the place of English teaching in the education system of the Basque Autonomous Community, focusing on the current official multilingual curriculum.

AIMS

1. To develop an informed opinion about the situation of foreign language teaching in the Basque Country and to argue it formally and respectfully in oral debates and written essays.

2. To design in groups lessons and didactic sequences for English teaching and carry them out effectively in the classroom, responding to the methodological bases and curricular requirements worked on, collaborating and showing creativity and initiative.

3. To analyze in a critical and dialogic way their own and others' teaching sessions based on the theoretical principles and the curricular requirements worked on.

CONTENTS

• The Basque model of multilingual education: historical evolution and current situation.

• Competence based multilingual education in the official Basque curriculum:

a. basic competences in foreign language teaching.

b. integral and integrated treatment of language:

i. Teaching subjects through the foreign language.CLIL

ii. Pedagogical translanguaging in foreign language teaching.

• Teaching written communication.

• Design of teaching sessions, implementation and critical analysis of one's own practice and that of colleagues.

• Design of didactic units according to the current curriculum: methodological foundations, structuring of the sequence and definition of competences, didactic objectives, contents and evaluation criteria.

This course is based on active methodologies and cooperative work among students. The students, starting from their educational experiences and previous knowledge, will use academic articles, other sources of information related to education and the teacher's explanations to undertake tasks of various types in collaboration or individually. Among others:

- Individual and collective critical reading of scholarly articles and pedagogical documents and related essays.

- Collective discussion and practical applications based on the readings and the teacher's theoretical explanations.

- Critical analysis of real teaching settings and teaching materials.

- MDP (Multi Subject Didactic Project) cross-curricular project: Micro-teaching sessions and sessions with school children. Lesson design, observation and critical reflection.

• Continuous Assessment System
• Final Assessment System
• Tools and qualification percentages:
  • Written test to be taken (%): 30
  • Realization of Practical Work (exercises, cases or problems) (%): 10
  • Individual works (%): 20
  • Team projects (problem solving, project design)) (%): 30
  • Gelako partehartze aktiboa eta kolaboratzailea (%): 10

Students attending class regularly (minimum 80%) will be assessed through the following tasks:

• Ongoing assessment: Attendance, active contribution in class activities and required oral and written individual assignments. (40%)

• Exam: Essay about a given situation related to the Basque Country’s multilingual education system. (30%)

• Group tasks: Multisubject Didactic Project (MDP). Creating a lesson; lesson simulation; real lesson with children; designing final teaching sequence including curriculum description; individual and collective oral and written critical reflection all through the process. (30%)



The student will have to pass all parts of the assessment plan to be able to pass the subject. The English level shown in the tasks will also be considered an evidence for evaluation. (initial B2, final C1 level).

NON ATTENDANT STUDENTS:

Students have the right to be assessed through final evaluation (composed by the tasks –exam and others-defined by the teacher) In order to exercise this right, the student will submit to the teacher a letter stating his/her refusal to carry out continous evaluation, within 18 weeks of the beginning of the course (2nd week of January).

Non attendant students will be assessed through the following tasks:

• Written individual assignments for each module of the course done by the time limits set by the teacher. 40%

• Exam: Essay about a given situation related to the Basque Country’s multilingual education system. 30%

• Multisubject Didactic Project: a)Critical analysis of videotaped lessons. b)Own lesson delivery videotaped and its personal critical reflection. c)Didactic sequence design: written document and oral presentation. 30%

The student will have to pass all parts of the assessment plan to be able to pass the subject. The English level shown in the tasks will also be considered an evidence for evaluation. (initial B2, final C1 level).

Students will have to present the works that were not presented or passed in the previous call. Those students that didn't participate in the ordinary call will be assessed through the following tasks:

1.- Compulsory individual assignments.

2.- MDP: Written reflection on the videos of the lessons, designing a teaching sequence in written form and presenting it orally.

3. Written exam.

It will be enough not to sit the exam for students that do not want to participate in the extraordinary call.

Documents and information sources provided by the teacher through e-gela.

Basic bibliography

Haur Hezkuntzako curriculum Dekretua

Oinarrizko Hezkuntzarako curriculum Dekretua

Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2013). Towards a plurilingual approach in English language teaching: Softening the boundaries between languages. Tesol Quarterly, 47(3), 591-599.

Cummins, J. (2008). Teaching for transfer: Challenging the two solitudes assumption in bilingual education. Encyclopedia of language and education, 5, 65-75.

Elorza, I. (2013): Materials development for multilingual education. in C. Chapelle (ed.): The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. UK, Wiley-Blackwell.

Gibbons, P. (2002) Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning : Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. London: Heinemann.

Ioannou-Georgiou, S. Pavlou (eds). 2011: Guidelines for CLIL Implementation in Primary and Pre-primary Education. European Commission Brussels.

Gibbons, P. (2002) Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning : Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. London: Heinemann.

Leonet, O., Saragueta, E., & Arocena, E. (2024). Shifting the perception of languages and their status through the use of pedagogical translanguaging as a tool to increase language awareness. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2024.2344562

Journals

VOICES: Linking, Developing and supporting English language teaching professionals worldwide. IATEFL. United Kingdom. ISSN 1814-3830

Web addresses

www.britishcouncil.org
www.bbc.co.uk
www.ourworld.compuserve.com