PRINCIPLES OF GLOTTODIDACTICS
Compiled by
Xavier Frías-Conde
2
1. FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN EUROPE
Introduction
o
In 1995 the European Commission’s White Paper "Teaching and learning –
Towards the learning society", stated that "upon completing initial training,
everyone should be proficient in two Community foreign languages". The
Lisbon Summit of 2000 defined languages as one of the five key skills.
o
Foreign language teaching around Europe
o
In fact, even in 1974, at least one foreign language was compulsory in all but
two European countries (Ireland and the United Kingdom apart from Scotland).
o
By 1998 nearly all pupils in Europe studied at least one foreign language as part
of their compulsory education.
o
The only exception being Ireland, where primary and secondary school children
learn both Irish and English, but neither is considered a foreign language.
o
Pupils in upper secondary education learn at least two foreign languages in
Belgium's Flemish Community, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Finland,
Sweden, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.
On average in Europe, at the start of foreign language teaching, learners have
lessons for three to four hours a week.
Compulsory lessons in a foreign language normally start at the end of primary
school or the start of secondary school.
In Luxembourg, Spain, Norway and Malta, however, the first foreign language
is learnt at age six, and in Belgium's Flemish Community at age 10. Half of the
EU's primary school pupils learn a foreign language, on average.
English is the language taught most often at lower secondary level in the EU.
93% of children there learn English. At upper secondary level, English is even
more widely taught.
French is taught at lower secondary level in all EU countries except Slovenia. A
total of 33% of European Union pupils learn French at this level. At upper
secondary level the figure drops slightly to 28%.
German is taught in nearly all EU countries. A total of 13% of pupils in the
European Union learn German in lower secondary education, and 20% learn it at
an upper secondary level.
Spanish is increasingly being taught all over the EU. It is almost exclusively
introduced in secondary school.
Despite the high rate of foreign language teaching in schools, the number of
adults claiming to speak a foreign language is generally lower than might be
expected. This is particularly true of native English speakers: in 2004 a British
survey showed that only one in 10 UK workers could speak a foreign language.
Less than 5% could count to 20 in a second language, for example. 80% said
they could work abroad anyway, because "everyone speaks English". In 2001, a
European Commission survey found that 65.9% of people in the UK spoke only
their native tongue.
Since the 1990s, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
has tried to standardize the learning of languages across Europe.
3
Bilingual education
In some countries, learners have lessons taken entirely in a foreign language: for
example, more than half of European countries with a minority or regional
language community use partial immersion to teach both the minority and the
state language.
In the 1960s and 1970s, some central and eastern European countries created a
system of bilingual schools for well-performing pupils. Subjects other than
languages were taught in a foreign language.
In the 1990s this system was opened to all pupils in general education, although
some countries still make candidates sit an entrance exam.
At the same time, Belgium's French Community, France, the Netherlands,
Austria and Finland also started bilingual schooling schemes. Germany
meanwhile had established some bilingual schools in the late 1960s.
Methods of teaching foreign languages
There are several methods in wide use:
Immersive language education places students in a situation where they must
use a foreign language, whether or not they know it. This creates fluency, but
not accuracy of usage.
Tutoring by a native speaker is one of the best all-around methods. However
it requires a motivated native tutor, which can be a rare, expensive commodity.
Directed practice has students repeat phrases. This method is used by U.S.
diplomatic courses. It can quickly provide a "phrasebook" knowledge of the
language. Within these limits, the students' usage is accurate and precise.
However the student's choice of what to say is not flexible.
Absorptive language education has students listen to or view video tapes of
language models acting in situations. Most instructors now acknowledge that
this method is ineffective by itself.
Grammar language education instructs students in grammar, and provides
vocabulary to memorize. Most instructors now acknowledge that this method is
ineffective by itself.
Communicative language teaching (CLT) is an approach to the teaching of
second and foreign languages that emphasizes interaction as both the means and
the ultimate goal of learning a language.
Eclectic methods combine the above into a single course of study. These are the
most common.
4
2. BASIC PRINCIPLES
Basic principles
Curriculum and syllabus
Curriculum: something established by law (official value)
Syllabus: prepared by docents in order to develop their lessons
Curricula are quite abstract; in order to be applied in class, they must be
transformed into syllabuses
Focus
Communicative
Learn a language to use it, not to “collect it”.
The Spanish law introduces a first L2 when students are 6 (and a second L2 when they
are 12)
Other European countries:
Most of them when students are 8
Luxemburg, Norway and Austria: when they are 6
Italy: when they are 7
Legislative frameworks
European level: Maastricht (1992)
State level
All these laws have in common:
Defence of the identity of each school
Autonomy of teachers to design a syllabus coherent with the background where they
work
Principles of syllabuses
Syllabuses are settled down along a horizontal axis
Main principle: set up a bundle of communicative activities
In order to reach this it’s needed to set three kinds of syllabuses:
Yearly: a whole year’s syllabus that gives an overview of the course
CONTENTS
Concepts
Processes
Attitudes
AIMS
Syllabus
EVALUATION
What
How
When
5
In terms: three times per year it is also necessary to establish a concretion of
the syllabus
In fortnights (every two weeks) : lessons are set into a
lesson planning unit,
so the work can be developed very specifically.
Two main kinds of syllabuses:
Result-oriented: linguistic items that students need to express/understand a
language syllabuses are mainly based on:
Grammar contents which are presented in sets
Notional-functional items necessary to communicate
Process-oriented: activities required to acquire (rather than learn) a language
Task-oriented syllabuses (shopping, fill-in a questionnaire…)
Syllabuses reproducing language acquisition (the so-called natural
methods)
In conclusion: multidisciplinary focus, which is the base of current
educational curricula, must be interactive: natural methods along the
first years
Main features of syllabuses
Horizontal axis
Neither too long nor too dense
Realistic aims (likely to be reached by the end of the year)
Choose, first of all, the thematic blocks to develop
Mark out the aims according to those blocks, between four and five (also
according to official curricula)
Sequence of development of the mentioned thematic blocks: mainly based on
the semantic fields than on the grammar contents.
Take care of timing (terms, holidays, etc.)
Specific culture topics that can be developed at given moments (Halloween,
Christmas, Saint Valentine, etc.)
Resources and text book.
Text books and other materials
Usual materials to be used in class
Textbook
Workbook
Flash cards
Posters
Is the use of textbooks positive or negative?
It will depend on the use
An absolute, dependent follow-up of the textbook is a mistake
To leave it apart may make things much more difficult
Balance: use it rationally
Alternative to standard on-paper books: e-textbooks (to be seen later on).
Didactic Unit
Didactic Units are a procedure to plan lessons or sessions.
6
A model of DU is offered here.
At times, the compilation of different activities may lead to the elaboration of a DU.
A model of D.U. for primary and secondary education
1. General points
1.1. Topic (title given to the D.U.)
1.2. Level
1.3. Timing
1.4. Main objectives (between one and four)
2. Contents (Contents for review are marked as <rev.>)
2.1. Lexical contents
2.2. Grammar contents
2.3. Functional contents
Concepts
Procedures
Attitudes
3. Development (with its timing)
4. Assessment
5. Appendix (when necessary to include certain auxiliary stuff)
Session
number: 1,2,3,4, etc.
Assignment Duration Teacher’s
Activity
Student’s
Activity
Skill
Technique
Materials
Description:
listening to a
text,
introduce an
activity,
explaining
something…
In
minutes
Teacher’s
task
Students’
task.
Grouping is
also
speaking
listening
reading
writing
Typology of
activities:
warming-up
questionnaire
multiple
choice, brain-
storming, etc.
Cassette,
video,
photocopies,
book, etc.
7
Finalities
Finalities, unlike objectives, are flexible
Objectives possess a much formal character which is usually imposed from
governments
Finalities allow set up the goals that teachers want their students to reach in a much
more flexible way, respecting the autonomy of schools and the capability of teachers
to decide on how to develop their syllabuses.
Finalities refer to the four skills and are narrowly related to the way to teach
Listening, which involves understanding, nor merely hearing
Speaking, insisting on accuracy and fluency
Reading, beginning with a like for books, promoting interest in reading. Students
over 9 should acquire a certain habit of reading
Writing, for example through the maintenance of a class notebook. Promote
creative writing when possible
Objectives
Objectives should focused like flexible guides (especially in order to be kept within
our syllabuses)
Kinds of objectives according to the current Spanish legislation
Objetivos generales de etapa (Stage general objectives): English is picked up
together with the rest of the subjects, no specific treatment.
Objetivos generales de área (Subject general objectives): the final objectives of
English as a subject to be reached by students when they finish Primary School.
Objetivos de ciclo (Cycle Objectives): the objectives of English as a subject to be
reached at the end of each Primary School cycle
Objetivos de aula (Classroom Objectives): these are addressed to the teacher’s
specific classes.
Contents
Contents are one of the pilars of our English lesson syllabuses
They answered the question: what to teach
Conceptual contents: linguistic structures and functions
Attitudinal contents: the capabilities and attitudes we want to elicit
Procedural contents: the set of norms and attitudes to be promoted
Any good syllabus must contain a balanced proposal of these three sorts of contents
Traditional teachers tend to pay an almost exclusive attention to conceptual
contents, mainly around grammar items.
This kind of teaching is disastrous for Primary School, it turns up quite
unmotivating
Thematic blocks necessary for Primary School
Greetings
hello, bye, see you tomorrow /on Monday, etc., good morning/ afternoon
/evening, how are you? I’m fine, ok
Personal identification
8
What’s your name? My name’s X. How old are you? I’m X years old. Where are
you from? I’m from X. Where do you live? I live in X. Do you have any brother
and sister?
House and home
House, flat, bedroom, bathroom, toilet, dining room, hall; garden, grass, bench,
flowers; cat, dog, turtle; to live, to have, to have got, to do, to make, to help, to
work, to cook, to dress; big, small, little, short, high, tall, beautiful, ugly…
School
Classroom, toilet, staff room, office, head teacher, headmaster, teacher,
playground, sport ground; eraser, chalkboard, whiteboard, whiteboard marker,
pencil, chair, table, book, desk, lamp, coat stand, window; mathematics,
geography, social sciences, natural sciences, language, music, arts; football,
basketball, games; red, green, brown, yellow, orange, white, black; to do the
homework, to practice sports, to go jogging, to play, to draw, to count, to speak,
to talk, to colour, to jump, to go on foot, to go by car/ bus/ train
Free time and hobbies
Morning, afternoon, evening, night; guitar, piano; television, books, cinema,
theatre, internet; to play, to touch, to collect, to dance, to listen, to watch.
Geographical surrounding
Square, town-hall, park, museum, cathedral, bus, underground, shopping
centre; river, mountain, sea, beach, hill, ocean, sky; to go up, to go down, to go
straight ahead, turn left /right, to come (back), too go out, to go in
Holidays
Summer holidays, Christmas, Easter, bank holidays, All Saints’ Day, weekend,
week days; country, city, town, village; by, in, at, on; to travel, to lie down, to go
by (means of transport)
Work and future
Teacher, gardener, hairdresser, firemen, driver, mechanic; to wish, would like,
to hate, to love, to become
Setting the contents
Most contents of the English language can be taught in Primary School.
The presentation of the contents must be coherent and respond to the following
patterns:
A communicative and interactive method, not a mere student centred approach
Take into account the previous knowledge of students (in some cases, students had
already attended ruled English lessons)
The contents must be worked according to the following scheme:
9
Sequencialisation of aims
Introduction
Practice
Phases
Production
Accuracy
Fluency
Priority of content types at Primary School
Primary School Levels
Contents
1st cycle
Basic (1st and 2nd
years)
Attitudinal
Procedural
2nd cycle
Initial (3rd year)
Intermediate (4th
year)
Procedural
Attitudinal
Conceptual
3rd cycle
Intermediate (5th
year)
Advanced (6th year)
Conceptual
It is necessary to have the certainty that an aim has been learned before introducing a
new one.
Conceptual contents:
Acquired in the earlier stages
Learned in the later stages
Procedural contents: worked
Attitudinal contents: developed
Contents are cyclic and must be established in thematic blocks
Primary levels
Contents
1st Cycle of Primary
School
Basic
Attitudinal
Procedural
2nd Cycle of Primary
School
Initial
Intermediate
Procedural
Attitudinal /conceptual
3rd Cycle of Primary
School
Intermediate
Advanced
Conceptual
Conceptual
10
The matter of affection in Primary School
In the
first cycle of PS, language learning must have an affective character.
Teacher-student interaction
Student-student interaction
When affection is present, little children are able to reproduce certain items of
English unconsciously, such as long vowels, palatalised consonants, etc.
Affection is still necessary in the
second cycle, but concentration is a new factor that
acquires a large importance in learning.
Not a mere reproduction of the message
Interaction in class
Little information but introduced in many different ways.
In the
third cycle, students have a more reflexive way to approach knowledge.
Conceptual concepts are much more numerous.
Teacher’s role
Input &
Data
o
Basic and beginning level: The teacher is an informer (gives and
provides information), is dynamic.
o
He must pay special attention to accuracy and correctness.
o
Elaboration of very procedural activities
Supervisor
o
Intermediate level: The teacher is a supervisor of the activities.
o
He provides information.
o
Great importance of stuffs and resources, which must turn out very
motivating.
o
Students are led to self-learning (learning to learn).
Guide
o
Advanced level: The teacher is a guide.
o
Less active because students have a more active role.
o
Suggestion of activities, survey of activities, more evaluating.
o
Further promotion of self-learning.