Teaching and Learning Communicative Skills (English)

1. General Objectives
This subject is focused on the development of the students’ productive and receptive skills for communication in a foreign language. Besides, students are expected to become acquainted with notions and tools related to ELT in Primary Education. The ultimate objective of the course is to enable students to incorporate both types of knowledge (linguistic and didactic) into their future teaching practice.

2. Specific Objectives
Specific objectives comprise the development of the competences mentioned in the corresponding section (see below).
As already mentioned, two types of contents (linguistic and didactic) will be covered in this course. As regards linguistic contents, students will consolidate and update their knowledge of the foreign language by means of the study of grammar, the acquisition of vocabulary and the practice of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), with a view to reaching a common level of communicative competence – from intermediate (CEFR B1 or Cambridge PET) to upper-intermediate (B2 or Cambridge FCE). Concerning didactic contents, students will be acquainted with basic notions, strategies and resources related to ELT in the period of Primary Education (see following section).

1. Linguistic contents (contents, procedures, attitudes)
The students’s communicative competence will be developed in an integrated way. As regards conceptual contents, attention will be paid, on the one hand, to the introduction, revision and acquisition of a deeper knowledge about basic grammatical structures and notions (verb tenses, frequency adverbs, relative clauses, questions, the passive voice, reported speech, conditionals, etc.) with a view to helping students to do things with language (describe and narrate, ask for and convey information, express opinions and preferences, etc.). Besides, the development of the students’ lexicon will be achieved by covering a variety of semantic fields (tourism and leisure, work and education, human relationships, etc.). Sociolinguistic competence will be developed through the acquisition of knowledge about set formulae for everyday interaction, as well as strategies for verbal and non-verbal communication. Students will also learn to build and connect their oral and written discourse in a coherent and organized way. Concerning procedural contents or skills, students will develop both productive (writing, speaking) and receptive (reading, listening) skills in an integrated way in order to reach the expected level of communicative competence. Lastly, as regards attitudinal contents, students will be trained to appreciate linguistic diversity, trust their possibilities for self-learning, learn from their errors and develop open-minded, collaborative and respectful attitudes.

2. FLL contents:
Students will be acquainted with basic methods and tools for ELT in the primary classroom. Some aspects which will be covered are, for instance, the teaching of the four skills, classroom management, planning and assessing, or the use of didactic materials and resources
The specific lists of contents for both modules will be made available as part of the basic materials for study in the course.

Basic references (1,2)
1. Linguistic module
Eastwood, J. 2008. Oxford Practice Grammar (Intermediate) with Kee and CD Rom. Oxford: O.U.P.
Murphy, R. 2012. English Grammar in Use . A Self-Study Reference and Practice Book for Intermediate Students of English - With Answers. Cambridge: C.U.P.
Swan, M. e C. Walter. 1997. How English Works. A Grammar Practice Book with Answers. Oxford: O.U.P.
Redman, S. 2011. English Vocabulary in Use (Pre-intermediate and Intermediate). With Answers and Cd-Rom. Cambridge: C.U.P.
Collie, J. e S. Slater. 1994. Cambridge Skills for Fluency. Speaking 2, inc. cassette. Cambridge: C.U.P.
Doff, A. e C. Becket. 1999. Cambridge Skills for Fluency. Listening 2, inc. cassettes. Cambridge: C.U.P.

2. FLL module
Harmer, J. 2007. How to Teach English. Harlow: Longman.
Phillips, S. 1994. Young Learners. Oxford: OUP.
Vale, D. e A. Feunteun. 1998. Enseñanza de inglés para niños. Guía de formación para profesores. Cambridge: C.U.P.
Slattery, M. e J. Willis. 2001. English for Primary Teachers. A Handbook of Activities and Classroom Language. Oxford: OUP.
Cant, A. e W. Superfine. 1997. Developing Resources for Primary. London: Richmond.

3. Online resources
3.1.Linguistic module (last accessed: May 2022):
https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/ (Grammar, vocabulary and all skills)
http://www.englishclub.com/ (Grammar, vocabulary and all skills)
http://www.usingenglish.com (Grammar, vocabulary and all skills)
http://www.saberingles.com (Grammar, vocabulary and all skills)
http://www.mansioningles.com (Grammar, vocabulary and all skills)
http://www.rong-chang.com (Grammar, vocabulary and all skills)
http://www.esl-lab.com (listening)
http://www.elllo.org (listening)
http://www.learnenglish.de/englishchat.htm (speaking)
http://www.elyrics.net (song lyrics)

3.2. FLL module (last accessed: May 2022):
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk (activities and resources, fora)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teach/ (resources and materials)
http://www.eslprintables.com (activities and exchange of materials)
http://www.onestopenglish.com/ (English for Specific Purposes, CLIL, teacher support)
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org (activities and materials for children)
https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-language… (information about the CEFR)

GENERAL
G.1. Capacity to show the acquisition of knowledge of curricular areas, relationships, assessment criteria and didactics in Primary Education.
G.2. Capacity to design, plan and assess teaching and learning processes, individually or in a group.
G.3. Capacity to face multicultural and multilingual situations of language teaching and learning.
G.4. Capacity to design and handle teaching and learning situations considering the principles of equality and respect for diversity.
G.11. Capacity to become acquainted with, select and use ICTs in the classroom.

SPECIFIC
E.52. Linguistic competence: Capacity for written and oral communication in a foreign language.
E.53. Didactic competence: Capacity to develop and assess curricular contents using appropriate devices, as well as to promote the development of students’ communicative competence.

BASIC
B.1. Capacity to show the acquisition of knowledge, particularly concerning the students’ field of study.
B.2. Capacity to apply the knowledge thus acquired to their professional field, with a view to developing arguments and solving problems.
B.3. Capacity to gather, interpret and assess information, particularly concerning the students’ field of study.
B.4. Capacity to convey information in both specialized and non-specialized fields
B.5. Capacity to develop autonomous learning.

TRANSVERSAL
T.1. Instrumental knowledge of foreign languages.
T.3. Instrumental knowledge of ICTs.

The teaching sessions will be held in English. Concerning the types of groupings to carry out classroom tasks, activities will be done in big, medium-sized or small groups, and also individually. General lectures (for big groups) will be devoted to the development of the competences related to the process of teaching and learning a foreign language in Primary Education, particularly through the lecturer’s presentation of contents and students’ oral presentations. Besides, students will improve their communicative competence by dealing with lexical, morphological and syntactic aspects of the foreign language. This will be done by means of activities of different formats (drills; multiple-choice, true-false, rewriting or gap-filling exercises, etc.). Interactive sessions (for medium-sized groups) will also be focused on the development of the students’ communicative competence, particularly as regards listening and speaking skills, by means of activities devised to check students’ comprehension of oral texts, debates, role-plays or dictations. Practical tasks related to written production, error correction and cooperative learning activities will also be carried out in these sessions. Individual and group assessment will be focused on verifying the acquisition of both linguistic competence and didactic knowledge. Tutorials (for small groups or single students) will be monitoring sessions devoted to the students’ supervision and the encouragement of autonomous learning. Lastly, the activities to be done outside the classroom will also be focused on the development of both communicative and didactic skills. When carrying out those activities, students will apply and consolidate the knowledge acquired in the classroom while exercising autonomous learning.

The system of assessment for this subject will be as follows:
1. Participation (10%): lists of attendance, classroom presentations. Competences: G2, G3, E52, B2, B4, T1
2. Specific tests (45%): writing, grammar and vocabulary, reading, listening. Competences: G1, G2, G3, G4, E52, E53, B1, B2, B4, B5, T1
3. Written tasks (30%): essays, written assignments. Competences: G2, G3, E52, E53, B2, B4, B5, T1, T3
4. Presentations (15%): Classroom presentations. Competences: G1, G2, G3, G4, G11, E52, E53, B2, B3, B4, T1, T3

Considering the general requisites of the courses in the new degrees adapted to the ESHE, and also the particular features of this course, the system of assessment which students will be offered by default comprises activities for continuous assessment. Consequently, attendance at a minimum of 80% of the sessions is compulsory.

Continuous assesment: 100%
Continuous assessment tasks: 10 points
Group presentation: work on a topic related to FLL: 3 points (2.5 points for the oral presentation - 0.5 awarded by classmates - and 0.5 points for the written presentation). This activity will be graded in sections 1 (1 point), 2 (0.5 points) and 4 (1.5 points)
Two essays (2 points) and two reading test (2 points). These activities will be graded in sections 3 (3 points) and 2 (1 point)
Listening exercise: 1 point. This activity will be graded in section 2 (1 point)
Grammar and vocabulary exercise: 2 points. This activity will be graded in section 2 (2 points)
Conditions for a passing grade in continuous assessment: add up 5 points in the tasks, have a score in at least 5 tasks, and get a passing grade in at least 2 individual tasks. If not all the conditions are met, but the students get a score in at least 5 tasks, there will be a final compensatory test (3.5 points) consisting of a grammar and vocabulary test (1.5 points), a written comprehension test (1 point) and an essay on a topic related to FLL (1 point). The passing grade in this test is 1.4. If students get a grade of 1.4 or higher, they will get a passing grade with 5 points.
Final assessment (students exempt from attendance or those who do not get a score in five tasks). Exam: 100%. Highest mark for students who are not exempt from attendance: 7 points (those students cannot get any grades for group presentations). Essay on a topic related to FLL (compulsory reading: 2 points), Grammar and vocabulary test (2 points), Reading test (2 points), Listening test (2 points), and Individual speaking test (2 points).
July resit: in continuous assessment students can keep their marks for continuous assessment and repeat the compensatory test, or choose the final exam. In final assessment students will repeat the final exam. Further resits: final exam by default (particular cases will be considered).
Please note that inappropriate behaviour in the classroom may be penalised with the opening of disciplinary proceedings and the sanctions that may result from this, in accordance with the USC Coexistence Regulations.
In cases of fraudulent performance of exercises or tests, the provisions of the Regulations for the evaluation of the students’ academic performance and review of grades will apply.

As shown in the Degree Report, students are expected to devote at least 150 hours to the course. This amount of time will be distributed as follows: 51 hours of classwork and 99 hours of work outside the classroom. For further information about students’ work, see the sections of “Assessment” and “Recommendations for study”

Regular attendance at sessions and private tutorials is strongly advised. In that way, the lecturer will be able to monitor the students’ progress and solve possible difficulties. Students should play an active part in classroom activities, do their homework and hand in their assignments before the deadlines. They should work constantly throughout the course, plan their activities and devote some time every week to study and to the practice of the four skills. They should also revise or expand their knowledge by using the supplementary references and the Centre’s resources.

Prerequisites:
There are no official prerequisites for this course. However, an intermediate or close to intermediate level of English (CEFR B1 or Cambridge PET) is strongly recommended, as well as an acceptable level as regards written and oral communication in the students’ L1 (Spanish /Galician).
Further remarks:
Those students who, due to exceptional circumstances, cannot attend classroom sessions regularly will be able to opt for final assessment and thus sit only a final exam (see “Assessment”). To that end, students must contact the lecturer before starting the course or within the first fortnight in order to report on their situation and, if necessary, establish an individual work schedule. In order to make the most of the course, students in this situation are advised to keep in touch with the lecturer and monitor their work using private tutorials, virtual platforms, email, etc.
Students with special educational needs must get in touch with the lecturer to report on their situation, but their cases will only be considered if they have been duly assessed and certified by the SEPIU (Servicio de Participación e Integración Universitaria).
For further information, students are referred to the Study Guide, which will be made available before the course starts.