Syllabus

Goals

This course aims to prepare education teachers in specific knowledge related to the teaching and learning of foreign languages, as well as explore the teaching languages through technology in school-wide participation in international mobility programs and to promote multilingualism.

The contents of the course include the core teaching principles as recommended in recent European documents such as the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL). The course aims to help teachers facilitate learners' communicative competences, effectively design and implement learning tasks, efficiently implement project-based language learning (with a focus on technology), develop an evaluation criteria that use competence descriptors, promote students' language and intercultural awareness and reflect on teaching practice as a valuable tool for training.

English as a lingua franca (ELF) will be the language of scholarly communication by students and teachers in this course, in accordance to the high demand from education stakeholders in Catalonia and the European Union. ELF will include both written documents (syllabus, readings, etc.) and audiovisual documents (video-conferences, online communication, etc.). Thus it is designed to help students fully master the English language in order to confidently teach the target language.

At the end of this programme, students will be expected to demonstrate that they have acquired the following competences:

Academic Competences:

To understand and be able to develop and/or adapt effective tasks for promoting communicative interaction in the EFL classroom.
To comprehend what makes effective integrated classroom activities, lesson plans, and project-based learning units that promote communicative, digital and intercultural competences.
To develop criteria for embedding technology into teaching practice.
To understand the theoretical issued discussed during the course.
To have the capacity to establish links between theory and practice.
To develop critical thinking.
To read, understand and reflect upon the course literature.

Linguistic Competences:

To communicate effectively, using English (written & oral) in tasks related to the course.
To communicate effectively, using English (written & oral) in tasks related to teaching.
To produce coherent texts for course assignments and output.

Professional Competences:

To develop the capacity to observe, analyse and evaluate the teaching/learning process.
To be able to reflect upon the teaching and learning process of EFL.
To develop strategies to promote communication in the foreign language classroom.
To learn about the basic underlying premises of telecollaborative language learning.
To become a reflective teacher.
To work effectively in collaboration with others.
To become part of a community of practitioners in education.

The course covers various aspects in these areas:

Theories of language acquisition
The design of foreign languages teaching activities within Project-Based Language Learning approaches
Technologies in learning foreign languages: techniques and resources

Methodology

The protagonist in the process of learning is the student; it is under this premise that the methodology of this subject has been planned. The role of teacher(s) is to provide information, resources and sources that can guide the learning process of students. Simultaneously, students will be required to relate and combine theoretical explanations, provided by teachers, with practical exercises in which students must think critically about them in order to develop their own basis and premises of teaching languages through innovative approaches.

The lessons will be carried out entirely in English (you will soon be language teachers); and consequently students are expected to have an excellent command of this language. Because the sessions combine theoretical explanations through 'flipped presentations' with practical exercises, students are expected to prepare all the materials beforehand in order to participate by sharing their opinions, ideas, knowledge, beliefs and experiences. Students will also be asked to think critically about the theories seen during the course.

Activities are designed to optimise autonomy, thus students are asked to take part in activities that involve both in-house and online partners as well as carry out individual activities. You will also be expected to participate in virtual activities with peers (telecollaborative exchange) as an essential part of the course, as well as actively engage in face-to-face activities.

Evaluation

Students are expected to:

collaborate and participate in activities which are presented by the teacher or by other classmates (in-house and online)
have an excellent command of English and to use it for all purposes in the classroom and as a means of communication with the teacher, guest lecturers and peers (unless otherwise specified).
understand and display knowledge and reflection of theoretical issues presented.
take part in class discussions, activities, presentations and online work.
complete fully and competently the tasks assigned throughout the course.
to respect peers and teachers as professionals.
to respect the deadlines and assignment dates.
to develop critical thinking and self-reflection.

Bear in mind:

This course combines theory and practice; participation is an essential part of the learning process. Active participation (not passive lesson attendance) will be expected and will be taken into consideration for the overall evaluation.
The lack of mastery in English – inability to communicate fluently and appropriately in any medium, whether written or spoken – will result in a Fail.
It is university requirement that each individual demonstrates that s/he has assimilated the knowledge and skills expected in the course. This implies individual assessment, which will involve an individual exam. While the overall percentage of the exam is minimal, the exam must be passed in order to pass the course.
Students are expected to submit original work. This means:
- Students must not copy passages, sentences, or even parts of sentences from other sources and present them as if they were their own words.
- Where relevant, original sources must be cited.
- Students should be aware that outside assistance with their work is only acceptable is it involves general advice/guidance. Any work submitted for continuous assessment, classroom assignments or online assignments must be their own work.
Students cannot “recycle” the assignments submitted in previous courses unless it is specifically a part of the assignment (as in reflective practice).
Teaching activities presented to the class must be referenced (e.g. school practice centre).

Infractions of any of the above principles will result in disqualification of the student for the final activity and the student will be obliged to enrol again next year.