Syllabus

Presentation:

The Instituto de Lenguas Extranjeras at Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, in conjunction with the Ministerio de Educación Nacional Colombia, is administering this language and professional development course for elementary school teachers in Risaralda. You are about to start a process of learning and refinement, which will allow you to become a more equipped professional in the teaching of English to children. Dear teacher, we hope this experience be enriching and exiciting for you. We are very glad you accepted to be in this process, and we are sure the improvement of the teaching of English in Colombia is on a strong path thanks to your commitment for professional development. Welcome to the course!


General Objective:
Improve both the linguistic and professional profiles in relation to the teaching of English to children in elementary school.

Specific objectives:
Develop communicative competences up to A1 or A2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Learn and employ sound pedagogical strategies for the teaching of English at the primary level.

Methodology:

Each tutor is autonomous for the decisions s/he will make in the group you will be in. However, the following activities will be part of the methodology of the course for all groups:

1. Language Skills Development: During the different classes, the tutors will plan activities which will help you develop reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. These activities will be planned based in the Table of Competences for both groups: A1 and A2 described in this document.

2. Pedagogical skills development: The tutors will plan in-class activities in which you will play different English teacher roles: planner, evaluator, performer, etc. Key pedagogical aspects in the teaching of English to children will be discussed here.

3. Analysis of classroom activities: The tutors and you will be able to evaluate the activities proposed in the different classes from two perspectives: the one you have as a learner and the one you and the tutors have as teachers.

4. Classroom observations: After having been exposed to language and teaching activities in the course, the tutor, playing the role of an academic peer, will visit one of your classes and observe the pedagogical decisions you make when teaching a particular lesson in English.


In the language and pedagogy (except Observation System) sections of the course evaluation, the tutors will assess different tasks which go from class assignments to extra-class assignments. The observation system is evaluated as an individual component of the evaluation. Finally, the final language and pedagogy test will evaluate the whole course, both from the linguistic and the pedagogical aspects.


Course two: up to A2

Speaking

Give a simple description or presentation of people, living or working conditions, daily routines, likes/dislikes, etc. as a short series of simple phrases and sentences linked into a list.
1. Describe what him/herself or others do, where they live, what they do everyday, etc.
2. Use the appropriate grammar and vocabulary to talk about people and their personal information.
3. Use ‘and’ to link ideas of a similar kind.
4. Utter fillers to connect ideas when they do not immediately come to mind.

Writing

Write a series of simple phrases and sentences linked with simple connectors like ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘because’.
1. Recognize and use the subject-verb-complement structure of simple sentences.
2. Recognize and use the structure for compound sentences with the coordinators ‘and’ and ‘but’.
3. Recognize and use the structure for a complex sentence of reason containing ‘because’.
4. Use basic punctuation rules: commas, periods, capitalization, etc.

Listening

Understand phrases and expressions related to areas of most immediate priority (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment) provided speech is clearly and slowly articulated.
1. Listen to and understand words related to personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment, etc.
2. Identify the topic, characters, places, and main events in a recording.
1. Understand general and specific information from recorded material by using existing knowledge, predicting, picking up key words, focusing on the required task, etc.

Reading

Understand short, simple texts on familiar matters of a concrete type which consist of high frequency everyday or job-related language.
1. Identify words I am familiar with in a written text.
2. Identify unknown words and classify them as nouns, verbs, adverbs, or adjectives.
3. Use skimming and scanning when they are required.
4. Summarize texts by using graphic organizers.
5. Annotate a reading to make connections between pronouns and references, classify vocabulary, identify main and specific information, etc.


Functions A1

Giving and asking for basic personal (factual) information about self, others, and surroundings.
Giving and asking for basic personal information about self and others.
Giving and asking for basic personal information about self and others.
Showing where something/someone is.
Introducing people and things.
Asking for personal and general information.
Expressing possession
Communicating routines and expressing time.
Expressing likes and dislikes
Expressing existence or nonexistence.
Saying where people, things and places are located.
Expressing actions happening at the moment.
Expressing ability
Expressing one’s and others’ place and date of birth.
Expressing past location (They were at…)

Pedagogical Component

Discipline Content
- From book Teaching English to children.
- Standards for teaching and learning English in Colombia.
- Awareness on Communicative Language Teaching Vs. structural methods (grammar translation)

Bibliography

Ministerio de Educación Nacional República de Colombia (2006). Estándares básicos de competencias en lenguas extranjeras: Inglés. Formar en lenguas extranjeras: ¡El reto! Lo que necesitamos saber y saber hacer. Bogotá (Col): Imprenta Nacional.
Scott, W. & Ytreberg, L. (1995) Teaching English to children. Addison Wesley Publishing Company.
Soars, L & Soars, J. (2000). New headway beginner. Oxford: Oxford University Press.