Logo UAB

Learning a Foreign Language (English) in Primary Education through ICT

Code: 103580 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500798 Primary Education OT 4

Contact

Name:
Melinda Dooly Owenby
Email:
melindaann.dooly@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

To take this course students must demonstrate a C1 level in English. This is a requirement for all the courses that make up the specialization (menció) in English language teaching. Students in 3rd year will have to provide evidence that they comply with this requirement by the date indicated on the Faculty of Education webpage in order to be able to take any course in the specialization in the fourth year, including this one. Students who are taking this course as an elective but not enrolled in the specialization (menció) must also document a C1 by the indicated date in order to enrol. Further consultations can be made at the academic management office of the Faculty of Education Sciences, UAB.


Objectives and Contextualisation

This course is compulsory for any student enrolled in the English as a Foreign Language Minor and an optional subject for anyone studying to become a primary education teacher. It is therefore addressed to all prospective teachers interested in exploring how to integrate the use of technology in the promotion of language learning and collaborative work. The course aims to prepare primary education teachers in specific knowledge related to the teaching and learning of foreign languages mediated through technology, as well as explore how to use languages in school-wide participation in international mobility programs and to promote plurilingualism. The contents of the course include the core teaching principles as recommended in European documents such as the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL, 2007), the Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education (CoE, 2015) and also incorporates the underlying features of digital-pedagogical competences required for virtual exchange in language education, as promoted by the EVALUATE executive report (2019). The course aims to help teachers facilitate learners' communicative competences, effectively design and implement language and content learning tasks, efficiently implement technology-mediated plurilingual, interdisciplinary project-based language learning, develop evaluation criteria that uses competence descriptors, promote students' language and intercultural awareness and reflect on teaching practice as a valuable tool for training, all of this facilitated through the use of technology. This latter encompasses in particular social media as it will be used to communicate with learning partners in other parts of the world. English as a lingua franca (ELF) will be the language of scholarly communication by students and teachers in this course, including both written documents (syllabus, readings, etc.) and audiovisual documents (video-conferences, online communication, etc.) as well as the classroom language.


Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Be familiar with the languages and literature curriculum.
  • Critically analyse personal work and use resources for professional development.
  • Develop and evaluate contents of the curriculum by means of appropriate didactic resources and promote the corresponding skills in pupils.
  • Effectively address language learning situations in multicultural and multilingual contexts.
  • Express oneself orally and in writing in a foreign language.
  • Foster reading and critical analysis of the texts in different scientific fields and cultural contents in the school curriculum.
  • Foster reading and encourage writing.
  • Incorporate information and communications technology to learn, communicate and share in educational contexts.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Understand the basic principles of the sciences of language and communication.
  • Work in teams and with teams (in the same field or interdisciplinary).

Learning Outcomes

  1. Adapt and write textbooks adjusted to the level of cognitive and communicative development of pupils in correct English and with the proper register.
  2. Analyse and identify education and communication needs to design strategies for teaching and learning of the English language that are supported by the development of communication skills through ICT and technologies for learning and knowledge.
  3. Analyse communication needs and control the process of learning the English language.
  4. Analyse the indicators of sustainability of academic and professional activities in the areas of knowledge, integrating social, economic and environmental dimensions.
  5. Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
  6. Apply the theoretical framework on effective communicative both on a written and oral level, and from a multilingual and contrastive perspective.
  7. Assessing the value of Spanish language learning strategies and techniques appropriate to primary education.
  8. Being capable of self-assessment and of evaluating the written and oral productions of colleagues in English in a well-argued way.
  9. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  10. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  11. Critically analyse and discuss theoretical texts from different fields of linguistics.
  12. Critically understand and analyse, from a formal register of the English language, professional and academic discourse in English.
  13. Demonstrate intercultural attitudes to benefit efficient work in diverse teams.
  14. Demonstrate sufficient receptive competence in foreign languages to understand oral presentations and read professional documents (teaching materials, popular articles, etc.). with the help of tools to support comprehension.
  15. Design tasks that foster a taste for reading and the development of critical thinking in primary pupils.
  16. Develop reading skills in English to be able to analyse the practical implications of carrying out theoretical proposals in the field of language teaching.
  17. Establish relations between the foreign language curriculum of nursery and primary education, and between both and that of secondary school.
  18. Establish relations between the nursery and primary foreign language curriculum and that of the first language.
  19. Form teams that are capable of carrying out activities effectively both in person and remotely.
  20. Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality and discrimination present in society.
  21. Identify the social, economic and environmental implications of academic and professional activities within one?s own area of knowledge.
  22. Incorporate information and communications technology to learn, communicate and share in educational contexts.
  23. Incorporating appropriate CMO activities for the development of CLIL units in the context of national and international programmes (Comenius, etc.).
  24. Perform tasks and criteria for training and integrated evaluation of content in French.
  25. Perform tasks and criteria of high educational value to promote integrated assessment of content in English.
  26. Present products (teaching units, class analyses, etc.) produced in teams with people from different degree courses and levels of expertise.
  27. Produce structured teaching sequences in projects that promote both the integrated learning of the school's languages and the development of digital learning and intercultural skills.
  28. Produce structured teaching sequences in projects that promote both the integrated learning of the school's languages and the development of llinguistic, audiovisual and digital skills.
  29. Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
  30. Propose viable projects and actions to boost social, economic and environmental benefits.
  31. Propose ways to evaluate projects and actions for improving sustainability.
  32. Recognising the value of the ICTs/LCTs as a privileged communication tool between teachers and learners with diverse languages and cultures.
  33. Self-assess one's own level of knowledge of English and analyse one's own communication needs and establish improvement plans.
  34. Use advanced communication skills and strategies in the English language to suit the level of cognitive and communicative development of learners and interlocutors and be understood in English while efficiently using scaffolding strategies.
  35. Using ICTs in the design, development and self-evaluation of self-learning activities in English.
  36. Using texts from children's literature in Spanish in order to develop English language learning activities in primary education.
  37. Using the English language as a common vehicle of communication in the university classroom and in the primary school classroom, as well as all academic tasks related to the subject.
  38. Using virtual environments as tools for written communication that respond to a variety of functions (recreational, academic, transactional, etc.) among learners.
  39. Using virtual platforms as a communication and management tool for directed and supervised activities.
  40. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
  41. Working efficiently as part of a team and individually, both in theoretical and practical activities, seeking resources and strategies that are appropriate for each situation.

Content

  • Theories of language acquisition
  • Theoretical principles of communicative approaches to language teaching: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT); Project-Based Language Learning (PBLL); Telecollaborative projects (TcLL), etc.
  • Criteria for designing, implementing and assessing educational materials and teaching processes based on communicative approaches (CLT, PBLL, TcLL), through the use of ICT.
  • Language Learning Project typology (PBLL) in primary and early childhood education (design of teaching activities) through the use of ICT.
  • Criteria for assessment of communicative skills in foreign languages including intercultural attitudes necessary for teamwork.
  • Teaching and learning practices related to teamwork (e.g. telecollaboration).
  • Collaborative and telecollaborative activities.
  • Strategies to promote communicative interaction with an authentic purpose (e.g. through TcLL projects).
  • Activities of self/peer evaluation.
  • Cutting-edge technologies (e.g. Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality) in learning foreign languages: techniques and resources

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures, group activities, online activities, reading discussions, presentation of individual and group work, discussion and reflection on core content issues 45 1.8 1, 2, 33, 19, 13, 14, 34, 22, 32, 41, 38, 37
Type: Supervised      
Telecollaborative work, development of projects, indepth analysis of selected content topic 45 1.8 1, 2, 19, 13, 34, 22, 32, 41, 38, 37
Type: Autonomous      
Preparation of individual and group work, readings, preparation for discussions, individual reflection, individual work related to development of projects, preparatory work related to telecollaborative group work 60 2.4 1, 2, 33, 19, 13, 14, 34, 22, 32, 41, 38, 37

The course integrates in-class dialogic learning, telecollaboration and flipped classroom materials. Taking the underlying premise of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) that student learning should be self-directed and promote increasing learner autonomy, the approach to this course places equal emphasis on the work carried on outside of the class as the activities that take place inside the classroom. In order to facilitate this type of learning the use of telecollaboration (interacting with learners from other parts of the world) is a central nexus for the learning process, as well as engagement with the materials prepared for flipped instruction. In this way, students (future language teachers) are expected to actively engage in face-to-face (in the classroom) and self-directed online learning situations that promote epistemic development (in both content and language) in order to then reflect on how they can transfer this knowledge to similar contexts for their pupils. Non-discriminatory use of language and inclusive practices will be ensured, including debate on ways in which cutting-edge technology may impact gender roles differently.

For more detailed information about this approach see: Sadler, R. & Dooly, M. (2016). Twelve years of telecollaboration: What we have learnt. ELT Journal, 70(4), 401-413.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Individual assessment (continuous assessment, exam, language competence in target language) 50% 0 0 2, 9, 13, 34, 27, 29, 32, 37, 40
Self-directed Learning (programmed telecollaborative activities & project) 25% 0 0 1, 2, 33, 19, 13, 14, 34, 28, 20, 22, 31, 30, 32, 41, 38, 37, 10
Teacher-directed learning & group activities (programmed activities, etc.) 25% 0 0 1, 4, 11, 2, 5, 3, 6, 33, 12, 19, 17, 13, 14, 16, 24, 25, 34, 15, 27, 28, 18, 21, 23, 22, 26, 32, 8, 41, 38, 37, 35, 39, 36, 7

The evaluation of the course encompasses the development of the identified basic competences for the subject. Given the importance of participation, attendance* is mandatory: the student must attend a minimum of 80% of the classes and the online activities. Arriving late to class and/or online activities or leaving early means a penalty in final participation mark. Any documentation presented to justify absence serves as an explanation but does not imply an exemption from the course requirements. If someone cannot meet the requirements for attendance, they are advised to opt for the resit. This is possible only in the case of having submitted 66% of the evaluation tasks. Arriving late or leaving early from class or online activities may negatively impact the attendance mark.

The following blocks must be passed in order to have a successful completion mark of the course. Each block is made up of several summative marks. These blocks are divided percentage-wise between individual and collective effort thus:

  • Engagement in telecollaborative activities and production and defense of final project: 25%
    • Tasks to be submitted: group project, poster and oral defense; during the month of December 2024.
  • Completion of individual reflection, mid and final online exam: 50%
    • Learner reflection (format to be negotiated) - 3 submissions minimum
    • Final exam - December 19th 2024
  • Completion of in-class activities and group work (e.g. reading discussions, group presentations, peer feedback): 25%
    • Tasks to be submitted: reading summaries (minimum 3; at the end of each reading set)
    • Group tasks of ICT-related activities (minimum 3; 1 at the end of each content block)
    • Peer feedback (at finalization of each content block)

1 point per day will be taken away for late for assignments turned in after the deadlines. Feedback will not be provided onassignments turned in after the deadlines.

Resitting the course

In the case of failing the continuous assessment, the student can opt for a resit examination of the contents of the entire course. The exam will be administered individually and will consist of different parts. 2 parts of the exam will be written, the final part of the exam will be oral. The resit will take place January 20th, 2025.

The resit evaluation activities consist of the following:

  • Critical review of a telecollaborative project (written) - 35%
  • Preparation of an ICT-related teaching sequence outline (written) - 35%
  • Oral defense of both written sections of the resit exam - 30%

The highest mark for a resit exam is 5/10.

This subject allows for single assessment. In this case, attendance is required according to the previously established percentage (80%). If someone does not meet this threshold, they can opt for the resit exam, as long as they have previously submitted 66% of the evaluation activities.

Students opting for single assessment should bear the following in mind:

  • Students who opt for a single evaluation must present all the evaluation activities of the course on the day of the final exam (December 19th, 2024).

NOTE: Due to the nature of the course (specialization in teaching of English as a Foreign Language), a separate individual mark will be given for communicative competence in the language of instruction (English). Students with a fail in language use will not pass the course. This mark will be calculated progressively through evaluation rubrics according to the required activities (written, oral, etc.). In the case of single assessment, this component will be evaluated through the delivered tasks (written) and the oral defense on the day of delivery. In the case ofa re-sit exam, linguisticcompetence will be evaluated through the use of English in the written and oral components of the exam.

Copying and plagiarism is intellectual theft and, therefore, constitutes a crime which shall be punished with a zero in the entire block where theplagiarism took place. In the case of copying between two students, the sanctionapplies to both students. In case of repeat offenders, they will have a fail for the entire course. Students should bear in mind that plagiarism is reproducing all or a large part of work from another without proper referencing. By definition "plagiarism" is the use of all or part of a text by an author as if it is his/her own work, without citing sources, whether on paper or in digital format.

 


Bibliography

Recommended bibliography (all of the reading on this list is not specifically linked to the activities in the course, but the list is useful for autonomous work). Specific bibliography to some of the activities will be given at the beginning of the course or during the course. Due to the rapid updates of webpages, a list of links will be given at the beginning of the course.

  • Council of Europe (2018). CEFR companion volume with new descriptors. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
  • Dooly, M. (2011). Divergent perceptions of telecollaborative language learning tasks: Tasks-as-workplan vs. task-as-process. Language Learning & Technology, 15(2): 69-91.
  • Dooly, M. (2016a). Proyectos didácticos para aprender lenguas. In D. Masats & L. Nussbaum (Eds.), Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educación secundaria obligatoria (pp.169-193). Síntesis.
  • Dooly, M. (2016b). Desarrollo de destrezas comunicativas. In D. Masats & L. Nussbaum (Eds.), Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educación secundaria obligatoria (pp.195-223). Síntesis.
  • Dooly, M. (2018). “I do which the question”: Students’ innovative use of technology resources in the language classroom. Language Learning & Technology, 22 (1), 184-217.
  • Dooly, M. (2022). The evolution of virtual exchange and assessment practices. In A. Czura & M. Dooly (Eds.) Assessing virtual exchange in foreign language courses at tertiary level (pp. 47-61). Research-publishing.net.https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2022.59.1409
  • Dooly, M. & Darvin, R. (2022). Intercultural communicative competence in the digital age: critical digital literacy and inquiry-based pedagogy, Language and Intercultural Communication, 22(3), 354-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2022.2063304
  • Dooly, M. & Masats, D. (2020). 'What do you zinc about the project?': Examples of technology-enhanced project-based language learning. In G. Beckett & T. Slater (Eds.), Global perspectives on project-based language learning, teaching, and assessment: Key approaches, technology tools, and frameworks (pp. 126–145). NY/Milton Park, Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Dooly, M. (2023). Language teaching, language learning and virtual exchange in an age of complexity. International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching, 12(3), 1-18.
    DOI: 10.4018/IJCALLT.31645
  • Dooly, M. & Comas-Quinn, A. (2024). Accesibilidad a la tecnología y justicia social/Access to technology andsocial justice. In J. Muñoz-Basols, M. Fuertes Gutiérrez & Luis Cerezo (Eds.) La enseñanza del español mediada por tecnología. De la justicia social a la Inteligencia Artificial (IA) (pp. 23-47). Routledge.
  • Dooly, M. & López Vera, M. (2024). La realidad virtual (RV) en el aula de la lengua inglesa: un estudio etnográfico. Didáctica. Lengua y Literatura, 36, 201-213. https://doi.org/10.5209/dill.8876
  • Dooly, M. & O'Dowd, R. (Eds.) (2018a). In this together: Teachers’ experiences with transnational, telecollaborative language learning projects.New York/Bern: Peter Lang.
  • Dooly, M. & O'Dowd, R. (2018b). Telecollaboration in the foreign language classroom: A review of its origins and its application to language teaching practices. In M. Dooly & R. O'Dowd (Eds.) In this together: Teachers’ experiences with transnational, telecollaborative language learning projects. New Peter Lang.
  • Dooly, M., Thrasher, T., & Sadler, R. (2023). "'Whoa! Incredible!': Language learning experiences in Virtual Reality", RELC Journal, SI: Teaching with Technology in the Post-Pandemic Digital Age, 54(2), early view.https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882231167610
  • Dooly, M. & Sadler, R. (2016). Becoming little scientists: Technologically-enhanced project-based language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 20(1):54-78.
  • Dooly, M. & Sadler, R. (2019). Preparing English student-teachers with digital and collaborative knowledge: An illustrative synopsis. In D. Masats, M. Mont & N. Gonzalez-Acevedo (Eds.), Joint efforts for innovation: Working together to improve foreign language teaching in the 21st century (pp. 21-28). Rothersthorpe: Paragon Publishing. Paragon Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3064130
  • Dooly, M., & Vinagre, M. (2021). Research into practice: Virtual exchange in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching, 1-15. doi:10.1017/S0261444821000069
  • Dooly, M. & Vallejo, C. (2020). Bringing plurilingualism into teaching practice: a quixotic quest? Special Issue: International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(1), 81-97. DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2019.1598933.
  • The EVALUATE Group. (2019). Evaluating the impact of virtual exchange on initial teacher education: a European policy experiment. Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.29.9782490057337
  • Griffith, N. (2005). 100 ideas for teaching languages. Continuum.
  • Llompart, J., Masats, D., Moore, E., & Nussbaum, L. (2020). 'Mézclalo un poquito': plurilingual practices in multilingual educational milieus. Special Issue: International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(1), 98-112. 10.1080/13670050.2019.1598934
  • Masats, D. (2016a). Recursos y materiales para aprender lenguas. In D. Masats & L. Nussbaum (Eds.), Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educación secundaria obligatoria (pp. 225-251). Síntesis.
  • Masats, D. (2016b). Gestión de la comunicación en las aulas. In D. Masats & L. Nussbaum (Eds.), Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educación secundaria obligatoria (pp.143-168). Síntesis.
  • Masats, D. & Noguerol, A. (2016). Proyectos lingüísticos de centro y currículo. InD. Masats & L. Nussbaum (Eds.), Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educación secundaria obligatoria (pp.59-84). Síntesis.
  • Masats, D. & Nussbaum, L. (2016) (Eds.), Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educación secundaria obligatoria. Síntesis.
  • Michaelsen, A.S. (2021). The digital classroom. Transforming the way we learn. Routledge.
  • Mont, M. & Masats, D. (2018). Tips and suggestions to implement telecollaborative projects with young learners. In M. Dooly & R. O'Dowd (Eds.) In this together: Teachers’ experiences with transnational, telecollaborative language learning projects. Peter Lang.
  • Mont, M. & Gonzalez-Acevedo, N. (2019). Coding toys while learning English: Programming with very young learners. In D. Masats, M. Mont & N. Gonzalez-Acevedo (Eds.), Joint efforts for innovation: Working together to improve foreign language teaching in the 21st century (pp. 59-65). Paragon Publishing. Paragon Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3064130
  • Moore, E. (2016). Aprendizaje de lenguas e interacción social. In Dolors Masats & Luci Nussbaum (Ed.), Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educaciónsecundaria obligatoria (pp.35-58). Síntesis.
  • Newby, D., Allan, R., Fenner, A-B., Jones, B., Komorowska, H., & Soghikyan, K. (2007). EPOSTL: European Portfolio of Student Teachers of Languages. European Centre for ModernLanguages.
  • O'Dowd, R. & Dooly, M. (2020). Intercultural communicative competence through telecollaboration and virtual exchange. In J. Jackson (ed.) The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication, 2nd ed. (pp. 361-375). Routledge.
  • Sadler, R. (2012). Virtual worlds for language learning: From theory to practice. Peter Lang.
  • Sadler, R. & Dooly, M. (2022). Telecollaboration. In Marta González-Lloret & Nicole Ziegler (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of SLA &Technology (246-257). Taylor & Francis/Routledge.
  • Sadler, R. & Thrasher, T. (2021). Teaching Languages with Virtual Reality: Things you may need to know. Calico Infobytes. https://calico.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Infobyte_December_2021.pdf
  • Saville-Troike, M. & Barto, K. (2017). Introducing second language acquisition (Cambridge Introductions to Language and Linguistics) 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press.

Software

The focus of this course is the use of technology-mediated language teaching and learning therefore the approach is through an exploration of technology. This implies the use of new apps and technology throughout the course. Apart from pre-selected tools, new apps to be explored will be determined through negotiation between students and teachers.

Students should bring laptops to class if at all possible. If not feasible, the teachers will work with the students to find alternative solutions on days when laptops are necessary.

Established organizational tools for the course:

  • VLE: Moodle
  • Virtual Exchange: Zoom

Interactive course agenda: accessible through computer, tablet or cellphone

Recommended technology workshops (can be shared):

  • Cellphones and/or tablets (for geocache, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality environments)

Tools/technology that will be provided:

  • VR headsets
  • 360º cameras

Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(TE) Theory 90 English first semester afternoon