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English in the Contemporary World: Practicals and Contexts

Code: 103581 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500798 Primary Education OT 4

Contact

Name:
Maria Rosa Garrido Sardà
Email:
mariarosa.garrido@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

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


Prerequisites

It is necessary to have a WELL-ACHIEVED C1 (CEFR) level of English or Cambridge Advanced English Certificate (CAE) (entry requirement). With a narrowly-passed C1 or CAE exam, students might find the course hard to pass. 


Objectives and Contextualisation

This course aims at providing pre-service English teachers with the necessary linguistic and communicative resources to act efficiently and accurately as teaching professionals in English. For that reason, the first part of this course will be devoted to improving students’ pronunciation. The approach will be applied. The focus will be on segmental aspects of English (vowels and consonants) and emphasis will be placed on the comparison between the phonological systems of Catalan/Spanish and English. The model will be Standard British English, although aspects of the North-American standard (GA) will also be discussed. This standard will also be accepted in students’ productions. The second part of the course aims at widening and specializing both the vocabulary and the communicative strategies of students, so that they are able to manage not only learning but also organizational and behavioural matters in the English classroom entirely in English. Various key aspects of classroom discourse will be discussed from a comparative and functional perspective. 


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 communication needs and control the process of learning the English language.
  3. Analyse experiences of good practice to address, produce and implement process of collaboration and telecollaboration among different educational agents.
  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. Assessing the value of Spanish language learning strategies and techniques appropriate to primary education.
  7. Being capable of self-assessment and of evaluating the written and oral productions of colleagues in English in a well-argued way.
  8. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  9. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  10. Critically analyse and discuss theoretical texts from different fields of linguistics.
  11. Design tasks that foster a taste for reading and the development of critical thinking in primary pupils.
  12. Develop reading skills in English to be able to analyse the practical implications of carrying out theoretical proposals in the field of language teaching.
  13. Establish relations between the nursery and primary foreign language curriculum and that of the first language.
  14. Form teams that are capable of carrying out activities effectively both in person and remotely.
  15. Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality and discrimination present in society.
  16. Identify the social, economic and environmental implications of academic and professional activities within one?s own area of knowledge.
  17. Incorporating appropriate CMO activities for the development of CLIL units in the context of national and international programmes (Comenius, etc.).
  18. Perform tasks and criteria of high educational value to promote integrated assessment of content in English.
  19. Produce didactic sequences for teaching and learning English in primary education.
  20. 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.
  21. Producing intelligible and fluent oral speech, while respecting the basic principles of pronunciation, rhythm and intonation in the English language.
  22. Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
  23. Propose viable projects and actions to boost social, economic and environmental benefits.
  24. Propose ways to evaluate projects and actions for improving sustainability.
  25. Understand basic pragmatics and semantics applied to the teaching of English and be able to analyse oral discourse in the classroom.
  26. Understand spoken academic discourse in English, know how to take notes and summarize the main ideas.
  27. 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.
  28. Using ICTs in the design, development and self-evaluation of self-learning activities in English.
  29. Using texts from children's literature in Spanish in order to develop English language learning activities in primary education.
  30. 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.
  31. Using virtual environments as tools for written communication that respond to a variety of functions (recreational, academic, transactional, etc.) among learners.
  32. Using virtual platforms as a communication and management tool for directed and supervised activities.
  33. 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.
  34. Work cooperatively in the production of projects to develop productive, receptive and interactive skills in English.
  35. 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

Part 1: Spoken English: Aspects of pronunciation and stress

1.1. Basic concepts of general phonetic description

1.2. English vowels & consonants

1.3. Homophones

1.4. Transcription

 

 

Part 2: The practice of English language use in professional contexts (English for teaching purposes)

2.1. Why English for teaching purposes: characteristics and rationale. 

2.2. Speaking about education in general English: a review of grammar, lexis and idioms. 

2.3. ESP: English for Teaching Purposes. 

2.3.1. Vocabulary: classroom equipment, children's games and past times, translations of frequent expressions/words in Catalan schooling. 

2.3.2. Classroom management: doing a variety of functions in the class; pragmatic considerations.

2.3.2.1. Giving instructions and making requests: issues of register and politeness. 

2.3.2.2. Asking questions; types of questions: linguistic expression and conversational-pedagogical import.

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Correction and discussion of practical exercises 30 1.2 21, 7, 30
Directed discussions in class 5 0.2 21, 30, 32
Presentation of theoretical concepts 15 0.6 26, 32
Type: Supervised      
Group preparation and oral presentation of a topic 15 0.6 14, 27, 21, 35
Individual or group tutorials 25 1 10, 7
Small-group discussion of theory and practice 9 0.36 21
Type: Autonomous      
Exercises and practical activities 20 0.8 7
Independent study 17 0.68 10, 26
Supplementary readings 8.2 0.33 26, 25, 32

The teaching methodology is practical and is based on short in-class presentations of basic concepts, individual and joint correction of exercises and practical cases, and on structured discussions in class linked to issues relevant to the teaching of the English language, language models and linguistic variation. 

 

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
Active participation and significant contribution to classroom discussion and learning activities (individual) 5% 1 0.04 1, 4, 3, 2, 26, 25, 12, 18, 11, 19, 20, 13, 16, 17, 21, 7, 31, 28, 32, 29, 9, 6
In-class test on Part 1 (individual) 5% 1 0.04 26
Oral presentation (group work) 25% 0.5 0.02 8, 14, 27, 15, 21, 24, 22, 23, 34, 35, 30, 33
Part 1 oral exam (individual) 20% 0.3 0.01 21, 28
Part 1 written exam (individual) 20% 1 0.04 10, 26, 21
Part 2 written exam (individual) 25% 2 0.08 5, 26, 25

Students must bear the following in mind:

1) Only marks equal to or greater than 4.5/10 will be taken into account to calculate the course average. 

2) If a student hands in only ONE evaluation task, not enough evidence will have been submitted for assessment. S/he will be assessed as "no avaluable".

3) If a student hands in MORE THAN ONE evaluation task, enough evidence will have been submitted for assessment. S/he may then fail or pass the course.

4) VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any assessment items will mean that students will fail the whole course and not just the specific assignment. It will not be possible to re-assess the course. PLAGIARISM means copying from sources without identifying them -whether one sentence, one paragraph or a whole text- and then pretending it is the students' (THIS INCLUDES COPYING FROM THE INTERNET), and it is a major offence. Students must learn to respect others' intellectual property rights and to identify sources. It is necessary that they learn to be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.

5) Students are required to employ non-sexist language in their written and oral productions. For guidelines on how to do this, they are advised to check the website of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA): https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/guidelines-inclusive-language. Appropriate use of language will be part of the assessment criteria. 

6) The teaching staff will grade the assessment activities within a period of no more than 20 working days in the academic calendar.  

Assessment dates: 

-In-class test on Part 1: 9th October 2024

-Oral presentation: 11th and 18th December 2024

-Part 1 oral exam: 30th October 2024

-Part 1 written exam: 6th November 2024

-Part 2 written exam: 18th December2024

-Reassessment: 5th February 2025 

Reassessment:

Reassessment will only be possible in the following cases: 

-Students having passed (with a 5/10) activities weighing 60% (or greater) of the coursemark.

-A minimum mark of 3.5 (average course mark) will be necessary to reassess any items. 

 

Evaluation Activities Excluded from Reassessment:

The following activities are not eligible for reassessment:

-in-class test on Part I (this is reassessed by passing the written exam for part 1, English pronunciation)

-oral presentation

-significant contribution to classroom discussion and activities

 
The highest grade obtainable after reassessing one activity is 6/10 (PASS). 
 

Procedure for Reviewing Grades Awarded:

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturer will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

 

Single assessment option

Date: 18th December 2024

Evaluation activities:

Part 1 written exam (individual)-25%

Part 1 oral exam (individual)-25%

Oral presentation (in group or individual) -25%

Part 2 written exam (individual)-25%

The reassessment system will be the same as the one for the continuous assessment option.

The procedure for reviewing the grades awarded will be the same as for the continuous assessment option. 


Bibliography

Estebas Vilaplana, Eva (2009) Teach Yourself English Pronunciation: An Interactive Course for Spanish Speakers. Madrid: UNED. See also on: https://canal.uned.es/video/5aa908a9b1111f19028b4567  

Smith, Jonathan and Annette Margolis (2007) Pronunciation: Study Book. Garnet Education.

Rogerson, Pamela and Judy B. Gilbert (1990) Speaking Clearly. CUP.

Wells, John C. (2008) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Longman

Web resources:

English Pronunciation Training by Núria Gavaldà - https://www.youtube.com/user/ngav1/videos

Department of Phonetics and Linguistics UCL - Identify the symbol:http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/flash/findrp.htm

Ladefoged: online course http://phonetics.ucla.edu/course/contents.html

The International Phonetic Association: http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/ipachart.html

Type IPA phonetic symbols: http://ipa.typeit.org/

Phonetics: The sounds of spoken language (English and Spanish), University of Iowa: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/# (consonant profiles)

BBC Learning English: Pronunciation tips: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/

Emglish Phonetics and Pronunciation in Barcelona: https://englishphoneticsbcn.com/ 

 

Part 2:

Hughes, Glyn S. (2001) A Handbook of Classroom English. Oxford University Press.

Salaberry, Sagrario (1995) Classroom Language.Macmillan.

Slattery, Mary and Jane WIllis (2001) English for Primary Teachers: A Handbook of Activities and Classroom Language. Oxford University Press.

Spratt, Mary (1994) Language for the Teacher: A Language Development Course. Cambridge University Press.

Web resources

http://www.usingenglish.com/files/pdf/classroom-language-moving-around.pdf

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/ELT-17-screen-Language-Improvement.pdf

 

General reference language materials

Kennedy-Scanlon, Michael, Juli Cebrian & John Bradbury (2011) Guided Error Correction.: Exercises for Spanish-Speaking Students of English. Level C1.1 and C1.2. Publicacions de la UAB.

McCarthy, Michael & Felicity O’Dell (2005) English Vocabulary in Use Advanced. CUP.

McCarthy, Michael & Felicity O’Dell (2005) Test Your English Vocabulary in Use Advanced. CUP.

McCarthy, Michael & Felicity O’Dell (2007) English Phrasal Verbs in Use Advanced. CUP.

McCarthy, Michael & Felicity O’Dell (2008) Academic Vocabulary in Use. CUP.

Parrott, Martin (2000) Grammar for English Language Teachers. CUP.

Vince, Michael (2008) MacMillan English Grammar in Context Advanced. MacMillan Heinemann.

Vince, Michael and Emmerson, P. (2003) First Certificate Language Practice (with key). Macmillan.

Swan, Michael (2005) Practical English Usage (3rd ed.) OUP.

Swan, Michael and Catherine Walter (1997) How English Works: A Grammar Practice Book. Oxford University Press.

Yule, George (2006) OxfordPracticeGrammar. Advanced (with key). Oxford University Press

 

A selection of Internet resources for language learning and teaching

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ (BBC)

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/ (British Council)

 

Digital newspapers (news pieces on education)

https://www.theguardian.com/education 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education 

https://www.nytimes.com/section/education 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/ 

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/australian-education

 

Dictionaries

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, OUP.

Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, Harper Collins Publishers.

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, CUP.

Collins English-Spanish/Spanish-English Dictionary, 6th ed., Grijalbo.

Longman Language Activator. Longman.

 

On-line dictionaries

http://www.ldoceonline.com/ (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (Merriam-Webster dictionaries on line)

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ (Cambridge dictionaries on line)

https://www.freecollocation.com (Online collocations dictionary)

http://wordreference.com (multilingual dictionary)

https://howjsay.com/ (Free online English pronunciation)


Software

Non-applicable


Language list

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