Logo UAB

Theories of Foreign Language Teaching

Code: 43970 ECTS Credits: 12
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
4316481 Teaching Chinese to Spanish Speakers OB 0

Contact

Name:
Maria Dolors Masats Viladoms
Email:
dolors.masats@uab.cat

Teachers

Melinda Dooly Owenby
Berta Torras Vila
Emilee Sarah Moore De Luca
Andy Morodo Horrillo
(External) Lucas Román Romero
(External) Maria Mont Algamasilla

Teaching groups languages

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


Prerequisites

None.


Objectives and Contextualisation

In this module students, as pre-service teachers, will learn about the main current theories, approaches and methods for teaching and learning foreign languages. In this module student-teachers will explore tools for designing, implementing and assessing teaching tasks that allow foreign language learners to develop, in formal learning environments, their interactive skills and competences.


Competences

  • Apply methodology for research, specific techniques and resources for researching and producing innovative results in a certain area of specialisation.
  • Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  • Identify and interpret the main teaching theories for second languages and apply them to Chinese for Spanish speakers.
  • Relate research in language teaching and learning with teaching practice or learning processes observed in the classroom to make suggestions for improvements from both a theoretical and practical point of view.
  • Work individually and in a team and be able to analyse, interpret and synthesise the information generated.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse and apply teaching approaches that seek to develop multilingual and intercultural competence.
  2. Analyse curricular content thoroughly in search of ways to work on the language with learners of different levels.
  3. Apply methodology for research, specific techniques and resources for researching and producing innovative results in a certain area of specialisation.
  4. Choose and evaluate texts, tools and resources – oral, written and multimodal – as instruments for learning.
  5. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  6. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  7. Identify and describe the main theories on foreign-language learning.
  8. Know the principles underpinning the teaching and learning of a foreign language.
  9. Reflect on the assessment types, guidelines and criteria for the different linguistic and communicative competences.
  10. Work individually and in a team and be able to analyse, interpret and synthesise the information generated.

Content

The contents of this course will be organised into 6 thematic blocks:

 

Block 1: Language learning and social interaction. Current foreign language learning theories, methods and approaches. The notion of interactive competence and didactics of plurilingualism.

Block 2: The development of communicative skills. Language learning tasks. 

Block 3: Competence-based learning. Tools and strategies for evaluating and fomenting student autonomy.

Block 4: Music as a resource for teaching and learning a foreign language.

Block 5: Resources for teaching children a foreign language.

Block 6: Technological tools to support the learning of foreign languages.

 

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Debates 15 0.6 5, 9
Lectures 23 0.92 7, 8
individual, pair-work and group work tasks 25 1 1, 2, 4, 10
Type: Supervised      
Preparation of classroom assignments 25 1 1, 3, 10
Type: Autonomous      
Microteaching preparation 60 2.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 10
Preparation of the assigments for each thematic block and on the written text to justify the microteaching activity 42 1.68 1, 3, 5, 6, 10
Reading Course Literature 60 2.4 6, 7, 8, 10
Test Preparation 40 1.6 5, 7, 9, 10

All of the blocks in this course are based on highly participative sessions in a combination of teacher lectures and group and individual activities done in class. The lessons build on required texts so students should come to class prepared to discuss and engage with the assigned reading and other resources. 

This course will be taught in Spanish.

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 in class and submission of one small task per block 45% 4 0.16 2, 3, 10
Microteaching (group work, oral and written task) 35% 4 0.16 1, 5, 6, 10
Test on contents for block 1 10% 1 0.04 7, 8, 9
Test on contents for blocks 2 & 3 10% 1 0.04 2, 4, 8, 9

Students are expected to take an active role in the lessons and carry out the tasks proposed by the teachers in each content block.

Students will also be given two tests to demonstrate full synthesis of the theoretical contents (blocks 1, 2 & 3).

Finally, in groups, students will design and implement (microteaching) a short teaching activity, which will be accompaned with a written rationale of the decisions taken.

THIS COURSE CANNOT BE PASSED WITH A SINGLE EVALUATION.


Bibliography

Compulsory reading

Masats, Dolors, & Nussbaum, Luci. (Ed.). (2016). Enseñanza y aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en educación secundaria obligatoria. Madrid: Síntesis.

Recommended readings

Álvarez, Ibis Marlene. (2009). Evaluar para contribuir a la autorregulación del aprendizaje. Electronical Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 7(3), 1007-1030.

Álvarez, Yolanda (2022). Improving skills by playing: Trabajar las habilidades mediante actividades lúdicas. Castelló: Sar Alejadría Ediciones.

Bega González, Michel (2015). Dificultades metodológicas de los estudiantes sinohablantes de español como lengua extranjera. ONOMÁZEIN, 32, 227-238. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/1345/134544960007.pdf

Chen, Min. (2007). La enseñanza de la lengua china mediante el enfoque por tareas para aprendices de nivel intermedio. In María Ángeles Iglesias Madrigal, María Jesús Martínez Galán & Óscar Ramos Alonso (Eds.), La enseñanza de la lengua china como lengua extranjera en España. I Congreso nacional para la enseñanza de la lengua china (pp. 269–75). Valladolid: Ayuntamiento de Valladolid.

Chin Ko, Chün Chün (2016). Modelos experimentales de enseñanza y aprendizaje del chino como lengua extranjera a través de tareas y plateamientos competenciales. Tésis inédita. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. Disponible en: https://www.tdx.cat/handle/10803/385356#page=1

García, Ofelia, y Kleyn, Tatyana. (Eds.). (2016). Translanguaging with multilingual students: Learning from classroom moments. New York: Routledge. 

Lee Tsang, Sai Kin, & Liu Ya-chi. (2007). Breve estudio lingüístico, pedagógico y didáctico sobre la enseñanza de la lengua china en España, China Continental y Taiwán. Encuentros en Catay, 21, 180-203.

Lin, Yue-Hong (2018). ¿Es el enfoque por tareas una alternativa para ELE? Monográficos SinoELE, 17, 166-176. Disponible en https://www.sinoele.org/images/Revista/17/monograficos/AAH_2005/AAH_2005_13%20Lin%20Yue%20Hong_166-176.pdf

Llompart, Júlia; Masats, Dolors; Moore, Emilee, & Nussbaum, Luci. (2019). Mézclalo un poquito. In Melinda Dooly & Claudia Vallejo (Eds.), The evolution of language teaching: Towards plurilingualism and translanguaging. Special Issue: Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2019.1598934

Marco Martínez, Consuelo. (2013). La enseñanza de chino en España. Más allá de BoloniaXibanya Zhi Zhongwen Jiaoxue. In M. Zhou (Ed.), El impacto de China en el mundo iberoamericano. Política, economía, sociedad, lengua, cultura y traducción (pp. 85-119). Barcelona: Centre d’Estudis i Recerca sobre Àsia Oriental de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Masats, Dolors; Mont, Maria, & González-Acevedo, Nathaly. (Eds). (2019). Joint efforts for innovation: Working together to improve foreign language teaching in the 21st century. Rothersthorpe: Paragon Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3064130

Monereo, Carles. (Coord.), Badia, Antoni, Baixeras, Maria Victoria, Boadas, Elena, Castelló, Montserrat, & Guevara, Iolanda. (2001). Ser estratégico y autónomo aprendiendo. Barcelona: Graó.

Pinter, Anna Maria (2017). Teaching young language learners. Oxford University Press.

Querol Bataller, María. (2010). Estudios sobre la lengua china en España. LynX-A Monographic Series in Linguistics and World Perception-Lenguas de Asia Oriental: Estudios Lingüísticos y Discursivos, 18,43-88.

Richards, Jack C. (2006). Communicative language teaching today. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Disponible en: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242720833_Communicative_Language_Te aching_Today

Sánchez Griñán, Alberto. (2009) Reconciliación metodológica e intercultural: posibilidades de la enseñanza comunicativa de lenguas en china. MarcoELE. Revista de Didáctica ELE, 8: 1-40.

Shin, Joan, & Crandall, Joann (2013). Teaching young learners English. Heinle & Heinle. 

Torras Vila, Berta (2021). Music as a tool for foreign language learning in early childhood education and primary education. Proposing innovative CLIL music teaching approaches. CLIL Journal of Innovation and Research in Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education, 4(1), 35- 47. https://revistes.uab.cat/clil/article/view/v4-n1-torras-vila/60-pdf-en


Software

No technical requirements associated with this course.


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish first semester afternoon