Degree | Type | Year |
---|---|---|
Early Childhood Education | OT | 4 |
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Minimum language requirement: CEFR B1.2.
This elective course aims at providing an introduction to teaching and learning the English language in pre-primary education. It is a key subject for those student teachers who plan to teach English in the future.
It has two main goals: (a) to help future teachers gain knowledge, develop teaching strategies and become familiar with those tools and resources necessary to teach English efficiently in Early Childhood Education classrooms; and (b) to promote critical thinking on teaching English to very young learners.
1. Early Years Curriculum in Catalonia. Activities to promote communication and speaking skills.
2. Verbal and non-verbal communication. Language play and creativity in early foreign language learning.
3. Teaching resources: drama techniques, songs, stories, and poetry to support literacy and language development in early childhood education.
Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|
Type: Directed | |||
Direct instruction | 45 | 1.8 | 12, 2, 10, 13, 11, 5, 7, 8 |
Type: Supervised | |||
Teacher-student conferences | 30 | 1.2 | 12, 2, 9, 10, 11 |
Type: Autonomous | |||
Papers and activities directly related to the contents of the subject. | 75 | 3 | 12, 2, 9, 10, 13, 4, 7 |
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.
Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Attendance and active participation (individual) | 10% | 0 | 0 | 12, 4, 6 |
Design and presentation of a teaching sequence. (Group work) | 30% | 0 | 0 | 2, 3, 9, 10, 13, 1, 7, 8, 6 |
Planning and presentating one activity (out of 4 possibilities) to teach very young children English (Pair work) | 20% | 0 | 0 | 9, 10, 13, 8, 6 |
Selecting and telling a story in class. Elaborating a reading card (individual work) | 10% | 0 | 0 | 9, 13, 8 |
1 expository and reflective essay to discuss methodological issues related to the topics dealt with in class or in the course readings (individual task) | 30% | 0 | 0 | 12, 2, 1, 11, 4, 5, 7, 6 |
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
All assignments are MANDATORY, as is attendance to 80% of the classes. If the attendance critria is not met, the student will not be eligible for evaluation. If students do not submit the four assigments they will fail the course.
Students will receive feedback and grades for their tasks no later than 20 working days after the submission or presentation of the task.
The final grade for the course is the average of the 5 assessment tasks mentioned in the previous section. The minimum grade for each task to be included in the average is 5.
TASK SUBMISSION CALENDAR
The tasks are the same for everyone, but the submission calendar varies depending on the chosen topic:
• EXPOSITORY TEXT on one of the three compulsory readings. Reading 1 (WEEK 3); Reading 2 (WEEK 5); Reading 3 (WEEK 10)
• DESIGN AND CLASS PRESENTATION of an activity to teach English in early childhood education based on one of the following topics: Routines (WEEK 6); Songs (WEEK 8); Visual arts (WEEK 9); body expression (TPR) (WEEK 11). This assignment cannot be retaken.
• STORY SHEET AND NARRATION. Each day, two people will tell a story. The calendar for this activity will be arranged on the first day of class.
• TEACHING SEQUENCE (WEEK 16)
Make-up session date: Friday, June 26, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m.
Only students who have passed 4 out of the 5 assessment tasks may participate in the make-up session. Attendance and active participation in class must be one of them.
In the make-up session, students can only obtain a maximum grade of 5 out of 10 for the task being retaken.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT OPTION
Requesting single assessment option does not exempt students from meeting the attendance requirement. The single assessment option refers to the type and timing of the assignments, but attendance and participation remain mandatory, as this is apractical course.If opting for the single assessment, the following tasksmust be submitted or implemented on June 19, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m.:
Expository text based on three readings – 30%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam.
Design of a teaching sequence – 40%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam and presented orally during the exam.
Presentation of an activity based on one of the following options: Routines, Songs, Visual arts, or Body expression (TPR) – 10%. To be presented orally on the day of the exam.
Selection, justification, and narration of a story – 20%. To be presented both orally and in writing on the day of the exam.
Make-up session date: Friday, June 26, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m.
Only students who have passed 3 out of the 4 assessment tasks may participate in the make-up session. In the make-up session, students can only obtain a maximum grade of 5 out of 10 for the task being retaken.
SYNTHESIS EXAM
Students enrolled in a second attempt who met the attendance requirement during their first year of enrollment may, if they wish, request to take a synthesis exam. To do so, they must inform the professor in writing during the first week of the course. Students choosing this assessment modality are exempt from attending class, as the attendance requirement is considered fulfilled.
The synthesis exam will take place on the same day as the single assessment, June 19, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m., and will consist of the following tasks:
Expository text based on three readings – 30%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam.
Design of a teaching sequence – 40%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam and presented orally during the exam.
Presentation of an activity based on one of the following options: Routines, Songs, Visual arts, or Body expression (TPR) – 10%. To be presented orally on the day of the exam.
Selection, justification, and narration of a story – 20%. To be presented both orally and in writing on the day of the exam.
All four tasks must be carried out in English, and language accuracy, writing quality, and formal presentation will be taken into account. Students must be able to express themselves fluently and accurately and demonstrate a high level of understanding of academic texts. A task may be deemed unassessable or failed if the professor considers it does not meet these requirements.
IMPORTANT:
a) If the student has not provided sufficient assessment evidence to enable an overall grade for the subject, the final grade will be recorded as "Not Assessable."
b) The use of generative artificial intelligence is not permitted. Any evidence of its use in a task will result in a failing grade.
c) Students are expected to participate actively in sessions in a respectful, reasoned, and constructive manner.
d) With the aim of ensuring coherence and transparency in the use of AI in the course and its assessable activities, we adhere to Model 3 of Responsible Use: In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted as an integral part of the development of work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these influenced the process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may lead to a penalty in the activity grade or more serious sanctions in severe cases. However, it must be taken into account that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) entails considerableenergy consumption. Therefore, it is important to promote responsible and efficient use of AI in theeducational field, prioritizing applications with a positive impact and avoiding unnecessary use in order to minimize environmental impact.
Álvarez, Yolanda (2022). Improving skills by playing: Trabajar las habilidades mediante actividades lúdicas. Castelló: Sar Alejadría Ediciones.
Cameron, Lynne (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://didactics-a.wikispaces.com/file/view/lynne+cameron.pdf
Mont, Maria, & Gonzalez-Acevedo, Nathaly (2019). Coding toys while learning English: Programming with veryyoung learners. In Dolors Masats, Maria Mont & Nathaly Gonzalez-Acevedo (Eds). Joint efforts for innovation: Working together to improve foreign language teaching in the 21st century (pp. 59-65). Rothersthorpe: Paragon Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3064130
Mont, Maria, & Masats, Dolors (2018). Tips and suggestions to implement telecollaborative projects with young learners. In Melinda Dooly & Robert O’Dowd (Dirs.) In this together: Teachers’ experiences with transnational, telecollaborativelanguage learning projects (pp. 92-122). New York/Bern: Peter Lang. Gold open access.
Moon, Jayne (2000). Children Learning English. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann.
Otto, Ana, & Corina-Pérez, Beatriz (Eds.). (2023). Handbook of CLIL in pre-primaryeducation. Berlín: Springer.
Paran, Amos, & Watts, Eleanor (Eds). (2003). Storytelling in ELT. Whitstable: IATEFL.
Pinter, Annamaria (2006). Teaching Young Language Learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reilly, Vanessa, & Ward, Sheila M. (1997). Very Young Learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roth, Genevieve (1998). Teaching very young children. Pre-school and early primary. London: Richmond Santillana.
Rubavathanan, Markandan (2021). A comparative study on the theoretical development of functions of language with reference to Bühler, Jakobson, and Halliday. Noble: Journal of Literature and Language Education, 12 (2), 277-29.
Schwartz, Mila (2018). Preschool bilingual education: Agency in interaction between children, teachers, and parents. Berlin: Springer.
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
No special software is required to enrol in this course.
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
---|---|---|---|---|
(TE) Theory | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |