I would like to invite to read this short interview and reflect on these words. How can we do as English teachers to rescue our teaching practices from the blind path of 'non-contextualization'?
A very interesting interview. I think we could rescue our practices by putting them into real lifer activites which are important for the students community.
Teaching a language is teaching culture. However, we forget ours to teach the target one. To rescue our teaching from blindness:
- Let us understand that teaching language as grammar is like teaching somebody how to drive by explaining him the mechanics of the car... No way! Language is communication not grammar (well, also grammar, but you do not learn it only through grammatical explanation, do you?)
- Let's remember every day for every lesson that learning begins with activity, activity begins with interest, interest begins with meaningfulness. (to be is dull; what makes a girl, a picture, a landscape, an animal... to be beautiful is not so dull!) What is meaningful for students? Curriculum planning has to depart from what is meaningful for students.
I am sure, readers of this blog will complement these ideas, please.
The CEFR Companion Volume is based on the same research methodology as the original CEFR project, in order to validate additional ‘can do’ illustrative descriptors for the reference levels A1-C2. The new descriptors provide:
(i) a more nuanced description of the reference levels including a ‘pre-A1’ level, ‘plus’ levels for A2, B1 and B2, and more descriptors for the ‘C’ levels.
(ii) scales for areas not illustrated in the original text, including ‘mediation’, online interaction, response to literature, ‘plurilingual’ and ‘pluricultural’ competences.
(iii) selected revisions to the original descriptors to better reflect a plurilingual model of language competence, including the removal of any references to ‘native speakers’, and the replacement of the existing phonology scale with two new scales that emphasise intelligibility (rather than a native speaker ideal).
Also included is a 20 page text on key aspects of the CEFR for learning and teaching, which is a relatively accessible and practical introduction to the exploitation of the CEFR for course design and classroom practice.
Towards a broader view of language education
The CEFR has always differed from the traditional ‘four skills’ model of listening, speaking, writing and reading, instead organising communication and strategies according to:
‘reception’ (e.g. listening, reading, observing) ‘production’ (e.g. spoken and written monologue) ‘interaction’ (e.g. spoken, written exchange, face to face, remotely and online) ‘mediation’ (e.g. mediating communication, texts or concepts)
It is this last category of ‘mediation’ that was missing from the original illustrative descriptors, and has now been developed considerably with 19 new descriptor scales in this area alone. The concept of mediation in the CEFR takes in a range of communicative tasks and strategies relating to collaborative team work, integrated skills, relaying and synthesising text and meanings, and fostering better understanding among others. Thus mediation competences, along with the new scales for online interaction, plurilingual and pluricultural competences, are highly relevant to the cluster of ‘soft’ communication skills characterised as ‘21st century skills’ in mainstream education, with the advantage of being concretely described at each CEFR level.
Another key point of emphasis in the new descriptors is the addition of scales of plurilingual / pluricultural competences and multimodal online interaction. The recognition of individual profiles and repertoires that realise an integrated experience of languages, cultures and media literacies is fundamental to both the CEFR and the European Language Portfolio.
International piloting of the new descriptors indicates they can provide a very clear focus for teachers / educators to design relevant integrated skills tasks, and for learners to evaluate their own performances formatively. This captures a clear paradigm shift emerging in language education, emphasising the role of the language learner as social actor, actively facilitating better understanding in multiple ways.
I would like to invite to read this short interview and reflect on these words. How can we do as English teachers to rescue our teaching practices from the blind path of 'non-contextualization'?
ResponderEliminarhttp://www.semana.com/educacion/articulo/rodolfo-llinas-colombia-es-una-cenicienta-que-quiere-ir-al-baile-de-los-paises-desarrollados/385963-3
A very interesting interview. I think we could rescue our practices by putting them into real lifer activites which are important for the students community.
ResponderEliminarTeaching a language is teaching culture. However, we forget ours to teach the target one.
ResponderEliminarTo rescue our teaching from blindness:
- Let us understand that teaching language as grammar is like teaching somebody how to drive by explaining him the mechanics of the car... No way! Language is communication not grammar (well, also grammar, but you do not learn it only through grammatical explanation, do you?)
- Let's remember every day for every lesson that learning begins with activity, activity begins with interest, interest begins with meaningfulness. (to be is dull; what makes a girl, a picture, a landscape, an animal... to be beautiful is not so dull!)
What is meaningful for students? Curriculum planning has to depart from what is meaningful for students.
I am sure, readers of this blog will complement these ideas, please.
Actualización 2018 del Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas:
ResponderEliminarEn el siguiente link pueden bajar el nuevo documento:
https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages
Tim Goodier (Eaquals.org):
What’s new in the CEFR Companion Volume?
The CEFR Companion Volume is based on the same research methodology as the original CEFR project, in order to validate additional ‘can do’ illustrative descriptors for the reference levels A1-C2. The new descriptors provide:
(i) a more nuanced description of the reference levels including a ‘pre-A1’ level, ‘plus’ levels for A2, B1 and B2, and more descriptors for the ‘C’ levels.
(ii) scales for areas not illustrated in the original text, including ‘mediation’, online interaction, response to literature, ‘plurilingual’ and ‘pluricultural’ competences.
(iii) selected revisions to the original descriptors to better reflect a plurilingual model of language competence, including the removal of any references to ‘native speakers’, and the replacement of the existing phonology scale with two new scales that emphasise intelligibility (rather than a native speaker ideal).
Also included is a 20 page text on key aspects of the CEFR for learning and teaching, which is a relatively accessible and practical introduction to the exploitation of the CEFR for course design and classroom practice.
Towards a broader view of language education
The CEFR has always differed from the traditional ‘four skills’ model of listening, speaking, writing and reading, instead organising communication and strategies according to:
‘reception’ (e.g. listening, reading, observing)
‘production’ (e.g. spoken and written monologue)
‘interaction’ (e.g. spoken, written exchange, face to face, remotely and online)
‘mediation’ (e.g. mediating communication, texts or concepts)
It is this last category of ‘mediation’ that was missing from the original illustrative descriptors, and has now been developed considerably with 19 new descriptor scales in this area alone. The concept of mediation in the CEFR takes in a range of communicative tasks and strategies relating to collaborative team work, integrated skills, relaying and synthesising text and meanings, and fostering better understanding among others. Thus mediation competences, along with the new scales for online interaction, plurilingual and pluricultural competences, are highly relevant to the cluster of ‘soft’ communication skills characterised as ‘21st century skills’ in mainstream education, with the advantage of being concretely described at each CEFR level.
Another key point of emphasis in the new descriptors is the addition of scales of plurilingual / pluricultural competences and multimodal online interaction. The recognition of individual profiles and repertoires that realise an integrated experience of languages, cultures and media literacies is fundamental to both the CEFR and the European Language Portfolio.
International piloting of the new descriptors indicates they can provide a very clear focus for teachers / educators to design relevant integrated skills tasks, and for learners to evaluate their own performances formatively. This captures a clear paradigm shift emerging in language education, emphasising the role of the language learner as social actor, actively facilitating better understanding in multiple ways.
Tim Goodier 13/6/18
Thank you!
Eliminar