Foreign Language Area in the Curriculum for Civil Service Exams

TEMARIO DE OPOSICIONES INGLÉS - PRIMARIA

TEMA 20 EL ÁREA DE LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS EN EL CURRÍCULO

CRITERIOS A REFLEJAR EN EL PROYECTO EDUCATIVO DE CENTRO Y EN EL PROYECTO CURRICULAR DE CENTRO. N DE OP OSI PREPA CIONES DE CANARIAS preparacionoposiciones.com O preparacion.oposicionesTOPIC 20. THE FL AREA IN THE CURRICULUM. CRITERIA TO BE REFLECTED IN THE SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL PROJECT AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULAR PROJECT.

INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION
2. FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA IN THE CURRICULUM
3. CRITERIA TO BE REFLECTED IN THE SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL PROJECT AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULAR PROJECT.
4. CONCLUSION
5. DOCUMENTAL REFERENCES

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INTRODUCTION

FOREIGN LANGUAGE AREA IN THE CURRICULUM

The inclusion of English in the Primary Education Curriculum addresses a genuine communication need that pupils will inevitably face in the future. In today's world, knowledge of a foreign language has become a fundamental necessity for both social and educational purposes. Learning a FL not only bridges the gap between cultures but also deepens students' understanding of their native language and culture. This FL area is comprehensible addressed in the Spanish curriculum, which is structured into four levels of curricular concretion:

• The first level refers to the minimum teaching requirements established by the Spanish government (Royal Decree 157/2022, March 1st) which are further specified by each Autonomous Region (Decree 211/2022).
• The second level pertains to the School Educational Project, which must define the educational aims appropriate to the specific context. (This topic will be developed in the next section).
• The third level relates to the Teaching Planning or the Syllabus, developed by the teachers and tailored to their students' rhythms. This is the level discussed in this topic.
• The fourth level entails the specific characteristics of the special adaptations that teachers need to make in the classroom. According to other authors, these adaptations should be included in the Universal Design for Learning, as outlined in the inclusive syllabus (it means, the third level).

In this topic, first and second levels will be explored in depth to better understand the classroom implementation of the third and the fourth levels. Understanding the role of FL in Primary Education requires an in-depth analysis of the different elements integrating it, from competences to basic knowledge or specific competences. In curricular terms, the whole stage views specific competences and basic knowledge as fundamental referents which will lead to the attainment of the educational aims. In this sense, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001) advocates for an action-oriented approach, offering a comprehensible perspective of language use and learning. In this framework, learners are regarded as "social agents" who use the FL within specific circumstances and social contexts. The distribution of competences is determined at the national level by the LOE-LOMLOE legislation, while each autonomous community develops their own curriculum. Teachers, in turn, decide what must be taught taking into consideration the socio-cultural environment of the learners and their individual characteristics to ensure the attainment of the desired competence level. Accordingly, teachers are responsible for planning the sequence and timing of instruction. The FL area curriculum is divided into the following sections:

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Stage Objectives (Decree 211/2022)

There are 14 general objectives in Primary Stage, all aimed at contributing to the development of students' abilities. The main objective in our area is Stage Objective f) "To acquire, in at least one foreign language, the basic communicative competence that enable them to express and understand simple messages and function in everyday situations". Other relevant objectives include the promotion of reading habits, the respect and tolerance for different cultures and the use of digital technologies.

Key Competences (Organic Law 3/2020, of December 29th, LOMLOE)

A key competence represents a significant accomplishment and is the result of integrating the three dimensions of competence: knowledge, skills and attitudes. In Primary Education, key competences are the following:

1. Competence in Linguistic Communication (CLC)
2. Plurilingual Competence (PC)
3. Mathematical Competence and Competence in Science, Technology, and Engineering (STEM)
4. Digital Competence (DC)
5. Personal, Social, and Learning to Learn Competence (PSLLC)
6. Citizenship Competence (CC)
7. Entrepreneurial Competence (EC)
8. Cultural Awareness and Expression Competence (CAEC)

Specific Competences and Operative Descriptors (Decree 211/2022)

Specific competences are those abilities that students are expected to demonstrate in activities or situations that require basic knowledge of each subject area. These competences encompass: comprehension, production, interaction, mediation, plurilingualism and interculturality. The operative descriptors represent the components of each key competence.

Basic Knowledge

Basic knowledge includes the knowledge, skills and attitudes that form the core content of a subject area and are essential for acquiring specific competences. They are divided into three blocks:

A) Communication B) Plurilingualism C) Interculturality D) Intrapersonal and interpersonal dimension.

Methodological Orientations (Decree 211/2022)

The methodology should be fundamentally active, motivating and participatory aligning with students' interests. It should promote both individual and cooperative work, encourage peer learning (groupings) and incorporate approaches that emphasize gender perspective, respect for individual differences, inclusion and non-discriminatory practices (diversity). Additionally, it should integrate references to daily life and the immediate environment in all subject areas and involves considerations such as didactic resources, time and

4 cc $ preparacionoposiciones.comspace management, addressing diversity, promoting values education and fostering cross-curricular connections. But the main objective of motivating learning situations lies in the teacher addressing the centre of interest of their students.

Sequence of Activities

Activities are sometimes referred to as the trunk in any formative unit. In this point, it is essential to design a coherent learning sequence in which the activities do not appear in isolation; rather, they should be interrelated and specify what students will actually do with the input that forms the point of departure for the learning task. They should involve students in active and purposeful use of the language in meaningful contexts. Activities can be classified according to a wide range of criteria. Depending on the prevailing aim or on the stage of the unit in which they are implemented, we may distinguish evaluation activities, motivation activities, reinforcement activities, detection of previous knowledge, etc. For instance, showing the cover page of a book and asking questions predicting could be a motivating activity.

Evaluation (Order May 31st, 2023)

It has a dual entity: evaluation of the learning process implies a complete assessment since initial evaluation to all the continuous, summative and global procedures. We need to consider strategies and instruments, systematic observation, oral exchanges, written tests, self-evaluation, co-evaluation, etc., and evaluation procedures, such as daily observation, final tasks, participation and interest, etc. All these different aspects and instruments are valid for evaluation. Yet, the need for a systematic and coherent evaluation of children makes necessary the selection of some criteria which are common. This is the last component of the curriculum, that of evaluation criteria. These criteria are clearly related to the FL objectives as they serve us to not only if, but to what extent, the child has developed the Key Competences. In this regard, the establishment of competence-based projects is an ideal scenario for the development and evaluation of competences. Libow and Stager (2013) define the term project as a kind of work which is substantial, shareable, and personally meaningful. The Annual Planning of the curriculum is organized into learning situations (Royal Decree 157/2022, 1st march, Annex III). Following Valls (2022) learning situations are characterized by: Contextualization, interdisciplinarity, competence development, active methodologies and formative evaluation, are the essential curricular elements to consider. Scrivener (2005) points out that planning implies imagining the lesson before it happens; and involves prediction, anticipation, sequencing, organising and simplifying. Once having covered the impact of the FL in the curriculum, let us now analyse the organisation of the teaching action through the school documents.

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CRITERIA TO BE REFLECTED IN THE SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL PROJECT AND THE SCHOOL CURRICULAR PROJECT.

In this section we are going to concentrate on the second level of curricular specification, making reference to the School Educative Project and the School Curricular Project, currently known as Educative Project and School Curricular Proposal, as determined by LOE-LOMLOE. . The School Educational Project (now Educational Project). The Educational Project is a planning instrument that specifies a set of decisions related to basic educational options and the general organization of the school, which are accepted by the entire school community, being elaborated by the management team and approved by the principal, and not by the teaching staff (as established in Article 132 of the LOE-LOMLOE). The Educational Projects must include some criteria classified as follows:

• The analysis of the socio-cultural context of the centre.
• The signs of identity and values of the centre.
• The educational objectives and action priorities.
• The general organisation of the centre, which is about the organisation of the school. It is also important to take into account the use of the library, video rooms, the use of computers and the Internet and also the elaboration of a timetable where we can schedule the periods of teaching. To achieve these aims the school should take into account the help from parents and students.
• Coordination among the members of the educational community.
• Security and Evacuation Plan. It evaluates and reports on any potential risk situations that may exist in the school.
• School's Welcome Plan. It will be aimed at facilitating the integration of all members of the educational community into the institution, ensuring they are granted the respect they deserve.
• Linguistic Plan. It addresses the need to implement foreign languages to learn both the language and the cultural aspects of those countries. Reading Promotion Plan is also considered, in accordance with the Decree 81/2010, July 8th of reading for the Linguistic Competence in Primary and Secondary Education in Andalusia.
• Diversity Attention Plan. This outlines the set of actions, curriculum adaptations, organizational measures, support, and reinforcements designed and implemented by a school to provide all students with responses tailored to their needs.
• Tutorial Action Plan (TAP from now on). This section addresses the range of actions carried out by a teacher with their pupils, the group and families, as well as with other teachers at the school who teach a specific group.
• Coexistence Plan. This serves to establish the general guidelines for the coexistence model, as well as the objectives and rules governing an educational community, attending among others, to gender equality.
• Teacher training Plan. It is aimed at implementing training activities at the school level, based on identified need to improve student performance.

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