LESSON 1

USE OF THE FOREIGN

LANGUAGE
 SUMMARY

• Classroom language.

• Semantic fields necessary for the success in the

teaching process.

• Linguistic components in Primary Education:

lexis, phonetics, morphosyntax.
THE DISCOURSE IN THE
CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION

Language as a combination of different processes

LANGUAGE

System of Communicative
Acts and Situations
Structures and
Words

DYNAMIC Register, etc

Context
PHENOMENON
Kinesics
LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION

LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Manipulation of linguistic Learning a new language also
structures and the involves learning how to
knowledge of vocabulary and communicate effectively,
phonetic features correctly and appropriately

CURRENT DEMANDS
The new plurilingual European context as well as
innovation in technology demands a new communicative
approach
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

DELL HYMES: The goal of language teaching is the ability

to develop communicative competence

Communicative competence: skills speakers need to

control to be able to communicate effictively in an
(intercultural) community

▪ Body Language
▪ Cultural components
▪ Social components
▪ Gender/Age
▪ Etc
 HYMES’S COMPONENTS OF
LINGUISTIC INTERACTION

▪ Setting & scene

▪ Participants
▪ Ends
▪ Act sequence
▪ Key
▪ Instrumentalities
▪ Norms
▪ Genre
▪ SPEAKING VIDEO goo.gl/3Q6Dqs
 goo.gl/4mYFCb

Language is alive and it cannot

be used unless it is
contextualized in a specific
moment, place, time and
between a set of speakers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjXGywPzkw0

▪ Many scholars consider

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE a
more accurate term, due to the
importance of intercultural
awareness/recognition in recent
literature about foreign language
teaching (methodology).
▪ For some, even the term
“communicative competence”
must be rephrased as “intercultural
communicative competence”.
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
Real Decreto 1513/2006: Communicative Competence comprises 5 sub-
competences:

Sub-competence Description
Grammar Ability to use units (sentences, structures, etc.) as
Competence rules of the language system
Discourse Ability to use different types of discourse and
Competence organizing them based on the communicative
situation & on the interlocutors
Strategic Ability of speakers to use verbal and non-verbal
Competence communication strategies to compensate for
breakdowns in communication or to improve the
effectiveness of communication
Sociolinguistic Ability to adapt statements to a particular context,
Competence observing the usage of a given linguistic community
(UK, USA, etc)

Sociocultural Being familiar with social and cultural context in

Competence which a given language is used (formal vs informal vs social vs
etc)
 THE ROLE OF THE L1
(L1:MOTHER/NATIVE LANGUAGE)

NATIVE LANGUAGE [L1]

▪The influence of the L1 should not be assumed to be a negative one:
there is both, positive and negative transfer.
+ transfer of identical structures.
- transfer of elements that are not identical. However, even negative
transfer can be useful in the process of communicating meaning.

ROD ELLIS [Understanding Second Language

Acquisition, 1986:40]
The L1 is a resource of knowledge which
learners will use both consciously and
subconsciously to help them sift the L2
data in the input and to perform as best
as they can in the L2.
 INTERLANGUAGE
▪Seliker (1972) characterizes the learner’s developing system as
“interlanguage,” describing it as an intermediate system located
somewhere between the learner’s native language and the target
language, but governed by its own unique and coherent
internalized rule system.
▪Interlanguage is a continuum.
▪Restructuring
continuum.
▪Developmental continuum.
▪Restructuring continuum. Gradually
approximates the system of the target language.

▪Developmental continuum. Becomes more

complex as the language is acquired.
CLASS LANGUAGE [L2/ENGLISH]
▪ Foreign Language classroom is a
communicative context.
▪ It is possible to use L2 for all the
interactions in class
▪ presenting language,
▪ checking understanding,
▪ clarifying doubts,
▪ giving instructions,
▪ modelling,
▪ setting up activities,
▪ provide extensive language input,
▪ giving feedback,
▪ asking for information and providing
examples of L2 use.
▪ The classroom situation is a real
contextual situation. English used in
the classroom is directly transferable
to other real-world situations.
▪ English used by the teacher is a
source of real input (oral/written
messages) for children.

Video How to learn a language in 6 months

Short version goo.gl/U32ez6
Long versión goo.gl/CFFNjn
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION/KINESICS IN
THE CLASS
▪ Kinesics in the FL classroom
▪ Gestures
▪ Facial expressions
▪ Mime
▪ Use of space, attitude, etc
▪ Kinesics can be used to
▪ Help to clarify the linguistic
input
▪ Reinforce the meaning of
instructions and provide
information on activities
through a different channel to
the auditory
▪ Reduce verbal explanations
▪ Attract the students’ attention
▪ Improve interaction
▪ Improve understanding
Sadness

Anger
ANGER SURPRISE
Disgust

Fear

Interest
FEAR HAPPINESS

Surprise

Happiness

DISGUST SADNESS
 GIVING INSTRUCTIONS

▪ Some guidelines on ▪ Giving feedback to our

effective instruction pupils has many
giving: purposes:
▪ Become aware of your
▪ Giving praise and
instruction-giving
strategies encouragement
▪ Correcting
▪ Prepare instructions

▪ Attract the students’

production
attention ▪ Supporting

▪ Use simple, easy-to- assessment

understand language ▪ Having discussions
▪ Involve the senses about group
▪ Demonstrate and give progression
examples ▪ Giving individual
▪ Get feedback from the tutorials
students
1.2 THE SEMANTIC FIELDS
NECESSARY FOR THE FULFILLING OF
THE TEACHING FUNCTION
 USEFUL VOCABULARY IN
CLASS
FAREWELL ACTIVITIES
GREETINGS ROUTINES CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
GOODBYE IN CLASS
 USEFUL VOCABULARY IN
CLASS
FAREWELL ACTIVITIES CLASSROOM
GREETINGS ROUTINES
GOODBYE IN CLASS MANAGEMENT
Hello, kids! Goodbye Read May I…? Can I borrow your pencil,
please?
Good morning See you Write Open/Close
/ afternoon / next… the door Do you have a…?
evening Color
Class, you are Silence, How do you say “verano” in
dismissed. Draw please! English?

You may Cut Let’s… What does “summer” mean?

leave, class.
Sing Sit down How do you pronounce “tiny”?
Have a good /Stand up
evening/ Copy I don´t understand.
afternoon, Create
class. Complete groups of 3 Can you help me, please?

Connect Put your… I don’t know / I don’t remember

on/in the…
Can you repeat, please?
 SUMMARY

• Classroom language.

• Semantic fields necessary for the success in the

teaching process.

• Linguistic components in Primary Education:

lexis, phonetics, morphosyntax.
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 1. Simon says
In this well known TEFL game, students only do the
action they are told to when the sentence starts with
“Simon says…”, e.g. “Simon says open your books on
page 27”. If they hear any other command, e.g. “Knock
on the door”, they should remain totally still and not
even start doing the action. To add some more useful
language, you can replace “Simon says…” with “You
have to…” or “The teacher wants you to…”.
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 2. Only when it matches

Students only copy if the action and what the teacher
says is the same, e.g. if the teacher both says “Stand up
and face the window” and does that action. If the action
and words don’t match, e.g. if the teacher faces the
window while saying “face the door”, the students
should just stay still. You can give points to individuals
or teams who do the correct actions the quickest, and
take points away or make them sit down out of the
game if people do things when they shouldn’t.
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 3. Tell me off
Students should only copy if the action and what the
teachers says is the same, and shout something
negative like “No”, “That’s wrong”, “They are different”,
“One more time, please” or “You’ve made a mistake” if
they don’t match (unlike just staying still like the
variation above)
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 4. Do as I say, not as I do
When the actions and what the teacher says don’t
match, students don’t copy the action, but do what
the teacher says instead

• 5. Do what’s right, not what I say

Students don’t copy if you ask them to do something
that they shouldn’t do in the classroom, e.g. “Shout”,
“Bang on the table” or “Kick a boy”, but race to
follow instructions that are okay, e.g. “Bow to your
neighbour” or “Shake hands”
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 6. Instructions protests
Tell the students to do some typical classroom
actions, then throw in some things that are
impossible, e.g. “Clean the whiteboard” then
“Clean the ceiling”. With the impossible ones,
they shout back “I/ we can’t (clean the ceiling)”,
“That’s too difficult” or other useful classroom
language for telling the teacher they have
problems in class.
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 7. Classroom instructions collocations brainstorms

Give the students a verb and see how many possible
things they can tell the teacher or another student to do
using that verb, e.g. for open “Open the cupboard”, “Open
your pencil case”, “Open your mouth” etc.
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 8. Classroom English ranking debate

Give students a list of 20 to 25 sentences that are
useful for them to use in the classroom, including
some more unusual ones like “Can I blow my
nose, please?” and “Can you lend me some
money, please?” In pairs or threes, students
debate which are the top ten most useful
sentences. These can then be turned into a poster
or worksheet, and should be the ones the teacher
is strict about not allowing L1 for from then on.
 CLASSROOM LANGUAGE GAMES
https://goo.gl/5nP8LS

• 9. Classroom language Pictionary

Students try to draw a typical thing that students or
teachers say in the classroom, and the rest of the class or
their team try to guess what the sentence is e.g. a
drawing of a confused face and a question mark for
“Sorry, I don’t understand” or a drawing of arrows going
from a book, pen, eraser etc to a bag for “Put everything
away in your bag”. Drawing of symbols and numbers is
okay, but no writing (even of single letters) is allowed.
This can lead onto students making posters of useful
classroom language with accompanying pictures to leave
up in the classroom for reference, e.g. the 10 most useful
ones they decided in the ranking debate (see game 8).
1.3 GENERAL AND ON-LINE REVISION
OF THE BASIC LINGUISTIC
COMPONENTS AND ITS TREATMENT
IN PRIMARY EDUCATION: LEXIS,
PHONETICS, MORPHOSYNTAX
LOMCE – DECRETO EDUCACION
PRIMARIA
 ÁREA DE LENGUA INGLESA -
LOMCE
DECRETO 108/2014, de 4 de julio, del Consell, por el que establece el currículo y desarrolla la ordenación
general de la educación primaria en la Comunitat Valenciana. [2014/6347]

Starting at page 253/360 “Area primera lengua extranjera: inglés”

http://www.dogv.gva.es/datos/2014/07/07/pdf/2014_6347.pdf

STRUCTURE