The Description of the Unit - Report Example

Part A. Unit of work Language: Spanish Continuers Target group: Stage 6 (Year 12) Unit of work: Lifestyles Estimated duration: 3 weeks Key concepts: Spanish is a language that enhances our understanding of cultures living in Australia, which enable us to reflect on our multicultural diversity. It can be used to interact with people from foreign countries who want to live in Australia or when we want to travel to these countries, as tourist, workers or in exchanging programmes. There are many Spanish-speaking communities, with different cultures, problems, and language use. Our understanding of the Spanish-speaking communities in our country enables us to enhance our mutual comprehension as a society, and prevents culture problems. Why does the learning matter? Students learn how to interpret texts and events from another culture, and establish relationships with the own culture (savoir-comprendre). Students learn how to interact with people from other cultures (savoir-faire). Students acquire knowledge on other cultures and the relationship between language, communication and culture (savoirs). Students acquire metacognitive strategies in order to acquire new learning and monitor their own learning process (savoir apprendre). Students recognize the importance of being open to foreign cultures (savoir être). Unit description: This unit covers the topic Lifestyles within the theme The Spanish-speaking communities. Students are introduced to the immigration of Spanish-speaking people to Australia, the process of travelling and finding a new lifestyle within a foreign culture, the reasons of these people to abandon their countries, as well as their variety in their language use and culture. Targeted outcomes The targeted outcomes that students are expected to achieve are derived from the objectives of interacting, understanding texts and producing texts listed in the stage 6 syllabus for Spanish Continuers (See Board of Studies NSW, 2009: 11 for details). Structures: Assumed knowledge: According to the expectations of the stage 6 syllabus, the students have acquired a significant understanding of the function of Grammar in Spanish (Board of Studies NSW, 2009a: 17), which includes nouns, articles, adjectives, different pronouns, regular and common irregular verbs, verb tenses of the indicative mood, conditional, imperative and subjunctive mood in common phrases (Board of Studies NSW, 2009b: 21), as well as adverbs, prepositions, interrogatives, conjunctions, interjection, negation, and numerals, a deep basis for the approach to complex authentic texts in Spanish. New grammatical structures and language in this unit: Verb tenses of the subjunctive mood to express wishes and possibilities. Progressive tenses to express what we usually do or what we were doing, formation of adverbs and common irregular forms of adverbs (bien, mal, tan). Practicing combination of tenses in a narrative text. Sociocultural content: Reasons for Spanish-speaking people to emigrate from their countries. Political, economic and social problems in Latin America and Spain. Differences and similarities between Australia and their countries. Visas, jobs, residence permits, studies. Comparing lifestyles. Cross-curriculum content and policies: Key competencies: Communicating ideas and information Collecting and analysing culture-specific information Reflecting on social problems Literacy links: comparing and contrasting Spanish-speaking communities comparing and contrasting cultures and lifestyles between Australia, Latin America and Spain using monolingual dictionaries to learn regional-specific words identifying different language registers constructing text for specific purposes understanding and using culturally appropriate language ICTs (internet research, email, blog) Building the field: brainstorm possible travel and immigration destinations in a Spanish-speaking country discuss the situation of Spanish-speaking immigrants in Australia revise countries and nationalities while using nouns and adjectives introduce adverbs which express opinions about lifestyles and immigration procedures discuss previous trips to Spanish-speaking destinations and experiences with Spanish-speaking people acknowledge influence of Spanish-speaking communities in Australia. discuss intercultural acceptance of differences and the notion of integration and segregation about immigrants Suggested teaching, learning and assessment activities: Phases and activities Introduction: Key concepts about the unit are addressed by the teacher, and discuss in the class in order to link them to students’ prior knowledge (significance). Interactions about the substance of the lesson make the class high in substantive communication. Teacher communicates her/his high expectations on students’ performance. Phase 1. Describing lifestyles. Students watch two videos of Spanish-speaking immigrants about their experiences in Australia. Activity 1.1. Listening, reading and responding. Answer questions based on the videos. Class discussion about pronunciation and grammar differences between the Spanish language of two different communities (Argentina and Venezuela). Metalenguage about the regional language phenomena in Spanish is presented to the students. Reflections on the use of language rather than focus on grammar. Activity 1.2. Reading. Students become the printed version of the videos. They underline the use of adverbs, verb tenses in subjunctive mood and progressive tenses. Activity 1.3. Speaking. Students compare the experience of the Spanish-speaking immigrants in Australia. Evidence of learning and ongoing feedback for students throughout unit of work Student understanding of key concepts. Feedback on prior knowledge. Student ability to comprehend what they listen. Class discussion and teacher feedback about the observable differences between the video speakers. Class discussion about correct identification of adverbs and tenses. Student ability to speak about the immigrants. Teacher observation and oral feedback. ICT skills are developed. Teacher gives oral and written feedback. Class discussion about the blog. Student peer assessment in the comments. Immediate evaluation of correct use of the past tense after class discussion. Student ability to express information and ideas in Spanish. Teacher and peer feedback in class. Registration/ Date Activity 1.4. Speaking. Students tell to what Spanish-speaking country they would travel to, using the subjunctive mood and conditional. Phase 2. Researching the diversity of Spanish-speaking communities. Activity 2.1. Reading and listening. Using the Internet, students research differences in the language use of different Spanish-speaking communities. Students present videos, audio files and texts with examples of the selected community to the class. Activity 2.2. Speaking. Class discussion on problematic knowledge. What do these differences account for? Is there a better Spanish language? Which variety is the right one for a foreign learner? These questions are addressed to show how a language varies according to social and cultural influences. Presenting conflicted lexical and grammar forms. Students select their activities and materials, and they decide how to accomplish this task (student direction, quality environment). Phase 3. Class project. A blog titled “Mi experiencia con el español” (My experience with the Spanish language). Activity 3.1. Reading and writing. Students are engaged to provide the class blog with entries about their own experiences as Spanish learners (trips to Spanish-speaking countries, Spanish or Latin American origins, relatives or friends, videos, texts that awake their interest). Student application of grammar forms, speaking fluency and pronunciation. ICT skills are developed. Teacher gives oral and written feedback. Student ability to engage in a discussion and to explain their ideas using metalenguage. ICT skills are developed. Teacher gives oral and written feedback. Student ability to express information and ideas in Spanish. Teacher and peer feedback in class. Assessment task – Reading, Writing, Speaking. Part A. Students read a testimony of a Mexican immigrant. They answer questions about their understanding of the experience. Part B. A Spanish-speaking Internet friend is willing to come to Australia to study. What would you tell him about the experience as an Australian student? Part C. You want to participate in an exchanging programme with a Spanish-speaking country. Which country would you like to visit and why? Conclusion: Teacher monitors what the students learned, and listens to their opinions and proposals, to ensure deep knowledge. Teacher feedback, class discussion of marking criteria and sample answers Application of acquired knowledge in class. Students’ feedback as well as their achievements in the assessment tasks makes evident their deep understanding. These discussions account for high-order thinking, because they combine facts and ideas to arrive at their conclusions. Describing lifestyles Activity 1.1. The videos and their printed versions can be seen in the following websites: 1. http://www.vivaenaustralia.com/testimonios/ver_testimonio.asp?Id=32 2. http://www.vivaenaustralia.com/testimonios/ver_testimonio.asp?Id=82 Questions on video 1: Where do these immigrants come from? Why did they come to Australia? Where do they live now? What are they doing in Australia? Are they happy with their new life? Questions on video 2: Where does this immigrant come from? Why did he come to Australia? Where does he live now? Does he have a positive opinion on Australian people? Has he asked for help to come to Australia? Activity 1.2. Underline adverbs, verb tenses in subjunctive mood and progressive tenses in the texts. Activity 1.3. Compare the experience of the Spanish-speaking immigrants in Australia. According to their countries of origins, what have they found attractive in Australia? Which are their occupations and new lifestyle? Activity 1.4. Tell the class to what Spanish-speaking country you would travel to, using the subjunctive mood and conditional forms. Blog: Mi experiencia con el español Features: The teacher writes the first post, and tells her/his own experience with the Spanish language: native tongue, nationality, family origin, motivations to teach Spanish, familiarity with Spanish-speaking communities, trips to Spanish-speaking countries, activities that she/he enjoys in Spanish (e.g. watching telenovelas, reading Latin American and Spanish authors, dancing and listening to Spanish and Latin music, speaking with Latin American friends). This post will be written in Spanish and it would be a sample for the students’ posts. A post about the teachers’ expectations about the blog and how to post comments, and how to introduce relevant materials (pictures of trips, videos, audio files, and links to interesting and useful websites for Spanish learners) is included and it will be always visible in the blog design. This task is high on significance, because the blog is public, and it could become comments from other students and people outside the school. Every student posts at least an entry of the blog and comments on the entries of at least five students. It allows observing students’ engagement, and hence it works the quality learning dimension. The comments should demonstrate social support, that is, mutual respect among students, free of negative comments. Peer assessment is encouraged. The use of monolingual dictionaries is encouraged. A list of resources for Spanish learners is to be filled and actualized. Part B. Reflections on Quality Teaching Reading about Quality Teaching has improved my understanding on being a foreign language teacher. Teaching involves a great responsibility, because it influences the students’ outcomes, and their attitudes toward other cultures and the learned language. The Quality Teaching framework introduced by the NSW Department of Education and Training (2003a, 2003b) aims to improve “teaching practice and hence student learning outcomes” (NSW DET, 2003b: 3) by means of the application of three dimensions of pedagogy: intellectual quality, quality learning environment and significance. According to Yeigh (2008: 3), “the model provides an authentic basis for sustainable professional learning”, that is, “professional career knowledge and abilities” (Yeigh, 2008: 1). Although there is a paper about the little congruency of this framework with the reality of teaching children with moderate intellectual disabilities (Formosa and Dixon, 2004), modifications to this framework could be implemented and discussed for special education, because the DET is open to teachers’ feedback. However, for foreign language teaching the NSW DET framework helps to face the challenges of an intercultural world. A language teacher is also a learner, because cultures evolve and every language is so complex that its learning is never completed. A critical self-reflection on the teaching practice enables me to improve as a teacher and to acknowledge the differences in student groups. The Quality Teaching framework provides us with a model which is flexible to change, adaptable to different students, and it enables to achieve an intercultural competence. The intercultural competence has different dimensions, which are associated with the elements of QT, e.g. culture specific and general knowledge, knowledge of self and other, of individual and societal interaction, the influence of culture on language and communication (Sercu, 2004: 75). The language classroom is not isolated from the real world. Using authentic texts shows the real use of language, although these texts can be more difficult for the students to understand, due to colloquial language, and regional specific marks. So, they can learn interaction forms which reflect the authentic interaction in the learned cultures. Due to the presence of different cultures in Australia, the foreign language experience is not reserved for the travel and tourism in far away countries, but a part of our own culture. Nowadays, there is access to a diversity of resources in all languages, through Internet, international periodicals and cable TV. Teachers should not ignore this diversity of resources and encourage students to make use of it. The intellectual quality dimension engages the foreign language teacher to seek the assessment and class practices that goes beyond memorization of vocabulary and structures, automatic multiple-choice examinations and following textbooks without questioning them. In order to ensure intellectual quality it is important to focus in the intercultural competence. In a Continuers level we can give less focus to grammar and more to high-order thinking, so that students are able to analyse and synthesize information, evaluate and communicate their findings and perspectives on knowledge. The application of this dimension will have a positive influence in the teaching practice and in the students’ disposition toward the foreign language. The assessment tasks according to this dimension (See NWS DET, 2003b: 11) are more challenging for the students and for the teacher, but more rewarding, as they enable to better assess the intercultural competence. Authenticity is also applied to tests, because its degree is essential for test quality, in order to show the correspondence of characteristics of those tasks in real life (Sercu, 2004: 80). The dimension of quality learning environment allows the productivity of work, because students can be aware of what it is expected of them by means of explicit quality criteria and by knowing that they participate in a challenging work (high expectations), which is student centred, also related with their self-regulation (possible if they know what it is expected of them), social support and engagement. In theory, QLE lacks demonstrable forms (NWS DET, 2003a: 29), but the teacher can observe how students are engaged by means of their attitudes in class. The constructivist background of the NSW DET Quality Teaching framework is clearer in the significance dimension, because it takes into account students’ prior knowledge, incorporates the cultural knowledge of diverse social grouping, also the student’s own cultural knowledge as well as the knowledge of others, which is integrated between different subjects. Thus, the foreign language teaching is not separated from the rest of the curriculum. When learning a foreign language and culture, a student learns also about geography, history, sociology, politics, and as the vehicle of the whole culture, it enables access to every subject. The integration of knowledge is associated with the integration of the individuals in the learning process. Every student has something important to give and achieve in the classroom, and students can apply all this knowledge in their own contexts outside the classroom and school. They can demonstrate these aspects by means of narrative, when taking narrative account of what they learn. Teachers’ beliefs and profiles have to be according to what is expected of the students, and they have to be favourable disposed towards the integration of foreign language teaching (Sercu, 2006). The teacher has to read literature on his profession, be aware of current researches, critic textbooks. To enhance the professional learning is important to promote metacognitive awareness, which “involves the use of self-reflective practices as the primary means of empowering the learning” (Yeigh, 2008: 14). It is not easy to accomplish, because it is more demanding for students and teachers. Designing assessment tasks and tests is complex when quality criteria are applied (see Sercu, 2004). Using the same textbooks and tests in different groups leads to an “automatic teaching”. The teacher is committed to the development of students’ intercultural competence and the way to access to knowledge. The enthusiasm that such an experience generate makes this task easier for teachers and learners, because the other way, paradoxically leads to a more difficult task because it affects negatively the learning and teaching process, resulting on lack of motivation and learning difficulties. References: Board of Studies New South Wales (2009a). Spanish Continuers Stage 6 Syllabus. Sydney: Author. Board of Studies New South Wales (2009b). Spanish Beginners Stage 6 Syllabus. Sydney: Author. Formosa, L. and Dixon, R. (2004). The NSW DETs quality teaching framework and the realities of a special education classroom. Retrieved from http://www.aare.edu.au/04pap/for04964.pdf New South Wales Department of Education and Training (2003a). Quality teaching in NSW public schools: A classroom practice guide. Sydney: Author. New South Wales Department of Education and Training (2003b). Quality teaching in NSW public schools: Discussion paper. Sydney: Author. Sercu, L. (2004). Assessing intercultural competence: A framework for systematic test development in foreign language education and beyond. Intercultural Education, 15(1), 73–89. Sercu, L. (2006). The foreign language and intercultural competence teacher: The acquisition of a new professional identity. Intercultural Education, 17(1), 55–72 Yeigh, T. (2008). Quality Teaching & Professional Learning: Uncritical Reflections of a Critical Friend. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 33(2), 1-15. Read More