Story Time for kids. I am enough. Motivating resources in the FL classroom.

Story Time for Kids with POWER ASC | I Am Enough | Children’s Book Read Aloud

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4jZxWiCxrY&t=15s

 

Text extracted from: Método de resolución de casos prácticos. Road to your Post.

MODEL 7. According to the legal framework, it is vital that the teaching of foreign languages is guided towards communication in contextualised situations, making use of motivating resources and cooperation amongst students. Considering this, explain the way in which a song can be a contextualising socio-cultural element for communication, FL practice and cooperation for students in their sixth year of Primary Education; and consider some practical motivating tasks.

PCS ANALYSIS
At a first glance to this question we can easily identify the keywords to devise our QWCI tool:
“According to the legal framework, it is vital that the teaching of foreign languages is guided towards communication in contextualised situations, making use of motivating resources and cooperation amongst students. Considering this, explain the way in which a song can be a contextualising socio-cultural element for communication, FL practice and cooperation for students in their sixth year of Primary Education; and consider some practical motivating tasks.”

Now that the coast is clear, it seems that we are in charge of presenting communicative tasks using the context of a song as a source of socio-cultural knowledge, and implementing collaborative classroom dynamics. Obviously, the extent to which the TBE considers our proposal “motivating” shall depend on how creative it is; but also on its feasibility; apart from that, this balance should be embedded in any practical task we present.
In Road to your Post we believe that excellence in training implies being able to gather the information we need and use it appropriately in different contexts. However, this entails a rapid compilation of essential concepts that shall have to make sense and be connected. In what follows, we analyse some of those indispensable theoretical hints for this PCS resolution.
First and foremost, the concept of sociocultural competence cannot be analysed in isolation. We need to understand the context in which it appears and the elements of communicative competence it is related to. Similarly, this term must be defined as a weighty component of communicative competence. The original concept (Hymes, 1972) has evolved through the contribution of different authors like Canale and Swain (1980), or Celce-Murcia (1995) amongst many others. However, the model developed by Canale and Swain (1980) and the further contributions proposed by Canale (1983) still remains the main source in relation to communicative competence.
In guise of an example, Van Ek´s (1986) model of communicative ability includes six competences: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, strategic, socio-cultural and social. With regards to socio-cultural competence, he suggests that socially and culturally, languages are differently framed; therefore, being in one specific cultural or social situation requires a specific reference frame. Similarly, social competence involves both skill and will to interact with others. This view guides FL teaching towards an interrelation between language and culture and its integration in the process of learning a FL.
According to Celce-Murcia (2007), “sociocultural competence refers to the speaker´s pragmatic knowledge (i.e. how to express messages appropriately within the overall social and cultural context of communication). This includes knowledge of language variation with reference to sociocultural norms of the target language”. To complete this definition, Celce-Murcia (2007) highlights several sociocultural variables in this competence:
••Social contextual factors: the participants´ age, gender, status, social distance and their relations to each other.
••Stylistic appropriateness: politeness strategies, a sense of genres and registers.

••Cultural factors: background knowledge of the target language group, major dialects/regional differences, and cross-cultural awareness.
In addition, as Savignon (2002) points out, sociocultural competence implies a broader view of Canale and Swain´s sociolinguistic competence and extends beyond linguistic forms to the social rules of language use.

Therefore, the development of sociocultural competence requires understanding of the context in which the FL is used, including the roles of the participants, the information they exchange and the function of the communicative act. In a multicultural communicative situation, participants are not only exposed to the cultural meanings involved in the language itself, but also to social conventions such as appropriateness of content, nonverbal language and tone; which influence the way messages are understood and interpreted.

Nevertheless, cultural knowledge is not the only variable to take into account in sociocultural competence. We as FL teachers should foster in our pupils some cultural sensitivity, generating empathy and openness towards other cultures, amongst other issues in order to develop different competences. By doing so, we will be fostering willingness to participate in active exchanges of communication, considering and accepting the cultural differences which emerge in language use.

As for the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the European context, we need to consider the relevance of the CEFRL, devised by the Council of Europe in 2001 with the aim of providing the common bases for the elaboration of language programs, curricular orientations, evaluation and resources. In point 2.1.2, this document makes reference to the communicative competence and the different components involved in it: linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic. In this regard, it is stated that “Sociolinguistic competences refer to the sociocultural conditions of language use. Through its sensitivity to social conventions (rules of politeness, norms governing relations between generations, sexes, classes and social groups, linguistic codification of certain fundamental rituals in the functioning of a community), the sociolinguistic component strictly affects all language communication between representatives of different cultures, even though participants may often be unaware of its influence”.

On the other hand, this PCS entails a twofold connection to the Curriculum RD 126/14 (the candidate should here make reference to the regional curriculum): a general link between sociocultural aspects and different curricular elements, including the methodological orientations for FLT; and a more specific connection in which the curricular elements are described in relation to the context of an integrated didactic unit (IDU), as we shall see in the model.
Focusing on the first general connection to the curriculum, we may outline the following examples:
In the content blocks: sociocultural and sociolinguistic aspects (i.e. social and courtesy norms, customs, values, beliefs and attitudes, non-verbal language.)
In the evaluation criteria: … More information:

 

http://www.oposicionesingles.com

http://blog.oposicionesingles.com

http://facebook.com/OposicionesInglesRP/
http://Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/OposicionesInglesRP