SADE 2012 FINAL REPORT

Index

Introduction                                                                                        1

Designing objectives                                                                   5

Lessening the gap between English IV and V                                  15

Proposal for vocabulary for English V                                          25

Incorporating phonetics and phonology aspects in the ENP English Program                                                                                     35

Pronunciation and phonetics                                                       43

A self assessment grid for fourth grade Students                             46

A leap from IV to V Programme

(suggestions about using a blog)                                                   54

Conclusions                                                                                62

Appendix 1                                                                                 64

Bibliography                                                                               75

Introduction

From the moment Felipe Calderon proposed in his Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007- 2012 a detailed analysis on the regulations and evaluation systems of the entire Mexican High School System according to the best national and international practices[1], we in UNAM have faced a series of changes in our educational policies.

In his academic plan 2008-2011 José Narro Robles signaled an important deficit regarding student mastery of English in the University's high school system and stated:

Todos los egresados de la Escuela Nacional Preparatoria y del Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades deberían estar capacitados para leer y traducir del inglés artículos técnicos y científicos de los distintos campos del conocimiento[2]

To achieve this goal he created the Coordinación General de Lenguas” in 2009, whose main activity consists of the re-organization of the teaching and learning of languages in UNAM and therefore in ENP[3].

Que la enseñanza de lenguas en la Universidad al constituirse en una de las actividades académicas más importantes del quehacer universitario, requiere establecer una política institucional y de coordinación entre las entidades académicas siguientes instancias organizativas y de operación

a fin de definir un perfil del egresado en las distintas lenguas que se imparten en la Institución.

Que es necesario contar con nuevas propuestas didácticas relacionadas con la enseñanza de las diversas lenguas para el desarrollo integral de los estudiantes de la Institución.

Narro’s efforts implied a series of changes in our school curriculum including a new profile for high school students which would supposedly “allow them to efficiently develop their academic and professional activities”[4]

Some of the changes include the adoption of CEFR standards for English language teaching and learning, analysis of actual programs, creation of self-access centers and language laboratories with a capacity for multimedia and Internet to foster autonomous learning and the development of meta-cognitive skills.

The latest (non-authorized) version of the fourth grade program present the new profile for high school learners which should include a “holistic education which will enable students to acquire analytic and critical thinking to develop their own personality as well as to face everyday life situations with responsibility and social concern according to Mexican needs[5].

In order to fulfill this profile the teachers should be able to switch their traditional learning patterns to a student- centered education which help learners develop their cognitive and linguistic abilities according to the Common European Framework and taking into account the latest advances in meta- cognition.

In this sense, the adoption of the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA)[6] enables students to learn essential academic content and language and to become independent and self-regulated learners through their increasing command over a variety of learning strategies they can apply in school.[7]

The general objectives for high-school English learners include the acquisition and development of: a) the four communicative skills form level A1 to level A2+ (CEFR); b) attitudes of tolerance and respect which will help students to recognize values and behaviours in social and historical contexts different from their own and develop their ability to interact with native speakers of English language c) knowledge, habits, abilities and strategies to promote autonomous learning.

To this respect, the fourth grade program shows four specific objectives: 1. The students will use FL to learn, reflect and communicate in FL; 2. The students will use FL to talk about his/her identity as well as other people’s identity; 3. Students will locate themselves as well as others in time and place; 4. Students will refer to single and group activities about themselves using Present Simple, Past Simple or Future tenses.

The contents in the program are intended to be developed within seven units (from a 90 hour- regular course) plus a minimum of 20 mandatory hours in a Self- access center.

However, at the moment there are various problems and inconsistencies among the diverse versions that are and/or may become the official ENP English programs concerning the selection, structure and organization of contents as well as the congruency among the course objectives, strategies and activities suggested.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of these important aspects which, we hope will enable syllabus designers to bring coherence and consistency to new programs. The aspects we are deeply concerned about are: the role of grammar form and its core meaning in the program, selection and organization of vocabulary according to International Standards, integration of phonetics to the general contents, organization of course objectives, evaluation patterns and suitable activities.

Considering the complexity of taking into consideration the three different versions of the fourth grade program and the two of the fifth grade program, we decided to take the latest version of the fourth grade program of English available on the internet in the ENP webpage, as a starting point for the analysis.

DESIGNING OBJECTIVES

Mtra. Susana Arvizu Vargas

Mtro. Oscar Eduardo Barron Atempaneca

Mtra. Erika Zita Bermeo Peredo

Lic. Ana Luisa Castillo Mendez

Prof. Bruno Giovanni Herrera Espinosa

Lic. Carolina Hidalgo Hernàndez

Abstract

The purpose of this paper consists in the analysis of the latest edition of the fourth grade English program from ENP, UNAM. Particularly, we are concerned about the design of objectives and the way they are related to the contents and learning strategies suggested. A detailed examination of this relationship between contents and objectives will bring both teachers and students an overall understanding of our practices as well as a more precise evaluation of the teaching and learning processes.

Introduction

In the last two decades a series of social and economic changes in the society have demanded a new student profile in all areas. Mexican High- school students are not excluded from these requests. Some attempts to adjust programs to students’ actual needs in UNAM include the adoption of the Common European Framework standards for English language teaching and learning, the analysis of current programs, the creation of Self-Access Centers for all language learners and the adoption of Language laboratories. to bring multimedia and Internet to language learning as well as metacognition.

To this respect, the new Coordinación General de Lenguas from UNAM came up with a new version for the fourth and fifth grade programs in ENP. However, the new programs haven’t been accepted by the entire ENP community. Up to now we have three versions of the fourth grade program and two for the fifth grade. This situation is rather confusing for both teachers and students from ENP as there is no clear understanding about the goals to be accomplished.  To make matters worse, the Coordinación General de Lenguas incorporated some exams for all high school students in order to assess their progress at the end of the school year before and after following the new programs. So, the question is whether these examinations’ results are clear enough to evaluate contents and achievements that are not clear enough for the teachers or the students.

Therefore, in order to understand what is really expected from teachers and students as well as how are these goals going to be achieved, we decided to take the latest version of the fourth grade program of English available on the Internet in the ENP Web page, as a starting point for the analysis of both, objectives and suggested strategies.

Hypothesis

A new student profile for students’ actual needs requires a clear, complete syllabus within an adequate selection of the objectives according to the organization of contents. That is, the main objectives of the new program should be related to the contents the students will work with in class, the abilities they have to develop and the attitudes they should have in the classroom.

The new fourth grade Program.

The new version of the fourth grade program[8] includes a series of innovations as opposed to the 1996 program. It is presented as “an institutional answer to the educational challenges of our global, high- tech world”[9].

In this sense, as English becomes an “indispensable subject for students of all areas”, its character is considered absolutely mandatory due to the wide access English provides to several disciplines and cultures which allow students to develop critical consciousness and a more objective appreciation of our culture.

One of the main aspects remarked in the new program deals with the social and moral compromise the National Preparatory School has with UNAM and Mexico, particularly for the integral comprehensive education of the students, towards a critical and analytical attitude with a high social commitment according to the current needs of our country. In this sense, tolerance and respect will help students to identify and share values and behaviors in different socio-historical contexts. It will also help students to describe their immediate reality, expressing themselves about current topics like education, food, health, work, etc., and talking about present, past or future events, and finally understanding easy texts related to other different subjects to English class

Another element has to do with the students’ cognitive and linguistic development according to the international standards established by the Common European Framework (CEFR) and the latest advances in meta-cognition for language learning (See Chamot, et. al., 2003). In accordance with the new program, students should be able to achieve level A1 according to the CEFR standards.

With regard to the general organization of the new contents, as it was crucial to link them to students’ needs within coherence and meaning contents were organized in rows under the following headings: Contents (Specific objectives and Linguistic functions), Content description (linguistic exponents, grammar structures), Learning items to evaluate (according to the CEFR) and Learning strategies with a proposal of suitable activities for students to perform using the four main skills.

Teaching strategies are described as suggested activities for students and teachers. They were taken from the corpus created by Chamot, Barnhardt, Beard and Robbins (2008) corpus, which was also taken from Rebecca Oxford classification of learning strategies (1990) according to the linguistic contents proposed.

Rebecca Oxford (1990) states that "learning strategies are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more  enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations.”  She divides language learning strategies into two main classes: direct and indirect, which she further divided into six groups:  memory, cognitive, compensation, meta-cognitive, affective and social strategies, which are subdivided into a total of 19 strategy sets and a whole strategy system of 62 strategies.

Anna Uhl Chamot and J. Michael O’Malley (1987), on the other hand, define learning strategies as “techniques, approaches or deliberate actions that students take in order to facilitate the learning and recall of both linguistic and content area information.” Based on the cognitive theory, Chamot and O’Malley designed an instructional model called Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA, 2005) that fosters the academic achievement of students who are learning through the medium of a second language. This model views students as mentally active participants in the teaching learning process who use prior knowledge to deal with new problems and regulate their own learning. In this sense, academic learning strategies transfer to new and different tasks focusing on the development of cognitive, academic language proficiency.

The learning strategies taught in the cognitive academic language approach are organized in: a) metacognitive strategies, such as advance organization, advance preparation, organizational planning, self-evaluation, etc., b) cognitive strategies like grouping, note-taking, summarizing, etc., and c) social and affective strategies, for example, cooperation.

CALLA follows this instructional sequence:

1. Preparation. The teacher activates the students’ background knowledge and students focus on key vocabulary and concepts to be introduced in the lesson.  The lesson’s objectives are explained to students. The strategies more commonly taught and practiced in this stage are: advance organization and selective attention.
2. Presentation. The teacher explains and models the piece of language items to be taught using contextual clues such as demonstrations and visuals. The teacher also helps them to use the learning strategies that will help them accomplish their instructional goals. Some of the strategies used in this stage are: selective attention, self-monitoring, inferencing, elaboration, note taking, imagery and questioning for clarification.

3.    Practice. This phase is mainly learner-centered. Students practice strategies using the new information and receive extensive feedback with the teacher’s guidance.  Cooperative learning in heterogeneous teams is particularly effective as students clarify their understanding of the information previously presented. The learning strategies typically used in this stage are: self-monitoring, organizational planning, resourcing, grouping, summarizing, imagery, auditory representation, elaboration, inferencing, cooperation and questioning for clarification.

4. Evaluation. In this phase, students check the level of their performance so that they can confirm what they have learned and the areas they need to review. The teacher assesses the students’ understanding and performance of the contents and strategies used.  Evaluation activities can be individual, cooperative or teacher-directed. Learning strategies used in this phase are: self-evaluation, elaboration, questioning for clarification, cooperation and self-talk.
5. Expansion activities. The students transfer concepts and skills to new tasks. They combine strategies into clusters and develop a repertoire of preferred strategies. In the expansion activities of a CALLA lesson, any combination of learning strategies appropriate to the activities can be practiced.

The CALLA lesson plan model allows for flexibility and different types of activities. While introductory lessons should always begin with the preparation phase, the succeeding phases may be recursive as students and teachers move backwards and forward between phases in order to understand, practice and consolidate new information and procedures. With CALLA students are taught to use learning strategies derived from a cognitive model of learning to assist their comprehension, retention and use of the declarative and procedural knowledge underlying the academic school curriculum.

Also, the new program incorporates the use of new information technologies within the adoption of high -tech laboratories where the teachers and students can take advantage of the media resources available.

To this respect, a very complete analysis of the new abilities and learning processes for the digital era can be found in Churches’ (2001) adaptation of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy incorporates the use of the new tools for information technology to the traditional classification of learning abilities (remembering, understanding, exemplifying, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating). More appropriately, the new taxonomy deals with the use of information technologies to facilitate learning. It is the competence to use and most importantly the quality of the process or product what matters.

Finally, the incorporation of autonomous learning by providing the students self- access centers equipped with the latest media resources and CALLA strategies for metacognition is expected to give extra -hours practice to students so that the learning goals will be achieved.

Description of the units in the program

The title of each unit describes a topic to be developed (school, family, shopping, things to remember, etc.,) in English and Spanish. Every unit comprises a set of purposes in the form of learning goals students should achieve at the end of the unit.

The contents are described in a chart within five rows where abilities to be developed, linguistic functions, linguistic exponents, grammar structures and CEFR equivalences intend to help students and teachers to be clear about what is expected from them at the end of the unit.

Finally we can find a glossary for each unit according to the topic the students dealt with.

Description of the proposal

We created a format to analyze each unit for the fourth grade program based on two areas: contents and methodology (see appendix).

Contents are described in three areas: declarative, procedural and attitude.   Declarative knowledge refers to the content described in the program as linguistic functions, linguistic exponents, grammar structures and CEFR equivalences. It “allows students to communicate themselves with native and non native speakers of L2 in short interactions where communicative functions as well as linguistic components will form the content of the program”.[10] Procedural knowledge involves a whole variety of abilities to be developed by students, such as identify grammar structures, describe people and places, refer to events in the past and show contrast between ideas, etc.

Finally, attitude refers to the development of certain values and behaviors among the students that will allow them to understand not only English language and culture but also different cultures.

On the other hand, Methodology intends to analyze the processes suggested in the program to fulfill the objectives proposed. That is, the learning strategy process proposed by Chamot and O’Malley (1999) within the incorporation of metacognition and the use of new technologies of information to assist learning processes.

The general idea was to examine to what extend program designers bore in mind the declarative, procedural and attitude knowledge and if new contents are in fact  related to the new methodology so that teachers and students know what, how and what they are expected to know.

After we analyzed the objectives, contents and strategies proposed in the program, we found some inconsistencies:

1.    Some of the purposes of the unit are not described in the content section.[11]

2.    Some objectives do not refer to any purpose of the unit.[12]

3.    Many of the contents proposed do not present any attitude to be fostered.[13]

4.    Some of the names given to the strategies proposed in the program do not correspond to CALLA or they do not describe the activity appropriately. Presentation, for example, is mentioned as one of the strategies suggested in many units, however the description of the activities suggested correspond to different strategies (advance organization, selective attention, planning, etc.) or are not described at all. [14]

5.    There is a clear intention to follow the instructional sequence proposed by CALLA, however, some of the stages are not very clear or completed.[15]

6.    Autonomous learning is included in all the units within the use of metacognitive strategies taken from CALLA, like advanced organization, selective attention or self evaluation. However, there is no clear instruction on how this would be implemented (besides what students have to work in self- access centers).

7.    The use of new information technology is presented in every unit. However, activities suggested are mainly kept at the lowest level of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Conclusions

In the gap between fourth and fifth program, consistency and accuracy should be fundamental to fulfill students’ new profile according to their needs, institutional demands and international policies. It is very important to take into consideration what the objectives of the program indicate; to verify the instructional sequence of the strategies proposed as well as to what extent we want to embrace the new technologies and autonomous learning.

No matter neither the contents nor the strategies used for the new version of the fifth grade program, this should be clear so that students and teachers can understand what is expected from them.

LESSENING THE GAP BETWEEN ENGLISH IV AND V

Dra. Mary Elaine Meagher

Mtra. Marlin Valenzuela[16]

Many English teachers have felt the need to shorten the gap between English IV and V. The main problems relate to students' lack of mastery of certain grammatical structures. Generally ENP students are able to supply the form for fill in the blank type exercises, but make many mistakes when required to produce either oral or written presentations. One of the fundamental reasons for this deficit is their inadequacy in relating the form, meaning and use of these structures. A secondary possibility for this shortfall concerns the added dimensions in current programs. Cognitive strategies, self-access abilities, cultural curriculums and technological skills are all most useful when approached from the perspective of promoting FL acquisition. However, teachers need to take care not to focus on amplifications to the detriment of the acquisition of the basic grammatical structures essential to the English IV program.

            This presentation focuses on the ways English uses different forms to express three time periods: present, past and future stressing what fourth grade students should master in order to facilitate the acquisition of those structures presented in the English V program. We feel it is essential to stress mastery during the fourth grade for several essential reasons: the structures contained in the English IV program are much easier than those included in English V. Also the fourth grade students (due to their age and previous educational experience) are more disciplined and easier to handle. When students haven't mastered English IV structures to a sufficient degree, the teaching load for English V becomes much heavier. See Van Patten (1996) for the rationale and necessity of teaching the form meaning relationship. In short, Van Patten feels there is no real acquisition without students' fixing this intrinsic correlation. He refers to this as the difference between input and intake, the latter being essential for any real L2 acquisition. Content is approached from this perspective.

            After examining a variety of material produced for L2 teacher education, we decided that the most appropriate source for our presentation was The Grammar Book (1999) by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freemen¹. The fundamental reason for this was the clarity with which the authors explain the English Tense Aspect System from the perspective of form, meaning, and use associations.

            Tense relates to time, precisely the time of the speech event: simultaneous, before, afterwards. Aspect, on the other hand, describes other temporal values from the perspective of internal structure. These other temporal values include:  state (static) vs. event (dynamic),  ± change,  ± punctual, ± duration, ± repetitive/ habitual.

            The authors discuss the core meaning of English aspect defining the core meaning of a particular form as the meaning that is most central, primary or invariant (Hatch and Brown 1995).

            In order to master the structures in English IV it is important for students to be able to distinguish Simple Aspect from progressive Aspect. Simple Aspect refers to events that are conceptualized as complete wholes. It is not presented as allowing for further development in contrast to Progressive Aspect, which is incomplete or imperfective, where the event or state is viewed as some portion of a whole and where there is room for further development or change. Examples:

Simple Present:  Susan and Carl live in Newark.

Present Progressive: Susan and Carl are living in Newark.

The Simple Present in the first sentence presents the fact that Susan and Carl live in Newark as a whole event, not allowing for further development, and with no suggestion of change. Notice, however that the Present Progressive in the second sentence suggests that their living in Newark may be temporary, thus allowing for the possibility of change. In the second sentence, Susan and Carl's living in Newark is some portion of the whole, in the sense that we understand they may have lived elsewhere before moving to Newark and may move again in the future.

At this time we are going to quickly review tenses from the English IV program corresponding to either Simple or Progressive Apect.

Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense conveys immediate factuality and has an unchanging nature. Examples:

The earth rotates around the sun.

It is a beautiful day.

Different Uses

a. Habitual actions in the present:

He walks to school every day.

b. General timeless truths.

Water freezes at 0 degrees centigrade.

Spaniards eat dinner late.

c. Indicate states

There is a large house on the corner.

I know Mr. Jackson.

The car belongs to Bill.

d. Subordinate clauses of time or condition when the main clause contains a future-time verb.

After he finishes work, he'll do the errands.

If Cindy passes the bar exam, she'll be able to practice law.

e. Expresses future (when a scheduled event is involved and usually with a future-time adverbial).

I have a meeting next Wednesday at that time.

f. Present event/action (usually in sporting events or demonstrations or procedures.

Here comes the pitch; Vaughn swings and misses.

Now I add three eggs to the mixture.

g. Present Speech Acts (where the action is accomplished in the speaking of it).

I resign from the commission.

h. Conversational historical present (used to refer to certain past events in narration).

So he stands up in the boat and waves his arms to catch our attention.

Simple Past

Core meaning includes factuality together with a sense of remoteness. The event can be remote in time:

The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992.

And even if the event is a recent one:

I finished my term paper.

But the remoteness can also apply to notions other than time:

If I walked home from school, it would take all afternoon.

Different Uses

a. A definite single completed event/action in the past:

I attended a meeting of the committee last week.

b. Habitual or repeated action/event in the past:

It snowed almost every weekend last winter.

c. An event with duration that applied in the past with the implication that it no longer applies in the present:

Professor Nelson taught at Yale for 30 years.

d. With states in the past:

He appeared to be a creative genius.

He owed me a lot of money.

e. Imaginative condition in the subordinate clause (referring to present time)

If he took better care of himself, he wouldn't be absent so often.

f. Social distancing

Did you want to sit down and stay a while?

Did you want a cup of coffee?

 Simple Future Tense with will (or contracted’ll)

The Simple Future is used when the event is conceptualized as a whole. The difference between the core meaning of this tense and Simple Present and Past is that events in future time cannot be factually knowable in the same way as those in the past or present.

In this case the use of will is used to indicate a strong prediction (rather than a factual report). Example:

We will cover the first half of the book this term.

Different Uses

a. An action to take place at some definite future time.

Joel will take the bar exam next month.

b. A future habitual action or state.

After October, Judy will take the 7:30 train to Chicago every day.

c. Present habits, about which strong predictions can be made.

Erick is so funny. He'll wake up, and before coming downstairs, he'll start playing with his trains.

d. A situation that may obtain in the present and will obtain in the future but with some future termination in sight (the subordinate clause suggests this limitation).

Nora will live in Caracas until she improves her Spanish.

e. In the main result clause of future conditionals.

If you go, you'll be sorry.

Simple Future (will) Versus Other Ways of Indicating Futurity

a. Simple Future with will is used for the following:

Future predictions: Belinda will be 40 next year.

Spontaneous decisions when the person has control over the action.

I’ll get the phone.

b. Be going to is used for the following:

Future predictions (more informal than will)

Belinda's going to be 40 next year.

Randy and Joyce are going to get married in October.

Future Certainty based on current condition or present evidence:

Pauline's going to have a baby.

It's going to rain today.

c. Present Progressive is used for the following:

Future plans that have already been made:

I'm marching in the parade next week.

d. Simple present is used for the following:

Fixed scheduled events:

We get paid next Friday

Subordinate clauses of time:

If the train arrives on time, we'll beat the rush hour getting home.

Progressive Aspect

Portrays an event in a way that allows for it to be incomplete or somehow limited in contrast to Simple Aspect that is always conceptualized as complete as a whole. Another difference is that while simple tenses can be used to make generic statements, progressive aspect is always specific.

Generic: Weeds grow like wildfire.

Specific: Weeds are growing like wildfire in my garden.

Present Progressive (Sometimes called Present Continuous)

Different Uses

a. Activity in progress

He is attending a meeting now.

b. Extended present (action will end and therefore lack the permanence of the simple present tense).

I'm studying geology at the University of Colorado.

c. A temporary situation

Phyllis is living with her parents.

d. Repetition or iteration in a series of similar ongoing actions:

Henry is kicking the soccer ball around the backyard.

e. Expresses future (when event is planned; usually with a future-time adverbial)

She's coming tomorrow.

f. Emotional comment on present habit (usually co-occurring with frequency adverbs always or forever)

He´s always delivering in a clutch situation. (approving)

He's forever acting up at these affairs. (disapproving)

g. A change in progress

She's becoming more and more like her mother.

Summary

Simple Aspect                                                      Progressive Aspect

Conceptualized as a complete                          Viewed as a portion of the whole.                                                                                Whole (incomplete) in the sense                                                                                 that progressive aspect indicates                                                                                a possibility for development or                                                                             change.

Generic and specific.                                           Only specific.

Simple Present Tense                                        Simple Past Tense

An immediate factual report                                Factual but remote.

                                                                                  Remote in time, remote in the                                                                          sense of the conditional or                                                                                hypothetical nature of events                                                                            and remote in regard to                                                                                     expressing social distancing.

Simple Future Tense

Reports strong predication (not factual

 as events in future time cannot  be

 factually knowable in the same way as

those in the past or present)

The following are essential considerations for teaching the form, meaning use associations essential to shorten the IV-Vth gap:

1. Importance of teaching core meanings so students can later relate the meaning of more peripheral uses.

2. Introduce new tense-aspect combinations in contrast to previously presented tense-aspect combinations.

3. Work with pairs of tense-aspect combinations to contrast differences.

4. Van Patten argues that there is no acquisition without comprehension of the form meaning relationship.

Further research should focus specifically on material developed to follow up these suggestions. Although most textbooks claim to include the form meaning relationship, they are generally deficient in this respect. Also commercial texts have been produced for international audiences and don't take into account basic similarities and differences between English and Spanish grammar.

PROPOSAL FOR VOCABULARY FOR ENGLISH V

LEI  Ma. Guadalupe López Arroyo

In 2010, a new English IV program for the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria was proposed and uploaded on the DGENP website. The aim was to update the contents of the syllabus to meet the communicative demands and requirements of the students’ everyday lives. According to the document itself[17], the current social, political and economic context of our students (and of the teaching staff, of course), with all the recent changes, novelties and innovations, demanded a paramount adjustment of the program.

One of the most important characteristics of the new program is that its parameters are based on the Common European Framework (CEF), which is, nowadays, essential to the design and modifications of many language syllabuses. On the other hand, the program takes into account the importance of the development of metacognitive strategies[18] (as suggested by Rebecca Oxford), which “involve planning, monitoring, and evaluation of language learning activities. For example, students may develop a plan for monitoring their progress by constantly comparing their current level of proficiency with the course goals outlined in the curriculum.” In the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, teachers describe the program and the goals at the beginning of the school year so that the students are aware of the contents and the expectations of the course. Therefore, the students have the possibility of checking their own progress during the school year in order to confirm whether the goals of the program, as well as their own goals, are being achieved.

This proposal focuses on vocabulary for the English V program, which will eventually be adjusted and linked to the new English IV program. According to Richards and Renandya (2008, op cit), “vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read and write. Without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiring new vocabulary, learners often achieve less than their potential and may be discouraged from making use of language learning opportunities around them such as listening to the radio, listening to native speakers, using the language in different contexts, reading, or watching television.” Therefore, not only are we, as teachers, expected to provide our students with the vocabulary they need to deal successfully with some real-life demands concerning the use of the foreign language they are using; we should also encourage them and prevent them from feeling frustrated or disappointed when they have trouble with vocabulary items.

According to the description of the Common European Framework[19] (Illustrative scales of descriptors), an A2 level student can do the following:

Describing and narrating

The vocabulary this student masters is related to people, appearance, background, job, places and living conditions, objects, pets, possessions, events and activities, likes and dislikes, plans or arrangements, habits, routines, and personal experience.

On the global scale of achievement, an A2 student is a basic user of the language, one that can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). They can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters, and can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

Besides, according to the CEFR document, these are the expected language skills for an A2 level student, based on the capability to understand their interlocutor:

Listening: Can understand phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of most immediate personal relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local area, employment). Can catch the main point in short, clear, simple messages and announcements.

Reading: Can read very short, simple texts. Can find specific, predictable information in simple everyday material such as advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables, and can understand short simple personal letters.

Spoken interaction: Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. Can handle very short social exchanges, even though the student can’t usually understand enough to keep the conversation going themselves.

Spoken production: Can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe in simple terms their family and other people, living conditions, their educational background and their present or most recent job. In this area, the student uses some simple structures correctly, but still systematically makes basic mistakes.

Writing: Can write short, simple notes and messages relating to matters in areas of immediate need. Can write a very simple personal letter, for example thanking someone for something.

Therefore, the aim of this proposal is to offer a set of high-frequency words at CEFR A2 level which could be included in the new version of the English IV program for Escuela Nacional Preparatoria.

The following are the twelve units the English V program is divided into:[20]

1. Using English to learn more English.
2. Compliments.
3. Phone conversations.
4. Giving advice.
5. Formal and informal instructions.
6. Future plans.
7. Making, accepting and declining invitations.
8. Making suggestions and giving orders.
9. Asking for favors.
10. Describing the materials things are made of, as well as their origin.
11. Expressing doubts, probabilities and possibilities.
12. Talking about obligations.

Due to the nature of the language abilities described in the CEFR document, perhaps some of the units in the English V program require certain adjustments to fit the descriptors of the A2 level. The grounds for the selection of vocabulary are the lists of vocabulary prepared by Cambridge University. There is an on-line file[21], Vocabulary list for KET and for KETfS (KET for Schools), which includes a vast corpus of vocabulary for KET candidates, i.e. A2 level students. It must be noted that vocabulary changes over time, so the source included in this proposal is bound to be updated after a specific period of time has passed; therefore, it is also necessary to update the contents of the English IV and English V programs accordingly. The list used in this proposal was published in 2009, and it is updated every year.

Due to the level described for the new English V program which will eventually be implemented, this proposal includes items that focus on the A2 level of the CEFR.

Thus, the proposal for vocabulary to be included in the English V program, bridging its contents to those of the English IV program, is as follows[22]:

Unit	English IV program[23]	English V program	Vocabulary proposal for the English V program[24]
1	New school, new friends	Using English to learn more English	actor (n), adult (adj & n), artist (n), assistant (n), as well (adv), at/@ (n), band (n), birthday (n), change (n & v), chatroom (n), cheers! (exclam), child (n), class member (n), colleague (n), conversation (n), cool (adj), country (n), countryside (n), date (n), describe (v), during (prep), enjoy (v), enter (v), examination/exam (n), foreign (adj), friendly (adj), from (prep), girl (n), glasses (n pl), guy (n), home (n & adv), hungry (adj), hurry (v), idea (n), important (adj), improve (v), job (n), language (n), learn (v), live (v), meal (n), Miss (n), Mr (n), Mrs (n), Ms (n), myself (pron), name (n), nationality (n), ours (pron), ourselves (pron), own (adj), per (prep), pity (n), pleasant (adj), programme (n), pupil (n), quite (adv), quiz (n), shut (v), spell (v), surname, (n), tall (adj), teach (v), teenager (n), text book (n), text message (n), top (n), uniform (n), university (n), useful (adj), usual (adj), visitor (n), wake up (phr v), wash up (phr v), welcome (v), whose (pron), wonderful (adj).
2	Family relationships	Compliments	all right/alright (adv), almost (adv), amazing (adj), anybody (pron), anyone (pron), aunt (n), baby (n), barbecue (n), beautiful (adj), brilliant (adj), brother (n), child/children (n), classmate (n), clever (adj), cousin (n), dad(dy) (n), daughter (n), dead (adj), dear (adj), doctor (n), engineer (n), everybody (pron), everyone (pron), family (n), fine (adj), friend (n), grandchild (n), grand(d)dad (n), granddaughter (n), grandfather (n), grandma (n), grandmother (n), grandpa (n), grandparent (n), grandson (n), great (adj) grow up (phr v), husband (n), look after (phr v), lovely (adj), lucky (adj), married (adj), mother (n), mum(my) (n), neighbor (n), nice (adj), old (adj), parent (n), pen-friend (n), person (n), pretty (adj), single (adj), sister (n), son (n), special (adj), wife.
3	Everyday activities, preferences and abilities	Phone conversations	activity (n), adventure (n), afraid (adj), afternoon (n), against (prep), alone (adj & adv), also (adv), always (adv), arm (n), ball (n), banana (n), baseball (n), basketball (n), bicycle (n), bike (n), boat (n), bored (ad), boring (adj), brake (n & v), break (n & v), busy (adj), call (v), camera (n), camp (n & v), campsite (n), car (n), careful (adj), cartoon (n), catch (v), club (n), coach (n), competition (n), dance (n & v), danger (n), dangerous (adj), download (n & v), dragon (n), drive (v), each (det & pronoun), evening (n), exercise (n & v), excited (adj), exciting (adj), fan (n), fashion (n), favourite (adj), finish (v), first (adv & adj), fish (n & v), fun (n), funny (adj), game (n), get fit (v), golf (n), group (n), half (n & pron), hard (adj & adv), health (n), healthy (adj), high (adj), hip hop (n), hit (v), hobby (n), ice skating (n), internet (n), join (v), keep (v), kilometer/km (n), last (adj & adv), laugh (v), leg (n), level (n), look out (phr v), lose (v), low (adj), luck (n), match (n) matter (v), meeting (n), message (n), middle (n), mile (n) miss (v), mistake (n), motorbike (n), mountain (n), move (v), neck (n), never (adv), next (adj & adv), number (n), of course (not) (adv), office (n), often (adv), outdoor (adj), outdoors (adv), outside (prep & adv), phone (v & n), photo(graph) (n), photography (n), piano (n), play (v & n), pool (n), pop (adj & n), poster (n), practice (n), practice (v), prefer (v), prize (n), pull (v), push (v), quick (adj), race (n), racket (n), receptionist (n), reggae (n), river (n), road (n), rock (n), safe (adj), scooter (n), second (n & adj), ship (n), sing (v), skate (v), skateboard (n), ski (v), snowboard (n), snowboarding (n), sock (n), song (n), speak (v), sport (n), sports centre (n), stadium (n), surfboard (n), surfing (n), swim (v), table-tennis (n), take off (phr v), team (n), telephone (n & v), tennis (n), tent (v), total (adj & n), trainers (n pl), understand (v), v/versus (prep), volleyball (n), walk (v), watch (n & v), win (v), wind (n), windsurfing (n),
4	My place and spaces; going around	Giving advice	about (adv & prep), accident (n), actually (adv), address (n), agree (v), angry (adj), answer (n & v) apartment (n), area (n), ask (v), bad (adj), bank (n), beach (n), because (conj), become (v), belong (v), between (prep), borrow (v), boss (n), build (v), building (n), bus (n), but (conj), cafe/café (n), carry (v), castle (n), cathedral (n), centre (n), church (n), cinema (n), circus (n), city (n), cross (v), crossing (n), crossroads (n), crowd (n), crowded (adj), decide (v), delay (n & v), disco (n), dish (n), dream (n & v), driving licence (n), except (prep), excuse (v), exhibition (n), exit (n), explore (v), explorer (n), fast food (n), festival (n), film (n & v), flat (n), floor (n), get off (phr v), get on (phr v), go out (phr v), guide (n), guidebook (n), hairdresser (n), hill (n), hospital (n), island (n), journey (n), information (n), instead (adv), instead of (prep phr), king (n), kite (n), library (n), lift (n), luggage (n), need (v), opera (n), party (n), perhaps (adv), picnic (n), place (n), platform (n), playground (n), post office (n), railway (n), restaurant (n), ride (n & v), roundabout (n), sad (adj), safe (adj), save (v), sorry (adj), station (n), store (n), street (n), supermarket (n), theatre (n), ticket (n), toilet (n), tour (n & v), tour guide (n), tourist (n), tourist information centre (n), town (n), traffic (n), traffic lights (n pl), train (n), travel (v), travel agent (n), trip (n), trouble (n), village (n), world (n), zoo (n).
5	Hanging out and shopping	Formal and informal instructions[25]	a, an (art), advertisement (n), assistant (n), bag (n), belt (n), bill (n), black (adj), blouse (n), blue (adj), box (n), buy (v), credit card (n), cash (n & v), CD (n), CD player (n), cheap (adj), cheque (n), choose (v), clock (n), clothes (n pl), coat (n), colour (n), com (n), comfortable (adj), cost (n & v), costume (n), customer (n), dark (adj), difference (n), different (adj), digital (adj), discount (n), dollar (n), downstairs (adv), dress (n & v), DVD (n), DVD player (n), earn (v), electric (adj), else (adv), entrance (n), euro (n), expensive (adj), extra (det & adj), fashion (n), free (adj), green (adj), grey (adj), guitar (n), hairdryer (n), help (v), ice (n), instructions (n pl), interested (adj), interesting (adj), jeans (n pl), kind (adj & n), laptop (computer) (n), large (adj), look for (phr v), magazine (n), make up (n), market (n), mirror (n), money (n), mouse (n), MP3 player (n), newspaper (n), online (adj & adv), orange (n), pair (n), pay (v), pence (n pl), penny (n), pharmacy (n), pink (adj), present (n), price (n), purple (adj), put on (phr v), return (n & v), sale (n), shirt (n), shoe (n), shop (n & v), shop assistant (n), shorts (n pl), size (n), skirt (n), soft (adj), suit (n), sweater (n), towel (n), toy (n), trousers (n pl), try on (phr v), T-shirt (n), upstairs (adv), variety (n), yellow (adj).
6	Things to remember	Future plans	arrive (v), back (n, adv & adj), before (adv & prep), beginner (n), believe (v), blanket (n), burn (v), career (n) certain (adj), certainly (not) (adv), die (v), foggy (adj), guest (n), guest-house (n), happen (v), nearly (adv), picture (n), project (n), ready (adj), sick (adj), so (conj & adv), story (n), strange (adj), success (n), sure (adj), surprised (adj), tidy (adj & v), tidy up (v), until (prep), wedding (n), wishes (n pl), yesterday (n & adv), yet (adv).
7	Planning and predicting	Making, accepting and declining invitations	airport (n), appointment (n), autumn (n), breakfast (n), century (n), cycle (v), dinner (n), drink (n & v), invite (v), lunch (n), meal (n), meet (v), or (conj), quarter (n), spring (n), stay (v), summer (n), suppose (v), thank (v), think (v), tired (adj), tomorrow (n & adv), tonight (n & adv), would (v).
8		Making suggestions and giving orders
9		Asking for favors
10		Describing the materials things are made of, as well as their origin	bookshelf (n), carpet (n), curtains (n), desk (n), drum (n), engine (n), envelope (n), fork (n), furniture (n), glass (n & adj), gold (n & adj), knife (n), lamp (n), leather (n & adj), paper (n & adj), piece (n), plastic (n & adj), plate (n), rather (adv), repair (v), sheet (n), shelf (n), silver (n & adj), spoon (n), wallet (n), wood (n), wool (n).
11		Expressing doubts, probabilities and possibilities
12		Talking about obligations

INCORPORATING PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY ASPECTS IN THE ENP ENGLISH V PROGRAM.

Mtra. María Esther Christen Gracia

Abstract

Phonetics is a lot more than only sounds and symbols, especially if is taught within a communicative language course. Besides the general aspects of pronunciation, phonetics and phonology, other specific functions should be incorporated in the L2 course e.g. the use of suprasegmentals (stress, pitch range and rhythm) as discourse markers, linguistic and extralinguistic context, communicative purpose and even psychosocial roles of the participants. This paper focuses on the importance of incorporating phonetics and phonology aspects in the ENP English V program.

 

Introduction

Phonetics and modern language teaching practice began a century ago in FL teaching classrooms. Courses spread fastly across Europe, directed by specialists such as Jones (UK), Tilly and Vitor (Germany) and Passy (France). Language-specific phonetics and phonology courses were developed responding to requests from schools, teachers and students themselves.

Nowadays, all engaged in pronunciation teaching are encompassed by specific needs of theoretical knowledge and practical skills that involve sufficient general phonetic theory, some comparative phonetics and phonology, practical transcription skills, ear-training and production-training.

Teaching pronunciation to EFL/ESL students is one of the significant aspects in order to overcome the communication problems in oral language, therefore ENP English Language Programs should include the appropriate methods, materials and media resources to teach phonetics and phonology.

Listening and speaking skills

Listening skill takes an important role in receiving information. It is not a passive skill since we need to be able to percieve to others by giving respond. There are two well known processes involved in comprehending spoken English, bottom-up processing and top-down processing.

Bottom-up processing refers to a process of decoding a message that the listener hears through the analysis of sounds, words, and grammar, while top-down processing refers to using background knowledge to comprehend a message. Students usually try to identify the literal meaning of the message through the bottom-up process. Top-down processing should also be included in the English Programs as part of phonetics and phonolgy learming.

 

The other oral language is speaking. Sometimes Spanish speaking students assume that speaking harder than listening, reading and writing. In total immersion language programs, learning to speak might be an automatic process, in contrast to learning to read or write, which need to be taught in order to be learnt. But in fact, speaking also has specific problems to cope in order to be understood, even Bailey and Savage (1994) regarded it as “The most demanding of the four language skills”. However, it can be trained. Harmer (2007) stated “...if students want to be able to speak fluently in English, they need to be able pronounce phonemes correctly, use appropriate stress and intonation patterns and speak in connected speech”.

Therefore, there is a basic connection between listening skill and speaking skill. Both of them need phonemic awareness or the awareness of different phonemes/sounds. According to Harmer (2007) this is what we can do to deal with phonemic awareness:

- Show the students how sounds are made through demonstration, diagram, and explanation.

- Draw the sounds to their attention every time they appear on a recording or in own conversation.

- Ask the students to use a good dictionary which is completed with the pronunciation transcription. The students should be taught how to recognize the symbols, to pronounce the words properly and independently.

This understanding makes the learning process easier and the students are able to assess themselves independently by using the symbols.

Intelligibility: stress and intonation

Intelligibility implies that the students should be able to use pronunciation which is good enough for them to be always understood. It suggests that some pronunciation features are more important than others.

Some sounds, for example, have to be right if the speaker is to get their message across, though others may not cause a lack of intelligibility if they are used interchangeably. In the case of individual sounds, a lot depends on the context of the utterance, which frequently helps the listener to hear what the speaker intends.

However, stressing words and phrases correctly is vital if emphasis is to be given to the important parts of message and if words are to be understood correctly. Intonation is a central carrier of meaning; by varying the pitch of our voice we indicate whether we are asking a question or making statement, whether we are enthusiastic or bored, or whether we want to keep talking or we are inviting someone else to come into the conversation (Harmer, 2007).

Phonetic alphabet and phonemic symbols

A teacher probably is able to teach the students without the phonemic symbols. The students are just ordered to hear the difference between sheep and cheap or between ship and sheep. Some teachers only describe how the sounds are made (by demonstrating, drawing pictures of the mouth and lips or explaining where the sounds are made). Nevertheless, since English is bedeviled, for many students, by an apparent lack of sound and spelling correspondence (though in fact most spelling is highly regular and the number of exceptions fairy small), it may make sense for them to be aware of the different phonemes, and the clearest way of promoting this awareness is to introduce the phonetic alphabet and symbols for them.

There are several techniques to teach pronunciation

-       Phonetics is not an instant remedy for all pronunciation problems; it offers the means to develop good pronunciation through enhanced awareness of relevant aspects of speech. How good will depend on motivation and long term goals.

-       Teachers need: a good grasp of articulatory phonetics; a well-trained ear; knowledge of the phonology (contrasts, major allophones, processes and prosodies) of both the mother tongue and the target language.

-       Teachers must be well informed about articulatory phonetics and the phonetics of the mother tongue and target language of learners; target languages cannot be addressed in isolation.

-       Therefore, it is necessary to introduce the phonetic chart to the learners especially the beginners.

How much phonetics and phonology teaching and learning should ENP English V Program include?

As we have seen, the topic is broad and we know that a 90 hour English course is not enough to review all of its aspects including: articulatory phonetics; a well-trained ear; knowledge of the phonology (contrasts, major allophones, processes and prosodies) of both the mother tongue and the target language; problems arising from the interface between first and target languages, among others.

Teachers should also be trained to notice and analyse actual problems as they occur; using practical phonetic skills derived from ear-training experience; remedy the situation with bespoke exercises; applying knowledge of articulatory phonetic theory and pedagogy, and  more.

Ashby (1995) considers that the amount of phonetic knowledge appropriate for the modern language learner is age-dependent. School-age learners need guiding and practicing: virtually no theory but lots of carefully structured, phonetically-informed practice. Older learners need guiding, informing and practicing: facilitating self-help, including use of interactive websites.

Proposal

Based on the above mentioned, research that demonstrates the value of phonetics and pronunciation, teaching and learning in second language classrooms. My proposal for the ENP English V Program is based on the following mayor orientations:

The effectiveness of ear-training, based on knowledge that hearing and recognition of sounds must precede attempts to make them. Pisoni, et al. (1994), Rvachew & Jamieson (1995).

The ability to read transcription is essential to access information in a pronouncing dictionary for languages without phonetic spelling. Avery and Erlich (1992), and Cruttenden (2001) are excellent resources in the topic.

Additionally, the value of theoretical understanding as part of the learning process is convincingly illustrated by Catford & Pisoni (1970).

Another concern regarding phonetics included in the syllabus is to determine the order in which the various types of speech difficulty should be presented, and the relative amount of attention which should be devoted to each type, to make the student’s speech as intelligible as possible.

It is believed that “errors” involving the substitution of a phoneme for another, (e.g. that pronounced as thanks instead of the) are necessarily those which most affect intelligibility and are consequently those which must always be attacked first. This theory might have some validity with reference to beginning students but not to advanced students.

English IV Program topics on phonetics:

1.    Introducing the student to the phonetic symbols.

2.    The weakening of unstressed vowels.

3.    Rhythm and stress in words and sentences.

4.    Pronunciation of endings –s and –ed.

5.    The principles of consonant classification, voicing, and aspiration.

6.    The glides /l/ and /r/ and their influence on preceeding vowel sounds.

English V Program topics on phonetics:

1. Classification of vowels

1.1  The five fundamental vowels and the eleven vowels of English.

2. The pronunciation of unstressed vowels

2.1  Where the stress falls.

3. Sentence- stress and rhythm

3.1  Stress in groups of words

3.2  Pronunciation of unstressed words of one syllable

4. Rising-falling intonation.

4.1  The use of rising intonation

5. Classification of consonantws: the ending –s and –ed.

5.1 Voice and voiceless sounds.

      6. kol  L , R , and Syllabic consonants.

            6.1 The formation of L and R

      7. Consonant substitution.

      8. Consonant clusters.

Conclusion

• It is mandatory that ENP English Programs incorporate phonetics and phonology aspects.
• In order to gain the pronunciation intelligibility in English communication, the Programs should also include teaching techniques to build the student´s phonemic awareness.
• Articulatory phonetics, the phonetics of the mother tongue and target language of learners should be addressed at the same time in the teaching process.
• English pronunciation must be learnt in parallel with meaning and use for every new word but, most of all, good practice in pronunciation learning is needed to achieve L2 communicative goals.
• Ideally in parallel with ongoing general phonetic ear-training and production practice, phonetic knowledge and skills can fully benefit spoken language instruction.
• Access to a dictionary with reliable pronunciation information is imperative for students learning all languages with non-phonetic spelling or apparent lack of sound and spelling correspondence, as English is falsely considered.

PRONUNCIATION AND PHONETICS

Mtra. Nelya Babynets

The fourth grade English program focuses on the communicative approach, where language users should express their ideas effectively. In other words, while speaking, effective language users should be able to plan and organize a message (cognitive skills); to formulate a linguistic utterance (linguistic skills); to articulate the utterance clearly (phonetic skills). While listening; effective language users should be able to perceive the utterance (phonetic skills), to identify the linguistic message (linguistic skills), to understand the message (semantic skills), and to interpret the message (cognitive skills).

         Communicative language competence can be considered as comprising several components: linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic. Each of these components is postulated as including, in particular, knowledge and skills and know-how. Linguistic competences include lexical, phonological, syntactical knowledge and skills and other dimensions of language as system, independently from the sociolinguistic value of its variations and the pragmatic functions of its realizations.

         This component relates not only to the range and quality of knowledge (e.g. in terms of phonetic distinctions made or the extent and precision of vocabulary) but also to cognitive organization and the way this knowledge is stored (i.e. the various associative networks in which the speaker places a lexical item) and to its accessibility (activation, recall and availability). Knowledge may or may not be conscious and readily expressible (i.e. once again in relation to mastery of a phonetic system). Its organization and accessibility will vary from one individual to another and vary also within the same individual (e.g. for a plurilingual person depending on the varieties inherent to his or her plurilingual competence). It can also be held that the cognitive organization of vocabulary and the storing of expressions, etc. depend, amongst other things, on the cultural features of the community or communities in which the individual has socialized and where their learning has taken place.

         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.

         Pragmatic competences are concerned with the functional use of linguistic resources (production of language functions, speech acts), drawing on scenarios or scripts of interactional exchanges. It is also concerned with the mastery of discourse, cohesion and coherence, the identification of text types and forms, irony, and parody. For this component not clear than the linguistic component, it is hardly necessary to stress the major impact of interactions and cultural environments in which such abilities are constructed.

            As for particular phonetic skills necessary for effective communication, the following elements should be taken into consideration. Effective language users should be able to distinguish and produce unfamiliar sounds and prosodic patterns; to perceive unfamiliar sound sequences; as listeners, to resolve, divide a continuous stream of sounds into a meaningful, structured string of distinct and significant parts; understand the process of sound perception and production applicable to new language learning.

Proposal

The fourth grade program proposes to focus on A1 level students. A1 level is considered the lowest level of generative language use – the point at which the learner can interact in a simple way, ask and answer simple questions about themselves, where they live, people they know, and things they have, initiate and respond to simple statements in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics, rather than relying purely on a very finite rehearsed, lexically organized repertoire of situation-specific phrases. This is the reason why we propose to introduce the following basic elements of pronunciation into the fourth grade program:

·      general introduction of English sounds, compared to the Spanish phonological system;

·      short and long vowel sounds;

·      voiced and voiceless consonants;

·      word stress;

·      the schwa;

·      diphthongs;

·      silent letters;

·      third person -s, -ed endings, verb+ing, irregular past participles;

consonant groups dr, str, sh, th, wh, ch, cr, cl, br, gr, etc.  

A SELF-ASSESSMENT GRID FOR FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS

Lic. Berumen Granados Carolina

Lic. Balderas Zamora Oscar

Biol. Ramírez Bautista Jabel

Introduction

With the grounds on the principle that the current program for the fourth grade of the EPN is based on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) and that the CEFR offers a self-assessment checklist for students as well as for teachers, we tried to adapt some of the principles used on the making of this checklist to use it as a tool.

The aim of the ‘Can Do’ project is to develop and validate a set of performance-related scales, describing what learners can actually do in the foreign language.

In terms of Alderson’s (1991) distinction between constructor, assessor and user oriented scales, the ALTE ‘Can Do’ statements in their original conception are user-orientated. They assist communication between stakeholders in the testing process, and in particular the interpretation of test results by non-specialists. As such they provide:

a) a useful tool for those involved in teaching and testing language students. They can be used as a checklist of what language users can do and thus define the stage they are at;

b) a basis for developing diagnostic test tasks, activity-based curricula and teaching materials;

c) a means of carrying out an activity-based linguistic audit, of use to people concerned with language training and recruitment in companies;

d) a means of comparing the objectives of courses and materials in different languages but existing in the same context.

They will be of use to people in training and personnel management, as they provide easily understandable descriptions of performance, which can be used for specifying requirements to language trainers, formulating job descriptions, specifying language requirements for new posts.

Considering ALTE as a reference, this proposal will focus on the area of study. The CEFR offers the self-assessment grid as “a draft for a self-assessment orientation tool based on the six levels” that is “intended to help learners to profile their main language skills, and decide at which level they might look at a checklist of more detailed descriptors in order to self-assess their level of proficiency” (Council of Europe 2001, p.25). In other words, the CEFR recognizes that self-assessment cannot not be undertaken on the basis of the self-assessment grid alone. This was confirmed by experience in the early stages of the ELP (English Language Portfolio) pilot projects. In Principles and Guidelines it is stated that “the Language Biography facilitates the learner’s involvement in planning, reflecting upon and assessing his or her learning process and progress”. The note on this paragraph reflects the accumulated experience of the ELP Validation Committee: “In order to plan their learning and assess their progress, learners need goal-setting and self-assessment checklists that expand on the summary descriptors contained in the self-assessment grid.”

Thus, it will be useful to consider using this checklist.

Unidad 1.      Nuevos amigos (New school, new friends). At the end of the unit, the student will be able to:

Listening Comprehension	Oral Expression	Reading Comprehension	Written Expression
□ Identify different ways of saying hello and good-bye in formal and informal language. □ Identify general information about other people. □ Recognize phrases to check information, ask for permission in the classroom. □ Understand different ways of receiving and giving instructions in the classroom.	□ Introduce him/herself and to establish basic social contact in different contexts. □Formulate and answer basic questions about personal information. □ Use common phrases to check information and for permission in the classroom. □ Give simple instructions.	□ Identify greetings and ways of introducing oneself in written conversations. □ Recognize personal basic information and information about others. □ Recognize in a written text common phrases to check information and ask for permission. □Follow instructions in a written text.	□ Introduce him/herself in written form according to the context. □ Write down personal information and from other people as well as ask questions to get such information. □ Write a simple text using common phrases to check information and ask for permission. □ Write a series of basic instructions.

UNIDAD 2.    Relaciones familiares (Family Relationships).

Listening Comprehension

Oral Expression

Reading Comprehension

Written Expression

At the end of the unit, the student will be able to:

□ Understand information about his/her or somebody else’s family. □ Understand information about possessions. □ Comprehend information about professions and occupations. □ Understand physical descriptions and  basic information about personality.

□ Give or get information about his/her family or somebody else’s. □ Talk about possessions. □ Give and ask for information about professions and occupations. □ Describe himself and other people.

□ Understand the information about the family in a written text. □ Recognize the sense and relations of possession in a written text. □ Understand the information in a written text related to professions and occupations. □ Understand in a written text descriptions about personality and appearance.

□ Write information about his/her family. □ Write about possession. □ Write information about professions and occupations. □ Write physical descriptions and personality descriptions.

UNIT 3.          Rutinas, preferencias y habilidades (Everyday activities, preferences and abilities).

At the end of the unit the student will be able to:

Listening comprehension	Oral expression	Reading comprehension	Written expression
□ Recognize the different times of the day in a conversation. □ Identify the type of question to provide basic information about himself (routines, habits, likes and preferences). □ Identify abilities or skills and the precision of a conversation	□ Ask for and give the time. □ Exchange information about the time. □ Exchange information about their own habits and routines □ Ask and answer about their own likes and preferences and those of the people they know. □ Express their likes and preferences, as well as others’. □ Express their abilities or talents and the degree of skill they perform them.	□ Recognize the different times of the day in a text. □ Identify the kind of information to be able to give basic information about themselves or others (habits, routines, likes and preferences). □ Identify abilities or skills and express the degree of performance with which they develop in a reading conversation.	□ Write phrases and simple sentences. □ Ask and provide  personal details in written form. □ Write short texts about their everyday activities, detailing the frequency with which they do them. □ Express in a written form their likes and preferences as well as others’. □ Express their abilities or skills and detail the degree of performance with which they develop them.

UNIT 4.          Ubicación de lugares y objetos (My place and spaces; going around).

At the end of the unit, the student will be able to:

Listening Comprehension	Oral Expression	Reading Comprehension	Written Expression
□ Recognize the location of places and objects from a piece of audio. □ Follow directions to find places and objects from a piece of audio.	□ Express the existence and location of places and objects. □ Ask and give information referring to the location of shops, mail office and services. □ Elicit, give and follow directions to find places and objects.	□ Obtain information about public transportation, such as trains, taxis, etc. □ Follow directions to get to a place. □ Follow directions to find places and objects.	□ Express in a written form the existence and location of places and objects. □ Provide information referring to maps and locations of  shops, mail offices and services.

Unidad 5.      Eventos en curso e ir de compras (Current events and Shopping)

At the end of the unit, the student will be able to:

Listening comprehension	Oral Expression	Reading Comprehension	Written Expression
Identify activities happening now. Understand different ways for buying or selling something (use of quantifiers). Identify expressions or phrases for buying or selling something.	Ask and answer questions about activities happening now. Exchange information about activities happening now. Talk about non-specific amounts (quantifiers)	identify activities happening now in written Recognize phrases that are used to buy or sell something.	Describe activities happening now. describe in a simple text an object that he or she wants to buy or sell.

Unidad 6 Eventos pasados (Things to remember)

At the end of the unit, the student will be able to:

Listening Comprehension	Oral Expression	Reading Comprehension	Written Expression
Identify the facts or events in the past. Recognize the different ways talk about the past and the phrases related to the past.	Talk about when, where he/ she was born Ask about the past Give personal information about the past.	Recognize the past events. Infer information about the facts and events from the past.	Write a paragraph or two about  his personal information : when, where he/she was born Write a paragraph or two about what he or she did in the last holiday.

UNIDAD 7     Planes (Planning)

At the end of the unit, the student will be able to:

Listening Comprehension	Oral Expression	Reading Comprehension	Written Expression
Understand information about plans for the future.	Talk about plans for the future.	Understand a written text about plans for the future.	Write about plans for the future.

A LEAP FROM IV TO V PROGRAMME

(SUGGESTIONS ABOUT USING A BLOG)

Mtra. María Mercedes Camacho Reyes.

mercam128@yahoo.com

Lic. Dulce María Montes de Oca Olivo.

dulcemontesdeoca@yahoo.com.mx

Biol. Norma Lizárraga Jiménez.

Normaliz_28@yahoo.com

Introduction

Every year whenever the English prepa teacher begins a course, he has to deal with the problem of what to do at the beginning of the course, when his/her students do not have a textbook. He is evaluating the level of his students and at the same time he is trying to attract them to stay in the class. This paper deals with different suggestions for the teachers they can find in the blog www.sade2012.blogspot.mx  which is a collection of materials used in our actual classes. The blog is divided in four parts: Grammar, practice and produce, musical videos with its lyrics, games and tongue twisters, and extensive reading. This proposal pretends to get the teachers to know what possibilities they can have in class by using the aid of this blog.

            The main purpose of this presentation is to give teachers different tips on what to do the first days of class by using either blended learning or just ideas to use in the classroom.

            The objectives to be achieved are:

a)    To present the different possibilities of teaching with the blog

b)    To work with the activities suggested in the class

c)    To observe that there are different chances of adapting the material according to the level of the group.

Theory

Students from ENP (Escuela Nacional Preparatoria) have to face different challenges in their school lives. As future university students they must have certain knowledge about the world that is not acquired in all the schools at the same level. Mostly, they are expected to possess different learning strategies that will lead them to become either workers in an office, or directors, or investigators, though their needs vary a bit, they are confronted with various test in life such as the possession of abilities of using Internet, of coping with their society, working in teams and also having reading and writing skills.

The skills mentioned above indicate the student is competent in his field and he is able to be an independent learner. Monereo gives different definitions of the ideal learner, and also he defines the competences for searching for information:

Se refiere al conjunto de estrategias que permiten al alumnado aprender a partir de sus propios recursos. Algunas nociones o conceptos emparentados con esta competencia matizan su significado:

Se trata de lograr un aprendiz permanente. capaz de aprender a lo largo de toda su vida y, por lo tanto de adaptarse a los múltiples cambios tecnológicos que previsiblemente se producirán.

Nos referimos a un aprendiz autónomo que emplea sus recursos de manera autodirigida, pero no autodidacta. No se trata, en sentido estricto, de alguien que aprendido sin ayuda de nadie (si es que esa persona existe) o que aprende solo, sin alguien que en su momento interiorizó las pautas, recomendaciones y guías de otros más expertos, y ahora puede emplearlas sin su presencia física (aunque de algún modo psicológicamente siempre le acompañan; son la afortunada expresión de James Wertsch: voces en su mente.

Hablamos de un aprendiz que autorregula (o sus sinónimos: supervisa, monitoriza) su proceso de aprendizaje, tomando activamente decisiones sobre qué, cómo, cuándo y dónde aprender en cada momento.

También nos referíamos a alguien que es capaz de aprender en situaciones de enseñanza no formales, como museos, programas televisivos, secciones de prensa, etc. Alguien, por consiguiente, abierto a todo tipo de experiencias de aprendizaje, a lo largo y ancho de su vida

Finalmente, hablamos de un aprendiz estratégico, una persona que dispone esos recursos o conocimientos en función del objetivo perseguido, pero también tomando decisiones ajustadas al contexto de aprendizaje, sabiendo que lo que es adecuado bajo unas circunstancias puede ser diferente en otras (Monereo, 2004: 15).

Thus, the independent learner requires the teacher to go along with him through certain parts of his life, so that when the student finishes this stage he is capable of taking his own decisions using all the possible sources of information to solve the problem, or project he has to solve or present before a public. As it is seen autonomy is obtain not through self-study but under the supervision of an expert, in this case the teacher in a classroom.

One of the solutions that has been looked at is blended learning, whose definition was given in:

Badrul Khan’s blended e-learning framework, referred to here as Khan’s Octagonal Framework (see Figure 1) enables one to select appropriate ingredients

(http://BooksToRead.com/framework ). Khan’s framework serves as a guide to plan, develop, deliver, manage, and evaluate blended learning programs. Organizations exploring strategies for effective learning and performance have to consider a variety of issues to ensure effective delivery of learning and thus a high return on investment

http://old.jazanu.edu.sa/deanships/e-learning/images/stories/B.pdf

The acquisition of Independence means the teacher is carefully supervising the activities both in the classroom and in internet. The principle to be followed is to go from the simple to the complicated, always following an order so that the students feel they have the freedom to choose what they want to do

Ofrecer suficientes oportunidades para practicar la competencia en distintos contexto. Recordemos que la competencia no tiene límite y que para lograr a alguien competente en, por ejemplo búsqueda de información no basta con que sepa emplear un buscador popular para encontrar información sobre un tema sino que debe ser capaz de buscar en distintos tipos de entornos (directorios, metabuscadores, listas de distribución, documentos de textos, etc.  ) y con un alto nivel de calidad en los resultados(rapidez, exhaustividad, relevancia de lo encontrado).

Avanzar gradualmente desde situaciones y problemas sencillos, con pocas variables, a problemas más desestructurados, abiertos y complejos que requieren un dominio superior de la competencia (Monereo, 2004: 11)

Another principle for making our students independent is that they have many chances of looking at examples of how exactly the teacher wants the project to be done, what is expected from the students, the objectives of the Project and how he is going to interact with his/her team mates.

Para que cada competencia tenga realmente sentido para el alumnado es imprescindible explicar de manera clara y consistente cuál es el interés y la importancia personal, profesional y social de este aprendizaje. Con este fin no debe escatimarse el uso de ejemplos y contraejemplos de lo que supone poseer es competencia o, por el contrario, de la frágil y peligrosa situación en que alguien se situaría si no tuviese algún dominio sobre esa competencia.

Ofrecer suficientes oportunidades para practicar la competencia en distintos contextos. Recordemos que la competencia no tiene límite y que para lograr a alguien competente en, por ejemplo búsqueda de información no basta con que sepa emplear un buscador popular para encontrar información sobre un tema sino que debe ser capaz de buscar en distintos tipos de entornos (directorios, metabuscadores, listas de distribución, documentos de textos, etc.  ) y con un alto nivel de calidad en los resultados(rapidez, exhaustividad, relevancia de lo encontrado).

Avanzar gradualmente desde situaciones y problemas sencillos, con pocas variables, a problemas más desestructurados, abiertos y complejos que requieren un dominio superior de la competencia. (Ibid: 77)

A new panorama is presented to students when internet appears in their extra class activities or it becomes a relevant part in the class. It is the teacher´s labor to indicate their pupils how to use this tool for academic purposes, since they already know the fun, or the danger of Internet. They also know that they get a new identity and they also break the frontiers of time and space, since many activities can be happening at the same time in the different places in the planet, for which you don´t need to use a physical place. Then, you can have two times the virtual and the real one.

Teniendo en cuenta que el único requisito para poder acceder a dichos usos es el tener la tecnología apropiada, la característica principal de Internet es la ruptura de las barreras espaciales y temporales. En este sentido el acceso podría ser universal.

Acceso a la información. Nunca en ningún otro momento histórico, la humanidad ha tenido acceso a tanta información de modo tan generalizado y puntual.

La construcción de la identidad y la pluriculturalidad debido a las características del propio medio. En primer lugar cada usuario se construye conscientemente o no, una identidad electrónica para presentarse en la red. En la red somos lo que decimos. En segundo lugar la interacción abierta con otras identidades electrónicas de las que se ignora su procedencia cultural o geográfica, sumada a la ausencia de comunicación no verbal, plantea nuevas formas de comunicarse. Finalmente, el carácter mundial y abierto de la red favorece el desarrollo de interacciones interculturales.( Monereo 77)

 

Grammar

Over the years language teachers have faced two ways of teaching, one that is in favor of showing the use of the language and the other focus on the language forms of analysis. Through the time it has been proven that the learner acquires language in both ways, according to the context he is faced with.

In fact, what Celce Murcia thinks is that the ideal situation is for the teacher to know about grammar and use so that he is able to mix the teaching of grammar and show the students the different uses of the language, besides helping the students see what is not possible in English. According to this writer:

Using language grammatically and being able to communicate are not the same, but they are both important goals. Thus the language field would be well served by finding a way to help learners accomplish both (Celce-Murcia, 1992) (Celce-Murcia, 1999: 2)

At the same time, Celce Murcia considers that there are three levels of grammar that should be taken into consideration when organizing its teaching; the first is the sub essential or morphological level, the sentencial or syntactic level, and the suprasential or discourse level.

The subsentential level, the level below the sentence, verb tenses are described through the use of verb tense morphology:

Subsentential level: past progressive= be (past tense) + base form of verb + ing

(morphology)                         was/were + walk + ing=was/were walking

Sentential level: one basic word-order rule in English that verbs normally follow

subjects and come before adverbials

(syntax)           She was walking home from school that day

                      subject            verb             adverbials

Suprasentential level: One discourse rule is that narratives often begin with the present perfect tense as a “scene setter”. Then the past and past progressive tenses are used to relate to specific actions that occurred in an episode.

She has never been as lucky as she was one day last May. She was walking

Present perfect                                  past                                  past progressive

School that day when she ran into a friend

                                  Past

Presentation, practice and production

There are three main stages in any lesson: Presentation, Practice, and Production. A lesson which includes all these stages can help children learn more efficiently.

The presentation stage involves explaining the aims of the lesson so that children know what they will learn and why. It is also during this stage that the teacher explains the new language, including both its meaning and form, and how to say or write it correctly. A good presentation will be understandable, interesting and in a context the children can understand, such as a song, game or story.

The goal of the practice stage is to help the children use the new language you have just explained to them. The teacher can ask the children to produce sentences or answer questions that demonstrate they understand how to use the language correctly. In a good practice stage, language will also be in a context which children understand. It is at this stage that error correction is most important.

The final stage is the production stage. This stage can help motivate children to communicate meaning with the new language. Children should have the opportunity during this stage to experiment with the language, for example they can use the names of animals to make a story. You do not need to correct too much during this stage, but you can observe the children and give feedback at the end of the stage.

Not all lessons need all three stages. This is simply one way to help children learn new language in an enjoyable and effective way. This model may not be useful in some lessons, for example those lessons in which children are practicing language they already know.

Taken from: http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/teachers/teaching-articles/plan-preparation/ppp#

This method of presentation, practice and production is an approach that follows a definite sequence:

1. The teacher presents the new vocabulary and explains the form of the language in a meaningful context.
2. The students practice this new vocabulary through controlled activities such as worksheets or question and answer activities.
3. The students use or produce what they have learned in a communicative activity such as a role-play, communication game, or question and answer session.

http://www.myenglishlanguage.com/presentation.htm

Summary

Our proposal is based on the PPP (Presentation, practice and produce) which is part of the communicative approach and it is used to develop a lesson in the classroom.

Conclusions

As an attempt to shorten the gap between English IV and V this paper endeavors to analyze some elements in both programs to show some inconsistencies between them which may affect students learning process. Some of the conclusions we achieved as a result of our research are:

1. We have to consider what the objectives of the program indicate; revise the instructional sequence of the strategies proposed as well as to what extent we want to embrace the new technologies and the autonomous learning.
1. No matter what contents or strategies are being used for the new programs they should be clear so that teachers and students can understand what they are expected to accomplish.
1. In order to relate form, meaning and use working with grammatical structures in class, we as teachers have to focus on teaching the core meanings of each structure, so that they can later relate the meaning of more peripheral uses. Once new tense aspect combinations have been introduced to students, they will be able to contrast them to previously presented tense-aspect combinations and work with different kinds of exercises and even produce oral or written presentations more accurately.
2. Teachers should provide their students with the vocabulary they need to deal successfully not only with their class demands but also with the real-life ones. Therefore, a set of high-frequency words at CEFR A2 level which could be included in the new version of the English IV program will be very helpful for both teachers and students and will facilitate the transition to the fifth grade.
3. Phonetic skills are necessary for effective communication. For that reason effective language users (even A1 level students) should be able to distinguish and produce unfamiliar sounds and prosodic patterns; to perceive unfamiliar sound sequences; as listener, to resolve, divide a continuous stream of sounds into a meaningful, structured string of distinct and significant parts; understand the process of sound perception and production applicable to new language learning.
4. A ‘Can Do’ project based on the fourth grade program and the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) will help teachers and students to develop and validate a set of performance-related scales, describing what learners can actually do in the foreign language.
5. Finally, we propose the use of a blog for students who are just attending the fifth grade, which is a collection of materials currently used in fourth grade. The blog is divided in four parts: Grammar, practice and produce, musical videos with its lyrics, games and tongue twisters, and extensive reading. This proposal pretends to help students to reinforce fourth grade contents and abilities and to prepare them for the new contents to be acquired.

APPENDIX 1

Unit 1: 68.95% covered.

Unit 2: 62.7% covered.

Unit 3: 68.95% covered.

Unit 4: 36.1% covered.

Unit 5: 33.4% covered.

Unit 6: 44 % covered.

Unit 7: 25.65% covered.

UNIDAD 1. NUEVOS AMIGOS (NEW SCHOOL, NEW FRIENDS)

UNIDAD 2. RELACIONES FAMILIARES ( FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS)

I

UNIDAD 3. RUTINAS, PREFERENCIAS Y HABILIDADES (EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES, PREFERENCES AND HABILITIES)

UNIDAD 4. UBICACIÒN DE LUGARES Y OBJETOS (MY PLACE AND SPACES: GOING AROUND)

UNIDAD 5. UBICACIÒN DE LUGARES Y OBJETOS (MY PLACE AND SPACES: GOING AROUND)

UNIDAD 6. EVENTOS PASADOS (THINGS TO REMEMBER)

UNIDAD 7. PLANES (PLANNING)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Introduction

• ACUERDO POR EL QUE SE CREA LA COORDINACIÓN GENERAL DE LENGUAS DE LA UNAM

www.planeacionunam.mx/memoria/2010/PDF/12.7CGL.pdf

• ZYGMUNT, B (2005) Los retos de la Educación en la modernidad líquida. Gedisa: Barcelona.
• PLAN NACIONAL DE DESARROLLO 2007-2012. México

http://pnd.calderon.presidencia.gob.mx/pdf/PND_2007-2012.pdf.

• PLAN DE DESARROLLO 2008-2011. México, UNAM.

www.iingen.unam.mx/es-mx/organizacion/planeacion/plandedesarrolloUNAM/paginas/default.aspx

·      The Common European Framework in its political and educational context.

 www.uk.cambridge.org/elt.

• PROGRAMA DE INGLÉS IV MODIFICADO 11-11-11. 1407. pdf.

Designing Objectives

·      DÍAZ, FRIDA (2006). Estrategias docentes para un aprendizaje significativo. México: McGraw Hill.

·      ESTÉVEZ, E. (2004), Enseñar a aprender. México: Paidós.

·      KEITH JONSON, ROBERT (1989), The Second Language Curriculum. UK. OUP.

·      O' MALLEY, J. M., AND CHAMOT, A. U. (1990), Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

·      OXFORD, R. (1990), Language Learning Strategies. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

·      WILLIAMS, M. & BURDEN, R. (1999), Psicología para profesores de idiomas. UK: Cambridge University Press.

·      The Common European Framework in its political and educational context.

 www.uk.cambridge.org/elt.

Lessening the gap between English IV and V

·      AGUILAR, G. (2008), Instrucción explicita, apoyada en la gramática cognoscitiva, sobre el funcionamiento de la frase nominal en la comprensión de textos en inglés a alumnos de 6º año de la Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, tesis para obtener el grado de Maestra en Lingüística Aplicada, México D.F., Posgrado en Lingüística UNAM.

• CELCE-MURCIA and LARSEN-FREEMAN (1999), The Grammar Book, Heinle and Heinle.

·      DOUGHTY, C. and LONG (eds.) (2003), Handbook of second language acquisition, Oxford, Blackwell.

·      HALLIDAY, M. (1985)  An introduction to functional grammar (Segunda edición 1994), London: Edward Arnold.

• LANGACKER, R. (1987), Foundations of cognitive grammar Volume I: theoretical prerequisites, Stanford, Stanford University Press.
• LANGACKER, R. (1991), Foundations of cognitive grammar Volume II: descriptive application, Stanford, Stanford University Press.

·      LANGACKER, R. (2001), “Cognitive linguistics, language pedagogy, and the English present tense” in Applied Cognitive Linguistics I: Theory and Language Acquisition, New York: Mouton. TALMY, L. (1975), “Figure and ground in complex sentences” in Proceedings of the first annual meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, Berkeley, Calif., Berkeley Linguistics Society.

·      LONG, M. (1997), “Construct validity in SLA: A response to Firth and Wagner” in Modern Language Journal 81, 3, 318-23. 

·      LONG, M. (1992), “Second language acquisition” in Bright, W. (ed.), Oxford International Encyclopedia of Linguistics (pp. 16-19),  Oxford, Oxford University Press. 

• LONG, M. (ed.) (2005), Second language needs analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• LONG, M. (2006), Problems in SLA. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• MEAGHER, M. (ed.) 2007, Form and meaning in context: explorations in English grammar, México D.F., ENP-UNAM.
• NARRO ROBLES, J. (2007) Lineamientos de trabajo para los años 2007 – 2011, México D.F., UNAM.
• PLANTIN, C. (1998): La argumentación, Barcelona, Ariel.
• SCHLEPPEGRELL, M. 2004, The language of schooling, Mahwah, N.J., Erlbaum.
• TALMY, L. (1983) “How language structures space” in (eds. H. Pick and L. Acredolo), Spatial orientation: theory, research and application, New York, Plenum Press.
• TALMY, L. (2000^a), Toward a cognitive semantics: volume I concept structuring systems, Cambridge, MIT Press.
• TALMY, L. (2000^b), Toward a cognitive semantics: volume II typology and process in concept structuring, Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press.
• VALENZUELA, M. (2009), Los usos del morfema –ing y sus frecuencias: una comparación entre nativo hablantes e hispano hablante, tesis para obtener el grado de Maestra en Lingüística Aplicada, México D.F., Posgrado en Lingüística UNAM.
• VAN PATTEN, B. (1996), Input processing and grammar instruction in second language acquisition, Norwood, Ablex.
• VAN PATTEN, B. (2003), From input to output: a teacher’s guide to second language acquisition, Boston, McGrawHill.

Proposal for vocabulary for English V

·      CARBALLO RIVA PALACIO, G., AND OSORIO MATE, C.,  (2010), Adecuación al programa de Inglés IV. Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, UNAM.

·      RICHARDS, J, AND RENANDYA, W. (eds.), (2008), Methodology in language teaching. An anthology of current practice. Primera edición SEP (Colección RIEB), Cambridge University Press.

Internet sources:

·      KET vocabulary list, available at http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/exams/ket/ket-vocab-list.pdf, April 5, 2012.

·      The Common European Framework in its political and educational context. Electronic version at www.uk.cambridge.org/elt. April 5, 2012.

Incorporating phonetics and phonology aspects in the ENP English V program

·      ALLLEARN (Library), Academic Directories. Retrieved: April 12, 2012.

http://www.allianceforlifelonglearning.org/er/directories.cgi

·      ASHBY, P. (1995) Speech Sounds. London: Routledge.

·      ASHBY, PATRICIA (1995) Phonetics in pronunciation teaching for modern foreign languages. Centre for Languages, Linguistics and area studies. Retrived February 5, 2012. http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/408

·      AVERY, P. AND ERLICH, S. (1992) Teaching American English Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

·      BAKER, A. AND GOLDSTEIN, S. (1990) Pronunciation Pairs. An Introductory Course for Students of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

·      BAILEY, K.M., & SAVAGE, L. (1994) New Ways in Teaching Speaking. In Lazarton, Anne (2001). Teaching Oral Skill. In Celce- Murcia, M. (2001). (ed). Teaching English as a second or Foreign Language. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

·      CATFORD, J.C. AND PISONI, D.B. (1970) 'Auditory vs Articulatory Training in Exotic Sounds.' in Modern Language Journal. 54/7, pp 447-81.

·      CROWTHER, J., ED. (1995) Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Phonetics Editor, M.G. Ashby.

·      CRUTTENDEN, A., Ed. (2001) Gimson's Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. London: Arnold. 6th edition.

·      DALTON, C. AND SEIDLHOFER, B. (1994) Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

·      GOODMAN, J.C. AND NUSBAUM, H.C. (Eds.) (1994) The Development of Speech Perception: The Transition from Speech Sounds to Spoken Words. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

·      HARMER, J. (2007) The Practice of English Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Longman.

·      KENWORTHY, J. (1987) Teaching English Pronunciation. Harlow: Longman.

·      LADEFOGED, P. (2001) A Course in Phonetics. Orlando: Harcourt College Publishers. 4th edition.

·      MACCARTHY, P.A.D. (1978) The Teaching of Pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

·      PISONI, D.B., LIVELY, E.S., LOGAN, J.S. (1994) 'Perceptual learning of non-native speech contrasts: Implications for theories of speech perception.' in Goodman & Nusbaum 1994, pp121-166.

·      Rudd, E. (1971) SCOPE Handbook 2. Pronunciation: for Immigrant Children from India, Pakistan, Cyprus and Italy. London: Books for Schools Ltd.

·      RVACHEW, S., JAMIESON, D.G. (1995) 'Learning new speech contrasts: Evidence from adults learning a second language and children with speech disorders.' in Strange 1995, pp 411-432.

·      STRANGE, W. (Ed.) (1995) Speech Perception and Linguistic Experience: Issues in Cross-Language Research. Baltimore: York Press.

·      WELLS, J.C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow: Longman. New edition.

·      WELLS, J.C., COLSON, G. (1971) Practical Phonetics. Bath: Pitman Press.

Suggested sources of information for consultation by teachers:

• For articulatory phonetics: Ashby (1995), Ladefoged (2001), Wells & Colson (1971).

• For in-depth English phonetics: Cruttenden (2001).

• For Pedagogy in pronunciation teaching:  Avery & Erlich (1992), Baker & Goldstein (1990), Dalton & Seidlhofer (1994), Kenworthy (1987), MacCarthy (1978) (whose list of exercise types remains unrivalled) and Rudd (1971).

A self –assessment grid for fourth grade students

• ALDERSON, J. C. (1991), Bands and scores. In: Alderson, J.C AND NORTH, B. (eds.): Language testing in the 1990s London: British Council / Macmillan, Developments in ELT. p. 71–86.
• COUNCIL OF EUROPE (2001), Common Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• LITTLE, D., (2005), The Common European Framework and the European Language Portfolio: involving learners and their judgements in the assessment process. Language Testing 22 (3).

 

A Leap from IV to V programme (suggestions about using a blog)

• CELCE-MURCIA and LARSEN-FREEMAN (1999), The Grammar Book, Heinle and Heinle.
• MONEREO, CARLES (2007) La Internet y Competencias Básicas, Grao, Barcelona.

• http://old.jazanu.edu.sa/deanships/e-learning/images/stories/B.pdf

• www.sade2012.blogspot.mx 

• http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/teachers/teaching-articles/plan-preparation/ppp#

• http://www.myenglishlanguage.com/presentation.htm

---

[1] Plan Nacional de Desarrollo. Strategy 13.2. p 194.

[2] Plan de Trabajo de la UNAM. 2008-2011. p. 26.

[3] Acta consitutiva de la Coordinación General de Lenguas

[4] Fourth Grade Program p 5.

[5] English Program for Fourth Grade.

[6] CAllA was developed by Anna Uhl Chamot and J. Michael O'Malley in 1990 as an instructional program for second and foreign language learners based on cognitive theory and research. It is being implemented in approximately 30 school districts in the United States as well as in several other countries.

[7] CALLA Handout. P. 7

[8] See www.dgenp.unam.mx/

[9] New version of the program. p.1.

[10] New version of the program p. 7.

[11] See unit 5 in appendix section.

[12] See units 2, 3, 5 and 6 in appendix section.

[13] See units 2, 5 and 6 in appendix section.

[14] In unit 2 the strategy described in the program says “the teacher will introduce the vocabulary related to occupations” but it does not mention the way or procedure.

[15] See appendix.

[16] This presentation is based on Chapter 7 of Celce-Murcia, M. and Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999), The Grammar Book, Heinle& Heinle

[17] Carballo Riva Palacio, Guadalupe Eugenia, and Osorio Mate, Celia Ruth, 2010. Adecuación al programa de Inglés IV.

[18] Richards, Jack C., and Renandya, Willy A. (editors), 2008. Methodology in language teaching. An anthology of current practice. Primera edición SEP (Colección RIEB), Cambridge University Press.

[19] The Common European Framework in its political and educational context. Electronic version, which can be found on www.uk.cambridge.org/elt.

[20] Free translation; the original document is in Spanish.

[21] http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/exams/ket/ket-vocab-list.pdf, March 19^th, 2012.

[22] NB The chart does not intend to mean that the units of the English IV and English V program are matched or in any way parallel; it only intends to list the units in the order they are presented originally.

[23] The new English IV program only has seven units.

[24] Since there are more units and contents in the English V program than there are vocabulary items for the A2 level, some units are left out, as they correspond to level B1 and beyond, according to the European Framework.

[25] The vocabulary suggested here is rather related to the English IV program, as the concept of giving instructions is not part of the A2 level, according to the CEFR descriptors.