Trabajo Fin De Máster En Profesorado De E.S.O., F.P
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Trabajo Fin de Máster En Profesorado de E.S.O., F.P. y Enseñanzas de Idiomas, Artísticas y Deportivas Especialidad de Lenguas Extranjeras: Inglés Raising Awareness About the Diversity of Anglophone Territories and Cultures in the EFL Classroom Autor/es Alba Sánchez Orduna Director/es Virginia Luzón Aguado FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN 2018 1 ABSTRACT: This dissertation is an innovative educational proposal designed to solve a specific weakness detected during my experience in the Practicum period of the Master’s course in the charter school Escuelas Pías Pompiliano, located in Zaragoza. After examining the coursebook used in the classroom, I could observe that there was a dominant presence of the United Kingdom and the United States of America in the activities it proposed, which concluded in the lack of representation of other English-speaking communities. Thus, territories belonging to the “Inner Circle” of English like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Republic of Ireland were given a limited or inexistent representation in the EFL classroom, which didn’t provide a complete consciousness and understanding of the wide diversity of English-speaking communities. The Unit Plan will therefore propose a solution to this detected gap, incorporating cultural, historical and geographical aspects from those countries throughout the activities of the lessons in order to normalise their presence in the EFL classroom. This dissertation will consider academic works and studies regarding the importance of providing cultural diversity in the EFL classroom, as well as the legal provisions specified in the LOMCE and the Aragonese Curriculum, following their indications regarding the importance for students to value their own and others’ culture and history, as well as the necessity to educate them in terms of diversity and respect to other languages and cultures. 2 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 6 2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................... 8 3. RATIONALE, THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY .......................................... 8 Rationale ................................................................................................................................... 8 Theoretical and curricular framework .................................................................................... 13 Legal provisions ....................................................................................................................... 15 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 16 4. UNIT PLAN ........................................................................................................................... 20 School setting and group......................................................................................................... 20 Contribution and development of Key Competences ............................................................. 21 Specific learning objectives ..................................................................................................... 23 Sequence of activities ............................................................................................................. 25 Materials ................................................................................................................................. 28 Specific evaluation criteria ...................................................................................................... 31 5. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 33 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................ 36 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................ 38 4 5 1. INTRODUCTION This dissertation is an innovative educational proposal designed for the Third Year of ESO as a response to a specific weakness detected during my experience in the Master’s course and the Practicum period. This necessity emerged after observing the lack of representation of other English-speaking communities besides the United Kingdom and the United States of America in the classroom, as well as the treatment those ignored territories received when depicted. The reasons for the dominance of the United Kingdom in particular seems to be connected to historical and geographical factors as the European territory is the birthplace of the English language. People from the United Kingdom were those who colonized other territories and expanded their language and culture throughout the world by means of the British diasporas. Nevertheless, “it may take a military powerful nation to establish a language, but it takes an economically powerful one to maintain and expand it” (Crystal 2003:10), which in turn explains the predominance of the United States. Nowadays English-speaking territories different from the United States or the United Kingdom do not have the same visibility in textbooks since they lack the status of economic and technological world powers. Furthermore, the globalization process also influenced a particular focus on the North American country, whose popular products and culture are well-established throughout the globe. These aspects are reflected on the cultural representation textbooks, whose limited perspective of the Anglophone world ignores the rich variety of territories and cultures that build this community, offer to students. Thus, the present dissertation is an educational proposal which attempts to escape from the cultural indoctrination of the United Kingdom and the United States in the English classroom, by means of providing more representation and visibility to other English-speaking communities. This essay suggests an innovative approach to information and resources which contribute to the consciousness and understanding of the wide diversity of English-speaking communities that exist throughout the world. Nowadays, English is the native language of multiple regions apart from the United Kingdom and the United States, i.e. the so-called “Inner Circle”: Australia, New Zealand, 6 the Republic of Ireland, Anglophone Canada, South Africa and some Caribbean territories. Besides, territories like India, Philippines and Jamaica, among others, use English as the lingua franca of the country. Current English textbooks provide a limited – or even inexistent – representation of these countries, and usually deal with them from a derogative point of view. For this reason, a modification in the representation of other English-speaking communities needs to be accomplished in order to provide a more accurate illustration of the state of English as a language which reflects inclusiveness and diversity. This change is focused on the incorporation of cultural aspects of those countries throughout the activities of the lessons in a way to normalise their presence in the classroom, instead of dedicating isolated sections which only promote their differences. This Unit Plan was designed considering the legal provisions specified in the LOMCE (Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa) and the Real Decreto 1105/2014, del 26 de diciembre, por el que se establece el artículo básico de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y del Bachillerato. At a regional level, the Community of Aragón determines its legal provisions in the Aragonese Curriculum (Orden ECD/489/2016, de 26 de mayo, por la que se aprueba el currículo de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y se autoriza su aplicación en los centros docentes de la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón). The Aragonese curriculum considers diversity as one basic aspect to deal with in this educational stage. This is specified in Section 6 Objetivos Generales de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, where the importance of valuing and respecting students’ own culture and history, as well as others’, is stressed. Furthermore, the provisions of Primera Lengua Extranjera: Inglés also contemplate the significance of intercultural comprehension and respect for other languages, cultures and people which might differ from their own, especially through the social and civic key competence. This essay will first briefly describe the main purpose and objectives of the dissertation, then it will justify the Unit Plan and provide the theoretical framework it is based on, as well as the methodology followed. The next section will critically comment on the Unit Plan considering the topic, the context and the characteristics of the group it is addressed to, the contribution to the key competences, the specific objectives and 7 contents of the Unit Plan, a critical comment on the sequence of activities of the lessons, the materials used, and finally the specific evaluation criteria, the evaluation tools and the grading criteria. The next part will concentrate on the conclusions of the dissertation, including possible improvements of the educational proposal, followed by references and appendices. 2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The Unit Plan designed for this dissertation contributes to broadening students’ perception of English as a language which comprises