DIGITAL MAGAZINE- ENGLISH CURRICULUM IN ECUADOR

The English Curriculum IN ECUADOR SYSTEMS AND CONTEXTS KAREN HARO

THE NEW ENGLISH CURRICULUM IN ECUADOR

The English curriculum in Ecuador is directed to students of EGB from second to tenth grade and BGU from first to third level. Their mother tongue is not English it is important to mention that the Ecuadorian population is comprised of groups from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

The curriculum supports general educational goals of justice innovation and solidarity by developing thinking social and creative skills in the context of language learning in order to engage students successfully in local and international communities in the 21st century.

For this reason, in 2008, the Constitution guarantees all people the right to learn first in their mother tongue and encourages the learning of a second language.

The main objectives of the EFL curriculum: To develop understanding of others cultures and to communicate it through English, personal, social and intellectual skills and to create a love of language learning from an early age in order to encourage the motivation of students throughout EGB and BGU.

The English curriculum design seeks to help students develop their communicative language skills to further involve students in the English learning process, for which they were assigned in the educational levels for this subject, three hours per week for primary school and five hours for eighth to second year of Bachillerato and three for third year.

MAIN GOALS OF THE EFL CURRICULUM

The core principles in the curriculum are:

1)To develop learners understanding of the world of other cultures and their own and to communicate their understanding and views to others through English.

2)To develop the personal social and intellectual skills needed to achieve their potential to participate productively in an increasingly globalized world that operates in English.

3)To create a love of learning languages starting at a young age by means of engaging and positive learning experiences in order to foster students’ motivation to continue learning English throughout EGB and BGU as well as work and beyond.

·The communicative language approach: language is best learned to interact and communicate rather than as a body of knowledge to be memorized. ·International standards: the curriculum is based on internationally recognized levels and processes of teaching and learning languages. ·Thinking skills: learning English should support the development of the thinking social and creative skills needed for lifelong learning and citizenship. ·Learners-Center approach: teaching methodologies should reflect and respond to learners’ strengths and challenges and facilitate the process of learning by supporting learners’ motivation for and engagement with learning. ·Four skills: listening writing speaking and reading ·Content and language integrated learning (CLIL): A model used to integrate the learning of language with cultural and cognitive aspects of learning such that language acquisition service as a driver for learners’ development.

It is important to mention that EFL curriculum is based on a language driven clear approach where content from other disciplines is used for meaningful and purposeful language use. The foreign language curriculum conceives the four C's:

1

CONTENT

2

COGNITION

3

CULTURE

4

COMMUNICATION

Through the integration of five curricular tracks or a communication which includes speaking, listening reading and writing language through the arts and the communication and cultural awareness.

•THE MINEDUC RECOGNIZES THAT THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT ENGLISH CURRICULUM DESIGN IS TO HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP THEIR COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE SKILLS THROUGH THE CONSIDERATION OF THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES: •LANGUAGE IS A SYSTEM FOR THE EXPRESSION AND CONVEYANCE OF MEANING. •THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE IS INTERACTION AND COMMUNICATION. •THE STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE REFLECTS ITS FUNCTIONAL AND COMMUNICATIVE USES.

•THE PRIMARY UNITS OF LANGUAGE ARE NOT MERELY ITS GRAMMATICAL AND STRUCTURAL FEATURES, BUT ALSO CATEGORIES OF ANALYTIC, FUNCTIONAL, AND COMMUNICATIVE MEANING AS EXEMPLIFIED IN DISCOURSE THEREFORE, THE FOLLOWING ENGLISH CURRICULUM GUIDELINES ARE SHAPED BY THE CEFR AND THEIR UNDERLYING PHILOSOPHY IS THE COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING APPROACH WHOSE SYLLABUS IS ORGANIZED IN TERMS OF THE DIFFERENT LANGUAGE “FUNCTIONS ” THE LEARNERS NEED TO EXPRESS OR UNDERSTAND TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY.

THE ECUADORIAN HIGH SCHOOLS EXIT PROFILE AIMS TO PREPARE ECUADORIAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL PARTICIPATION IN A GLOBALIZED DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY IN THE 21ST CENTURY. THE EFL CURRICULUM EMBRACES THE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AS WELL AS ATTITUDES SUCH AS ETHICAL CONDUCT THROUGH THE VALUES OF ACADEMIC HONESTY AND INTEGRITY.

APPROACHES AND CHARACTERISTICS

The communicative-functional approach proposed for the English curriculum for eighth, ninth, and tenth year of (EGB) and first, second, and third year of Bachillerato, is characterized by two main features: 1.Focus on real-world contexts: Because students will ultimately have to use the language productively (through speaking and writing) and receptively (through listening and reading) outside the classroom, classroom.

2.Relationship of language forms (grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation) and function: “Language techniques are designed to engage learners in the authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes” (Brown, 2007, p.46) supported by knowledge of the language structures.

Also the use of practices and strategies for planning, implementing and managing English content instruction, since teachers are prepared in teaching models and strategies to integrate the four language skills, and the use of technology to design new resources. In the evaluation domain, teachers must understand the problems and concepts of evaluation according to standards with the students.

In 2012, a document called “Ecuadorian Standards for InService English Teachers” was uploaded to improve English Language Teaching and is still in force. It was based on the document developed by TESOL. This document is organized into five domains: Language, Culture, Curriculum Development, Evaluation and Professionalism, and Ethical Commitment.

The domains for teachers to master are: knowing, understanding, and using theories and research in language structure and acquisition, as well as mastery of culture to know, understand, and use the principles, theories, and investigations of the nature and role of culture and cultural groups in building supportive learning environments for students

CEFR (COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK)

The EFL area has been organized into five sections

The CEFR is a planning tool that offers guidance for teachers, examiners, textbook writers, teacher trainers, and educational administrators. It also plays a paramount role in language and education policy worldwide because it comprehensively describes (1) what language learners should be able to do at different stages of the learning process and (2) what knowledge and skills they need to develop to communicate effectively in the target language (Council of Europe, 2003).

•The CEFR basically proposes a scale of six language proficiency levels that goes from A1, for those who are at a beginning stage, to C2, for those who can use language at high levels of discourse. This simplifies the challenge of understanding and interpreting levels of progress during the learning process and different language qualifications and requirements for learners, teachers, and teacher trainers. As a result, the CEFR aids employers and educational institutions to compare these qualifications easily and how they relate to both locally-tailored as well as international exams. Finally, and in order to provide a common ground for language learning, the CEFR provides assessment indicators for each language skill (i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

Communication and cultural awareness.

A communication that comprises listening and speaking.

Reading.

Writing.

Language through the Arts.

The skills are integrated within the five curricular traits and encourage earners to act responsibly and to respect themselves as well as others while participating in the communication process in doing so the curriculum endorses the values of solidarity and justice for both school levels education: EGB and BGU.

Each of these CURRICULAR THREADS in turn can be further divided into sub threads.

Curricular track1: COMMUNICATION AND CULTURAL AWARENESS: the communication and cultural awareness. intercultural awareness and identity and social competence and values.

Curricular track2 ORAL COMMUNICATION: listening skills, spoken production, and spoken interaction.

Curricular track3: READING the principal goal is to develop learners who are willing and able to interact autonomously with written text in order to do a variety of tasks learned about the world around them and communicate.

Literacy-rich Environment, reading comprehension, use of resources and study skills, and cross-curricular content. .

Curricular track4 WRITING: initial literacy, and text production. It’s treated as a social practice.

Curricular track5: LANGUAGE THROUGH THE ARTS: literacy texts in context, creative writing, and creative thinking skills.

Distinctions between responding to literature both oral and written text written production to clearly express thoughts and ideas and the potential to develop learners creative thinking skills through their engagement in contact within the arts.

CEFR COMMON REFERENCE LEVELS •LEVEL A1: THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED WHEN LANGUAGE LEARNERS ARE CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING AND USING EVERYDAY EXPRESSIONS THAT ARE USED FREQUENTLY TO SATISFY IMMEDIATE NEEDS. AT THIS LEVEL, FOR EXAMPLE, LEARNERS ARE ABLE TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND INTRODUCE OTHERS AND PROVIDE PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR HOME AND BELONGINGS TO PEOPLE THAT KNOW THEM AS LONG AS THE INTERLOCUTOR SPEAKS SLOWLY AND CLEARLY.

•LEVEL A2: THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED WHEN LANGUAGE LEARNERS ARE CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING FREQUENTLY USED PHRASES IN AREAS IN WHICH THEY ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE, SUCH AS BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILY, SHOPPING, AND PLACES OF INTEREST. AT THIS LEVEL, THEY ARE ALSO ABLE TO COMMUNICATE IN ORDER TO EXECUTE SIMPLE TASKS AND ROUTINE ACTIVITIES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE MUCH VERBAL INTERACTION AND IN WHICH THE INFORMATION IS RELATED TO HABITUAL ACTIVITIES. THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE ALSO ABLE TO EXPRESS IDEAS IN SIMPLE TERMS RELATED TO THEIR PAST ACTIVITIES, SURROUNDINGS, AND IMMEDIATE NEEDS.

•LEVEL B1: THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED WHEN THE LANGUAGE LEARNERS ARE CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN POINTS OF READINGS WRITTEN IN CLEAR, FAMILIAR, STANDARD LANGUAGE. THESE READINGS CAN BE RELATED TO WORK, PERSONAL LIFE, AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONALLY, AT THIS LEVEL, LEARNERS ARE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WHILE TRAVELING IN COUNTRIES THAT USE THE TARGET LANGUAGE, WRITE SIMPLE, COHERENT ESSAYS ABOUT FAMILIAR TOPICS, PERSONAL INTERESTS, EXPERIENCES, EVENTS, AND DESIRES, AND (3) JUSTIFY THEIR OPINIONS (I.E.BY GIVING SIMPLE, BRIEF REASONS) AND EXPLAIN THEIR FUTURE PLANS

OBJECTIVES PER SCHOOL YEAR (8TH & 9TH EGB)

Objectives per school year (10th year EGB & 1st year Bachillerato)

•To show articulation and progression, the specific objectives for listening and speaking have been formulated by taking into consideration the three main domains of interest for the target group (i.e. personal, educational, and public) (Trim, 2009).

•For pedagogical purposes, the first two (personal and educational) are addressed in level A1.1 because they constitute the learners’ immediate surroundings. On the other hand, the third one (public) is addressed in level A1.2 as it constitutes the learners’ extended surroundings that come afterward. Moreover, objectives and assessment indicators for speaking production and speaking interaction have been set up.

•Regarding reading and writing, on the other hand, not only are the specific objectives established for students to face different text types they may encounter when they read English (Brown, 2007), but the texts are also progressively more complex to follow basic pedagogical principles in education.

•To show articulation and progression, the specific objectives for listening and speaking have been formulated by taking into consideration the four main domains of interest for the target group: personal, educational, public, and vocational (Trim, 2009). The first two (personal and educational) are addressed in level A2.1 because they constitute the learners’ immediate surroundings. The third and fourth (public and vocational), however, are addressed in level A2.2 because they constitute the learners’ extended surroundings—which come afterward.

•Regarding reading and writing, the specific objectives have been established for students to face different text types they may encounter when they read English (Brown, 2007).

Furthermore, learners will already be familiar with some samples of three specific text types: informational, transactional, and expository. Nonetheless, not only will more complex samples be presented within these genres, but students will also be exposed to two new text types: procedural and narrative.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The English curriculum in Ecuador is aimed at EGB and BGU students whose mother tongue is Spanish. It aims at justice, innovation, and solidarity through social and creative skills. The goals of the EFL curriculum are to develop intellectual and social understanding and skills, and to create a love of language learning from an early age. The curriculum conceives content, cognition, culture, and communication. Core Principles: Communicative Language, International Standards, Thinking Skills, Learning Center, Four Skills, and Integrated Language Learning. The EFL curriculum encompasses creative and critical thinking skills and ethical conduct through the values of honesty and academic integrity.

It is necessary to achieve the main objectives this new curriculum to support innovation, justice and solidarity so that Ecuadorian students can prepare themselves in some way.

And to guarantee all people the right to learn first in their mother tongue and encourages the learning of a second language according to the level that each course in all the education institutes need to have.

DIGITAL MAGAZINE

The English Curriculum in Ecuador

SYSTEMS AND CONTEXTS