Curricular Project Area

1

curricular project area:

foreign languages

E.S.O (1st cycle)

Oxford Spotlight 1 and 2

CURRICULAR PROJECT AREA (ENGLISH)

E.S.O (1ST CYCLE)

Teaching institution

Street

DistrictProvince Postal code

composition of foreign language seminar

1
2
3
4

student distribution

Course / nº of students / nº of groups
ESO 1
ESO 2

Student characteristics

(The seminar will describe them attending to the three criteria outlined below:

– General

– Different groups

– One group

and will describe the basic objectives when addressing them. Their needs, the most appropriate strategies to employ and timetabling will also be prioritised)

Profile

(delete those that are not applicable)

Social background high/middle/low/mixed

Area city centre/suburb/town/country

Nº of ethnic minority students:

Comments:

learning-related characteristics

(delete those that are not applicable)

They like to learn through play or recreational activities.

They have a lot of / not much imagination.

It is easy / difficult to arouse their curiosity.

They like / don’t like to express what they feel.

They are capable / incapable of organising and analysing their own learning.

They are aware / are not aware of the advantages of working co-operatively in the classroom.

They express themselves coherently / incoherently and correctly / incorrectly in their own language.

They don’t need / need to understand all the words in a text to comprehend it.

They like / don’t like reading at home.

Others.

Prioritisation of needs

- General needs

- Specific needs of the different groups in the class

- Individual needs

Strategies to employ

- With students

- With teachers

- With parents and guardians

Timetabling

Criteria for student grouping

(delete those that are not applicable)

Human resources

Support teacher

Foreign reading assistant

Psychologist

Criteria

In alphabetical order

Flexible grouping (specify which types and why)

Small remedial groups inside / outside the classroom

Students with different sensorial-based needs in various groups in the classroom

organisation of space and time

Material resources available in the institution

(delete those that are not applicable)

video

TV

Radio-cassette recorder

Video camera

Computers

(Note here any comments on when, how and why these resources are used)

Spatial resources available in the institution

(delete those that are not applicable)

language classroom

language laboratory

computer room

playground

gymnasium

theatre

library

Criteria for use of common areas

(Note here any comments on when, how and why these areas are used for English classes)

Spatial distribution in the classroom

Desks ordered in rows

Desks in “U” formation

Specific areas: classroom library, cross-curriculum themes, games, crafts, etc.

Others

Outings and activities for the whole institution or for various groups

(Note here any programmed school trips or excursions.)

Class timetable

Name and position of teacher:

time / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday

1. THEORETICAL JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROJECT: METHODOLOGICAL AND DIDACTIC FEATURES

The publishing project Oxford Spotlight is targeted at ESO (1st Cycle) in Spain in the area of Foreign Languages (English). Its objective is to develop students’ communicative competence, guaranteeing they assimilate English grammar rules and acquire the basic vocabulary they need to communicate in English. This general principle is broken down into the following specific objectives:

• Provide Secondary students with useful and necessary vocabulary to communicate in English. In order to achieve this, each unit presents, practises and recycles vocabulary related to a specific theme.
• Explain typicalEnglish expressions through dialogues in the photo stories and the Everyday English section.
• Help students understand English grammar and use the language correctly based on clear explanations and practice that moves progressively from simple to more complex concepts.
• Convey aspects of British culture to students and invite comparison with their own culture through the Culture focus section included in each episode of the photo story.
• Enable students to focus on the daily life and customs of British teenagers, observing how they behave in different contexts illustrated in the Student’s Book as well as in the videos and DVDs included in the course.
• Bring in real life from outside the classroom with the help of the cultural section, Spotlight on the world,at the end of each unit.
• Provide students with the tools to express their views, both in oral and written form, on themes they will find interesting and motivating. They are offered the practice as well as the help they need to prepare both oral and written texts.
• Give students the opportunity to recycle and review vocabulary and structures as they learn in the Build up section at the end of each review unit.
• Enable students to evaluate their own progress using the Progress Check included in all the units of the Workbook.
• Provide the conditions for students to become better and more autonomous language learners. Students are encouraged to use the reference sections (grammar section, maps, vocabulary lists) in the Student’s Book, as well as the MultiROMfor to practise at home.
• Contribute to Secondary students’ enjoyment of their English classes thanks to the most motivating type of material: authentic songs, a photocopiable Fun Pack which includes games, word searches, crosswords etc., and a MultiROM in which they will find various games.

All students will have the opportunity to develop their capabilities to the full, thanks to the balance of the level of effort demanded and the level of support provided.

2.OBJECTIVES

2.1.The curricular project and the general objectives at this stage

In accordance with the terms laid out by Royal Decree 831/2003, 27th June, students should attain the following abilities while studying in E.S.O.

a)Assume their duties in a responsible way and exercise their rights with respect for others, practise tolerance and solidarity with people and make use of dialogue to reinforce the common values of a participatory and democratic society.

b)Develop and consolidate study and discipline habits as a necessary condition for effectively carrying out the learning process and as a means for personal development.

c)Develop the basic skills required to use informative sources in order to acquire, with a critical sense, new knowledge.

d)Reinforce the sense of teamwork and appreciate the perspectives, experiences and ways of thinking of other people.

e)Understand and correctly express oral and written complex texts and messages in Spanish, and as appropriate, in the co-official language of the corresponding Autonomous Community, and become initiated in reading, learning about and studying literature.

f)Understand scientific knowledge as an integrated one, which is made up from different disciplines, both mathematical and scientific. Know about and implement the methods necessary to identify problems in different fields of knowledge and experience in order to solve them and make decisions.

g)Develop communicative competence to understand and express oneself in one or more foreign language in an appropriate manner, in order to facilitate access to other cultures.

h)Acquire a basic grounding in the field of ICT, principally through acquiring skills related to information and communication technologies, with the aim of applying this in the learning process in order to find out, analyse, exchange and present the information and knowledge gained.

i)Consolidate an enterprising spirit developing self-confident behaviour, a critical sense, personal initiative and the ability to plan, make decisions and assume responsibility.

j)Know about essential aspects of culture and history and respect artistic and cultural patrimony; to be familiar with the diversity of cultures and societies in order to be able to assess them critically; and to foster respect for one’s own culture and that of others.

k)Appreciate, enjoy and respect artistic creation; identify and analyse with a critical eye messages that are explicitly or implicitly contained in the language of different artistic displays.

l)Know about one’s bodily functions to reinforce habits of health care and hygiene and include sports practice, in order to favour both personal and social development.

m)Know about the social and cultural environment from a wide perspective; appreciate and enjoy the natural world, contributing to its conservation and improvement.

In the following section we outline the way in which Oxford Spotlight 1 y 2 fulfils the general objectives for this stage as established in the above-mentioned Royal Decree.

The teaching material in the publishing project Oxford Spotlight responds to the general objectives of Secondary Education through the contribution that learning a foreign language, as envisaged in the project, makes to the following general educational objectives.

Firstly, the practical focus on learning to use the language rather than learning things about it, contributes to students developing the capacity to comprehend and produce oral and written messages in English that are personalised in an autonomous and creative way, employing them for the following reasons:

a)To communicate with other speakers of the same language: communicative ability.

b)To reflect on the processes involved in the use of language, an objective which will be consolidated through the study of Spanish and the language of Autonomous Community if relevant: LANGUAGE AWARENESS.

c)To organise their thoughts on current and interesting issues through the content of the messages in the foreign language: socio-cultural aspects.

The active methodology applied in the project, which entails student interaction with their classmates in pairs or small groups, foments their relationship with other people and their participation in group activities with supportive, free and tolerant behaviour, exempt from inhibition or prejudice. Through group activities, the student will be able to appreciate the value of exchanging ideas and learn in collaboration with others.

The games and optional activities proposed in the Teacher’s Guide of Oxford Spotlight provide numerous opportunities to foment cooperative learning, as they can be carried out in teams where students will have to collaborate and unite forces in order to achieve a common objective.

Learning a foreign language will in itself contribute to raising the student’s self-esteem, his/her characteristics and possibilities in relation to learning.

The emphasis on the development of study skills and learning of a foreign language will contribute to the development and application of student’s cognitive resources. When describing, comparing, contrasting, deducing and inferring in order to carrying out learning tasks, the student develops identification and problem-solving strategies in the area of foreign languages, strategies which will be of use to him or her in other areas of E.S.O (Compulsory Secondary Education).

Turning to broach a more explicit analysis of the objectives set down in the official syllabus for the stageof E.S.O, the way in which Oxford Spotlight contributes to development of each one becomes apparent in the following section:

1.Comprehend and produce personalised oral and written message autonomously and creatively in Spanish and, if relevant, in the language of the corresponding Autonomous Community; reflect on the processes involved in the use of language and its contribution to the organisation of one’s own thoughts.

The sections dedicated to the development of linguistic skills and sub-skills enable students to communicate in both oral and written form in the language they are learning, based on strategies they have acquired in their own language and, on occasions, resorting to it in order to carry out more satisfactory communicative exchanges with their classmates. In Oxford Spotlight, the skills mentioned are explicitly worked on in the Everyday English section (sub-section Listening) and Reading andWriting.

2. Understand and express oneself in the foreign language (s) being studied.

A Secondary English course like Oxford Spotlight sets this second statement of objectives at this stage as an explicit objective. The advanced methodology offered in this English course, with a clearly-structured treatment of contents, allows the student to progress in his/her command of the foreign language at all levels, amongst them fluency and accuracy. This last point is worked on specifically in the Grammar sections, which broach reflection on the formal features of the language in study.

3.Interpret and produce personalised messages, autonomously and creatively using artistic, scientific and technical codes, in order to enrich the possibilities of communication and reflect on the processes involved in their use.

The aspect of linguistic and extra-linguistic codes is worked on in an integrated fashion in the selection of course materials, within the sections dedicated to both oral and written comprehension and production. On the other hand, the Spotlight on the world and Topsongs sections, which facilitate explicit contact with the Anglo Saxon world, contribute in creating contexts where these codes can be worked on, through elements such as the music from artists from different parts of the world singing in English.

4.Obtain and select information using suitable and available resources in an autonomous way and with critical awareness. Transmit this information in an organised and intelligible way for a previously established purpose.

Sections such as Take note!, Check out! or Try this! study in depth the tools and techniques a Secondary student has access to, in order to carry out their school work. In this way, information is offered to him/her on materials in different formats (dictionaries, reference sections, etc.) and the student is asked to reflect on the strategies he/she employs, comparing them with those shown in the course material.

5.Elaborate identification and problem-solving strategies in different fields of knowledge and experience, through methods that are intuitive and employ logical rationalisation, contrasting them and reflecting on the process followed.

The English classroom, as something that foreign languages specialise in, aims to encourage autonomous student work in the learning context, and such autonomy is increasingly the case as one goes further into the E.S.O stage. One of the strategies that Oxford Spotlight proposes in order to attain the afore-mentioned autonomy is to apply a two-fold inductive-deductive methodology in the different activities which make up the course material, above all in those sections dedicated to grammatical content (Grammar), but also in the Pronunciation sections.

6.Raise student’s self-esteem, taking into account his or her capabilities, needs and interests in order to take decisions, assessing the effort needed to overcome difficulties.

Contrasting one’s own reality with other people’s doubtlessly helps study one’s own personality in depth; and on this basis Oxford Spotlight emphasises the comparison of individuals and collectives by selecting characters which display personality traits and behaviour that is sometimes similar and at other times opposite from, that of students.

7.Acquire and develop the customs of respect and discipline as necessary conditions for effectively carrying out educational tasks and developing supportive and tolerant behaviour in the face of social, religious and racial differences, overcoming prejudice with a critical, open and democratic spirit.

The contents of Oxford Spotlight strengthen education in values, so fundamental in today’s educational sphere. Class dynamics proposed in the course, based on pair and group work, often allow such items to be indirectly introduced in a non-explicit way which is frequently more effective than the transmission of ethics by the teacher alone.

8.Know about and have a critical appreciation of the beliefs, attitudes and basic values inherent in our tradition.

Oxford Spotlight offers the Secondary student an excellent base for comparing his or her own reality with that of the Anglo Saxon world. By gradually getting to know British, and to a lesser extent American, society, the course facilitates an extra awareness of one’s own reality, which strengthens interest in this itself, and, from this, an analysis of the past and possible projection towards the future.

9.Analyse the mechanisms and values that govern the way societies function, especially those relative to citizen rights and duties, and adopt views and personal attitudes with respect to them.

Young people in Secondary are at a stage in their development where it is essential to rely on tenets of wisdom as a basis from which to develop one’s personality, always grounded in observation and comparison of surrounding reality. Consciousness of one’s own rights and obligations constitutes one of the basic pillars of all critical observation and this is an aspect that the task material in Oxford Spotlight tries, directly and indirectly, to take on board.

10.Analyse the basic mechanisms that govern the way nature works, assess the positive and negative effects that man’s actions has on it and contribute to its conservation and improvement.

Given its importance, the topic of environmental education is systematically dealt with in the different levels of Oxford Spotlight. With the aim that students become aware of a controversial issue in order for it to become even more pertinent and relevant to them; issues such as the diverse habitats in which animal species live are covered (unit 4, Oxford Spotlight 1) or people’s natural environment, including the flora and the fauna (unit 7, Oxford Spotlight 2).

11.Know about scientific and technological development assessing its influence on physical and social surroundings, and use of new ICT in the teaching-learning process.

The material in Oxford Spotlight provides the student with a close-up view of technological advances in different fields, including that of language learning. The titles of the sections of the book itself give an idea of how important this issue is to the course: Penpals on the Web, Replying to an email (unit 4, Oxford Spotlight 1), Computers, Computer studies (unit 9, Oxford Spotlight 2).

With reference to course material itself, apart from the references in texts and activities in the book units, Oxford Spotlight offers video material, CD, CD-ROM y DVD that will extend students’ possibilities of autonomous learning.