L5: ACTIVITY 5.2

L5 -  Activity 5.2

1- How does I.C. relate to the use of a language as a lingua franca?

Lingua francas have appeared for commercial reasons but also for cultural, religious, diplomatic and administrative convenience. In addition, they are a way to exchange information between scientists and other scholars of different nationalities. That is the reason why, in order to avoid cultural mistakes, it is important to learn its culture: rules, norms and expectations. We can't master a language without mastering its culture. Besides, our interactions may be useless and fruitless without that necessary competence. For example, negotiations and politics are extremely related to intercultural competence because success depends on the ability of adaptation and respect. 

2- How would you include I.C. in your teaching of English as a global language?

We would teach the culture-specific concepts of perception, thinking, feeling, and acting because they are necessary to understand the language as a whole picture. We will prepare different activities, such as :

• Introducing culture: celebrations, traditions, beliefs...
• Preparing essays and readings about the foreign culture
• Discussing differences between our culture and the foreign one
• Showing respect and avoiding ethnocentrism 
• Preparing presentations about customs in different regions
• Creating contests about previous cultural knowledge 
• Using songs, films, series and literature to introduce culture 

L5 - ACTIVITY 5.1

L5 - Activity 5.1

1- What is “Intercultural Competence” (I.C.)?

Intercultural competence or cross-cultural competence has been studied and defined from different academic approaches and professional fields. As a result this has led to many different definitions and understandings.

Some of the examples are the following:

The United States Army Research Institute has defined it as "A set of cognitive, behavioural, and affective/motivational components that enable individuals to adapt effectively in intercultural environments."

Selmeski (2007) identified eleven different terms used as equivalent: cultural savvy, astuteness, appreciation, literacy or fluency, adaptability, terrain, expertise, competency, awareness, intelligence, and understanding.

D.K. Deardoff  defines intercultural  competence as  “the  ability  to  develop  targeted knowledge,  skills  and attitudes that  lead  to  visible behaviour and communication that are both effective and appropriate in intercultural interactions.”

In my opinion, intercultural competence is the ability to communicate and behave appropriately with those who are culturally different. For example: An Spaniard that travels to Germany and shakes hands with someone from Germany instead of giving two kisses. That would be intercultural competence.

2- Is I.C. important for communication?

Intercultural Competence is of crucial importance in order to ensure an effective communication. In this way, knowing the culture of the others is very important to help reduce misunderstandings.

3- How does I.C. relate to identity?

As intercultural competence is related with culture, each individual adopts a set of values and beliefs as his or her own, while some are of more personal, others of a more social nature. In order to create self-identity, a person negotiates with society the meaning of his or her identity, and it may arise from the learning of social roles through personal experience, and through a variety of identity formation strategies (identity negotiation).

L3. ACTIVITY 3.1

L3. Activity 3.1. - Global languages

1- What is a global language?  

A global or world language can be defined as a language that is spoken internationally and is learned and spoken by a large number of people as an L2. It is characterized not only by the total number of speakers (L1 and L2 speakers), but also by its geographical distribution, as well as use in international organizations and diplomatic relations. Historically, the essential factor for the establishment of a global language is that it is spoken by those who wield power.

Is it the same as a lingua franca?  

A world language is usally a “lingua franca”, i.e., a common language that allows people from different and various backgrounds and ethnicities to communicate on a more or less equitable basis.

 

In this photograph (taken from Wikipedia), we can see the greatest extent of the Roman Empire (c. 117 AD) and the area governed by Latin speakers. In fact, Latin was a very powerful lingua franca in the past.

2- Do you think English can be considered a global language?

Englishis is probably considered the nearest thing there has ever been to a global language. Its reach around the world is much greater than anything achieved historically by Latin or French, and there has never been a language as widely spoken as English. In fact, we could say that, in the fields of business, academics, science, computing, education, transportation, politics and entertainment, English is already established as the de facto lingua franca.

3- Name other languages, from present or past times, which you think are, or were global languages.

Some other languages which can be considered as a world language from present or past times are:
 
Ancient Greek: the importance of the Greek Empire and its language in the past.

Latin: the same as Greek. Today we can find many languages in the south of Europe which come from Latin. Besides, the colonialist policy developed by some European countries (e.g.: Spain, France, Portugal, etc.) brought also Romance languages to other parts of the world.

French: as we have already mentioned, France became an Empire and brought French to all its territories in the world.

Spanish: like France, Spain created a vast Empire beginning in the XV century and finishing in the end of the XIX century. Click here to see the spread of Spanish.

4- In your opinion, what factors make a language become a global language?

We could say that the linguistic structure or properties might be a key factor to make a language become a global language. However, as Crystal (2003) points out, 'A language does not become a global language because of intrinsic structural properties, or because of the size of its vocabulary'. 

Besides, the link between language and culture, religion or great literature does not play a role in defining it the global language.

If it is not about linguistics nor culture, some could think it is due to the amount of native speakers. According to Goh and Lim (2010), this is not true. They consider that the status of a language has little or no links with the quantity of native speakers (Mandarin or Hindi would have become global languages if so). It is, nonetheless, the status of the native speakers which plays a relevant role in raising the status of a language, as well as the political, military or economic power of the country.

Interesting sites to get more information about this topic:
- The History of English: http://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/issues_global.html
- Crystal, D. (2003): English as a global language. Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1. 

L2. ACTIVITY 2.1

L2-CEFR for Languages.- Assessment and ELP

Activity 2.1 Look at the descriptors below (taken from the CEFR) and decide where they belong in the boxes

a)Can introduce himself/herself, asking and answering questions about personal details, such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has.

This example belongs to the A1 level (breakthrough or beginner).

b)Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.

This example belongs to the C2 level (mastery or proficiency).

c)Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

As in the first example, this one belongs to the A1 level (breakthrough or beginner).

d)Can express himself / herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

As in the second example of this activity, this case belongs to the C2 level (mastery or proficiency).

L1- ACTIVITY 1.3

L1- Activity 1.3

a) What is the CEFR for Languages? 

According to Cambridge University Press, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is an international standard for describing language ability. 

Besides, it is used around the world to describe learners’ language skills

b) What are the main aims of the CEFR for Languages?

There are three main aims: 

1) To focus on development of language policies 

2) To coordinate European members' language policies 

3) To promote dialogue among decision makers

c) How many levels are described in the CEFR for Languages? 

The Common European Framework of Reference for languages has six common reference levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. 

d) How would you implement the CEFR descriptors in your classroom?

We would use it as a guide to verify if our students are achieving the required competences. In addition, we can use it to support the design of our curricula, our teaching programmes, our learning materials, and our assessment instruments. 

L1 - ACTIVITY 1.4

L1 - Activity 1.4

a) What is the ELP?

ELP stands for European Languages Portfolio, which  is a complex instrument for self-assesment of language competences, in accordance with the reference levels introduced by the council of Europe. simplifying it a little bit, we could agree that it is a a document which provides information about its owner's communication competence sin several languages.

b) Which three components are included in the ELP?

The ELP is conformed by three components: 

First the language passport, that summarises its owner's linguistic identity, language learning and intercultural experience and records its owner's self-assessment against the self-assessment grid in the CEFR as well.

Secondly, the Language biography, which in one hand, it provides a reflective accompaniment to the ongoing processes of learning, using second languages and engaging with the cultures associated with them. and on the other hand uses "I can" checklists for goal setting and self-assessment.

And lastly, the dossier, where it is collected evidence of L2 proficiency, intercultural experience and where portfolio learning is supported.

c) What are the main aims of the ELP?

The European languages portfolio has four main objectives: 

• To stimulate lifelong language learning in a spirit of tolerance and respect for cultural and linguistic diversity, all languages being given equal status, wether learned in school, at home or elsewhere outside the organized school environment.
• To empower the learner by transferring the responsibility for language learning from the teacher to the learner/language user.
• To provide a basis for consistent (self-) assessment of communication competences.
• To allow learners to present their language skills certifications in any language, at any level, in a clearly understandable way, using a standardized common european system of six language proficiency levels.

d) How would you implement a portfolio system or some aspects of it in a secondary EFL classroom?

We believe that it would be a great resourse to use in secondary schools, being that it shows the student their development on the different languages and having physical evidence of their achivements could promote, self-motivation, autonomous learning and reflection on the learning process.

For all those reasons, it would be a good idea to have periodic self assessments in the english classroom that could go on an special folder in the classroom. This folder would become their portfolio, they could also have their language passport, biography and a dossier in which they could keep their best class works, in order to keep track of their achievements in the english language. 

Something that we would apply as well, would be to promote the use of the portfolio in other language subjects, being that the biography and passport section would be more or less the same for all subjects, and so the students could visually evaluate and compare their development, strengths and weaknesses on the different languages they are learning and improve on the ones they might be a bit behind.

Another initiative that could be taken in the english classroom, if it is possible and the students have access to computers and internet in the school and their houses, would be to create an online portfolio, that would be used in the same way as the paper one, but also has the advantages that there are lots of online resources  and templates that would save time and paper and would work make students work on their digital competence.

L1 - ACTIVITY 1.2

L1 - Activity 1.2

a) How many languages do you speak, apart from your mother tongue or L1?

In our group we are lucky to have a high variety of language speakers. Among the members we can find different persons who speak: Spanish, Catalan, English, German, French, Russian, Portuguese and even the Spanish sign language.

b) Is your mother tongue your L1?

In my personal case it is, the Spanish is my mother tongue and it is also my L1. But in our group we find more combinations, especially when we include the Catalan into the game.

c) Are there things you find easier in one language than the other?
Normally, when we find something in a language that we can classify as “easy” is due to their similarities with our mother tongue or with the rest of language that we know previously.

The constructivist theory points that we can link our background knowledge with the new inputs in order to generate new outputs.

d) In language use terms, how would you describe the society you live in? Are the people in that society plurilingual?
The society where we live nowadays is one of the most heterogeneous of the history of our country. This 21^st century is being one of the important for the cultural plurality. In our big cities coexist people from very different countries, who speak different languages. 

In any case, the vehicular language that tries to make the people able to communicate each other is the Spanish language. There is a plurilingual aspect in the profiling of our society, with a lot of own dialects and foreing language, but the most important is the Spanish. 

Although, there are a lot of works and initiatives to push plurigualism in our country.

e) How would you encourage ‘bilingualism’ in your classroom?
An individual who can speak two languages is usually considered bilingual. In our case, in the EFL classroom we should be the kind of teachers who build bridges between cultures using the English language. But, how can we do this? There are a lot of methods as:

• ·         To give extra-linguistic cues such as visual, props, and body language.
• ·         To use linguistic modification as repetitions and pauses during the speechs.
• ·         To apply cooperative learning strategies
• ·         To focus on central concepts and not on details using a thematic approach
• ·         To develop reading strategies (mapping, write to think…)

f) Do you feel some languages have a higher status in the classroom?

When we talk about teenagers in the classroom, we should make a reference to the relationships of power. Normally, the most spoken language is view as the most important. In our country, Spanish the highest status language because is the most spoken of them all. That is one of the reasons of why the EFL is so important, it can act as an equalizer for all the students, independently of their origin.  

LABOV

We dedicated the session of the 2nd of November to learn about some of the most important linguists from structuralism to the latest ones. William Labov was the linguist chosen and exposed by "Eeni meeny miny".

This linguist based his research on the study of regional and class differences on english pronunciation, demonstrating that there are different linguistic variations that reveal regular patterns between language forms like pronunciation of a particular vowel, and social categories, such as socioeconomic classes. 

His two main studies were: the first of them the study of pronunciation of diphthongs [ay] and [aw] on Martha's vineyard islands on which he found that 30 to 60 years old people and up islanders tend to centralize more. And the second one was based on social stratification in the city of New York. 

Principles of linguistic change (1994) book is one of his main contributions to linguistics and he is considered the founder of the variationist sociolinguistics. 

It has been really interesting to deepen in the work of this sociolinguist and he has also had a quite surprising story on how he got interested into linguistics, being that he originally started his profesional career as an industrial chemist. 

If you want to know a bit more about his story you can click here.

If you would like to visit our prezi presentation with the main ideas about labov's life, studies and career you can click here.

L1. ACTIVITY 1.1

L1 - EU language policy & plurilingualism. CEFR for Languages and ELP

Activity 1.1

a) What do you think is the role of EU Policies on Education?

Each EU country is responsible for its own education and training systems. EU policy is designed to support national action and help address common challenges, such as ageing societies, skills deficits in the workforce, technological developments and global competition. Education and training 2020 (ET 2020) is the framework for cooperation in education and training.

 Would you like to read more about this? click here: 😊 

Council of Europe language education policies aim to promote:

- PLURILINGUALISM: all are entitled to develop a degree of communicative ability in a number of languages over their lifetime in accordance with their needs

- LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY: Europe is multilingual and all its languages are equally valuable modes of communication and expressions of identity; the right to use and to learn one’s language(s) is protected in Council of Europe Conventions.

- MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING: the opportunity to learn other languages is an essential condition for intercultural communication and acceptance of cultural differences

- DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP: participation in democratic and social processes in multilingual societies is facilitated by the plurilingual competence of individuals

- SOCIAL COHESION: equality of opportunity for personal development, education, employment, mobility, access to information and cultural enrichment depends on access to language learning throughout life.
Would you like to read more about this? click here: 😊 

b) What do you understand by EU Language Policies?

As part of its efforts to promote mobility and intercultural understanding, the EU has designated language learning as an important priority, and funds numerous programmes and projects in this area. Multilingualism, in the EU’s view, is an important element in Europe’s competitiveness. One of the objectives of the EU’s language policy is therefore that every European citizen should master two other languages in addition to their mother tongue.
Would you like to read more about this? click here: 😊 

c) Can you name any EU initiative related to Language Learning?
The 2008 Communication "Multilingualism - an asset for Europe and a shared commitment" outlines the Commission's activities in this area. Priorities include:

• helping EU countries develop new educational tools to ensure that school-leavers have better language skills;
• gathering data to monitor progress in language teaching and learning - to encourage mastery of more than one language as a way of improving job prospects and enabling people to move around within the EU;
• rewarding innovation in the language teaching and learning.

a. what are the main factors driving EU Language Policies? the main factors are to promote mobility and linguistic diversity (rights for minority languages, diversification in foreign language learning).

b. what factors make people want to learn a language? The main factor would be motivation in order to find a job, travel, get to know people from other countries, or just because they like languages.

c. what factors make people defend a specific Language Policy? People defend a specific Language Policy when they feel identified with it and also with their culture.