Designing successful lessons implies mastering the art of setting meaningful learning objectives based on the contents emerging from the National Curriculum and establishing the appropriate correspondence between specific competencies and learning activities. Yet, the greatest challenge, even for more experienced teachers, lies in making the suitable connection between the specific competencies teachers intend to develop within a teaching sequence and the learning activities. By following the basic recommendations from the National Curriculum, teachers can design coherent lessons and develop competencies in a logical way.
First of all, the teaching journey starts with making a clear difference between the key concepts that the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union recommended to be adopted by all the member states, as part of the lifelong learning programme: general competencies, specific competencies and contents. While general competencies are developed throughout a school cycle, specific competencies are developed throughout a school year and are derived from the general ones. The competencies correspond to the four language skills as it can be noticed while reading the Curriculum. The contents emerge from the specific competence and are suggested in the Curriculum as well.
Another aspect which needs to be clarified refers to the term ‘language competence’. Current methodology defines it as a complex entity which combines knowledge – information and facts, skills – the ability to use what students know and attitudes – positive manners that an individual should observe while performing a task. In other words, a specific competency defines a measurable skill or ability that students should be able to perform, which is developed through the lesson’s activities. It is a combination of applied knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students can use in real-world contexts. It is highly important for teachers to understand that a specific competence can be developed by assigning various tasks, whereas an activity cannot develop more than one competence. If the purpose is to use the same support material to develop more competencies, teachers should break the task into smaller actions and assign them one by one. Otherwise, the students will be confused and frustrated that they cannot perform the task properly.
It is related to setting well-defined subsidiary aims in a lesson that helps the teacher have a clear picture of the actions the students will be performing throughout the lesson.
What is more, teachers can use Bloom’s taxonomy which provides a framework for structuring specific competencies by defining a hierarchy of cognitive levels, from basic recall to complex creation. It helps educators and trainers define measurable learning objectives by using specific action verbs associated with each level educators can design and assess competency-based training programs that build skills from simple to complex.
For instance, the specific competence 1.1 Identify the overall meaning of clearly articulated everyday messages and dialogues can match the learning activity ‘What’s in the picture?’. Choosing the right contents can become an easy task if teachers follow three simple steps:
- Step 1: select from the National Curriculum the specific competencies to develop
- Step 2: think of engaging learning activities and different, authentic contexts related to the topic of the unit
- Step 3:think if they suit individual learners’ needs and preferences
Selecting meaningful and engaging activities which are integrated in real-life contexts leads to developing a specific competence in a natural way. Teachers should integrate grammar for functional purposes and not for learning some patterns which cannot be practised in contexts outside the classroom. The contents are relevant if they enhance communication and activate students interests and needs. Learning occurs when engaging students in activities which involves critical thinking, making decisions, collaboration or creativity.
Another issue which is of great importance in the process of learning concerns valid assessment. Quality assessment represents a key factor in the whole process of teaching and learning. Testing or assessing emerges from the learning activities the students have experienced and is guided by specific competencies in a similar manner. Therefore, before each assessment sequence teachers should set the competencies they want to check and correlate them with corresponding activities. The type of tasks to be assessed are normally similar to the ones performed throughout the learning stages.
Finally, teaching and testing should develop all the specific competencies written in the National Curriculum as it is a teacher’s duty to respect the guidelines and the contents in it. By doing so, students develop a wide range of skills and can be prepared for the requirements imposed by the labour market or real-life situations they will have to handle.
To conclude, it can be stated that the secret of designing appropriate specific competencies-related activities lies in knowledge of the National Curriculum and its guidelines as the foundation of meaningful and well-documented teaching. Furthermore, it depends on the teacher’s ability and motivation to find the most appealing learning activities which match the specific competencies from the Curriculum.
Bibliography
Gerard Scallon, L’évaluation formative des apprentissages, Presses de l’Université Laval, 1988