Challenges for LE contents

Florentina SâmihăianexpertThe National Council for Curriculum, Romania

Languages of education

language

cultureliterature

communication

skills

values and attitudes

FL

LS

LACOther subjects

standards

knowledge

aims

methodology

Contextualizing contents

Aims contents standards

Competences(knowledge, skills, values and attitudes)

Methods and strategies

Key-questions:•What skills and attitudes can be developed by certain contents?•What values and attitudes can be hinted by certain contents? What kind of standards can be stated on the basis of operating with certain contents?•How can ‘general culture’ be defined today?

Jacques Delors: „The inner treasure“ - a Report to UNESCO, 1996

LEARNING TO KNOW – the ability to combine acquisitions of language and literature in exploring or in producing oral and written texts; the ability to practice procedures of knowledge acquisition, based on linguistic and cultural competencies.

LEARNING TO DO - the ability to communicate (listen, speak, read, write) in a variety of contexts and to cooperate with others in this process (communicative interactions); to accommodate to different social (language varieties) or cultural contexts (intercultural sensibility) and relate to their personal experience within a local or a national community (regional or standard language, cultural patrimony).

LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER – the capacity to show respect and interest to others’ values and to have a positive communicative attitude in the spirit of pluralism; to work in common projects and manage conflict solving on the basis of communicative interactions.

LEARNING TO BE (develop his / her own personality and be capable of autonomy of judging and assuming responsibility) This dimension involves: memory (linguistic and cultural knowledge), faculty of reasoning (personal responses, critical thinking), aesthetic sense (sensibility to cultural expression) , and capacities of communication (confidence in his / her own abilities of communication).

LE components

FL – focus on a ‘particular’ language and culture

LS – focus on the ‘national’ / ‘official’ / ‘mother tongue‘ language and culture

LAC – focus on specialized language of different domains of knowledge

Contrastive linguistic approach Types of discourseIntercultural perspective Communicative strategies and attitudes The centrality of communication

The possibility to identify convergences and overlaps between the three LE components

Focus on LS: heterogeneity

language literaturecommunication

• language in use• diversity of contexts• standard language in relation with other varieties

• dialogue with texts • variety of texts• national literature in relation with universal literature / culture

Focus on LS: contents’ structuring

Areas of knowledgeLanguage, literature / culture,

communicationCommunicative activities

Listening, speaking, reading, writingContexts & topics

Personal, public, occupational, educationalChildhood, Leisure, Adventures, Friendship

etc.

Focus on LS: an illustration of progression

Primary Lower Secondary Upper Secondary

-personal response -procedures -strategies-immediate environment -discourse variety -cultural context-basic grammar rules -grammar system -semiotics-literature for children -literary genres -aesthetics, literary history-simple nonfiction -nonfiction genres -arts-play-role -critical thinking -autonomy-writing about personal -writing for different -originalexperience purposes expression

Literature – an example

What kind of contents?- Genre and species: literary and nonliterary

texts- Discourse strategies (narrative, description,

dialogue, argumentative etc.)- Figures of speech, expressive uses of language - National literary history – the canon Interculturality Multiculturality

Coherence and progression: an example

READING: Innocent reader Competent reader Autonomous reader

• Primary: focus on texts that can be related to students’ experienceand to introduce readers to the universe of fiction• Lower secondary: focus on text variety (such as genres, species, types of discourse)• Upper secondary: focus on cultural representations (national patrimony in relation with different contexts - cultural, social, historical etc.)

Difficulties in approaching contents within LE

Redefining the concept of ‘general culture’ Finding relevant categories of content that are

common to LS, FL and LAC (such as communicative activities, types of discourse, topics etc.)

Identifying possible vertical progression and horizontal correlations

Suggesting a common methodology that can be used along with the specific ones for each of LE components

Designing a change in the initial training of teachers having in view this integrative perspective

Identifying possible common standards for LS or for LAC

How to address the issue of contents within the European framework

The framework is intended to be only a point of reference for LE in Europe.

- Presenting and discussing options of understanding and structuring contents, of contents’ progression and convergences in LE

- Assuming a certain perspective of LE contents’ that may guide policy makers, curriculum designers and teachers