Course Topics
See the individual course modules

Propaedeutic courses
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Teaching format
Lecture

Educational objectives
The English module in year 5 aims to provide participants with knowledge, competences, and professional skills regarding learning and teaching approaches, syllabuses, lesson plans, assessment, and materials in teaching English to young learners (TEYL) both at kindergarten and primary level. On completing the Year 5 English module, students are expected to have acquired the following competences. As regards knowledge and understanding, on completion of the course participants are expected to: - demonstrate knowledge of issues pertaining to instructed English language learning in childhood; - demonstrate awareness of current teaching approaches and practices in the field of TEYL; - be familiar with theoretical principles underpinning the creation of pedagogically sound YL lesson plans; - understand how to plan and create a Teaching Unit with all its components for English language learning at preschool or primary school. As regards applying knowledge and understanding, on completion of the course participants are expected to: - demonstrate their developing expertise through the selection of suitable teaching approaches and resources; - demonstrate their developing expertise in planning lessons that include a focus on holistic techniques, as well as on other YL-appropriate strategies; - demonstrate knowledge and understanding of macroplanning and microplanning theories and methods in the creation of a Teaching Unit; - demonstrate knowledge and understanding of critical alignment in planning learning aims, instructional strategies and assessment practices when creating a Teaching Unit. As regards making judgments, on completion of the course participants are expected to: - be able to develop and convey viewpoints, underpinning them with references to relevant literature; - show an ability to think critically about relevant pedagogical issues pertaining to the English module; - show an ability to analyse, select, adapt, and supplement English language learning resources; - show an ability to evaluate advantages and disadvantages of various pedagogical proposals and practices, and to make informed choices; - select suitable materials and activities for English language learning at preschool and primary school; - identify age-appropriate and stage-appropriate language learning activities for skills practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in early learning; - discern best practices in designing teaching units, lesson plans, and assessments based on learning theories and practices for ELT with YLs; - show an ability to think critically about and evaluate progress through self-awareness of one’s own competences; - adopt a self-critical perspective with a view to continuous development of their knowledge and competences. As regards communication skills, on completion of the course participants are expected to: - be able to provide critical and well-informed answers to general and specific questions on topics covered in the module; - use English linguistic forms correctly to model the target language for YLs; - use English fluently and accurately for presenting work in the lab. As regards learning skills, on completion of the course participants are expected to: - be able to take notes on readings and lectures and to organise this content coherently and effectively; - be able to make connections between key concepts, to weigh strengths and weaknesses of arguments, and make informed decisions; - be able to draw on knowledge, experience, and group and individual feedback from the module lecturers in order to improve competences; - be able to refer to appropriate resources so as to select and deploy pedagogically principled strategies in order to achieve specific learning objectives; - be able to consult reference materials, use them selectively, and integrate them correctly into their own work; - be able to autonomously design teaching units, lessons, and their components for English language learning with YLs.

Assessment
In the Lecture: Final assignment: written test (cloze and open questions, multiple-choice tasks) on basic concepts and topics covered in the lecture. A simulation test, which will serve as an orientation on the type and complexity of the examination test, will be provided on OLE a few days before the final test. In the Lab: Final assignment: planning and preparation of a Teaching Unit (TU) on a suitable ELT topic for YLs.

Evaluation criteria
In the Lecture: Final assignment: students will be assessed according to their ability to understand and respond to questions related to the content of the lecture, demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the concepts dealt with during the lecture, critical judgement, and self-reflection. In the Lab: The final assignment will be assessed according to the following criteria: - achievement of task; • suitability of TU content for language learning by YLs; - coherence of planned activities and tasks; alignment of learning aims, instruction and assessments; - application of child-centred learning theories and instructional approaches; - design quality of the TU. A detailed assessment rubric will be made available to students during the lab. The final mark conflates all of the assessments relating to the lecture (60%) and the lab. activities and tasks (40%), and is decided collegially during the grading meeting between all teachers of the module on the basis of such assessments. In the case of a negative assessment, any positively assessed components of the module will be credited at the next module examination. Please note, however, that a negative assessment will also be included in the count of test attempts. According to the examination regulations, failing to pass three times results in a suspension from three examination dates. (See also Article 6, Paragraph 4 of the current examination regulations).