Competency Based Approach6-10

8/10/2019 Competency Based Approach6-10

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COMPETENCY-BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING ENGLISH

SECTION I: Questions Teaches Ma! Ha"e

1. What is the competency-based approach to teaching Englishand what does it involve?

The competency-based approach (CBA) to teaching English is similar tocommunicative teaching, which you are familiar with !n some ways youcould consider it as "very good# communicative teaching that goes onestep further by ma$ing sure that the learners can apply what they learn inclass to real-life situations outside the classroom

!n the competency-based approach, learners study English withinsituations and conte%ts that are varied and relevant !n other words, thelanguage is introduced and practiced in di&erent situations that are similarto situations that could occur in real-life The aim is that learners developlanguage and problem-solving abilities that they can use in new andchallenging situations in school and out of school Therefore, learners willsee learning English as useful to their student life and future'

The CBA involves clearly described learner competencies A competencyis

the ability to act in English using a range of s$ills and $nowledge

the ability to use English in various situations that may be di&erent

from the situations in which the s$ills and $nowledge were learned

!n the competency-based approach to teaching English, the competenciesare lin$ed to learners# needs in and out of school They learn to spea$,read, listen and write, and to re-use language in new situations Teachersteach these s$ills in an integrated way, not separately, since that is howthey are used outside the classroom !t is important that teachers helplearners to practice English in varied conte%ts or situations if they aregoing to be able to remember and use what they have learned when theyneed it !t ta$es a lot of practice using English in di&erent conte%ts forlearners to be able to use English in real-life situations

!n the competency-based approach, emphasis is given to the productive,interpretive and interactive competencies

*roductive competencies spea$ing and writing

!nterpretive competencies reading and listening

!nteractive competencies spea$ing and writing

The linguistic competency (vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation) andstrategic competency (strategies to help learn and use the language

better) are viewed as "supporting competencies# These competencies are

1+uch of the description of the Competency-Based Approach is ta$en or adapted fromThe Guide to the Curriculumdocument section on the approach

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not the main obective of study, but are tools that learners use in order tobetter spea$, listen, read and write in English

The teacher#s role in the competency-based approach is not simply to giveinformation to learners, but to help students ta$e an active role in their

own learning

Co#$etenc!-%ase& En'(ish Teachin'

The goal or learners to act in English using a range of s$ills and$nowledge, and to use English in various real-lifecommunicative situations that may be di&erent from thesituations in which the s$ills and $nowledge were learned

The focus is on learners being able to useEnglish

The role oflearners

.earners are actively involved in all aspects of the lesson

They regularly spea$, read, write and listen withincommunicative situations in order to e%change ideas,information or messages

They /gure out the rules and patterns of language

They plan for and use strategies to help them learn andcommunicate better

The role ofteachers

Teachers support learners in ta$ing active roles in theclassroom by providing them with e%periences that meettheir interests and needsTeachers are mainly responsible for facilitating whathappens in the classroom

creating a comfortable, supportive and collaborativeenvironment where learners can wor$ actively, free fromfear of ma$ing mista$es, and where they want to useEnglish and have a "real# purpose in using it

presenting language so that learners can /gure out therules and patterns and learn from their mista$es

providing communicative practice using English thatsupports learners in developing listening, reading, writingand spea$ing s$ills they need to e%change ideas andinformation to meet their needs and interests

The types oftas$s

The types of tas$s used in competency-based instructionare focused on the communicative purpose They re0uirelearners to ta$e an active role by

thin$ing about the language

thin$ing about the situations

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mobili1ing the language

using strategies to aid communication

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2. How will the competency-based approach to teaching help mein my job?

2ne of the most rewarding results of a competency-based approach toteaching English is that the learners are li$ely to feel more interested and

motivated There are several reasons for this

They can see that the language and s$ills they are learning arerelevant or useful to them

They are able to use English to e%press themselves and e%changeideas, which can ma$e learners feel successful and motivated to learnmore

The learners ta$e an active role in their learning, which involves themmore and contributes to higher motivation because it can hold theirinterest and build self-esteem

Competency-based teaching can also help teachers because the teacher#srole is less directive (giving information and answers) and instructive andmore facilitative they design e%periences to meet learners# interests andneeds and in which learners participate actively to e%press themselvesand understand the messages of others, and to /gure out the languagerules and patterns)

!n competency-based teaching, learners are active and teachers plan

and organi1e tas$s for learners so that learners are wor$ing in EnglishTeachers therefore have more time to observe what the learners

understand and are able to do as spea$ers, listeners, readers andwriters They are then better able to design lessons that help thelearners develop their competency

!t is very tiring for teachers to be the center of attention all day 3ometeachers spea$ so much their throat hurts4 5hen teachers create alearner-centered, competency-based teaching classroom, learners ta$ea more active role and teachers don#t need to be the center ofattention as much

!t is possible for teachers to feel that they have more freedom, controland ability to be creative in a competency-based classroom because

they can use methods of teaching that they and their students /ndinteresting and useful as long as they focus on students developing theability to useEnglish

Competency-based teaching focuses on helping learners to developcapabilities as spea$ers, listeners, readers and writers !t can bemotivating and inspiring for teachers to see students using English toe%press themselves and complete tas$s competently and con/dently 5ewant our students to reach their full potential in the subect we areteaching and to become active members of their community and theworld By developing English competency, the learners are able to

e%press themselves and communicate about their world to others, andgain access to the international community !n addition, as students ta$eon an active role as English language learners, they ta$e responsibility

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and develop problem-solving s$ills useful to their future as citi1ens of theworld

3. What are some resources or handouts can use to help me

implement the competency-based approach in my teaching?

There are two important documents that will be useful to you Bothdocuments are available on the Algerian teachers# and inspectors#website, wwwalgeriatesolorg, as well in the Appendi% of this manual The/rst document is the Algerian English Framework, or the AE, whichdescribes the English competencies that students should be able to meetby the end of each year, grades 6 - '7 The second document is theTeacher Competency Framework This includes nine 8uiding *rinciples forteaching within a competency-based approach and 9: practicalcompetencies, or descriptions of what teachers do in the classroom toincorporate the principles into their teaching These two documents canhelp clarify for you what each learner competency is and how you canhelp students improve

There is one other document that you may /nd useful in fullyunderstanding and implementing a competency-based approach toteaching English - a dictionary of English language-teaching terminologyThere is a dictionary especially for Algerian teachers and inspectors on thewwwalgeriatesolorgwebsite !n this document you will /nd e%planationsof many important teaching terms This is the internet address

http;;wwwalgeriatesolorg;resources;glossary

The AE and the Teacher Competency ramewor$ are discussed in moredetail below

The A('eian En'(ish )a#e*o+ ,AE)The AE gives a general description of the e%pected level that studentsshould achieve in each grade


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.anguages The competencies describe students# abilities from the level ofbasic language learner (in levels +3' to +39) to more independent user(in levels +3@ 3E9) As of une, 7:':, the AE has not yet been adoptedby the +inistry of ormal Education, but it is one of the maor componentsof the Algerian educational reform in English language teaching !t is

e%pected to be adopted and used to create the new te%tboo$s and theBE+ and BAC e%ams At this point, however, the AE is not lin$ed to thete%tboo$s or the e%ams Dowever, it is still useful as an e%ample of the$inds of competencies Algerian students can wor$ toward At the sametime, it should not be viewed as a policy document

The purpose of the AE is to provide a guide for teaching and assessingstudents

The competencies describe e%pected learner achievement for eachyear That tells teachers what they need to teach

Because the competencies all describe how learners will be able touse English, the document tells teachers that teaching needs toprovide learners with a lot of practice using and thin$ing about thelanguage

The Teache Co#$etenc! )a#e*o+

The Teacher Competency ramewor$ is useful to you primarily in twoways irst, you can gain a broad understanding of how the competency-based approach views English, learners and learning, and teachers This isprovided in the description of the nine 8uiding *rinciples 3econd, you cansee how the approach loo$s in the classroom through the TeacherCompetencies that support the principles 3ome of the competencies willseem more familiar or easier to you 3ome will seem newer or lessfamiliar


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class learners can use the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation inconte%ts or situations that are similar to real life This means thatstudents should not $now what their partner(s) are going to say and theyhave to thin$ about how to respond

". What are some use#ul guidelines can use to help meimplement the competency-based approach in my classes?

There are several ways to implement competency-based teaching in yourclasses They are discussed below one by one

Use the AEF to get a clear idea of the kinds of competencies yourstudents could work toward using the textbook you hae now!

Even though the AE is not lin$ed to your te%tboo$, you can loo$ at thecompetencies in the AE and do the following

Create clear communicatie ob"ecties for the se#uences $or %les&in your textbook!

Communicative obectives should focus on how the learners will spea$,listen, read or write to interact in, interpret and;or produce English inorder to e%press or e%change ideas or information

2bectives should describe what the learnerwill be able to do by a certaintime (end of class;se0uence;/le;year) The verbs used to describe whatthe learner will be able to do should describe something the teacher cansee or hear, for e%ample

escribe

3ummari1e

!dentify

As$

emonstrate understanding of (eg a reading te%t) by giving e%amplesofF

or more about obectives, see the documents on 3+A?T obectives thatare part of this section

Create clear communicatie ob"ecties for each daily lesson so that

the lessons and the se#uences $or %le& work together to deelop thecompetencies!

The students should wor$ towards 3+A?T obectives for each day, andlearners should do something communicative each day The daily lessons

should build on what came before and preview what is to come

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*lease read the lesson-planning framewor$s on the teachers# section ofwwwalgeriatesolorg and the e%amples of lesson plans that follow thoseframewor$s, using the Algerian te%tboo$s

Adapt the textbook and plan lessons that meet communicatie

ob"ecties!

Each te%tboo$ has many activities to meet communicative obectives anddevelop learners# competency in English, but there are also activities thatdo not wor$ as well Teachers will need to adapt their te%tboo$ by Selecting appropriate material

Adapting material to meet the students# needs and interests

Reecting material if is not appropriate

Supplementing it with additional material if necessary

3ome teachers remember these options by using the initials 3A?3 ltimately, the goal of teaching is learning !n thiscase, learning means developing English competency Therefore alldiscussion and assessment of teachers should be related to how theteacher is supporting the learners in their development of Englishcompetency the ability to useEnglish

As you can see, the competency-based approach tells us what and how toteach !nspectors should see that learners are developing the ability to

use a range of English s$ills and $nowledge in various real-lifecommunicative situations to e%press themselves, e%change ideas, getinformation or carry out a tas$ !n any one observed lesson we should beable to identify how learners are ma$ing progress toward developingthese competencies

2ur discussion with teachers about their classes will focus on supportingthe teacher in developing reGective s$ills needed to identify

what students are learning

what competencies students are ma$ing progress in -- or not ma$ing asmuch progress in

what is helping students develop competencies what may be limiting their progress

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what the teacher could do to help the students better progress towardcompetency development

The competency-based approach also tells us how to teach at thebroadest level because students are e%pected to develop the ability to

use English, the teacher#s role becomes more facilitative The inspectorcan help the teacher to develop the reGective s$ills needed to assess thee&ectiveness of his or her teaching and to develop alternative teachingstrategies that may better support the learners in actively developingtheir capabilities in English

!nspectors will also /nd the Teacher Competency ramewor$ to be anotheruseful way to loo$ at teachers during observation visits

or more on observation visits, please loo$ at the section devoted to the

topic in this manual Additional information about the TeacherCompetency ramewor$ is in the section on Teacher Assessment

2. What should $eep in mind when am planning wor$shops tosupport teachers in competency-based teaching?

Teachers need to become familiar with competencies They can do someinteractive tas$s using the AE to develop an understanding of whatcompetencies are

Teachers need to be able to transfer their understanding of competencies

and the competency-based approach to their teaching, which meanswor$ing with their te%tboo$s They would bene/t from practical tas$screating competencies (especially interactive, interpretive, and productivecompetencies, but also linguistic and strategic) for the whole te%t (oryear) and for se0uences and /les before they wor$ on actual lesson plans

Teachers can bene/t from analy1ing lesson plans and planning lessonsand getting feedbac$

The lesson planning framewor$s in the teachers# section ofalgeriatesolorg can be useful

Te%tboo$ adaptation and competency-based assessment are importantparts of competency-based teaching !t would be helpful to teachers toma$e connections among the CBA, te%tboo$ adaptation;3A?3 andAssessment in order to reinforce ideas and recycle guidelines, steps andideas !t can be useful to as$ the teachers 0uestions they may still haveThe 0uestions can help you to plan future wor$shops on CBA, 3A?3 andassessment

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Documents

Competency Based Approach6-10