ESPE

THE APPROACH ADOPTED IN THE COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

Bazurto Carmen, Bonilla Nstor, Calahorrano Carlos, Cantua Mayra and Cedeo Paolo

11

THE APPROACH ADOPTED IN THE COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

INTRODUCTION From this point of view, language is considered primarily as a communication tool. The communicative methodology emphasizes all skills or language skills (listening, speaking and writing and interaction) in a fair, giving importance to both the production written and oral production in class.

OBJECTIVES Understand the main idea of adapting the European framework in the study of foreign languages. Recognize basic words and expressions that help us define the approach to learning foreign languages correctly.

APPROACH The main purpose is to provide a basis for the development of language programs, curriculum guidelines, assessment, and so on. These can be applied to all languages, that`s why it has developed benchmarks for most languages.It describes what students have to learn for using a language to communicate that describes the different kind of levels.

The framework also has among its aims to describe the levels of proficiency tests required by existing assessment programs and to facilitate comparisons between different certification systems. For this purpose, we have developed the descriptive scheme and different levels of language competence, developing a unification of its guidelines for the evaluation not only of languages but also for learning and teaching the same throughout Europe. Therefore, we must be clear that the Framework is not binding, but guide or guides.

Approach help the language learners to include assumptions about what language is and how languages are learning are doing.

The approach most valued today is communication. This is the approach adopted by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This approach focuses on active and independent role of the student, who must know how to use language as a tool to communicate and learn about other cultures.

Approach adopted in the Common European Framework need to have: action (oriented approach), levels of language proficiency, language learning, language teaching and language assessment.

In the process to learn a second language is important to have reference for language learning, teaching and assessment that need to be transmit an overall view of language use and learning.

The idea of approach is an action-oriented around of the views users and learners as "social agent" because the task is not only about language that includes different kinds of situations with a particular environment and specific field of action.

The action is based on knowledge (cognitive), feelings (emotional) and skills (ability) to be applied for learners as a social agent with develop a range of competences.

The competences are the overall knowledge, skills and attributes to perform actions. Other relevant facts are contexts (situational factors that acts in communication), language activities (exercises to improve the language competence), language process (production and reception of speech and writing), and text (discourse spoken and writing), domain (language learning/teaching and use in the educational system, jobs, public and personal), strategies (steps to get the goal and aim) and task (action to achieve for learning a second language).

The general competences of an individual for language learners or uses include: Specific knowledge is a consequence from empirical knowledge (day-to-day living issues) and academic knowledge (scientific or technical educational).As social agent we need to share knowledge as values and beliefs from different countries are important to intercultural communication. Skills depend on the capacity to perform the procedure than declarative knowledge. The experience and repetition help to improve abilities. Then we abilities has mastered do not need much concentration for example when students learn when and how to use Present simple with practice improve the students do not make mistakes. Existential competences are culture-related and inter-cultural perceptions and relations which individual characteristics, personality traits, temperaments and attitudes the same as self-image, vision about other people with predisposition to have social interaction. Those are important fact in language learning and teaching as individuals general competence and aspect about abilities. The elements can be modified in use and through learning and attitude must be an objective.

Ability to Learn is based on different types of competences which are the skill to acquire knowledge as knowing how, or being disposed, to discover otherness about a second language, other culture, people or new areas of knowledge.

In the learning process is going to be different kind of variations depends on the events, contexts and past circumstances. For that reason is primordial to check the learning style and learner profile. In that time the teachers have to use strategies for students complete the learning requirements.

The communicative language competences have three components: Linguistic is about vocabulary, semantic, morphology, store expressions, phonological, syntactical knowledge and language skills. The knowledge is depending on each individual, the cultural features of the community or communities environment from each learner. Sociolinguistics includes socio cultural conditions of language use. Those involve rules of politeness, norms, and relations between generations, sexes, classes and social groups. Pragmatics referent the functional use of linguistic resources like: production of language functions, speech acts. That has to be relative on the environment or writings of interactional exchanges.

One component that is essential in approach are the language activities because include reception, production and interaction or mediation that have relations to text (oral, written or even both).

Reception activities could be silent reading, following the media which improve understanding and productive activities are oral presentations, written studies and reports important improve in academic and professional.

The interaction is understanding and being understood verbally and in writing by other people. In addition is to learn to receive and produce information. The mediation helps to be successfully in to have a good communication when people are unable to communicate for any reason.

The Council of Europe through the Framework proposes that all language teaching should be based taking into consideration the characteristics and motivations of students, and the resources at our disposal. So it would be appropriate we answered the following questions as a reflection of both students and teachers.

When we use language activities are contextualised within different kind of domains like: public (communication about ordinary social interaction), personal (family relation and individual social practices), occupational (jobs activities) and educational (learning and training to acquire knowledge and specific skills).

In the learning process need to use task as way to get better the individual communication competence. Also required apply communication and learning strategies, because that get us the clue and resources to improve the knowledge depend on the aim using the tasks as activities language to advance in reception, production, interaction or mediation in written or oral text.

The Framework provides a common reference levels which provide common levels to organize the students' progress in developing their language proficiency. To this end, establish 3 levels of mastery of a language: Basic user (A), Independent User (B) Competent user (C).

At the end of this stage is consolidated productive skills able to interact and be understood in a range of situations, such as offering personal explanations and request an informal discussion, understandably express the idea that it meant, use a broad and simple language to explain what you want, understand the main ideas of text in standard language, even with obvious breaks for certain grammatical and lexical planning. Also, at the end of the stage, they should know flexibly to meet daily problems of oral and written communication, such as participating in regular conversations, dealing with grievances, share experiences or plans, explain something or ask for clarification. In short, this stage should be a solid starting point for further, progressively autonomous, self-learning that will last a lifetime

The statements of learning objectives do not give any information about: The processes by which learners come to be able to act in the required ways or the processes by which they develop/build up the competences that make the actions possible. The ways in which teachers facilitate the processes of language acquisition and learning.

One of the principal functions of the Framework to encourage and enable all the different partners to the language teaching and learning processes to inform others as transparently as possible not only of their aims and objectives but also of the methods they use and the results actually achieved. The Framework cannot confine itself to the knowledge, skills and attitudes learners will need to develop in order to act as competent language users, but must also deal with the processes of language acquisition and learning, as well as with the teaching methodology.

In accordance with the basic principles of pluralist democracy, the Framework aims to be not only comprehensive, transparent and coherent, but also open, dynamic and nondogmatic. Its proper role is to encourage all those involved as partners to the language learning/teaching process to state as explicitly and transparently as possible their own theoretical basis and their practical procedures.

All those responsible for planning should benefit from a re-examination of theory and practice in which they can take into account decisions other practitioners have taken in their own and, particularly, in other European countries. An open, neutral framework of reference does not of course imply an absence of policy.

Up to this point, we have given a general description of any form of language use and learning, a brief review of general competences of language learners or users and described some communicative language components. By this moment, we should have a better idea of the importance of applying the best strategies for teaching a second language, and why we should not specialized only in one linguistic area (just listening or just grammar). For learning purposes, the strategies selected by the student in order to accomplish a given task will depend on the diversity of learning experiences we, as teachers, should have provided. But, how we could know if the strategy proposed for teaching is the best one and students are developing correctly? Evaluating.

Language assessment is the way to measure student learning of languages. It is a gauge of what a student knows and/or can do and, more indirectly, how well instruction is proceeding. Language assessment should be based on Language Policies and Language Content Standards, which make clear what students will be expected to know and be able to do as a result of having participating in language learning experience. The assessment may cover listening, speaking, reading, writing or cultural understanding. It may place equal weight on knowledge (understanding how the language works theoretically) and proficiency (ability to use the language practically), or may give greater weight to one or the other.

Between language assessment and the learning process, there is an important tool that will clarify the techniques and establish what steps are necessary for having students that can achieve that evaluation. That important tool is a correct design of the Framework. The Framework in an approach sets out the knowledge, understandings, skills, values and attitudes that students are expected to acquire.

These requirements are described as a series of learning outcomes. The outcomes include overarching outcomes and learning area outcomes. To implement the Curriculum Framework teachers and institutions must ensure that the learning and teaching programs

they design provide learning opportunities aimed at achieving the outcomes set out in the Curriculum Framework. Authorities must ensure the framework they designed is completely comprehensive and have all the details necessary to achieve the goals.

But what is the importance of Framework and its functions in relation to the assessment of language proficiency? There are different ways in which the Framework can be used that will be next developed in detail in chapter nine. By the moment we should know that a Framework describes the components which are fundamental to teaching and learning. It states the underlying principles which will guide all curriculum development and give direction to teaching and learning.

It specifies the content of curriculum in terms of essential learning areas and describes in broad terms the main learning objectives of each area. It also outlines the essential skills that should be developed by all students and indicates the desirable attitudes and values to be promoted through curriculum.

The Framework also outlines the policy for assessment at the institutions, describing the levels of proficiency in existing tests and examinations. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, far from reducing the teaching curriculum content disjointed, out of context, skills, knowledge and values of the structure of a foreign language, it is expected that the way to approach the teaching of English is the same as in the other two language courses: a teaching that preserve the functions and uses language that has the social life.

The problem is not when to start teaching a foreign language (either before or after the mother-tongue literacy), but why, what and how to teach and learn the language. RECOMMENDATIONS It should be noted that one of the conditions for learning a language is to understand the situation in which it is used. For this reason, it is essential that learning a foreign language to focus on the organization of communication situations close to the experience and interests of students. It is expected that students acquire English the same domain as a native speaker of that language, but prescribes the actions necessary to achieve the aims and expected learning.