Teaching English in Elementary Grades

(Language Arts)
Module 3: Goals of the K-12 Curriculum
Overview: This module discusses the goals of the
K-12 Curriculum. It explains the concepts of
communicative competence and multi-
literacies which are the focus of the K-12
curriculum. It describes the communicative
competence framework by Canale and Swain
in 1980 and explains its significance in
language teaching and learning. It also
mentions strategies to attain the goals and
recognizes the multi-literacies that the students
need to develop.
In this module the students will explain
the main goals of the K-12 English
Curriculum, analyze the curricular goals, and
identify strategies in order to attain the
curricular goals.

Objectives: At the end of the lesson the students should

be able to :
1. Explain the main goals of the K-12
English Curriculum,
2. Discuss the significance of teaching
the communicative competence to
students.
3. Recognizes the multi-literacies that
the students need to develop.
4. Share past experiences in language
learning
Time frame: 3 hrs
Instructor: Ana Maica S. Dematera

Learning Activities
ACTIVATE:
Do you still remember how you learn English from your former teachers when you were in
elementary?
Isn’t it you learn more on grammar rules? We learn the structure of language, be able to construct
sentences, and paragraphs.
Generally these are the concepts that we learned during our basic education years. But the K-12
English Curriculum is far different from the old curriculum; it teaches not only grammar, but teach
the students how to communicate effectively through teaching them the multi-literacies.

ANALYZE:
Are you aware of the primary goal of the K-12 Curriculum?
The primary goal of teaching is to ensure that knowledge is passed on the next generation
of humans. Primarily it is a reflection of what we value as a specie. We teach our learners the skills
and knowledge needed to function in our society. As we progress as a specie, our means to
communicate becomes more complex and thus, require more and more complex set of skills.
Can you imagine yourself, teaching the elementary students with communication skills? Well, it
is really challenging, more than how the teachers teach them the grammar.
The challenge to most teachers of language they are facing, is how to ensure that
communication skills are taught to learners. Teachers in the early grades are perhaps more
burdened with this task as learners in this level are in the formative years in their lives. In this
lesson we shall look into the goals of language education of the K-12 Curriculum and its perception
of how competence could be taught.

ABSTRACT:
As a language curriculum, the K to 12 English Curriculum focuses on more than just
instilling the capacities to use language to the learners. Beyond teaching the conventions,
principles, or skills, it also looks into the needs of the learners of the language. Being a learner-
centred curriculum, it aims to create learners with skills in:
1. Intrapersonal Communication
2. Understanding and learning content from other learning areas; and
3. Academic independence
In order to attain this, the curriculum focuses on two major concepts, communicative competence
and multi-literacies.
Communicative Competence is a term coined by Dell Hymes in 1966. This give emphasis not
only to the competence of the learner in the grammar and rules of language, but also to the social
knowledge of the use of these rules in communication.

Communicative competence is composed of several other competencies stipulated in the

communication competence framework of Canale and Sawain 1980.
 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Stakeholders-Perspective-on-Communicative-in-4.0%3A-
Bhattacharyya/46984c734114b2bc12822e7265ae17cde26d2c56

Communicative Competence is a synthesis of knowledge of basic grammatical principles,

knowledge of how language is used in social settings to perform communicative functions, and
how knowledge of utterances and communicative functions can be combined according to the
principles of discourse.
Communicative competence is classified into the following competencies.
1. Grammatical/Linguistic Competence means the acquisition of phonological rules,
morphological words, syntactic rules, semantic rules and lexical items.
2. Sociolinguistic Competence refers to the learning of pragmatic aspect of various speech acts,
namely, the cultural values, norms, and other socio cultural conventions in social contexts. They
are the context and topic of discourse, the participant’s social status, sex, age, and other factors
which influence styles and registers of speech. Since different situations call for different types of
expressions as well as different beliefs, views, values, and attitudes, the development of
sociolinguistic competence is essential for communicative social action.
3. Discourse Competence is the knowledge of rules regarding the cohesion (grammatical links)
and coherence (appropriate combination of communicative actions) of various types of discourse
(oral and written). Sociolinguistic rules of use and rules of discourse are crucial in interpreting
 utterances for social meaning, particularly when the literal meaning of an utterance does not lead
to the speaker’s intention easily.
4. Strategic Competence is to DO with the knowledge of verbal and non-verbal strategies to
compensate for breakdown such as self-correction and at the same time to enhance the
effectiveness of communication such as recognizing discourse structure, activating background
knowledge, contextual guessing, and tolerating ambiguity

Multi-literacies
Multi-literacy is a term coined in the 1990s by the New London Group, referring to an approach
to literacy pedagogy. This is in response to the ever-growing paradigm shift of education,
encompassing multiple channels of communication and media, and the increasing cultural and
linguistic diversity. This approach takes in to account multiple modalities to enable learners to
learn and understand from a variety of source.
Multi-literacies (multi literacy practices) recognize that there are many kinds of literacy at work
within our society. These include traditional literacy practices using texts as well as new literacy
practices using texts of popular culture such as films. Social literacy encompasses how we
communicate and exchange meaning in our society while professional literacy links with the
notion of literacy for school of the workplace.

Multi-literacy approach takes on

various modes to implement in
the classroom including
linguistic (words, speech, or
texts), audio (sounds, music,
etc.), spatial (placements,
buildings, or locations), gestures
(movements), tactile (touch and
feel), and visual (pictures,
videos, or colors).

http://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540sept10/files/2010/11/LiteracyElementsBubbles.j
pg
 The curriculum aims to help learners acquire highly-developed literacy skills that enable
them to understand that English language is the most widely used medium of communication in
Trade and the Arts, Sciences, Mathematics, and in world economy. Furthermore, the curriculum
aims to help learners understand that English language is a dynamic social process which responds
to and reflects changing social conditions, and that English is inextricably involved with values,
beliefs and ways of thinking about ourselves and the world we dwell in. Through multi-literacy
skills, learners will be able to appreciate and be sensitive to sociocultural diversity and understand
that the meaning of any form of communication depends on context, purpose and audience.

APPLICATION:

Exercise A. Reflect on your personal experience as a learner in your elementary days. Do you
believe you were able to achieve communicative competence? Why or Why not? Describe the
communicative competence you experience. (15pts)
Rubrics: Content, Relevance, Coherence
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Exercise B. Using the multi-literacies approach, think about activities to teach each of the
competencies below. Explain the relevance that you chose. (20pts)
Linguistic Competence

Sociolinguistic competence

Strategic Competence

Discourse Competence
Synthesis:
Communicative Competence is a synthesis of knowledge of basic grammatical principles,
knowledge of how language is used in social settings to perform communicative functions, and
how knowledge of utterances and communicative functions can be combined according to the
principles of discourse.
Communicative competence is classified into the following competencies.
1. Grammatical/Linguistic Competence means the acquisition of phonological rules,
morphological words, syntactic rules, semantic rules and lexical items.
2. Sociolinguistic Competence refers to the learning of pragmatic aspect of various speech acts,
namely, the cultural values, norms, and other socio cultural conventions in social contexts. They
are the context and topic of discourse, the participant’s social status, sex, age, and other factors
which influence styles and registers of speech. Since different situations call for different types of
expressions as well as different beliefs, views, values, and attitudes, the development of
sociolinguistic competence is essential for communicative social action.
3. Discourse Competence is the knowledge of rules regarding the cohesion (grammatical links)
and coherence (appropriate combination of communicative actions) of various types of discourse
(oral and written). Sociolinguistic rules of use and rules of discourse are crucial in interpreting
utterances for social meaning, particularly when the literal meaning of an utterance does not lead
to the speaker’s intention easily.
4. Strategic Competence is to DO with the knowledge of verbal and non-verbal strategies to
compensate for breakdown such as self-correction and at the same time to enhance the
effectiveness of communication such as recognizing discourse structure, activating background
knowledge, contextual guessing, and tolerating ambiguity

Multi-literacy is a term coined in the 1990s by the New London Group, referring to an approach
to literacy pedagogy. This is in response to the ever-growing paradigm shift of education,
encompassing multiple channels of communication and media, and the increasing cultural and
linguistic diversity. This approach takes in to account multiple modalities to enable learners to
learn and understand from a variety of source.
Literacy elements include reading, writing, listening, viewing, talking, creativity, and technology.
Multi-literacy approach takes on various modes to implement in the classroom including
linguistic (words, speech, or texts), audio (sounds, music, etc.), spatial (placements, buildings, or
locations), gestures (movements), tactile (touch and feel), and visual (pictures, videos, or colors).
References:

Bhattacharyya, E. 2018. Stakeholders Perspective on Communicative Competence in Industry 4.0:

Walk the Talk of Informative Technologists. Semantics Scholar Org. Retrieved from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Stakeholders-Perspective-on-Communicative-in-
4.0%3A-Bhattacharyya/46984c734114b2bc12822e7265ae17cde26d2c56
Department of Education. 2016. K-12 English Curriculum Guide English Grade 1- 10. Retrieved
from. http://lrmds.deped.gov.ph/