Tema 4: Valoración del conocimiento de las lenguas extranjeras como instrumento de

comunicación entre las personas y los pueblos. Interés por la diversidad lingüística a
través del conocimiento de una nueva lengua y su cultura.

Topic 4: Appreciation of the knowledge of foreign languages as means of

communication among people. Interest in linguistic diversity through the knowledge
of a new language and its culture.

Index

0. Introduction and relevance of the topic

1. Appreciation of the knowledge of foreign languages as means of communication
1.1 Reasons to justify the inclusion of Foreign Language area in the curriculum
1.2 The ultimate aim of Foreign Language area
1.3 English as a lingua franca
1.3.1 A language history
1.3.2 The triumph of English
2. Linguistic diversity: getting to know a new language and its culture
2.1 Reasons for teaching socio-cultural aspects of the English language
2.2 Sociocultural aspects in the curriculum.
2.3 How to work on the socio-cultural aspects? Didactic considerations
3. Conclusion
4. References
4.1 Bibliographic references
4.2 Legislative references

1
 0. Introduction and relevance of the topic
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world”
Ludwig Wittgenstein.

This quote is a great way to start this topic, since it expresses masterfully the
importance of learning a foreign language. It tries to show that when we learn a language,
we will enjoy the possibility of expanding our limits, since a language allows us to
communicate and to get to know the world that surrounds us. When we learn a language,
we do not only accept the linguistic aspects that concern it, we also accept its history,
culture and traditions. Therefore, the complete domain of a foreign language implies the
development of communicative skills and the awareness of sociocultural aspects.

However, although language is our main means of communication, ironically, it

is also the main barrier. The fact that there are so many languages in the world prevents
us from understanding each other. Therefore, according to Alvarez-Sandoval (2005), the
importance of including a world language in the school curriculum is undeniable in order
to promote mutual understanding. Nowadays, the absolute protagonism as a lingua franca
in any field is for the English language.

It is relevant to accentuate that the legal framework strongly support the

importance of developing students’ positive attitudes towards a foreign language and its
sociocultural aspects. In fact, the Organic Law 3/2020, of December 29th, stated in its
art. 17 two stage objectives related to cultures and foreign languages: the objective “d”
emphasize the importance of valuing cultures, and the goal “f”, outline the relevance of
developing students’ communicative competence in at least one foreign language, being
it the main concern of our area.

Overall, throughout this topic we will analyze several factors for which it is
important to learn a foreign language and value the cultural diversity, emphasizing the
prestige of English as a lingua franca. Furthermore, we will provide some didactic
applications of sociocultural aspects in the classroom.

1. Appreciation of the knowledge of foreign languages as means of

communication

In the following section we will have a look at the reasons that justify the inclusion
of the FL area in the curriculum, the main concern of this area, and the way in which
English has become the main lingua franca at international level.

2
 1.1 Reasons for learning foreign languages

The teaching of a foreign language at school is essential in order to respond to

the demands of a plurilingual world which tends to remove language barriers and
promote international relationships at social, cultural and political levels. Our country
belongs to the European Union since 1986, where English is the most widely spoken
language. Therefore, the legal regulations currently establish the subject of English as a
Foreign Language as an instrumental area in our curriculum.

According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

(Council of Europe, 2020) the learning of a foreign language at early ages promotes
healthy development and many social and cognitive benefits that will last a lifetime. Some
of the multiple reasons for teaching English as a foreign language are the following:

§ It promotes social development and management skills

§ It increases critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility of mind
§ It raises awareness of the mother tongue and second language
§ It nurtures students’ self-esteem and self-confidence
§ It promotes intercultural awareness
§ It helps students with their future careers and personal issues
§ It enriches our students’ minds and helps them to respect and value other
ways of thinking and acting

1.2 The ultimate aim of this area

Our current educational system has incorporated functional and communicative

principles into its syllabus design. Currently, the finality is not just the mastery of
structures and vocabulary, but there is an emphasis on communication. In this sense,
the main goal of the English Foreign Language Area is the development of students’
communicative competence, which was first defined by Hymes (1972) as “ the
knowledge which enables someone to use a language effectively, and the ability to
actually use this knowledge for communication”.

In order to understand the elements which made up the communicative

competence, we follow the orientations gathered in the Common European Framework
of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2020), which provides the common
basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses. The CEFRL mentions three sub-
competences that must be worked in order to develop a foreign language learner’s
communicative competence:

§ Linguistic competence: it includes the ability to deal with the knowledge of

grammar, phonology, spelling, sentence formation and the vocabulary of a
language.

3
 § Sociolinguistic competence: it includes the ability to use the language
appropriately, taking into consideration the setting, the topic, the cultural
background and the relationship among the people communicating.
§ Pragmatic competence: it includes the ability to understand and develop forms
of language with appropriate cohesion and coherence. It also concerns non-verbal
communication strategies to compensate breakdowns in communication.

For the fulfilment of this competence, the CEFRL recommends an Action-Oriented

Approach, which considers students as social agents who should carry out different tasks
in an specific context.

1.2 English as a lingua franca

History demonstrates the need of a lingua franca, which is an existing common

language which can be used to facilitate the communication and exchange of ideas among
people who do not share the same first language. In the Middle Ages, Latin was the
language of international communication. Through history, there have been lots of
languages which have been used as a lingua franca in determined places or regions.

Nowadays, the absolute protagonism as a lingua franca in any field is English.

Now, we will analyze some factors and reasons that contributed to its growth.

1.2.1 A language history

Since the 19th Century, English has progressively gained status as an international
language. Several factors contribute to it:

§ Demographic factors: the quick growth of English native speakers during the
19th Century in Great Britain and the USA.

§ Political and military factors: the development of the English colonies during
the 19th Century in Canada, Africa and Australia. Political and military hegemony
of the USA in the 20th Century.

§ Economic factors: great economic development of the USA in the 20th Century,
as the first worldwide economic power.

§ Technological factors: rapid development of means of communication (radio,

television, cinema, computer science) in the USA and Great Britain.

§ Linguistic factors: the degree of morphological and syntactic simplification of

English is an advantage when learning its language.

4
 1.2.2 The triumph of English

The importance of English as a lingua franca is demonstrated in the following

fields, which have ensure the widespread use of English (Harmer, 2007 ):

§ Geographical frame: the UNESCO estimates that English is spoken in more than
60 countries and it has a prominent place in a further 20.

§ Number of speakers: more than 750 million people speak English; 400 million
speak it as a mother tongue. If we include those who have a. lower level, it exceeds
1 billion people.

§ Economic field: it is also the language of business. In Europe, almost 50% of the
business is done in English.

§ Scientific and technological fields: more than the two thirds of world scientists
write in this language. 80 percent of the information is stored in computers in
English.
§ Cultural and informative field: the English language is widely used in literature,
cinema, music, television and radio. A good example of this is the BBC (British
Broadcasting Corporation), which is the biggest organization in the transmission
of Anglo-Saxon culture and news of worldwide interest.
§ Educational field: millions of children in the world study English in Primary
Education. The recommendations of the Council of Europe (2020) has a great
influence in the design of communicative syllabuses in Europe, where the
methodology adopted is the Communicative Approach.

All in all, the facts speak for themselves, the hegemony of English today is
unquestionable. therefore, the learning of a foreign language such as English should be
considered as an educational right to which all children should have access.

2. Linguistic diversity: getting to know a new language and its culture

Regarding Alvarez-Sandoval (2005), through the learning of a foreign language

students perceive that there are other ways of understanding (other codes) and other ways
of life (other cultures and societies). Therefore, the language teacher has to make students
aware of this linguistic and socio-cultural diversity in order to promote mutual
understanding, tolerance and respect for the cultural values of others, as well as
broadening the mind.

5
 2.1 Reasons for teaching socio-cultural aspects of the English language

The students should be aware of the cultural background of the foreign language
they are learning in order to communicate appropriately. therefore, part of teachers’ work
consist on introducing relevant knowledge of that country. These cultural contents will
provide students multiple benefits such as (Usán-Romero, 2013):

§ It helps to avoid the stereotypes that many people have from other countries.
§ It enables students to take control of their own learning and to achieve
autonomy by evaluating and questioning the context where the target
language is used.
§ It helps to educate our students for a more tolerant world without prejudices,
and to develop in our students a positive attitude towards the foreign language
and their people.

2.2 Sociocultural aspects in the curriculum. Didactic considerations

Our legislative framework highlights the importance of socio-cultural aspects in the

curriculum. It is clearly stated in the following curricular elements:

- Among the Foreign Language objectives stated in the Annex II of the Order of
January 15th, 2021, we find the goal number 7, which states the following “To
value the foreign language and languages in general as a means of
communication between people from different cultures, developing a positive
attitude towards the multilingual and multicultural diversity in Andalusia”.

- The Organic Law 3/2020, in its art. 17, gathers the following stage objectives:
A) “To appreciate values and social rules, respecting human rights and the
plurality of a democratic society”; and D) “To know, understand and respect
different cultures and the differences between people, equal rights, and non-
discrimination attitudes towards people”.

- Furthermore, the development of students’ positive attitudes towards a foreign

language and its socio-cultural aspects, contributes to the fulfilment of several
Key Competences establishes in the art. 2.2 of the Royal Decree 126/2014, of
February 28th, such as: the Competence in Linguistic Communication; the
Learn to learn Competence; and the Cultural and Expression Awareness
Competence.

6
 2.3 How to work on the socio-cultural aspects?

The learning of a language through its socio-cultural aspects makes the learning more
meaningful, since they offers a context where the language can be learn with ease.
Furthermore, it helps pupils to get immersed into the culture of the language, gaining
some perspective about the way in which the is used. Now, we are going to show some
possible examples of how to work on socio-cultural aspects in our daily practice in the
classroom (Brewster and Ellis, 2002):

§ Songs and rhymes: through songs, we can introduce various elements:

historical; traditional; social; lifestyle, habits, geographical aspects, and so
on.
§ Projects: the fact that Spain belongs to the European Union has created new
formative necessities for cultural interchange. Some of the programs which
offers opportunities for for mobility of learners are the following: Erasmus,
Comenius, The Leonardo Da Vinci and Grundtvig.

§ Role-plays: in role-plays, we recreate real life situations. The student has to

use social conventions, prices, norms of courtesy, and so on.

§ Celebration of traditional festivities or ephemerides in class: we can

celebrate Easter, Halloween, Christmas, The Pyjama Day, Saint Valentine’s
Day, and so on. For instance, we can celebrate Halloween with costumes,
playing “Trick or Treat”, using pumpkins to decorate the class, reading stories
about how Halloween is celebrated, and so on.

§ Looking for information: students can read or listen to information about

different cultural and geographical aspects. The use of digital tools for this
purpose is highly recommended, since ITC’s open doors to a limitless world
of knowledge.

§ The use of authentic material: today’s foreign language teaching stresses

the importance of authenticity in language use, so the use of authentic
materials is highly recommended since it enables students to study the country
through the eyes of the people living there and to gain a perspective on the
way people use their language.

7
 3. Conclusion

“To learn a new language is to open one more window

from which we can look at the world”.
Chinese Proverb.

Throughout this unit we have seen the importance of the Foreign Language Area
in the Curriculum and its contribution to learners’ integral development. Therefore, the
first contact with the English language must be done with care, in order to ensure positive
attitudes in the students and increase learners’ desire to keep on learning the language.

Concluding, language diversity suppose a great wealth which will develop our
students’ communicative competence and will also provide students a wider vision of
reality and greater tolerance. Therefore, by helping students to value languages we will
contribute to the development of competent students, ensuring their maximun
development, which is the main concern of the Primary Education Stage, stated in the
preamble of the Organic Law 3/2020, of December 29th.

4. References

4.1 Bibliographic references

- Alvarez-Sandoval, E. (2005). “The importance of learning a foreign language in

a changing society”. iUniverse.
- Brewster, J. and Ellis, G. (2002). “The Primary English teachers’ guide”.
Longman.
- Council of Europe (2020). Common European Framework of Reference for
languages: Learning, teaching and assessment”. Companion volume.
- Hymes, D. (1972). “On communicative competence”. Ethnolinguistic essays.
- Usán-Romero, S. (2013). “Instrumentos de hoy, instrumentos de ayer, la
enseñanza cultural en el aula de inglés”. Bachelor's thesis.
- Harmer, J. (2007). “The practice of the English language teaching”.

4.2 Legislative references

- Organic Law 3/2020, of December 29th, which modifies the Organic Law on
Education 2/2006, of May 3rd , of Education (LOMLOE).
- Order of January 15th, 2021, which develops the curriculum for the Primary
Education Stage, regulates attention to diversity, establishes the ordination of the
evaluation process and determines the transit process between the different
educative stages in the Autonomous Region of Andalusia (CEJA, 2021).
- Royal Decree 125/2014, of February 28th, which establishes the basic curriculum
for Primary Education nationwide in Spain (MEC, 2014).