Curriculum Sem II (2016-2017)

Name: Daniel Prez Date: 12/06/2017

Class Assignment 3
Analyze 3 language books by applying all the knowledge acquired in the Curriculum
Development class

I. ELE actual A1 curso de espaol para extranjeros (Borobio, 2011)

S.A. since the ELE Company comes from Spain, I would say that Spanish is aimed as a foreign
language more than as a second language because of its geographic location (surrounded by non
Spanish speaking countries)

Entry level: beginner, exit level: A1

The book is ordered according to topics:

1 Saludos y presentaciones

2 origen y procedencia,

3 informacin personal, etc

Each topic is organized in terms of temas y vocabulario (lexical), objetivos comunicativos

(functions), gramtica, fontica (pronunciation), descubre Espaa y Amrica Latina (Pragmatic)

Though each unit is divided mainly in terms on topics, it seems that the underlying order of
the book is given by objetivos comunicativos because they are primarily in a chronological
sequence (they start with saludar, responder a un saludo, presentarse and so on) though this
sequence is once interrupted by a grmammatical / ortographic objective that the book
considers to be necessary (such as Deletrear in the unit of Saludos; or pedir informacion lexica
y ortogrfica in the origen y procedencia unit)

Assessment is Accumulative (called repasos) from lecciones 1 to 5, 6-10 and 11-14.

In terms of Approach I would say that it is integrated: Functional, Topical-lexical with explicit
and implicit grammatical features

Institutional factors are mainly mentioned in the Introduction of the book, for example, by
dealing with the aim of the book, target learners and which course it was designed for; it
states

ELE A1 es un curso comunicativo dirigido a estudiantes adolescentes y adultos que

cubre el nivel A1 y est adaptado al Plan curricular del Instituto Cervantes.
 II. Interchange Intro Students book (Richards, 2005)

S.A. since this book is from Cambridge University, it is possible to say that it aims teaching EFL.

And for the same reason we can say that not only the book but the whole course has an
economic advantage do to the prestige of the Cambridge University

Entry level: beginner; exit level: A1

The book consists of 16 units titled with a title and topics

1 Its nice to meet you (Alphabet,greetings, leavings, etc )
2 Whats this? (Possessions, classroom objects, locations in a room, etc)
3 Where are you from? (cities and countries, adjectives, etc)

Each topic is divided in the 4 skills plus grammar and an interchange activity (dialog)

Therefore the framework is mainly topical, grammatical and based on skills.

As the introduction of the book says

The course combines topics, functions, and grammar. You will learn the for skills of
listening, speaking, reading, and writing, in addition to vocabulary and pronunciation.

Sequence and scope are mainly based on grammar, with a simple to complex sequence (in unit
1: possessive adjectives my, your, his, her; the verb be)

Regarding learner factors: There is a section of self-assessment with the progress checks

With respect to sources provided by the institution, it does not only rely on the book but also
in a CD, as complementary resource

The aim seems to give(s) you opportunities to learn and practice English.

III. CENDIA English intermediate book1

S.A. this course works best with young people (more than 15 years) and adults. This course
suits best for teaching EFL

N.A. focuses on consolidating a basis for common daily communication and a strong basis for
academic language. So depending on the students interests, they would enroll the course
(though this course is preferred by high school and university students)

Entry level: A2; exit level B1

1
I included this book, although it does not have enough bibliographic information, because I studied in that
institute and know that their teaching is effective.
The book has 4 intermediate parts each one with an average of 10 short units (per part).

Each short unit has readings, vocabulary charts but its mostly and almost exclusively based on
grammar

The framework of the book is strongly grammatical; therefore, the scope and sequence
focuses on grammar. The sequence is from simple to complex.

However, teachers turn this framework into an integrated framework that includes functional
and topical approaches

Teacher factors

Unlike many language courses that fail with programs based on grammar, this institute owes
its success not to their grammar framework but to the highly skillful teachers that make
grammar interactive and compensate advance grammar content with lots of learner centered
activities.

Teaching process

Though teachers use the books they rely more on their knowledge and participation of
learners in groups and individual fun, interactive work. Teachers build on knowledge according
to the grammar topic by building on learners previous knowledge or at least interesting for
students

Institutional factors

There is an organic organization in this institution since it is a small one where teachers give
advice to each other and teamwork, gatherings and discussions are apparently promoted by
the institution

Learner factors

due to the time 10 hours per week, each part took 4 weeks (40 hrs.). though the program
would rely almost entirely on the teacher. In order to keep up communication skills with the
high level grammar, the learner had to care about his own development individually

Finally, although learners exit with the same or better knowledge of grammar of a B2 average
student, the other aspects are neglected, by the scope of the book. Therefore, I would say that
this whole approach of the CENDIA institute would fit best in an ESL environment since
students already have the tools to understand and produce language structures, however, the
EFL environment does not provide with input for students to develop their communicative
skills outside the class.
Bibliography

Borobio, V. (2011). Ele actual: Libro del alumno. Madrid: S.M. Internacional.

CENDIA English Institute. CENDIA English intermediate book. Quito

Richards, J. C. (2005). Interchange intro. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.