Here We Go! 02 Teacher's Guide Unit 3

4 I.Teaching principles An approach based both on the communicative function of language and on the holistic development of students is the foundation of Here We Go! Jim Cummins (1980) establishes a difference between conversational language (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills, BICS ) and academic language (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, CALP ). The first refers to the kind of language children acquire in the earlier years of life, which allows them to talk about topics they are familiar with; in other words, it is the language they need to interact socially on a daily basis. The latter refers to the ability to deal with complex aspects of language related to subject areas. Academic language, in comparison with conversational language, is context reduced and more cognitively demanding. When it comes to English Language Learners, research has shown that learners develop BICS after 2-3 years of arrival in an English-speaking country, and may take 5-7 years to develop CALP, which also includes skills such as classifying, synthesizing, comparing, inferring, etc. Thus, within the context of an environment that increasingly gives greater prominence to English, Here We Go! focuses on the development of the communicative skills in an integrated and progressive way. Skills development is paced, so that students feel confident using English in different situations, both orally and in written form. Books 1-3 put special emphasis on listening and speaking while providing tools to start the reading and writing processes, whereas books 4-6 increase work on reading and writing without leaving oral abilities aside. At the same time, the program integrates carefully-selected subject area content material to reinforce academic language acquisition and related skills. Here We Go! also believes in eclecticism: The program embraces different approaches for teaching English as a foreign language with the conviction that being able to recognize the most valued aspects of these approaches benefits both the learning and teaching processes. Hence, the purpose of taking into account these approaches is to allow teachers to broaden their awareness on what they do, how they do it and, above all, how they may affect their students. ♦ Student-Centered Approach: Here We Go! creates opportunities for students to learn at their own pace. The books include activities that facilitate thedevelopment of different learning styles : visual (pictures, graphs, charts, symbols), auditory (CD recordings, peer interaction), reading-writing (different types of texts) and kinesthetic (songs, chants, tongue twisters, stickers, cutouts). This approach sees learners as the protagonists of the teaching and learning processes. It is also through autonomy (fostered by permanent self-assessments through which students can evaluate their performance and re-direct efforts with their teacher’s help) and learning strategies that Here We Go! responds to their needs. Learning strategies are specific actions that a student carries out in order to make his/her learning process more effective. Here We Go! promotes these strategies because they: • contribute to the development of the communicative competence. • allow children to assume responsibility with respect to their learning process. • can be used to solve problems, carry out tasks and achieve specific goals. • extend the role of teachers as they become counselors who stimulate their use. • involve more aspects than simply the cognitive one. • are flexible and adaptable.