REFLEXION COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION

The communicative approach is based on the idea that learning language successfully comes through having to communicate real meaning. When learners are involved in real communication, their natural strategies for language acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language. Example Practicing question forms by asking learners to find out personal information about their colleagues is an example of the communicative approach, as it involves meaningful communication. In the classroom Classroom activities guided by the communicative approach are characterized by trying to produce meaningful and real communication, at all levels. As a result there may be more emphasis on skills than systems, lessons are more learner-centered, and there may be use of authentic materials.

Foundations of Methodology In this entry I’m going to share a little information about foundations of methodology and is a system of practices and procedures that a teacher uses to teach. It will be based on beliefs about the nature of language, and how it is learnt (known as 'Approach'). Example Grammar Translation, the Audio-lingual Method and the Direct Method are clear methodologies, with associated practices and procedures, and are each based on different interpretations of the nature of language and language learning. Listed below are brief summaries of some of the more popular second language teaching methods of the last half century. ·         The Direct Method In this method the teaching is done entirely in the target language. The learner is not allowed to use his or her mother tongue. Grammar rules are avoided and there is emphasis on good pronunciation. ·         Grammar-tra...

The competency-based education was formed as an educational trend in the United States of America. Its initial idea was adopted from the socalled generative grammar by N. Chomsky who declared in 1965, “…fundamental difference between the competence or knowledge of language and the application or actual use of language” (Chomsky, 1968, p. 172). In the late 1960s, such difference was understood much wider than its original linguistic context and it was used in pedagogical and philosophical experimentalism. The experimental essence of the competency-based approach is currently moving to historically generative context as the ideas of competency have spread far beyond a single trend and have been accepted almost by everyone, including some conformist educational schools. At the moment, we suppose that, determining what the competency-based education is and what its development process and perspectives are as the most essential thing. Competence-oriented education is based on the...

CBE  to Competency-based education and the new student demographic WHAT IS CBE? CBE is based on six critical components:   • Explicit learning outcomes with respect to the required skills and associated proficiency • A flexible time frame to master these skills • A variety of instructional activities to facilitate learning • Criterion-referenced testing of the required outcomes • Certification based on demonstrated learning outcomes • Adaptable programs to ensure optimum learner guidance Van der Horst & McDonald 1997:10-11 We have to think beyond traditional models to provide options for these learners.  Many schools are pursuing competency-based educational models to meet the needs of a changing student population.  Challenges to CBE Adoption “Competency-based learning has come a long way over the past few years, but there are still significant hurdles standing in the way of its wider adoption.”

In the classroom disccus important aspect about the competencies and the descriptive indicators within each strand are organized around four communicative competence areas. Each of these strands has an additional communicative focus: auditory discrimination, pronunciation, fluency and editing as shown in the chart below. Listening Strand-specific Competency: Auditory Discrimination Auditory discrimination is the ability to hear specific sounds and words, and to recognize changes in tone and other nuances of spoken English. Speaking Strand-specific competency: Pronunciation Pronunciation involves the ability to produce the sounds and intonations of English effectively so that the speaker is understood. Accents are expected and accepted. Reading Strand-specific Competency: Fluency                   Fluency relates to the rate, ease and accuracy with which a student decodes and comprehend...

WORKING WITH COMPETENCIES IN THE ESL/EFL CLASSROOM Communicative language teaching involves developing language proficiency through interactions embedded in meaningful contexts. SL/EFL classroom teachers are requested to not only provide linguistic tools (e.g., grammar rules, vocabulary, phonics), but also the communicative tools needed to improve accuracy in students’ speaking abilities. Teachers must search for ways to perform tasks in a second language similar to those they would use in their mother tongue. That is, strategies from the former language can certainly support aspects of these strategies in the second language. What is expected in the ESL/EFL classroom is that students complete the tasks and at the same time, produce something new as a result of their own learning. It is no longer sufficient simply to memorize material, read and repeat scripted dialogs in texts, or perform multiple choice tests. This new approach requires students to activate higher...