DEVELOPING THE PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCE By EZEQUIEL LVAREZ CUESTA Specific Pedagogical Processes Foreign Languages Program Universidad del

Atlntico Faculty of Education Language teaching takes its theoretical principles from varied disciplines like Education, Psychology, and especially from Linguistics, Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics. These theoretical principles have made possible the appearance of different approaches and methods to teach languages. In fact, linguists and educators have developed their recommendations to teach foreign languages from the ways people learn their native tongues. The academic community of language has also agreed on the use of language in real situations. This communicative approach puts its effort and resources in developing a communicative competence on learners and not only a part of this capability as the Grammar Translation Method pretended. But facing a communicative approach requires from the teacher a communicative competence. And this is one of the aspects to deal in this paper. This didactic experience takes place at Universidad del Atlntico, Foreign Languages Program, in the Faculty of Education. Learners in this program are formed to be teachers. According to the purposes of the program, they must be able to propose and execute alternative ways of teaching foreign languages, with focus on communication, avoiding the grammar-centred curriculum and its aims in learning structures out of context. On this paper, I try to reflect upon my teaching experience in a subject called Specific Pedagogical Processes That is the name used to replace what in the old curriculum was called Didactic-. According to Rafael Flrez Ochoa (2000: XVI), pedagogic reflection should be open, flexible, transdisciplinary and multimethodological. I try to guide my reflection by some principles coming from the linguistic science, contributions from psycho and sociolinguistics, as well as education. The purpose of Education is let people to

recognize their culture and become a human being, by developing their abilities and skills that include, not only the cognitive skills, but the motor, the social and the affective ones. I reflect on my experience as a teacher and a learner at the same time. This way, I try to wide both of them, my pedagogical and my communicative competence. In these pages, I wish to open a window to show my goals, the contents I select, the strategies I employ, the message I share with my students and the experiences we build together. Teaching and learning are processes that language facilitates. The interaction is possible when learners and teachers share some purposes. Most of time, this communication is broken, but our teaching ability consists of letting interaction flows. English educators seem to be no fond of this term called Didactic. In the bibliography about language teaching, one can not find a reference to this term. They talk about teaching, learning, methods, approach, but they do not use the word Didactic. Let us reflect on some definitions. The Oxford Dictionary refers to this word as an adjective designed to teach people sth, especially a moral lesson. It gives another meaning: telling people things rather than letting them find out for themselves (2002: 347). This definition could be understood as a way of teaching something to someone, and the definition refers to Conductism. The on line Merriam Webster Dictionary defines Didactic as a treatise on teaching or education. These examples shows that didactic is considered more as an adjective form than a discipline. I try to paraphrase what Rafael Flrez Ochoa thinks about Didactic. He says Didactic is the operative and instrumental part of pedagogy. According to him, Didactic refers to teaching methods and strategies that let an effective teaching. He adds that each pedagogical model proposes its own didactic way. Therefore, we can deduce that Didactic is a practical discipline that has its basis on theories coming from different disciplines. And that each one of them traces a way, a didactic.

Things are not so different in the Spanish language community. Although we are more accustomed to the term, the field is not so clear. Alicia W. De Camilloni (2001: 21), sustains that Didactic feeds from other sciences and disciplines like Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology. She says the field we call Didactic is not definite. She refers about a controversy if Didactic really exists, or if it is replaced by its object of knowledge, e.g. the curriculum. My opinion is that Didactic has different objects related among them- and these objects are viewed from different points. So we must try to concentrate on the special principles that rule language. According to these principles, language teachers must conceive our goals. In this course (Specific Pedagogical Processes), I try to think in what are the needs of the learners. When I think about their needs and interests, I also think on my own, and in the needs and interests of their future students. Here, I present some of my goals: To develop the learners pedagogical competence. To motivate learners to be effective and communicative teachers. To guide the future teachers to think of studentsneeds and interests. To reflect on principles and theories that explain the process of learning a language.

In our first interactions, I ask them to write down their experience with English and tell about the methodology and resources their teachers used. Their answers show that theories coming from the 70s are not being applied yet, for many teachers in the recent years. Later, They are asked to describe what they watch at schools and the scenery has not changed so much. As a result, English continues being taught with a grammatical view, and students do not go beyond some words and expressions. Didactic, in most cases, is tied to grammar aspects. The only resources employed in some classrooms are markers and boards, but they are used to write down lists of words with its corresponding Spanish translation. No communicative context is provided. If Didactic is the practical operator of Pedagogy, as Flrez Ochoa says, the learner receives inadequate pedagogical input that he/she tries to practice whenever he/she teaches students.

In my first contact with students, while we plan together what we are going to do during the course, I realize they have a different proficiency in English language. At the present semester, I am working with three groups in 3d semester A, B, C- The students from group A have a lower level than students from group B, who have a lower level than students from group C. As known, the proficiency varies too from student to student in every group. But their proficiency is not the only factor that intervenes, but the attitude to language and the motivation to participate in class activities. As teachers, we must have all these ideas in mind in order to lead the work. With students, we also agreed on the languages we are going to use: English, French, Spanish. The type of tasks they are going to be involved in and the contents we are going to study. Students are always demanding for strategies to manage the class, how to teach, how to motivate. These needs are the field of Didactic. Facts seem to be what students are interested in. But when they are guided to face the theories, they seem to find out a world of possibilities. Therefore, the way to follow is to combine the theory and the procedures according to these theories. The future foreign language teachers need to know what are the theoretical principles, under some strategies they have experienced. To follow this path, the communicative approach needs to be known. In this context, students must know and reflect about the process of communication. It is of great importance that they understand the different dimensions the communicative competence involves. Once they internalize that the Grammatical competence is a dimension of what Bachman (1987) calls organizational competence, and that communicative competence also includes pragmatic factors, they can understand the principles of communicative language teaching: In the classroom goals must focus on all the components of communicative competence: textual, pragmatic and not only on grammatical competence.

Forms must be related to functions and not to teach only vocabulary and structures. Interacting and understanding the messages communicating- is the goal. The classroom must become a communicative place where students use the language.

When we teach English, we must have in mind the language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. In early stages of the language, the focus must be in listening and speaking although students should not be forced to speak- as a way to introduce reading and writing, later, when they can be able to recognize concepts in the foreign language. Another helpful reference is the Natural Approach, for it aims to develop basic language skills to be used in everyday situations. As Brown says: The initial task of the teacher is to provide comprehensible input, that is, spoken language that is understandable to the learner, or just a little beyond the learners level (1987: 164). Natural Approach is based on the theories of second language acquisition presented by Krashen. Tracy Terrel, the developer of the theory, considers the learner, in the early stages lives a a silent period, in which he/she does not need to speak. Students who are preparing to be teachers need to reflect on these ideas and concepts in order they understand what are the cognitive processes a language learner follows. This way, students consider the three stages Terrell proposes on his theory: The preproduction stage, when teachers must provide comprehensible input to The early production stage, when students begin to use the language. Teachers must

develop the listening skill.

understand that using the language involves real or pretended real situations, like role plays, and not repetition of structures. Therefore, the focus is on meaning not on form.

The last stage is when the learners can use the language in more complex

communicative situations. For all these stages, teachers have lots of strategies like games, role plays, dialogs, discussions, and so on.

According to Brown (1987: 165), the most controversial aspects of the Natural Approach are its silent period (delay of oral production) and its treatment of error. To solve this case, teachers must have in mind the personal characteristics of learners and provide comprehensible input all the time, as well as create communicative situations in the classroom to let students to use the language and to motivate them to use it. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD When I prepare my course, I think of my students, and try to reflect on the characteristics of most language classrooms in public schools as well as in private ones. In most schools we do not find 25 students per classroom, as an ideal average, but 40 students or more in a hot, narrow room. No flash cards, no play recorders, no cassettes or video- tapes, or VCR or DVD. Even in our foreign languages program, we lack of the needing resources- what to do then? The teacher needs to develop a pedagogical competence. This capability requires: The teacher to be open mind and to reflect on his/her teaching goals and put them into practice.

A teacher who can use the language in a communicative context. A teacher who knows approaches, methods and strategies to deal with contents. A teacher who can guide students to feel motivated in learning English as a foreign language. A teacher who creates a communicative and playful environment in the classroom. A teacher who encourages students to use the language, not focusing on mistakes, but in meaning. A teacher who can propose projects to students. A teacher who is able to build his/her own teaching materials.

All these requirements are related to Didactic. That is, Didactic feeds from theories coming from different disciplines and according to those theories, there are procedures to manage the foreign language class. This type of pedagogical principles are experienced in the projects we follow during the course. THE SONG PROJECT After showing my students the information about project work, I asked them to decide what project the whole class would prepare. In 3d. A, the students decided to make a project about songs. The story is as follows. We were planning how to teach greetings and leave takings to primary school children. I suggested students they could create their own songs instead of taking them from books. We listened to songs and also read about Jazz Chants by Carolyn Graham. So students faced the goal. In their teams, students wrote songs. Then, they gave the rhythm. At the beginning, students were lack of confidence. But they went ahead. All this experience took place in the classroom. I saw the possibilities of these songs. They were in English, but one of them was in French. When students decided to make the song project, it was time to organize things. Beiso the musician of the group- got in charge of the musical arrangements. Dayanis proposed herself for the choreography. Every student had his/her own role. Little by little, students began to get involved in the project. We agreed, they should play in front of real students. The selected school was Normal Superior del Distrito de Barranquilla. Some students were afraid, but they faced the situation and began to prepare. For two weeks, we rehearsed in the classroom, they called for help to Franklyn and Jor, 4th semester students who are musicians. We checked up what was needed. The presenters were selected and things were organized by November 6th. They decided to make a general rehearsal for Saturday the 7th. A piano keyboard, a guitar a drum and some cymbals were got. Students prepared the music and the choreography. A group felt frustrated. I

encouraged students and told them the most important was their effort and not the performance itself. Things were almost ready. I wrote a letter to the head director of La Normal, asking for the 5th grade students, the room and the amplifiers. Wednesday the 10th of November arrived. It was a rainy day. In the afternoon the rain stopped. For we decided to record the experience, we had several technical problems. We had planned to begin at 2 oclock, but we could begin at 4: 30. We had to do some more changes, instead of three groups, we decided to work with two. We needed to record first and then work with children, so the interaction was real. Edward, one of the presenters, sang his French song. When the second team began, I suggested them to practice the song with students. So they did, and it was a good idea. Children were not just watching a show, but learning and using English in an easy and happy way. The team commanded by Dayanis and her group of dancers, performed: then it was the turn for Silvana, Lina and Lilibeth. They formed the team that felt frustrated during the rehearsal. They asked for help to Eder, who studies Artistic Education, their performance began and the kids asked for more. All the teams did their best and then they worked with children using games and puzzles. They realized some children did not know the greetings and they taught them. The goals were reached. THE NATIVITY PLAY 3d C is a group where students have a better English proficiency. Students thought about several projects, but they agreed to work on a Nativity Play as an intercultural project. The next step was to select the students who would represent the different characters. Students suggested names of their classmates. Mayra as Virgin Mary, Kelly as the Angel. Two students wanted to perform Joseph. A casting was proposed and the class chose Christian. I proposed Jonathan to be Herod and he agreed. Katherine was a leader organizing the play. She brought a project book, then Mayra brought the story from an English book. During the next sessions, the play was organized. Students wrote their lines. Katherine got some carols

and a group of students formed a chorus of angels. Students told me they were not singers. I answered them they should do their best. Students considered two narrators were needed. Carmen proposed herself to be the sheep and she convinced to other girls to be sheep and they prepared the masks and their movements. Students got their own costumes and accessories, and it was an exciting experience. HALLOWEEN AND ANGELS Group 3d. B decided to work on an intercultural project about Angels and Halloween. This way, children could learn about two parties. Halloween, as we know, is a celebration from the North that arrived in our country. Angels is the colombian and catholic celebration, plenty of folk rhymes. As a way to integrate the two celebrations, in order children could profit the best of them, the different teams prepared their songs and games. In the classroom we translated a typical Angel song: We are angels And come from Heaven Asking for candies to ourselves. A team also adapted a tune: one, two, little three, little angels During this experience, students prepared games, puzzles, songs and flashcards to teach the vocabulary. The four language skills were in mind when they prepared their materials. They interact with children from La Normal. To assess learning, a game was proposed, Hell and Heaven. All these ideas can be better developed. This experience combined the celebration time and the working time. Children could use the language. They develop their motor skills when creating cards, coloring and decorating them. They practiced their reading and writing skills, as well as their cognitive skills by solving puzzles and match games. This way, we can show that games can be related pedagogically to teaching and learners feel high motivated. The social skills were also increased for students shared with other younger learners.

For the youngs, who are preparing to be teachers, this is a way to practice in a different atmosphere. Teaching and learning English can be sometimes a hard task for teachers and learners because of the routines it implies. But the open mind teacher must try interesting options, that is a way to improve the pedagogical competence. BIBLIOGRAPHY ALCARAZ, Enrique and MOODY, Bryn. (1983) Didctica del Ingls. Madird: Alhambra.

BROWN, H, Douglas. (1987) Principles of Language Learning. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. BROWN, H. Douglas. Teaching by Principles. An interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents. Pages 190-211. DE CAMILLONI, Alicia W. Et al. (2001) Corrientes Didcticas Contemporneas. Buenos Aires: Paids. FLREZ OCHOA, Rafael. (2000). Evaluacin, Pedagoga y Cognicin. Santaf de Bogot: Mc Graw Hill, 2000. GENESSE, F. And UPSHUR, J. (1998) Classroom Based Evaluation in Second Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pages 35 73. HARMER, Jeremy (1999) How to Teach English. Edimburgh: Longman. M.E.N. (1999) Lineamientos Curriculares Idiomas Extranjeros. Santaf de Bogot: Magisterio. UR, Penny. (1996) A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pages. 33 45. VALE, David and FEUTEUN, Anne. (1996) Teaching Children English. Cambridge: Cambridge University PressWEHMEIER, Sally editor- (2002). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.