Learning linguistic skills (CLASS ENTRY 2)

If you were not limited by the demands of the national/regional curriculum, what would you say is the most important thing you would teach your students about your subject (in a CLIL context)? How would you assess their learning?

In that case, I would know about my students and their learning process.  On the other hand, I would explain my strategies to help them to learn. We could choose the better path to walk along Literature, together. We could build a journey between readings and  plays, together. We could discover others type of communication through words, together too.

My ideal subject would be one that students learn to learn about their learning process throught content of History and Literature. Firstly, I should to show them how I assess their learning outcomes and which are our learning target. I would show them with videos, digital posters or other kind of audiovisual tools to communicate them what we want to learn and through what we are going to learn. Probably I use a poster or imap (conceptual map) that all could see it every day and we won't forget what our learning target is.

Secondly, I would talk them about what they need to express in words their thoughts. We start to know the tools of writing (textual genres) and then we start with practical activities through the content.

Thirdly, I would submit a project about different literary itineraries from which they could choose to do. I would use the methodology of Guadalupe Jover whose goal is to connect the inside library of adolecents with the big collective human library.

Guadalupe Jover, Taller: Itinerarios posibles para la educación literaria en la adolescencia from AELE Asociación Española de Lectura y Escritura

On the other hand, we would planning the work in groups and classroom blogs. And then, we will learn while we walk together into the universe of words and books. At the same time, I ought to create a templates and frameworks to help them to self-assess and to correct or continue the learning process.

Finally, we would have a debate about the methodology of the subject and make a critical reflection about our learning process through each lesson.

In my opinion, this have been a first approach about a new way to learn linguistic skills through content of History and Literature. In other words, I would plan this before and my students will assess my plan. Because it should be satisfactory and motivating for them. If not, is not useful.

Talking from experience, if adolescent don't control the process they loose the motivation and this is clue for their autonomous learning. As far as I am concerned, they should have rubrics about how they work diary to pass the subject and what they have to do at the end of the lesson or the term.

In short, learners (teenagers or not) should know the goals, the tools, the process and the evaluation system with rubrics or 'can do statements' than explain at least the roles of that new way to learn.