A Retrospective Analysis of the Pre-Intermediate English course curriculum to examine the development of oral communication skills

Abstract

The teaching and learning processes of languages in an educational institution are determined by the curricular documents proposed in the State policy, the curricular practice of the professors, and the curriculum. These three sources guide the English courses at the Universidad La Gran Colombia. In this context, there is a debate about whether the implementation of the curriculum of an English course enhances the development of different skills for learning English as a second language (ESL), and if the development of it has an effective impact on the scope of the proposed objectives. This proposal was made following a qualitative paradigm with a retrospective approach of a curricular analysis of the institutional documents. The perceptions of both professors and students of the Pre-intermediate English course (2018-I) were also a main factor to be taken into consideration and were therefore measured through semi-structured interviews to determine to what extent the curricular design develops the oral communication skills in the students. The study was held at the Universidad La Gran Colombia (UGC), in the city of Bogotá, with professors and students belonging to the B. Ed in English program. The emphasis held was English within the context of the subject of Pre-intermediate English, which is a course offered during the second semester of the program. The study evidences the several findings that arise from the analysis and contrast made through the triangulation of the usefulness dimensions of the curriculum, the organization of the curriculum, curriculum implementation, technology, and curricular content, as well as the perceptions about the curriculum. These findings focus on a series of reflections on the possible improvement actions that can be used at the curricular level in order to obtain results that are more effective in the development of oral communication skills for learning English, the achievement of learning objectives, and the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)