Customizing ELT materials for the ESO classroom: a didactic proposal on ICC through tasks.

Abstract

Current societies are framed in a context of globalization, in which plurilingualism and multiculturality are an obvious reality. It is important to work these parameters in the educational field, from any subject. But above all, special emphasis to these parameters must be placed on the subject of English, since English has become the international communication language between individuals who do not share a language or culture. In this sense, authors such as Llurda have redefined the teaching-learning of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and not as much as English as Foreign Language (EFL). In this way, we need to redefine the English Language Teaching (ELT), whose main objectives now would be: intelligibility, language awareness and intercultural communication. That is, to achieve effective and efficient communication in English to be able to use the language in any context, for any purpose and with individuals from around the world. Thus, the importance of developing and working ICC in the field of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) comes into play. Unfortunately, in textbooks, which continue to be the most used materials in the classroom, this competence is not efficiently worked. This reality is difficult to change in the short term, and for this reason a valid option to work on ICC would be that practitioners customize didactic materials, either to co-design the textbook or to prepare complementary materials to the textbook. In order to work properly ICC, it is interesting to resort to the Task-Based Language Teaching approach (TBLT), as this way the language is learned by making a functional use of it. To that end, a didactic proposal has been carried out in a secondary school in Castelló de la Plana, IES Francesc Ribalta, for working with own designed materials based on the textbooks they use in order to teach ICC though a task-based language teaching approach.