INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN FOR LANGUAGE EDUCATION

This is one of the main activities of the degree course in Language Sciences where students can acquire knowledge and understanding in the field of Educational Linguistics with reference to second/foreign languages.
The specific goal of the course is to develop knowledge and understanding in the field of Instructional design and promote the ability to design and develop programmes and curricula for language education as well as teaching/learning materials, learning units/lessons that take into account the variables characterizing a learning/teaching environment: type of target audience and needs, language learning goals and objectives, modes of delivery, underpinning theories of language learning/teaching approaches, educational contexts (formal/non-formal/informal), useful technologies.

Knowledge and understanding:
The student will acquire knowledge and understanding in the field of Instructional Design (curriculum design, materials design, lesson design) and its role in the development, creation and delivery of language education programmes (foreign language/second language) according to diverse variables such as: target audience’s characteristics and needs, type of learning context (formal/non-formal/informal), of delivery modes (on site, on line, etc.), of contents, and technologies involved.

Applying knowledge and understanding:
The student will learn how to analyse, design and develop proposals according to the variables mentioned above.

Making judgements:
The student will know how to make informed and autonomous judgements as to the validity and feasibility of different curriculum/material/lesson proposals.

Communication skills:
The student will be able to communicate clearly and unambiguously his/her reasoning, opinions and ideas, and show mastery of the specific language of the field.

Content pre-requisites:
A basic knowledge of the principles of language education and language teaching is useful.
Those without any previous basic knowledge in these fields can consult one of the following on-line self-learning courses:
- Course: Migliorare l’efficienza nell’apprendimento linguistico: https://www.itals.it/meal (in Italian)
- Course: Understanding Language: Learning and Teaching: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/understanding-language (in English, only Week 1 and Week 2)

Language pre-requisites:
Competence in English (preferably B2 level)

Teaching approaches; curriculum models; syllabus: learning objectives, materials, assessment; learning units and lesson plans; ICT; modes of course delivery (e.g., flipped classroom); language learning activities and tasks.

Balboni, P. (2007), Operational Models for Language Education, Perugia, Guerra.
Council of Europe (2001), Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment, https://rm.coe.int/1680459f97
Council of Europe (2020), Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment - Companion Volume, https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/home
Johnson, K. (2003), Designing Language Teaching Tasks, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
McGrath, I. (2016), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.

Further reading will be suggested during the course.

The exam is made up of two parts:
- Paper (50%)
- Written exam (50%)

The student must reach a mark of min. 18/30 on each part.
The student can sit the written part of the exam only if s/he has already handed in the paper.
The student can keep the mark of one part of the exam and re-sit the other part of the exam if this was not passed or the mark is refused.


The paper, a maximum of 5 pages, aims to assess the ability to create a didactic proposal for language education for a given group of students with specific characteristics. It also aims to assess the student’s written argumentative skills.
Criteria for assessment: 1. Pertinence (with respect to the question being answered); 2. Originality, suitability and feasibility of the didactic proposal; 3. Appropriateness of explanations in support of the proposal; 4. Organisational aspects of paper (respect of length limit; appropriate text structure: division into paragraphs, cohesion and coherence, bibliographic references).

The written exam, made up of 11 multiple choice questions and 10 open questions, aims to assess knowledge and understanding of the issues in Instructional design.

Added to the final mark:
Attendance on-line lessons: 7 lessons (done within the time indicated) for a maximum of 2 marks (0,3 marks for each lesson)

Blended: 8 on-site lessons and 7 on-line asynchronous lessons with forum activities.
The students will be required to participate actively in the class activities and in the on-line forums, so as to develop awareness of theories and practical issues in Instructional design.

Those who do not attend lessons are kindly requested to contact the lecturer to receive the access key to the Moodle platform of the course where all the materials used during the lessons are to be found: menegale@unive.it, writing as subject: ACCESS KEY INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development