TTLE program

Good morning Ladies and Gentleman, it is a great honor and a privilege for us to be able topresent this morning the TTLE Program , a program of linguistic absorption across the integrated curriculum of Social Sciences and English Language.

It is clear for everybody the enormous importance nowadays of a satisfactory learning of a foreign language, in order to consolidate a good intellectual learning so as to encourage positive relations of knowledge, comprehension, tolerance and feeling between the peoples and, especially,between the peoples belonging to the European Union. From the European Commission, with the approval of “The white book. Education and learning. Towards a society of the learning” in 1995, it is established as a prior aim of education the command of three community languages and suggests as a way to obtain this purpose, the teaching of curricular subjects in a foreign language.

The educational Spanish legislation emphasizes this interest and has acted in consequence extending the learning of a second language to all the levels of primary education, providing the teachers' centers with specialists in the subject and, also, allowing the possibility of initiating children from 3 to 5 years. They complete the scope of these measures by opening the possibility of learning a second foreign language from the first year in Secondary Education and teaching subjects through absorption programs in a foreign language in all the levels, from primary up to high school.

In this context, convinced, as we are, that in the traditional didactics of teaching languages what we can aspire to achieve is a basic and discreet learning, which is a completely unacceptable, we know very well that, our pupils, when they finish high school, will have studied the English language for 15 years.

TTLE was created with the clear intention of introducing the processes of teaching and learning of languages in our school, it is an offer that goes beyond the pure and simple linguistic absorption, and that consists of the integration of SSC's curriculum and English Language, in such a way that the SSC's contents are developed in the English language ,simultaneously the contents of English Language are developed from the SSC's lessons.

We are speaking about the creation of one subject that integrates the curriculum contents of both subjects.

TTLE is an attempt to overcome didactic approaches that have been proved to be unsuccessful, it is a strong bet that involves important changes in organization, structure and methodology and with perspectives of consolidation in the future, if we take in to account the results obtained along these four years of history.

TTLE is based on four pillars: significant natural learning, constant interactivity across cooperative learning, interest in learning and absolute efficiency in the results .

Significant natural learning.

To attend English lessons from 10 to 11 Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; to listen to explanations, to read aloud, to do exercises, to correct them, to memorize rules, vocabulary, verbs, compositions, watching some films and others, that constitutes the 95% of the contact that students have with English during the Secondary School.

TTLE adds from 3 to 6 hours of contact with the language, but it’s not just more contact. We offer the possibility to study and learn a language in a contextualized and significative way. We use the language to learn something that has nothing to do with it, as, for example, the Mediterranean climate. We use English to take notes, draw maps, study at home, write an exam, ask questions in the classroom, do oral expositions, check an encyclopaedia, look for information on the internet, do the task on webquests… that is to say, it’s a spontaneous way to learn, and students finally forget they are learning English.

English is not a goal anymore. English becomes a way. Students want to improve their linguistic competences to express what they want to say in an oral exposition about Agriculture, in an exam about the Industrial Revolution, they want to express their opinions in favour or against the others, to communicate with a host family during the exchange, and so on and so forth. The most important idea is that we offer the students a lot of opportunities and situations to use the foreign language, and these situations are natural and contextualised.

Constant interactivity through cooperative learning.

Speaking of Methodology, TTLE is founded in cooperation and interaction between students and teacher in the classroom. This kind of methodology generates situations where the student has to participate orally or verbally under the teacher’s constant supervision. Students learn from other students, they make a big effort to think and express what they want to communicate. During the class, the students put in common what they have individually understood from the lesson, sharing ideas and learning new vocabulary, using complex structures, accurate definitions… To sum up, we have created a really natural environment to learn. Language is not a goal, it is a vehicle.

Learning as something really interesting.

We have to admit that being integrated in this kind of project requires an initial effort. This effort is quite remarkable, and some students could be disencouraged. However we must say that almost all the students get involved in the project.

They are aware they are having a unique and meaningful opportunity that links their interests to their expectations. They’re fully motivated to watch a film in its original version, to read Harry Potter in its original language or even to attend summer courses in England. They participate in the forum that we have created on the internet, they write e-mails to their Danish partners, they want to obtain official degrees in English (like Trinity) …

Absolute efficiency.

This kind of learning, incidental and natural learning, is constantly supported by the formal learning of the language. Both, natural and formal ways of learning, support and enrich each other. We firmly believe that we have proved this learning method is assimilated in a more efficient way than the formal, but when they occur together, the natural one becomes more perfect and the formal on acquires a usefulness and meaningful sense.

This efficiency can be measured with academic results, but it can also be measured on a more personal level, taking into account the high level of self-esteem, creativity, security and confidence that the students acquire.

Dealing with this project of immersion with Social Sciences has its advantages.

On the one hand, Social Sciences have a lot of specific vocabulary, common language: the one that is listened in the radio, is read in the newspapers, is in use in a conversation …, in other words, it has the highest transferability, connects perfectly with the idea we were mentioning a moment ago on the significance and connection with the real world.

On the other hand it has a wide variety of technical specific languages on the area of geography, economy, history, anthropology, art, politics, etc. It is necessary to learn this language and to use technical and specific expressions for each one of these disciplines to be able to perform well. If the project was accomplished with Natural Sciences or with mathematics we believe that it would not have the amount of different linguistic register as those specifically offered in Social Sciences.

The commitment with the English language as the first foreign language is an option of the school, it is the language that most of our pupils choose and the one that takes a predominant role in the area of the international communication.

Also we offer German as the second foreign language and at the same time we have retaken the French Language this year. It would be very enriching and very useful, from the point of view of the academic and professional perspectives of our pupils if we could extend the absorption in German Language, due to the projection this language has in our community.

TTLE is not, and it doesn’t pretend, to be an elitist project: it is opened to all the pupils who have, certainly, some previous knowledge, they enter in the program voluntarily (sometimes advised by the English teacher and with the written consent of their parents).

The teacher’s profile

A part from the dual specific qualification of the teaching staff in the subject and in the foreign language, it is necessary to form a stable group of teachers, capable for the team work and enthusiast with what they have in their hands; they need to have initiative and perspectives to better themselves, and most important, not to get discouraged easily.

Likewise, it is important for them to know and to be able to crate sundries resources of visual support and multimedia, to know and develop strategies of education that help the interactivity between teacher and pupil and among the pupils. Also it is very important the permanent training as a sign of identity; likewise the teacher has to be prepared to take part in international exchanges and for workmates to collaborate inside and outside his/her classroom.

If any one is interested in participating in this type of project, we are open to cooperate with you. If you want to contact us you can do it through our webpage or e-mail (ttle@santjosepobrer.com).

Thank you very much for your attention and we are at your disposal.

	TTLE Program, a program of linguistic absorption across the integrated curriculum of Social Sciences and English Language.

[Agustí Puigserver's Conference in Vilnius (Lithuania). April 14th 2005.] Photos from Vilnius
Good morning Ladies and Gentleman, it is a great honor and a privilege for us to be able topresent this morning the TTLE Program , a program of linguistic absorption across the integrated curriculum of Social Sciences and English Language. It is clear for everybody the enormous importance nowadays of a satisfactory learning of a foreign language, in order to consolidate a good intellectual learning so as to encourage positive relations of knowledge, comprehension, tolerance and feeling between the peoples and, especially,between the peoples belonging to the European Union. From the European Commission, with the approval of “The white book. Education and learning. Towards a society of the learning” in 1995, it is established as a prior aim of education the command of three community languages and suggests as a way to obtain this purpose, the teaching of curricular subjects in a foreign language. The educational Spanish legislation emphasizes this interest and has acted in consequence extending the learning of a second language to all the levels of primary education, providing the teachers' centers with specialists in the subject and, also, allowing the possibility of initiating children from 3 to 5 years. They complete the scope of these measures by opening the possibility of learning a second foreign language from the first year in Secondary Education and teaching subjects through absorption programs in a foreign language in all the levels, from primary up to high school. In this context, convinced, as we are, that in the traditional didactics of teaching languages what we can aspire to achieve is a basic and discreet learning, which is a completely unacceptable, we know very well that, our pupils, when they finish high school, will have studied the English language for 15 years. TTLE was created with the clear intention of introducing the processes of teaching and learning of languages in our school, it is an offer that goes beyond the pure and simple linguistic absorption, and that consists of the integration of SSC's curriculum and English Language, in such a way that the SSC's contents are developed in the English language ,simultaneously the contents of English Language are developed from the SSC's lessons. We are speaking about the creation of one subject that integrates the curriculum contents of both subjects. TTLE is an attempt to overcome didactic approaches that have been proved to be unsuccessful, it is a strong bet that involves important changes in organization, structure and methodology and with perspectives of consolidation in the future, if we take in to account the results obtained along these four years of history. TTLE is based on four pillars: significant natural learning, constant interactivity across cooperative learning, interest in learning and absolute efficiency in the results . Significant natural learning. To attend English lessons from 10 to 11 Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; to listen to explanations, to read aloud, to do exercises, to correct them, to memorize rules, vocabulary, verbs, compositions, watching some films and others, that constitutes the 95% of the contact that students have with English during the Secondary School. TTLE adds from 3 to 6 hours of contact with the language, but it’s not just more contact. We offer the possibility to study and learn a language in a contextualized and significative way. We use the language to learn something that has nothing to do with it, as, for example, the Mediterranean climate. We use English to take notes, draw maps, study at home, write an exam, ask questions in the classroom, do oral expositions, check an encyclopaedia, look for information on the internet, do the task on webquests… that is to say, it’s a spontaneous way to learn, and students finally forget they are learning English. English is not a goal anymore. English becomes a way. Students want to improve their linguistic competences to express what they want to say in an oral exposition about Agriculture, in an exam about the Industrial Revolution, they want to express their opinions in favour or against the others, to communicate with a host family during the exchange, and so on and so forth. The most important idea is that we offer the students a lot of opportunities and situations to use the foreign language, and these situations are natural and contextualised. *Constant interactivity through cooperative learning.* Speaking of Methodology, TTLE is founded in cooperation and interaction between students and teacher in the classroom. This kind of methodology generates situations where the student has to participate orally or verbally under the teacher’s constant supervision. Students learn from other students, they make a big effort to think and express what they want to communicate. During the class, the students put in common what they have individually understood from the lesson, sharing ideas and learning new vocabulary, using complex structures, accurate definitions… To sum up, we have created a really natural environment to learn. Language is not a goal, it is a vehicle. *Learning as something really interesting.* We have to admit that being integrated in this kind of project requires an initial effort. This effort is quite remarkable, and some students could be disencouraged. However we must say that almost all the students get involved in the project. They are aware they are having a unique and meaningful opportunity that links their interests to their expectations. They’re fully motivated to watch a film in its original version, to read Harry Potter in its original language or even to attend summer courses in England. They participate in the forum that we have created on the internet, they write e-mails to their Danish partners, they want to obtain official degrees in English (like Trinity) … *Absolute efficiency.* This kind of learning, incidental and natural learning, is constantly supported by the formal learning of the language. Both, natural and formal ways of learning, support and enrich each other. We firmly believe that we have proved this learning method is assimilated in a more efficient way than the formal, but when they occur together, the natural one becomes more perfect and the formal on acquires a usefulness and meaningful sense. This efficiency can be measured with academic results, but it can also be measured on a more personal level, taking into account the high level of self-esteem, creativity, security and confidence that the students acquire. Dealing with this project of immersion with Social Sciences has its advantages. On the one hand, Social Sciences have a lot of specific vocabulary, common language: the one that is listened in the radio, is read in the newspapers, is in use in a conversation …, in other words, it has the highest transferability, connects perfectly with the idea we were mentioning a moment ago on the significance and connection with the real world. On the other hand it has a wide variety of technical specific languages on the area of geography, economy, history, anthropology, art, politics, etc. It is necessary to learn this language and to use technical and specific expressions for each one of these disciplines to be able to perform well. If the project was accomplished with Natural Sciences or with mathematics we believe that it would not have the amount of different linguistic register as those specifically offered in Social Sciences. The commitment with the English language as the first foreign language is an option of the school, it is the language that most of our pupils choose and the one that takes a predominant role in the area of the international communication. Also we offer German as the second foreign language and at the same time we have retaken the French Language this year. It would be very enriching and very useful, from the point of view of the academic and professional perspectives of our pupils if we could extend the absorption in German Language, due to the projection this language has in our community. TTLE is not, and it doesn’t pretend, to be an elitist project: it is opened to all the pupils who have, certainly, some previous knowledge, they enter in the program voluntarily (sometimes advised by the English teacher and with the written consent of their parents). *The teacher’s profile* A part from the dual specific qualification of the teaching staff in the subject and in the foreign language, it is necessary to form a stable group of teachers, capable for the team work and enthusiast with what they have in their hands; they need to have initiative and perspectives to better themselves, and most important, not to get discouraged easily. Likewise, it is important for them to know and to be able to crate sundries resources of visual support and multimedia, to know and develop strategies of education that help the interactivity between teacher and pupil and among the pupils. Also it is very important the permanent training as a sign of identity; likewise the teacher has to be prepared to take part in international exchanges and for workmates to collaborate inside and outside his/her classroom. If any one is interested in participating in this type of project, we are open to cooperate with you. If you want to contact us you can do it through our webpage or e-mail (ttle@santjosepobrer.com). Thank you very much for your attention and we are at your disposal.
[Tornar]