What is the general purpose of english language teaching in basic education?

General Purpose of English Language

Teaching in Basic Education

The purpose of foreign language teaching in basic education is for students to get the necessary knowledge to engage in social practices with spoken and oral language to interact with native and non-native English speakers by means of specific activities with the language. That is, by using activities that involve production and interpretation of oral and written texts –of a familiar, academic and literary nature– the students will be able to satisfy basic communication needs in different every day, familiar, and known situations. Thus, children need to learn to use the language to organize their thoughts and speech, to analyze and solve problems, and to gain access to different cultural expressions from their own and other country. Moreover, it is essential that they acknowledge the role language plays in building up knowledge and cultural values; children should also develop an analytical and responsible attitude to face the problems that affect our world. Competence in a foreign language does not stem from mere repetition or exposure to it, or from studying it for a very long time. Quite the opposite, it is necessary to have acumen of individual and collective experiences that include different ways of participating in oral exchanges and text reading and writing.

The school’s responsibility is greater in the case of students that come from low literacy communities with a scarce or non-existent contact with an additional language. Therefore, it should provide students with the necessary conditions to participate in such experiences, to reach gradual autonomy in their intellectual work, and to be competent in transferring what they have learned in the classroom context to out-of-the-classroom communicative situations.