Teaching

Addressees: Teachers

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Competences – Textbooks and Materials – European Framework of Reference of Languages – Frame of Reference for Intercomprehension Competence

As is well known, there are many textbooks about the intercomprehension approach. The publications of the Editiones EuroCom series published by Shaker-Verlag and their respective subdivisions EuroComRom and EuroComGerm are helpful for acquiring reading skills in Romance and Germanic languages. Klein & Stegmann’s 7 sieves are a basic Romance studies textbook, which targets primarily, but by no means exclusively, students of Romance languages. In addition, the French version contains an extensive Introduction à la didactique de l’eurocompréhension (pp. 7-140). The parallel work edited by Britta Hufeisen & Nicole Marx deals with Germanic and Scandinavian intercomprehension. For special language contrasts including English, you find Klein & Reissner (basic module English. English as a bridge language in the Romance intercomprehension). For Slavic interkomprehension Tafel et al.: Slavic Intercomprehension – An Introduction (eBook). Tübingen: Narr & Francke Attempt.

Of course, numerous textbooks for Romance intercomprehension have been published in the Romance countries, as the learning success is particularly easy to grasp here. Probably the first (modern) textbook on the intercomprehensive approach, Eurom4, pursued the principle of teaching only what in the target language seems to be interlingually ‘opaque’ for native Romance speakers. EuroComRom, on the other hand, was keen from the outset to show how the individual Romance languages are similar – especially to help non-Romance-speaking learners to “unmask” structures that initially seem strange.

In the wake of Eurom4 and recent references including GALATEA and the electronic platform GALANET, the Manual Interlat.  Compreensão escrita em português, espanhol e francês / Comprensió escrita en portugués, español y francés / Compréhension écrite en portugais, espagnol et français by Gilda Tassara Chávez & Patricio Moreno Farías (Ediciones Universitarias de Valparaíso, Chile) must be mentioned; as well as InterRom: intercomprensión en lenguas romances by Ana María Carullo et al. (National University of Cordoba, Argentina).

In addition to the textbooks, intercomprehension didactics has developed numerous materials for use in classroom contexts (secondary levels 1 and 2).

The fact that intercomprehension didactics is a recent development (mainly since the 1970s) has given it an empirical basis from the start.

 

Framework of Reference for Languages:  The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning – Teaching – Assessing (CEFR) shows a clear openness to multilingualism, and in a large number of the European Council’s documents have encouraged the acquisition of several languages: In addition to the “Mother tongue, knowing two foreign languages operable in the four basic skills of listening-speaking and reading-writing at least“. Thisis the guideline for constructing the multilingual minimum. The claim is high, but achievable and the epithet “at least” opens the way to legitimaze intercomprehension didactics. The guideline calls for an opening up of multilingual education in favour of greater diversification of foreign language provision and competence levels. Methodologically, the lessons focus on reflexive learning and on the comparison of corresponding linguistic schemes. It should be borne in mind that learning objectives and methods of the intercomprehension approach should also find their regular place in regular methodology.

Unfortunately, the 2001 version of the CEFR falls short of this objective. Integrative foreign language didactics develops conceptually and methodically synergistic learning paths for the acquisition of multilingualism. The Framework of Reference for Plural Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA) complements the CEFR to the extent that it also contains descriptors for the so-called soft competences. Affected are

• intercultural learning
• intercomprehension
• language awareness
• integrative didactics.

The FREPA competence model emphasizes the connection of the volition (attitudes, Attitüden, savoir-être), knowledge (knowledge, Wissen, savoir) and skill-related (skills, Können, savoir-faire) competence domains, whose respective resources must work together in every action in order to enable targeted action (such as intended-learning). The FREPA has been the inspiration for the development of the didactic guiding concept of language learning competence in several ways.

Competence always means procedural knowledge. As aforementioned, competence is always composed by an interaction of attitude, knowledge and action schemes. The competence FREPA model speaks of predicates and objects that (must) be connected to each other in order to generate action. Since action usually has a complex origin, the objects (resources) constituting it must be generated from the three domains mentioned and be able to interact with several predicates.

Explanation: Action X is formed by the interaction of predicates 1 to 3. Each predicate is composed of objects or resources. The objects interact with each other as well.

The FREPA has been the subject of numerous teacher training courses and seminars.

 

The Miriadi project developed a reference framework for intercomprehensive communicative competence
(Référentiel de compétencesde communication plurilingue enintercompréhension). It describes both intercomprehension and intercommunication.