2

COMMUNICATION IN THE FOREIGN

LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: VERBAL AND
NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION.
EXTRALINGUISTIC STRATEGIES: NON
VERBAL REACTIONS TO MESSAGES IN
DIFFERENT CONTEXTS
0. INTRODUCTION

1. GENERAL FRAMEWORK

1.1. THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS



2. COMMUNICATION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE
CLASSROOM

2.1. VERBAL COMMUNICATION

2.1.1. Activities to promote verbal communication in the
English Classroom

2.2. NON- VERBAL COMMUNICATION

2.2.1. Use of Non verbal communication in the English
Classroom

3. VERBAL & NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN
OUR CURRICULUM

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY


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 0. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays the learning of a foreign language goes beyond the traditional

linguistic or grammatical approach. Our curriculum – Decree 286 / 2007 7th September-
establishes in its introduction that all those procedures aimed at the achievement of
communicative competence are at the main axis upon which the curriculum has been
built. Communicating goes therefore beyond the mere learning of the grammatical rules
of the language. Effective communication requires much more; this is, discourse,
sociolinguistic, sociocultural and strategic competence.

This unit aims at analysing in depth the different elements that intervene in
communication among human beings focusing not only the use of the verbal code that
relies basically on the oral mode but analysing other non verbal codes that rely on
other modes such as the visual or tactile mode. And yet, both codes are interrelated.

In doing this, we will first establish the general framework for the unit in chapter
one, by defining the different elements that intervene in the communication process and
by trying to rendering explicit the different systems of alternative symbols by which
human beings communicate apart from language. Then, in chapter two we shall
concentrate on the use of the verbal and non verbal communication in the English
classroom placing especial emphasis on those linguistic and extralinguistic strategies
that support communication in the classroom.

In order to develop this unit some of the most relevant and influential works
regarding didactics in Primary Education have been used. Among them we shall
mention Brewster and Ellis’s The Primary English Teacher’s Guide and Tough’s Young
Children Learning Languages.

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 1. GENERAL FRAMEWORK

1.1. The communication process

There is more to communication than just one person speaking and another one
listening. Human communication processes are quite complex. We can, in fact,
differentiate verbal and non-verbal, oral and written, formal and informal, and
intentional and unintentional communication. In addition, there is human and animal
communication, and nowadays we may also refer to human-computer communication.

Communication has traditionally been defined as the exchange of meanings

between individuals through a common system of symbols. Communication is the
necessity human beings have in order to exchange information. Communication has
traditionally been defined as the exchange of meanings between individuals through a
common system of symbols. There has been great controversy, but still, they all agree in
the fact that the communication theorist’s task is to answer clearly as possible the
following question: “Who says what to whom with what effect”.

The study of human communication in all its modes is known as semiotics.

There are several types of communication, and although in principle any of the five
senses can be used as a medium of communication, in practice only three (tactile, visual
and aural) are implemented in both active-expressive and passive-receptive ways.

Tactile communication involves touch (e.g. shaking hands, grasping the arm)
and the manipulation of physical distance and body orientation in order to communicate
indifference or disagreement, and is studied by proxemics. Visual communication

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involves the use of facial expressions (smiling, winking..., which communicate a wide
range of emotions) and gestures and body postures of varying levels of formality
(kneeling, bowing...). Visual non-verbal communication is studied by kinesics. Often,
visual and tactile effects interact closely with verbal communication, sometimes even
conveying particular nuances of meaning not easy to communicate in speech (such as
the drawing of inverted commas in the air to signal a special meaning), and most of the
times culturally related.

The chief branch of communication studies involves the oral-aural mode, in the
form of speech, and its systematic visual reflex in the form of writing. These are the
verbal aspects of communication, distinguished from the non-verbal (kinesics and
proxemics) aspects, often popularly referred to as body language.

The term language, as we understand it, is usually restricted to speech and

writing, because these mediums of transmission display a highly sophisticated internal
structure and creativity. Non-verbal communication, by contrast, involves relatively
little creativity. Nonetheless, both in the oral and written form we make use of non-
verbal communication, for instance, when we are talking or teaching we use gestures or
tables and diagrams in written language.
According to Harmer, the characteristics apply to every communicative situation
is that a speaker/writer wants to communicate, has a communicative purpose, and
selects language, and a listener/reader wants to listen to something, is interested in a
communicative purpose, and process a variety of language.

These verbal aspects of communication, as well as the non-verbal aspects are

therefore the subject of study of our unit.

2. COMMUNICATION IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE

CLASSROOM
Communication is a key word for us as English teachers. Not only is it the
essence of human interaction, it is the centre of language learning.

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 Chomsky was one of the first language investigators, who tried to explain why
children learnt languages innately . He says that the infant starts to produce language by
a process of deduction, using the input received, with natural resources constructs an
internal grammar.
As a general rule, when a native person speaks, he or she takes into account
factors such as:
Systemic potential. Whether something (word, structure...) works
grammatically or not and if it fits into the grammatical system.

Appropiacy. Whether a word or structure is suitable in the context according

factors such as the relative social class of the speakers, regional variations, age and
status differences, and the topic being discussed and so on.
Feasibility. Knowing whether a construction is possible or not. It may be
possible grammatically but seem ridiculous in real use such as the use of six adverbs
together.
Occurrence. Knowledge of how often something appears in the language
(example: foreign learners of English from Latin countries often use more Latin-
sounding words than a typical native speaker)

Halliday considers that language is, indeed, learned in a functional context of

use. To summarize the afore-mentioned , a communicative context governs language
use, and language learning implies an acquisition of these rules of use.
As mentioned earlier, Canale and Swain developed the idea of communicative
competence, a design taken on by the Our Decree 286/2007 7th September as the basis
for objectives in the curricular design and as a guide for teaching methodology and
establishes in its introduction that the procedures aimed at the achievement of effective
communicative competence , oral and written, is the basis axis around which the foreign
language curriculum has been constructed.
This communicative competence consists of 5 subcompetences: grammatical,
discourse, sociolinguistic, strategic and sociocultural.
GRAMMATICAL or the ability to use the rules of the language system.
(Example: the position of the adjective in English). systemic potential.
DISCOURSE or the ability to use different types of speech o writing based on
the situation and to do it coherently and cohesively.

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 SOCIOLINGUISTIC or the ability to adapt utterances to a particular social
context (social class, regional languages, registers). appropriacy.
STRATEGIC or the ability to influence the course of the communicative
situation (body movement, intonation). Related to redundancy. The aim is to maintain
the channel of communication open or to improve the reception. These strategies
compensate for the lack and aid the communicative situation and strategies will be
linguistically based such as paraphrasing, word coinage, borrowing etc or non linguistic
( mime, gestures etc )
SOCIOCULTURAL – being familiar with the social and cultural context, the
background where the language is spoken.(example: when we say “milkman” we
understand all the contexts such as: Who is the milkman?, When does the milkman
deliver the milk? and so on).
This communicative competence and its subcompetences seek to help children
to provide opportunities for communicating effectively in class. It is important to notice
that the concept of communicative competence refers both to verbal and non-verbal
communication. This implies that in order to be competent in any languages both verbal
and non-verbal procedures must be mastered.

We shall now look at what this means in terms of verbal and non verbal
communication.

2.1. VERBAL COMMUNICATION

We understand verbal communication as transferring ideas and information

through spoken or written words, this is language. Although there are other means
through which human communicate, we are concerned here with human communication
through a common code known as language. The primary manifestation of language is
the transmission of information through the oral-auditory channel (speech). The
encoding and decoding of sounds through arbitrary sounds and acquired rules.
Therefore we must be aware of the different rules of use and rules of usage that govern
this type of communication.
Scholars in this field usually use a strict sense of the term "verbal", meaning "of
or concerned with words," and do not use "verbal communication" as a synonym for
oral or spoken communication. Thus, vocal sounds that are not considered to be words,

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such as a grunt, or singing a wordless note, are nonverbal. Sign languages and writing
are generally understood as forms of verbal communication, as both make use of words
— although like speech, both may contain paralinguistic elements and often occur
alongside nonverbal messages. Non-verbal communication can occur through any
sensory channel — sight, sound, smell, touch or taste.
When we speak (or listen), our attention is focused on words rather than body
language. But our judgement includes both. An audience is simultaneously processing
both verbal and nonverbal cues.

On the one hand , verbal communication requeries the knowledge of rules of

usage:
Phonetics, phonology, syntax, morphology, semantics etc. that refer to what has
been referred as Grammatical Competence. However there are other rules, called rules
of use which are essential for communication to take place, this is approriatness,
cohesion and coherence which refer to the previously referred to discourse and
sociolinguistic and sociocultural competence.
On the other , for verbal communication to take place efficiently Canale and
Swain also mention the need of drawing from linguistic and extralinguistic strategies
that will compensate for breakdowns in communication and for enahncing the
effectiveness of such. We are concerned here with the so called linguistic
communicative strategies2 such as paraphrasing, word coinage, rephrasing , asking for
clarification etc… as the extralinguistic will be dealt with when talking about non-
verbal communication.
As we can see , many are the elements envolved in verbal communication and
that must therefore be taken into account in the foreign language area.
We have so far analyzed the code that serves as a basis for verbal
communication to take place. This is language. We have looked into the different
elements that comprise its knowledge. We have also analyzed other elements that
should be taken into account in verbal communication and that affect the effectiveness
of the message transmitted, such as the sociolinguistic and strategic elements related to
the concept of communicative competence.

2
Linguistic communicative strategies are those that rely on the linguistic code in order to overcome
difficulties in order to overcome breakdowns in communication: asking for clarification (What does it
mean, sorry I don’t understand, Can you repeat? Etc.

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 However, we must be aware that verbal communication implies two basic
processes that must be closely analyzed in the foreign language classroom: Encoding
and decoding , or in classroom language terms: listening and speaking.
LISTENING (DECODING) precedes speaking. It consists of the decoding of
sound according to acquired rules. It can be defined as the process of discriminating the
sounds of the English language through a process of hearing and understanding them.
Listening is related to PHONOLOGY. This science studies the phonemes, the
relationship between units of sounds and differences in meaning.We need to remember
that there are differences between the Spanish sounds and the English sounds. We must
allow the children to be clear on these differences, using Stress , rhythm and intonation.
All material used in teaching sounds and meaning should be based on its
usefulness in real communicative interaction.
There are many ways of presenting material so that it can be a means of helping
children in oral-comprehension. We may use flash-cards, real objects, pictures from
magazines, gestures, mime, language laboratory, radio, t.v., fims, tape-recorder and so
on. In other words, extralinguistic strategies that will aid the whole communication
process.
SPEAKING (ENCODING) is the encoding of the acquired sounds, deduced by
listening, into signals.The end of this is to communicate something to someone and is
related to PHONETICS. This is th study of sounds; how they are produced and how
they are received.
Pupils need a lot of practise in comprehension (listening) in order to hold a
conversation in English. Both skills (listening and speaking) are linked in the learning
process, since the people need to absorb the elements of a message if they are going to
contribute to a conversation.

This encoding and decoding is not only on a grammatical level, as Chomsky

inferred at first, but as Guiraud affirms a process which takes logic from phonology,
semantics, etc, but also subjective experience and social rules.
So, we will begin talking about oral-comprehension techniques. If we want to
develop this ability in our children we shall need to observe the processes used by the
learner in listening comprehension.

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 At first, the pupil hears a series of noises and he/she can´t tell what the
difference is between them. After some time, he/she begins to note that the sounds are
in some sort of order, with regularity in the pauses and voice pattern.
As he/she learns some simple expresions, he or she begins to see that there are
recurring sounds, and he/she associates them with meaning. So, he or she is starting to
recognise familiar elements, but doesn´t see all the relationship. He/she does not really
understand.
As he or she becomes more familiar with the language, he/she recognizes the
different elements, but doesn´t remember what he/she recognized. This is because
he/she is recognizing single elements and not the whole message. The mind is
eliminating information which it can´t take at first; only a certain amount can be taken
into short-term memory.
The receptive system in the brain then takes these selected elements into long-
term storage. But only a small part of the total message will be remembered, this is why
pupils seem to be able to understand very little at first. They have to concentrate very
well to be able to take in not only the sounds, but their meaning, the brain is not able to
do this too fast, and we must remember this.
That´s why we help our pupils by giving them short sequences of sounds so that
they can get the meaning easily and store it automatically. So, REPETITION as well as
constant recycling is an element to bear in mind at this stage of learning

2.1.1. Activities to promote verbal communication in the

English Classroom
If as our Decree 286 / 2007 7 September establishes, the main aim at this stage is
for students to be able to carry out interpersonal communication under the wider
perspective of communicative competence, then , as teachers we must organize our
teaching practice so as to give plenty of opportunities to our students to communicate.
According to W. Littlewood (1981) communicative activities can be divide into
two categories:
a. Functional communicative activities
b. Social interactional activities

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 Functional Communicative activities are those where the student must obtain
information he lacks. According to the grade of accessibility and the processing of
information we can distinguish

a. Sharing information with restricted cooperation in which the necessary data

is obtained from yes/no questions. For example, some students have flash cards with
important people from the Anglo-Saxon world and their corresponding names
underneath. Others have the data corresponding to those people. Those having the
printed information must look for those having the corrresponding picture.i.e “Find
Someone Who”

b. Sharing information with unrestricted cooperation. The pupil having the

information transmits it to the one who needs it by describing pictures or people. For
instance, each student could elaborate a card with a physical description of one of
his/her classmates whose name is to be guessed by the rest.

c. Sharing and processing information . In these activities, each pupil has

information elements to contrast, share and connect in order to solve a problem. The
material must be fragmentary. i.e. the different descriptions of the members of a family
are distributed among different students that must share the information in order to build
a family tree. (problem solving)

d. Processing information activities. In this activities there is no restriction in

feeding information to the students and they total autonomy to choose the
solution they consider most suitable. The difficulties appears in the correct use
of the information and in the negotiation of the solution. An example could be
choosing a certain number of objects for an excursion in the country from a
given list or finding and adequate end for a particular story

The second type are what Littlewood calls Social Interaction activities. In this
activities the contextual framework where the communicative activity takes place is
taken into account. According to the degree of formality we can distinguish formal,
informal or neutral registers. In Primary only the informal and neutral registers will be
taken into account. The activities within this type are those in which the participants

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play some parts in the communicative interactions that simulate those happening outside
the school environment.

There are many social interaction activities. Those that require more autonomy
and creativity and those that require less. Among them we shall mention:

a. Performing memorised dialogues with some contextual support

b. Contextualised drills
c. Cued dialogues
d. Role Playing
e. Improvisations

2.2. NON- VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Verbal communication is also communicated by non-verbal signals. The

communicative event is not based on the verbal component only. It also implies
paralinguistic devices such as gesture, facial expression, body language, sight. They are
information and emotional sources. These non-verbal acts are culturally related.
Different cultures may use different gestures (hand using, head movement, …e.g.:
nodding in Hungary is opposite to everywhere else) The cultural uniqueness of these
elements should therefore be noticed.

There is also the silent language like the physical distance maintained between
individuals, the sense of time appropriate for communication under different
conditions… The sight directs very well communication. If we do not like someone we
put our eyes away, insecurity makes eyes go down or if we are very interested our eyes
are widely open to make the speaker go on.

Knapp establishses as typical non verbal aspects that can intervene in

communication as follows:
1. Body movements: includes gestures, movements of the body,
limbs, hands, head, feet, facial expressions (smiling), eye behaviour such as
blinking, direction of sight and also posture.

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 2. Physical characteristics: includes physical appearance, general
attraction, body scents, height, hair, skin ton (these characteristics are
constant).
3. Paralanguage: refers to how something is said and not what is
said. It uses the non verbal vocal signs surronding speech (tone, qualities of
the voice, rythm).
4. Proxemics: is the manner in which man uses space as specific
cultural product, the study of use and perception of social and personal
space. The individual determines his own space base on social and personal
rules (perception and use of personal and social space).
5. Tactile conduct: kissing, hitting, guiding ...
6. Artifacts: include the manipulation of objects, which can act as
non-verbal stimuli, with interacting persons.These artifacts can be: perfume,
clothing, lipstick ...
7. Surroundig factors: this category includes those elements that
intervine in human relations which are not a direct part of it: furniture, interio
decoration.

The purpose of non verbal communication is to be part of the transmission of

meaning in the communicative act. They sometimes contribute to transmit emotion
(hugging , kissing ), others the contribute to regulate the communicative act (eye gaze)
etc.
Non verbal communication is typical phenoemena associated with spoken
discourse, although we must be aware that a good deal of writte discourse draws on
paralinguistic devices as well . These include graphs, tables,diagrams, maps , charts and
son on. These paralinguistic elements will be specific to the discourse in which they
appear

2.2.1. Use of Non verbal communication in the English

Classroom

A. Extralinguistic strategies used by the students

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 Communicative competence comprises as analyzed previously, several
subcompetences: grammatical, discourse, sociolinguistic, sociocultural and strategic
competence. It is within this last competence that we can justify the use of non verbal
communication in the English classroom.

Non verbal strategies as mentioned can serve different functions in the English
classroom but among the most important is to help the students communicate effectively
through the used of no non linguistic strategies such as gestures, face expressions or mime
that will compensate for linguistic knowledge in the communicative act. These are what we
call extralinguistic strategies. This strategic competence does not only rely on
extralinguistic strategies such as gestures and body movements but also on other
communicative strategies that will be linguistic as far as they rely on the use of language
itself (asking for clarification).

In short, linguistic and extralinguistic strategies are an essential tool in the foreign
language classroom, especially in the first stages of the teaching learning process . Students
should get used to using gestures and facial expressions when presenting dialogues or
telling stories, not only so that they seem more realistic but also to help them transmit the
message as in this stages the lack linguistic resources.

The importance of these extralinguistic strategies can be observed by closely

analyzing the objectives and content blocks of Decree 286 / 2007 7th September.

Objective number 2 refers to the use of verbal and non-verbal procedures by the
student. This implies that the student by the end of this stage should understand and use the
main rules that govern oral communication, both linguistic and non linguistic.
Contents in the first, second and third cylce emphasize the importance of these
extralinguistic strategies too.

B. Total Physical Response

It is a language method built around the coordination of speech and action. It

attempts to teach language through physical activity. Asher3 saw succesful second
language learning as a paralell process to first language acquisition. He claimed that

3
James Asher was the creator of TPR

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language that was directed to young children consisted mainly of commands, which
children responded physically before they were even able to produce verbal responses.
TPR methodology is based upon the assumption that second language learning and
first language learning are parallel processes so that we must follow a natural order in
second language teaching. His basic principles were:

• Children develop listening competence before speaking

• This listening competence is acquired by responding physically to
spoken language
• Once listening comprehension has been established, speech evolve
naturally.
Although this method shows highly efficient in first stages of learning, it sought
great difficulties in the implementation of more complex and advanced language. However ,
most primary curriculums include the methodological strategies of TPR in the first stages of
learning.
Playing “Simon Says” or asking our students to close the door pointing at it with
our finger are examples of TPR activities.
C. Teachers and non verbal communication
Gestures and facial expressions are also very useful devices for teachers in order to
make themselves understood. This non verbal communication will help the teacher transmit
his messages and in many instances make the input he is providing comprehensible4.
The teacher for instance can use some gestures to express or highlight the meaning
of certaing linguistic structures , verbal tenses, intonation patterns etc.
Non verbal communication can also be used to organize the class. In general, each
class certain gestures or sounds5 (or both) that will help general classroom
management.Gestures, sounds or other paralinguistic devices can be used to clarify
instructions, indicate when an activity starts or finishes, make students repeat, return to
the beginning , correct, invite self correction , peer correction etc. 6

D. Activities that switch from a verbal to a non verbal code

a. Action Songsi

4
According to Krashen, comprehensible input favours acquisition.
5
Clapping hands or tapping on the table with your fingers etc.
6
Look at the table I gave you when correcting spoken errors.

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 We refer to songs that require non verbal reactions to messages in different contexts.
Jumping, dipping, counting, and finger rhymes can all be included in this category
as well as other songs which can be accompanied by actions . Dipping rhymes7 or “dips”
are a kind of counting rhyme. They are used to eliminate children when deciding who is
going to be a key person for a game. Action songs and rhymes are useful if children are
feeling particulary restless. Finger rhymes can be used with children sitting in their seats,
while other songs, which require more vigorous actions are better if the children are
standing up and moving around.
b. Following instructions
The idea of following instructions is useful to cover a wide variety of activities
such as drawing a picture, coloring in , following an itinerary and so on.
c. Mime
Another useful activity is miming . . Pupils can make use of mime to demonstrate
comprehension of what they have heard or read at a very elementary level. Another use
of mime could be for example the representation of a story made by a group of students
and the rest of the class trying to guess what story it is.
d. Using visual stimuli
Students should get used to using visuals and pictures in order to help them in
the comprehension of messages. Teachers should therefore promote activities where
comprehension is aided by the use of visual clues: for instance when students listen to a
conversation and are given three pictures in order to guess which is the picture that
illustrates the converstations. The use of predicting and eliciting techniques in the pre
listening stages will also get our students used to using these extralinguistic devices in
order to understand messages.

Furthermore, showing comprehension of a dialogue, a description or a story by

ordering a set of previously given pictures will also be focused on giving a non verbal
response to a verbal message.
e. Role plays, simulations, dramatizations

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The players stand in a circle. One player chants a rhyme and points briefly at each player in turn for each
syllable. The player the last count falls on is then either made the chaser, and the game begins - or is 'counted
out' and stands aside while the rhyme is repeated. The chaser is then the last player left in the circle.

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 Although these activities rely strongly on the use of the linguistic code, the use
of this type of activity should be encouraged along with the fostering of non verbal
elements in their developemnt.
In the selection of the different tasks and activities for the development of non
verbal strategies we must take into account several considerations.
We must firstly be aware that the use of extralinguistic strategies will be sought
when a need is created. Children will rely on this type of strategies when they are
interested in , or enthusiatic about the activity that is being carried out. So the first
element to be taken into account motivation .
Then we must put children in different communicative situations, creating a
communicative need and help them to develop non linguistic aids to express their
communicative intention
Finally we must highlight the importance of having a relaxed atmosphere free of
pressure and ridicule in order to succesfully develop non verbal and verba strategies.

3. Verbal & Non-Verbal Communication in Our

Curriculum
Scholars in this field usually use a strict sense of the term "verbal", meaning "of
or concerned with words," and do not use "verbal communication" as a synonym for
oral or spoken communication. The use of language through the aural-auditory mode is
better known as “Speech” although me must be aware of the fact that speech may also
contain nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion
and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress.
Nonverbal communication can occur through any sensory channel — sight,
sound, smell, touch or taste. and can be defined as the process of communicating
through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be
communicated through gesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye
contact, object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture.
Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial
arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons.
Our curriculum establishes in its introduction the achievement of effective
communicative competence as the main aim around which our curriculum has been
built. This means that the competence our students should acquire about the language

17
should go beyond the achievement of grammatical competence. Other aspects must
therefore need to be taken into account.
Furthermore some objectives and content blocks explicitly refere to the
development of verbal and non-verbal by the end of this stage.
Objective number 1 - Decree 286/2007 7th September establishes that by the
end of the stage students will be able to “Listen and understand messages, using the
information received in order to carry out tasks related to their experiences”

Objective number 2 – Decree 286 / 2007 7th September- establishes that by the
end of the stage the students will be able to “Express themselves orally in simple and
habitual situations using both verbal and non-verbal procedures adopting an attitude of
respect and cooperation”
Objective number 9 – Decree 286 / 2007 7th September establishes that by the
end of the stage the students will be able to “ Identify phonetics aspects of stress,
rhythm and intonation, as well as the linguistic and lexical structures of the foreign
language using them as basic elements of communication”
So it is clear that students will be expected to decode and encode messages in the
foreign language making use of their linguistic and non linguistic knowledge. Drawing
from their knowledge of the code and basic rules that govern the linguistic code
(morphosintactical elements, phonological etc, ) as well as to the non linguistic
conventions (gestures, facial expressions, etc, ) that govern oral communicative
situations
Other objectives such as number 8 refer to the need of drawing from students
previous experiences with other languages in order to try to make sense of the messages
received. This is clearly related to the need of having students use the strategies used in
the learning of other languages and more specifically their mother tongue.
Communication is a global process and strategies used in one language are always
transferrable to others.

Our curriculum is organized around four content blocks and is Content Block 1
that place especiall emphasis on verbal and non-verbal communication. Content Block 1
refers basically to oral communication, this is, Listening, speaking and conversation.
Students should be exposed at this stage to a variety of discourses that contain a wide

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variety of phonetic and prosodic elements belonging to different communicative
situations.
According to this content block throughout the stage students must give verbal
and non-verbal answers to real and simulated situations with the help of communicative
routines (first cycle) as well as interact and participate in simple interactions (second
cycle) and participate in short interactions related to his needs, experience and other
areas (third cycle)
They must also develop basic strategies that support receptive and productive
processes : use of visual and non-verbal context, repetition, previous knowledge about
the topic or drawing from other languages the students knows. (first, second and third
cycle).

We must be aware , that in these first stages of the learning of a foreign language
the use of communicative strategies to understand and be understood is essential, as the
mastery of the code itself is yet far from allowing them in many instances to
communicate effectively , it is important to train our students in the use of encoding and
decoding strategies that will allow them to achieve their communicative goals and thus
be motivated towards the foreign language area.
It is also important to mention that unlike our previous legislation our new
decree introduces Content Block 3 that refers to knowledge of the language and
reflection on language. Within this content block we find contents related to the
trainning of students in different phonetics aspects related to the discrimination of
sounds and awareness of stress , rhythm and intonation. These aspects are considered
essential by our curriculum in order to develop our students autonomy and life long
learning competences.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY

BREWSTER & ELLIS: The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Penguin, 1992
BRUMFIT, C., MOON, J & TONGUE, R: Teaching English to Children. From
Practice to Principle: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1994
HADFIELD, J: Classroom Dynamics. Oxford University Press . 1985

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TOUGH, J: Young Children Learning Languages. Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. ,
1994.

i
Sample of Dip
Eeny, meeny, miney, mo,
Catch a tigger by the toe,
If he squeals let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miney, mo.

Eeny, meeny, miney, mo,

Sit the baby on the po,
When he's done
Wipe his bum,
Tell his mummy what he's done.

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