“Students’ beliefs and their
impact on the development of
English oral production
under a competency-based
curriculum”
Applied Linguistics Project
Sandra Perez
Mario Larger
Lissete Fernandez,
Valeria Alvarado
Osorno, June 13th, 2022
Literature Review
1. Communicative Competence
In order to comprehend what is a ‘communicative competence’, it is necessary to
define the term ‘competence’ beforehand. In the area of language, more precisely in
linguistics, Chomsky (1965) firstly introduced the concept of competence as ‘the speakerhearer's knowledge of his language’ with a strong connection to grammar knowledge about
its rules and uses (pp. 4).
Chomsky’s notion of competence was further developed by Hymes (1972), who
coined the term ‘communicative competence’ as knowledge of ‘when to speak, when not,
and as what to talk about with whom, when, where, in what manner’ hence incorporating a
social aspect and its context to the previous conventions of the term.
Later on, Savignon (1983) referred to communicative competence as a dynamic and
interpersonal trait that consists of the ability to negotiate meaning with others that share the
same symbolic system to some degree. According to this perspective, for this competence to
occur and be developed, all parties involved in the communicative act need to share similar
previous experiences, cooperate, and understand the context which is thus determinant to
establish the degree of communicative competence of a person.
It is important to note that the concept of communicative competence, as a model for
teaching and learning new languages, is composed of sub competencies that, depending on
the author, will vary. For the purpose of this study, we will take the communicative
competence model of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
(CEFRL) as the fundamental components of its model match to a greater extent the
competencies that pre-service teachers of the English-teaching program under study must
acquire. The CEFRL (2001) states three core components of communicative competence:
linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic competence.
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2. Pedagogical Skills
According to Tekesbayeva G. & Tekesbayeva A. (2020) communicative competence
as a component of pedagogical skills is a system that combines linguistic, sociological,
psycholinguistic, linguocultural. cognitive, and paralinguistic aspects.
For pre-service English teachers it is not only crucial to develop communicative
competence but pedagogical competence as well. These pedagogical skills are a component
of both the general professional training of the teacher and a high degree of his branch
competence. Qualitative triad “activity-skill-art”, extrapolating to the didactic space, has the
form of a scheme “skill-skills-study-planned implementation (activity)-plan situational
(improvisational-regulated) activity or skill (Demchenko et al., 2020). According to Emily
Daw (2022), the other major area of pedagogical skills is that of teaching content effectively.
These skills vary with the subject matter and level of instruction, as those skills needed to
teach kindergarteners to read are significantly different from those needed to teach secondary
students to build sets for a theater production. Regardless of the content, however, a good
teacher will present information in ways that actively engage the students in the material that
they are learning.
Good pedagogy involves not only imparting information, but also providing
opportunities to apply that information. A teacher must also be able to tailor content to the
needs of his or her students. In any given classroom, no two students will have exactly the
same knowledge or skills about the subject matter. A skilled teacher will be able to anticipate
and respond to individual students' learning needs and challenges. He or she will also present
tasks that are appropriate to the students' level of cognitive development. (Emily Daw, 2022)
3. Oral production
We all notice that every mammal communicates with their species, and it is the same
for human beings. Oral production or speaking is an essential part of our daily lives; it is
what we do every day. In short words, an accurate definition of oral production would be the
automatic production of lexical items and sounds in any language in a cohesive way; the
ability to produce cohesive utterances in order to generate a fluid communication. In addition,
it cannot be denied that it also takes part of most of the teaching in a room, that’s why we
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consider oral communication as one of the crucial skills to be developed in pre-service
teachers, not only because at the end of the program they need to become experts in the
English language but because they would be the first if not the only one source of knowledge
of the language for their students.
Furthermore, it is important to introduce as well what knowledge and cognitive
processes are involved in the process of speaking. Even Though, speaking is seemingly
simple and natural, it is actually a highly complex activity, especially when we study in the
fields of a second language. The very first thing involved in speaking is the generation of
ideas, known as conceptualization as well, where they are not expressed in sentences, they
just exist as non-verbal ideas. Then, those ideas have to be converted into language, in order
to do so, it is crucial the knowledge of lexical aspects of the language, such as, parts of speech,
as well as a regular range of vocabulary, and grammatical and syntactic knowledge, which
allows individuals to put words into phrases and sentences. Consequently, all those
aforementioned words need to be converted into sounds which are strongly related to the
articulation of speech sounds, the vital stage of production. Meanwhile a well articulation of
speech sounds is crucial for a cohesive and comprehensive oral production, another relevant
aspect in this field is the constant monitoring of ideas that occurs when speaking. This process
is called self-monitoring, where the speaker not only monitores the ideas but the vocabulary
and grammar that is being produced to make sure the message is understood.
Although all this process can be considered as ‘automatic’, for learners of a second
language, speaking can be challenging, especially if they did not get access to all the
necessary vocabulary and grammar, and so the retrieval of that vocabulary and grammar
might take a lot longer. That results in them speaking more slowly, with more pauses and
hesitation. In other words, the language knowledge and the cognitive processes are not fully
developed, thus they are not automatic. Physolinguistc reading CITE
We have given enough space to present the basis of oral production, now the
information left relies on the importance for pre-service English Teachers to master the oral
aspect of the subject in question. In short, even though the issue of proficiency is always at
the forefront for English language teachers, yet we need a certain level of proficiency in the
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language to teach it so we can serve as models for our students, and provide them with
valuable language input that can help them learn.
4. Linguistic competence
According to Sandra J. Savigoon (2017) the acquisition of the linguistic code or
linguistic competence is a part of the acquisition of the acquisition of communicative
competence as a whole. But the focus on surface features of a language –verb forms, use of
prepositions, noun endings, work order, pronunciation and the like– all those things with
which we as language teachers have traditionally been concerned –does not begin to account
for the what and when of language use in interpersonal transactions.
In the case of our country it is required for English teachers to have at least a C1 level
according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) of
proficiency in the English language, which means they must be able to domain receptive and
productive skills. CEFRL (Council of Europe, 2020, p. 259) describes the capabilities of
someone with C1 language level as follow:
Oral

comprehension
Can understand enough to follow extended discourse on
abstract and complex topics beyond their own field, though
they may need to confirm occasional details, especially if the
variety is unfamiliar.

Can recognize a wide range of idiomatic expressions and
colloquialisms, appreciating register shifts.

Can follow extended discourse even when it is not clearly
structured and when relationships are only implied and not
signalled explicitly.
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Reading

comprehension.
Can understand in detail lengthy, complex texts, whether or not
these relate to their own area of speciality, provided they can
reread difficult sections.

Can understand a wide variety of texts including literary
writings, newspapers or magazine articles, and specialized
academic or professional publications, provided there are
opportunities for rereading and they have access to reference
tools.
Oral production

Can give clear, detailed descriptions and presentations on
complex
subjects,
integrating
sub-themes,
developing
particular points and rounding off with an appropriate
conclusion.
Written

production
Can produce clear, well-structured texts of complex subjects,
underlining the relevant silent issues, expanding and
supporting points of view at some length with subsidiary
points, reasons and relevant examples, and rounding off with
an appropriate conclusion.

Can employ the structure and conventions of a variety of
genres, varying the tone, style and register according to
addressee, text type and theme.
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5. Competencies
One of the cornerstones of a competency-based curriculum lies in its notion of
competency, as the coined definition will determine the approach and its characteristics in,
for instance, the implementation of an education program (Alarcón et al., 2014). Therefore,
it is important to provide a relatively thorough picture of what the concept of competency
truly entails.
Initially, the term competencies were used to refer to “key components of
performance related to clusters of life outcomes” such as personality variables like leadership
or interpersonal skills along with cognitive skill (McClelland 1973, as cited in Wong p.99).
Considering the aforementioned, there are three core competencies that need specific
attention: the conceptual, the procedural, and the attitudinal competency. The three just
mentioned are focused on helping the student to build their learning from their previous
knowledge, experiences, motivations, and expectations.
According to Rivadeneira (2017), the conceptual competencies make reference to
cognitive knowledge being facts, theory, concepts, and principles involved. On the other
hand, procedural competencies are focused on knowing ‘how to do’, taking into account
learning strategies, and techniques to deal with the objects or people the professional will be
interacting with. The metacognitive side present in a competency-based curriculum is seen
in the attitudinal category or the ‘know-how to be’, which covers aspects such as values,
ethics, attitudes, and social meanings for objects or people.
It is necessary to acknowledge the significant role that plays in developing these
competencies in pre-service teachers. As Slipchuk, V.; Yuzkiv, H.; Lutaieva, T, Batechko, N
and Pisotska, M. (2021) stated, it is necessary to strive for pedagogical activity to acquire
social significance in the mind of the teacher and become a personal value for him. Improving
professional and pedagogical training involves purposeful and systematic work on the
formation of personality traits and qualities, knowledge, skills, and abilities that meet the
nature of the requirements for pedagogical activities.
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5.1 Competency-based curriculum
Taking into account the definition of competencies given, it is important to
understand what a competency-based curriculum (CBC) is. Amutabi (2019) refers to this
concept as a learning process where the learner and educator become partners in the learning
process, which is mainly focused on the student’s needs and potential. He also states that
students under this model acquire the knowledge and skills they need through observation
and experience. Moreover, exams are not a priority in CBC, since there are different methods
to measure how well learners are progressing.
Under this model, students are provided with the ability to acquire, develop, and apply
knowledge, values, and attitudes to help them gain life skills, therefore competency-based
education not only provides opportunities to learn to the most advantaged or brightest
students but for all learners. (Mutale & Malambo, 2019).
The CBC has been applied by different universities throughout Chile, however, we
are going to focus on Universidad de Los Lagos where the study will be carried out. It is
possible to find evidence about this type of education in the graduation profile of students
from the English teaching program. Universidad de Los Lagos (n.d.) states that:
‘A high school English teacher from Universidad de Los Lagos is a critical and a reflexive
professional who has a solid knowledge of the language at an advanced level according to
international standards of English domain and the current public policies. The professional
is competent to solve problems related to the teaching and learning process of English as a
foreign language, educational running, study, and innovation, giving effective and
appropriate answers to the profession’s challenges. It is also capable of collaboratively
handling the teaching process, using and evaluating varied teaching-learning strategies, TIC
resources, and evaluation forms, using its knowledge about research to make decisions
having an active role inside the different educational communities. Additionally, the teacher
practices his professional functions by incorporating a pluralist, inclusive, and committed
vision to take decisions’.
As it is possible to note, pre-service teachers not only need to develop a C1 English
language proficiency or conceptual knowledge but also attitudinal competencies, throughout
the program, being able to reflect and solve real-life problems in their teaching process,
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putting into practice all that they have learned. All the different competencies students need
to develop throughout the English Teaching program are also described in the university
decree n° 4069, which divides them into five different categories:
Specific Competency
I.
Description
Linguistic use of Pre-service teachers students make effective use of
the
English their linguistic English knowledge and the culture
Language
of the English speakers' countries in varied
communicative
contexts
for
their
teaching
practice, personal and professional development
using a C1 language level according to CEFRL.
II.
Teaching English Pre-service teachers are competent to implement
as
a
foreign English
language
learning-teaching
and
evaluation
strategies considering: the national curriculum,
and diverse psychological, social, cultural, and
contextual students’ development factors to
effectively contribute to the development of the
linguistic skills, and the critical and creative
thinking in different educational communities
using technologies and inclusive practices.
III.
Transversal
training
of
pedagogue
Promotes the formation of the pre-service student
the teachers as an integral person, considering the
different characteristics of the adolescent and
particularities of his or her culture and school
community so that he or she can effectively
integrate into civic life (formative approach,
according to the current regulations on school
coexistence).
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IV.
Pedagogical
and The pre-service teacher coordinates activities and
educational
participants from the formative process of his
management
students through the domain of the administrative
teacher’s work and the collaborative work together
with managers, parents, and representatives from
the educational community, following the current
policies to optimize the students training.
V.
Continuing
Pre-service teachers are capable of improving their
professional
own teaching practice and promotes their
development and professional
development
using
updated
disciplinary
disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge and
research
applied research methods, as well as a criticalreflective attitude of their abilities, promoting selflearning and the search for instances of permanent
improvement for the achievement of learning of
their students in diverse formative contexts.
Decreto Universitario n°4069, 2018. Artículo 7°, 2018
6. Pre-service teachers' perceptions and Beliefs when learning a new
language
Students' beliefs when acquiring a second language have been studied for decades,
and they, with no discussion, have a clear influence on their learning process. Throughout
this research, we are going to understand beliefs as ideas or opinions about second language
acquisition (SLA) which have their origins in learners’ personal experiences and the opinions
other people, for example, teachers and peers, have about them (Kalaja, Barcelos, Aro, et al.,
2016).
When referring to beliefs, identity has an important role in that concept. The cultural
meaning of being a teacher that students have before entering the teaching program will
strongly influence their beliefs about learning the language (Chong, Low, & Goh, 2011 as
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cited in Kalaja, Barcelos, Aro, et al., 2016). However, students’ beliefs can change
throughout time because of the experience they get, therefore those convictions are dynamic,
socially constructed, and contextual (Kalaja & Ferreira, 2006).
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