Competences

BASIC COMPETENCES

The Basic competences are those competences that students must learn throughout their whole education in order to reach his/her personal realization, practice his/her civic responsibility, get into the adult life satisfactorily and be able to develop a constant learning process throughout his/her life.

The acquisition of the Basic competences does not depend on a specific subject or educational stage. Each one of the curricular areas contributes to the development of different competences and, at the same time, each one of the Basic competencies is reached as a consequence of working in different areas or subjects.

The Basic competences are:

C1. Competence in linguistic communication.

C2. Mathematical competence.

C3. Competence in knowledge of and interaction with the physical world.

C4. Competence in processing information and use of ICT.

C5. Competence in social skills and citizenship.

C6. Artistic and cultural competence.

C7. Learning to learn.

C8. Autonomy and personal initiative.

  C1. Competence in linguistic communication

Tiger Team 4 develops pupils’ linguistic communication skills in English in a systematic and comprehensive way. Pupils learn to appreciate the importance of listening to different types of texts and expressing themselves in a clear and comprehensible way.

Through exposure to a wide range of stories, dialogues and other short texts, pupils develop global understanding and the ability to identify relevant information. They learn to compare content and contexts in listening extracts, and develop an awareness of the ways these are influenced by social conventions, values and culture.

Through games, dialogues, personalized speaking activities and projects, pupils learn to express their thoughts, emotions, experiences and opinions using both linguistic and non-linguistic means of communication. Pupils also increasingly initiate conversations and take part in interactive exchanges and dialogues in the classroom and everyday context.

In the development of reading skills, pupils learn to identify relevant information and give a personal response to different genres and formats of written texts. They also enjoy reading for pleasure.

Pupils learn to write in a clear, organized manner using appropriate language and vocabulary to express their ideas and feelings. They also learn to revise and self-assess their written work.

  C2. Mathematical competence

Pupils develop mathematical competence through the recognition and use of numbers in a range of different contexts such as counting objects, following instructions to find pages in the Pupil’s Book and Activity Book, telling the time and understanding differences in world time zones.

Through the use of simple tables, grids and charts, pupils also learn to express and interpret information and data.

  C3. Competence in knowledge of and interaction with the physical world

Through the CLIL sections, pupils develop competence in knowledge of and interaction with the physical world in a range of interesting, lively and dynamic ways. These include awareness of the influence human beings have on their environment and the importance of adopting a healthy life style.

  C4. Competence in processing information and use of ICT

Through the integration of digital and multimedia resources, pupils develop familiarity in using information and communicating technologies as essential tools for learning and communication.

  C5. Competence in social skills and citizenship

Tiger Team 4 places great emphasis on developing competence in social skills and citizenship through the use of methodology which promotes active participation, respect for classmates, willingness to follow rules, and cooperation and collaboration with the teacher and peers.

Through the Culture lessons and video materials, pupils develop an interest in British culture, an awareness of cultural diversity, and a sense of the society and community to which they belong.

Pupils learn to appreciate and value the differences between themselves and others, and understand how to participate and behave appropriately in different situations.

  C6. Artistic and cultural competence

Artistic and cultural competence is developed through a wide range of short texts, as well as images and video material which focus on different aspects of British culture.

These engage pupils in learning, and lead to pleasure and curiosity in finding out about how other people live their lives.

  C7. Learning to learn

Pupils have different learning styles and this method provides the opportunity for each pupil to develop and fulfil their potential, according to their individual strengths, aptitudes and preferences.

The balance and variety of different activity types throughout each lesson and unit caters for multiple intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinaesthetic, spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic

The emphasis on learning to learn and thinking skills enables pupils to reflect and become more effective and autonomous learners.

Pupils develop awareness of the abilities required for learning such as paying attention, concentration, memory and making effective use of time. Pupils also become increasingly confident when faced with new learning challenges and are willing to take responsibility, show personal commitment and learn from their mistakes.

In addition to this, pupils are encouraged to carry out independent investigation for project work, making use of technology where appropriate.

  C8. Autonomy and personal initiative

In Tiger Team 4, the development of autonomy and personal initiative go hand in hand with learning to learn as we have seen in Learning to learn. They also learn to reflect on their learning and to be constructively self-critical as they assess their own progress.

Autonomy and personal initiative are also encouraged in regular project work in which pupils are actively encouraged to express their opinions and divergent views. Autonomy and personal initiative is also fostered in activities where pupils are encouraged to be creative and use their imaginations.

We know that language is the main vehicle to acquire knowledge and to learn, whatever the format is, either oral or written. Without it, it would be nearly impossible to acquire the competences mentioned above.

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