2002 Basic Education Curriculum Secondary Level

DESCRIPTION
                        The secondary English language curriculum for 2002 seeks to develop
citizenship and to address the communication needs (i.e. interpersonal, informative and
aesthetic) of Filipino students for English, which is emerging as the international lingua
franca. In line with developments in applied linguistics and pedagogy, and in
consonance with the government thrusts and globalization, this emerging English
curriculum adopts a communicative-interactive collaborative approach to learning
as well as reflection and introspection with the aim in view of developing autonomous
language learners aware of and able to cope with global trends.


Theoretical Framework
                        Underlying the curriculum as its theoretical framework is the prevailing theory of
language, theory of language acquisition and current pedagogical thrusts enriched
by other inputs to the curriculum such as global trends and the concomitant
requirements for global citizenship.

                             Where the theory of language is concerned, language is viewed as a means of
communication in the real world. Hence, the goal is to develop the four competencieslinguistic,
sociolinguistic, discoursal and strategic with emphasis on cognitive
academic language proficiency based on the students’ need for the language.
Both aforementioned theories of language and of language acquisition are in
keeping with the prevailing pedagogical emphasis on constructivism which is learnercentered
and which underscores reflection and collaboration to develop autonomy.
Through the years, government thrusts have served as an additional input to the
curriculum. In the emerging secondary education English curriculum, however, other
additional inputs have to be considered in consonance with paradigm shifts that have
taken place. These additional inputs mark the difference between this curriculum and
what preceded it.

• The advent of the information age necessitates computer literacy over and
above functional literacy
• Globalization and what it entails calls for a scrutiny of global trends and
the concomitant requirements of global citizenship
• Content-Based Instruction (CBI) underscores the need to develop
higher order thinking skills which enables one to acquire academic as well
as communicative competence
• The focus on developing learner autonomy has resulted in strategy
training in addition to skills development.
The schematic diagram, which follows, shows the inputs and outputs of the
emerging secondary English curriculum.

                         As indicated in the diagram, the prevailing theory of language, language
acquisition and pedagogical thrusts provide the theoretical basis for the curriculum. The
boxes on the sides of the figure give other inputs to the curriculum and the boxes on the
top show what the expected outputs are.

∗Communication goals
∗Information exchange
∗Affective expression
∗Higher order thinking skills
∗Macro-language skills
∗Competencies (communicative
and academic)
∗Focus on Education
(Government thrust)
∗Global trends
∗Global
citizenship
∗Pillars of learning
Theoretical Basis
Theory of language
Theory of language
acquisition
Current pedagogical thrusts

       The English language curriculum provides for the development of language and
language-related skills in a meaningful purposeful and interesting manner. This is
attained through the adoption of an integrated approach in the teaching of language.
Central to the framework of this curriculum is the need for language learning that
is contextualized, interactive and integrated. This is achieved through the use of
themes covering a wide range of topics to cater to the varied interests and maturity
levels of students as they progress through their school years.
Each of the themes, explored through meaningful tasks and activities, provides
the context in which grammar and other language and language related skills are taught
and learned. Themes also provide the means for the integration of the various
language components. This integration makes language more purposeful, meaningful
and thus more motivating for the students.