ES secuencia didáctica / CAT seqüència didáctica / FR séquence didactique / DE Unterrichtseinheit

A didactic sequence is a successive, interconnected set of learning activities, which are intended to create a final product that responds satisfactorily to the social and cultural practice giving it meaning. In the learning and teaching of communicative linguistic competence (CEFR 2018) and discourse competence, the didactic sequence starts with the concept of language as a whole and comes back to it after working specifically on aspects related to the communicative situation and the linguistic code. The cycle works as follows: sociocultural dimension > text > text sequences > rhetorical move > sentence > word > rhetorical move > text sequences > text >sociocultural practice.

The concept of ‘didactic sequence’ originates from research into the didactics of first languages (Ribas 1996, Camps et al. 2003). It was later transferred to the field of additional languages teaching from a sociocultural perspective Carandell 2013, Esteve & Vilà 2018). Based on Vygotsky’s postulates, these authors stress the importance of interaction (with same-level and more experienced fellows, and with oneself) to build and increase knowledge. Throughout the didactic sequence, learners negotiate: they propose, argue, accept, or reject options about linguistic issues. This implies intense cognitive management, which fosters they ability to grasp new forms and meanings.

At the beginning of the sequence, the final communicative task to be performed is specified. This task is always related to a discourse genre and consists of a small communication project (it is both a social and a cultural practice), inserted in a specific communication context that is also stipulated at the outset. The stages of the sequence that involve reflection serve as a basis for attaining the overall communication goal, so they are not presented in isolation in any way, but rather are completely integrated into the whole (Carandell 2013).

References

  • Camps, Anna (Coord.) et al. (2003). Seqüències didàctiques per aprendre a escriure. Barcelona: Graó.
  • Carandell, Zinka (2013). “La secuencia didáctica como herramienta de mediación para la autonomía”. En Esteve, O. & Martín Peris, E. (Coords.), Cuestiones de autonomía en el aula de lenguas extranjeras, Barcelona: ICE- Horsori, 103-116.
  • Esteve, Olga y Vilà, Montserrat (2018). El aprendizaje competencial de lenguas a través de microsecuencias didácticas. TEXTOS. Didáctica de la Lengua y la Literatura, 81, 14-21.
  • Ribas, Teresa (1996). Los instrumentos de evaluación formativa en una secuencia didáctica de composición escrita. Cultura y Educación, 2, 79-91.