Value-laden issues and English as a Second/Foreign language teaching in secondary education: A perfect combination enabled through ICT

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe teacher of English as a Second/Foreign Language has the potential to be a very important educator and relevant figure in society. This potential is based on her/his being the one that can more easily integrate the teaching of the most global language at the moment and essential contents for the full development of their students.The essential contents that are meant in this paper are moral and civic education, peace education, health education, gender education, environmental education, sex education, consumer education and road safety education. These are a series of value-laden issues that were promoted in Spain under the Ley Organica General del Sistema Educativo (LOGSE). This educational law was applicable from 1990 to 2007. In its Ensenanza Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) ('compulsory secondary education') curriculum it was stated that a series of topics should be taught in all subject areas and throughout the four years with a view to achieving the fundamental aim of the law: the full development of the student's personality.Since 1991 these issues have been popularly known and referred to in official documents as 'cross-curricular issues' (henceforth CCIs). Their teaching was recommended so that the compulsory secondary education curriculum could fulfill the social, emotional and ethical-moral aspirations of the law (LOGSE). The close relationship of these topics with values education has been stated by many experts, e.g. Gavidia (1996), Gonzalez Lucini (1994) and Yus Ramos (1996).At the present time, another educational law is applicable in Spain, the Ley Organica de Educacion (LOE). The above CCIs are not mentioned in the ESO curriculum of this current law. However, it is stated in it that values education is one of the methodological principles to be followed by teachers in all areas and, in tune with Recommendation 12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 2002 (Council of Europe, 2002), one of the basic competences to be developed along this stage is the Social and Citizen one. Thus, this is evidence that a crosscurricular approach on values has not lost importance in Spanish education.The teaching of similar contents across the compulsory secondary education curriculum has also been advocated in other countries such as England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Japan -either under the name of 'cross-curricular issues/themes/dimensions', Teaming across the curriculum sections', 'general teaching requirements', 'educational paths', 'transverse transdisciplinary area' or 'hidden curriculum'. Moreover, Maes et al.'s (2001, in CIDREE, 2005: 6) analysis of the status, compulsory or not, of sixteen CCIs in up to twenty-seven European countries or communities shows that they are widely introduced in the educational system of other nations.If we concentrate on the English as a Second/Foreign Language classroom in particular, many examples can be given of the current worldwide interest in dealing with related topics. There are recent trends in language teaching having to do with integrating global issues, values, citizenship or intercultural education, teaching in a humanistic way and 'peace linguistics' (Rascon Moreno, 2011a: 13-16).The projects described here intend to shed optimistic light against the negative assumptions and data and scarce empirical research on the teaching of moral issues in the language classroom that can be found in the specialized literature despite its boost in policy documents and in language associations. This paper shows the results of putting ideas into practice and fosters activism within the English as a Second/Foreign Language classroom. It includes a local piece of research but that could be replicated in other contexts as the contents addressed are global. Its conclusions could be generalized to any country where English is taught as a Foreign or Second Language, as is the case of the USA.JUSTIFICATIONI strongly defend broaching value-laden issues in the English as a Second/Foreign Language classroom at the present time for a few reasons. …