The English subject as an inclusive tool for Moroccan migrant students in the Balearic Islands

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MASTER’S THESIS

THE ENGLISH SUBJECT AS AN INCLUSIVE TOOL FOR MOROCCAN MIGRANT STUDENTS IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS

Beatriz Rider López

Master’s Degree in Teacher Training

(Specialisation English/German) Centre for Postgraduate Studies

Academic Year 2020-21

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THE ENGLISH SUBJECT AS AN INCLUSIVE TOOL FOR MOROCCAN MIGRANT STUDENTS IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS

Beatriz Rider López

Master’s Thesis

Centre for Postgraduate Studies University of the Balearic Islands

Academic Year 2020-21

Keywords:

Migration, Morocco, education, EFL, inclusion

Thesis Supervisor’s Name: Josep Lluís Oliver Torelló Tutor’s Name: Iria Bello Viruega

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Astract

Moroccan flow in the autonomous region of the Balearic Islands has been experiencing a significant boom for the last decades. For those students who have just arrived in our region, being a second generation Moroccan student represents an important paradigm shift, since the social, cultural and linguistic reality differs between Spain and Morocco. The following thesis has two main objectives: firstly, understanding the social reality of Moroccan students who have just arrived in the Balearic Islands and secondly, comprehending the role of the English subject as a key tool to promote inclusion and equity for all students. To do so, we have proposed a series of activities that may serve as an integration mechanism. The methodology used has been the bibliographic review and, from this point, we have proposed a series of activities to promote the inclusion of second generation Moroccan students.

Key words: Migration, Morocco, education, EFL, inclusion

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INDEX

1. Introduction ... 6

1.2 Objectives ... 10

1.3 Contextualization: Maghreb students in the Balearic Islands ... 10

2. Theoretical framework ... 12

2.1 Family factors: economy, culture and education ... 12

2.2 Linguistic reception: Catalan, Spanish and English ... 13

2.3 The profile of the second generation Moroccan student ... 15

2.4 Educational strategies for the inclusion of Moroccan students ... 16

2.5 Inclusive English Education ... 17

2.6 The EFL curriculum in a multicultural society ... 19

3. Teaching proposal ... 20

3.1.1 Linguistic competence (I) – Role-play: Put yourself in my shoes ... 22

3.1.2 Linguistic competence (II) - Discussion about current issues: Daily news ... 23

3.2.1 Mathematical competence (I) – Reading activity: Sequencing ... 25

3.2.2. Mathematical competence (II) – Reading activity: Immigration – The Journey26 3.3.1 Digital competence (I) – Flipgrid: Youth Radio ... 28

3.3.2 Digital competence (II) - social media: Activist you! ... 29

3.4.1 Learning to learn competence (I) – Brainstorming: Squeeze your ideas ... 32

3.4.2 Learning to learn competence (II) – Rubrics: self-portrait ... 33

3.5.1 Social and civic competencies (I) - Oral presentation of a current topic: What do you think? ... 34

3.5.2 Social and civic competencies (II) - Listening task: World Englishes ... 36

3.6.1 Initiative and entrepreneurship competencies (I) - English outside the classroom: When they see us ... 38

3.6.2 Initiative and entrepreneurship competencies (II) - Group project: Interesting facts ... 39

3.7.1 Cultural awareness and expression competencies (I) – Listening task: John Lennon’s Imagine ... 41

3.7.2 Cultural awareness and expression competencies (II) - E-mail interactions: My Italian pen pal ... 43

5. Conclusion ... 45

5.1 Limitations ... 46

5.2 Future work ... 47

6. Bibliography ... 48

7. Appendix ... 56

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Appendix 1.1 Put yourself in my shoes ... 56

Appendix 1.2 Daily news ... 56

Appendix 2.1 Sequencing ... 58

Appendix 2.2 The journey ... 59

Appendix 3.1 Youth radio ... 61

Appendix 3.2 Activist you! ... 63

Appendix 4.1 Squeeze your ideas ... 63

Appendix 4.2 Self-portrait ... 64

Appendix 5.1 What do you think? ... 64

Appendix 5.2 World Englishes ... 65

Appendix 6.1 When they see us ... 67

Appendix 6.2 Interesting facts ... 68

Appendix 7.1 John Lennon’s Imagine ... 69

Appendix 7.2 My Italian Pen pal ... 71

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1. Introduction

The great number of students who have arrived to the Balearic Islands (from now on, BI) has dramatically increased up to the point of being one of the areas in Europe with more demographic changes in recent decades. In only 20 years, the population in the region has increased by almost 400,000 inhabitants, as can be seen in Table 1.

2020 2015 2010 2005 2000 % Increase

Andalusia 8.464.411 8.399.043 8.370.975 7.849.799 7.340.052 15,3 Aragon 1.329.391 1.317.847 1.347.095 1.269.027 1.189.909 11,7 Asturias 1.018.784 1.051.229 1.084.341 1.076.635 1.076.567 -5,4 Balearic Islands 1.171.543 1.104.479 1.106.049 983.131 845.630 38,5 Canary Islands 2.175.952 2.100.306 2.118.519 1.968.280 1.716.276 26,8 Cantabria 582.905 585.179 592.250 562.309 531.159 9,7 Castile and León 2.394.918 2.472.052 2.559.515 2.510.849 2.479.118 -3,4 Castilla - La Mancha 2.045.221 2.059.191 2.098.373 1.894.667 1.734.261 17,9 Catalonia 7.780.479 7.508.106 7.512.381 6.995.206 6.261.999 24,2 Valencian Community 5.057.353 4.980.689 5.111.706 4.692.449 4.120.729 22,7 Extremadura 1.063.987 1.092.997 1.107.220 1.083.879 1.069.420 -0,5 Galicia 2.701.819 2.732.347 2.797.653 2.762.198 2.731.900 -1,1 Madrid 6.779.888 6.436.996 6.458.684 5.964.143 5.205.408 30,2 Murcia 1.511.251 1.467.288 1.461.979 1.335.792 1.149.328 31,5

Navarre 661.197 640.476 636.924 593.472 543.757 21,6

Basque Country 2.220.504 2.189.257 2.178.339 2.124.846 2.098.596 5,8 La Rioja 319.914 317.053 322.415 301.084 264.178 21,1

Ceuta 84.202 84.263 80.579 75.276 75.241 11,9

Melilla 87.076 85.584 76.034 65.488 66.263 31,4

Table 1. Changes in the population of various regions in Spain Adapted from INE

The table above shows how the population has been increasing or decreasing in different regions of Spain. As we can see, the population in the BI has increased by 38% in the last two decades and it is the Spanish region that has grown the most in recent decades. In Navarra, Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia or Aragon, the increase has not been so remarkable (21,6%, 17,9%, 15,3% or 11,7%, respectively). In fact, in Extremadura, Castile and León or Asturias, the number of inhabitants has decreased compared to 2000.

This change in population responds to migratory flowsand has implications in different areas, such as the labour market or the education system. According to the Yearbook on Education (2004, p. 30), “the economic boom that started in 1993-94 and the increase of the migrant population explain why the BI has a higher birth rate than the

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rest of the State”. The BI are the region with the highest percentage of second generation students (15,5%), whereas in the rest of the country, the percentage is 9,9%, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (2020).

In order to verify the actual increase in figures in terms of Moroccan students, we have relied on the Yearbook on Education (2010-2020). Each academic year, data on the evolution of second generation communities in the region was collected. In 2010, the number of Moroccan students has been doubled – from 4,000 Moroccan students in 2010 to around 9,000 last academic year:

Source: own elaboration. Data taken from the Yearbook on Education (2010-2020)

According to the Yearbook on Education (2020), the biggest group came from the African continent (10,233 students), from which the vast majority (8,328) came from Morocco. Table 2 shows the geographical distribution of second generation students in the CAIB.

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Table 2. Geographical distribution of second generation students in the CAIB. Adapted from Vidaña (2020)

According to the Yearbook on Education (2020), a great number (14.9%) of our students came from Spanish-speaking countries, such as Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia or Venezuela. There was also a remarkable number of students from Romania (6.2%) or Bulgaria (3.5%). However, the main country of origin is Morocco, with a total of 8,328 students, which represents 25.7% of the total second generation students in the BI. To this day, the role second generation Moroccans have in certain places in the region is a reality we need to pay attention to. In Majorca, according to the data provided by IBESTAT (2020) – Institut d’Estadística de les Illes Balears - the municipalities with the highest Moroccan flows are Manacor (17.84%), Felanitx (10%), Inca (8.36%) and Sa Pobla (6.86%).

There is an intrinsic need to understand how to face the social reality that we are living in the BI and what we, as future teachers, might need to do in order to encourage the inclusion and acceptance of young people of Maghreb origin. Teachers should be aware of the differences between inclusion and integration, since integration leads to a representation of second generation communities from a dual point of view, in which the discourse of an “us and them” that makes it more difficult to observe the richness of diversity. Inclusion would also allow us to aspire to a society in which citizens are better treated and characterized by freedom and equal opportunities. To achieve inclusive education, we must consider the school success of second generation

Percentage distribution of second generation students from the Balearic Islands according to the country of origin. Year 2019 – 2020

Country Number of students Percentage

Morocco 8328 25,7%

Romania 2023 6,2%

Colombia 1565 4,8%

Bulgaria 1127 3,5%

China 1107 3,4%

Argentina 990 3,1%

Ecuador 958 3,0%

Bolivia 800 2,5%

Senegal 698 2,2%

Venezuela 508 1,6%

Other nationalities 14261 44,1%

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students as the result of the efforts of the entire society, and not only the educational center.

This community, although it is the largest in our region, is exposed to a large number of prejudices, which usually lead to exclusion from the society. Van Tubergen et al.

(2004, p. 709) stated that “the social distance natives feel towards immigrants and related prejudice and discriminatory practices are also likely to affect the extent of social interaction between natives and immigrants”. As teachers, we find ourselves in a complex situation: on the one hand, we have in our hands the possibility of stopping the exclusion of any group that feels slighted; on the other, it is true that the current situation is challenging: the students of Maghreb origin differ from the natives in language and beliefs and in society there are multiple differences in terms of education, economy, and identity. The diversity among our students and the challenge that their inclusion entails is the greatest motivation that moves us to elaborate this thesis.

As can be seen in Table 3, the Moroccan population living in the CAIB has increased by 450% over the past two decades.

Table 3. Own elaboration. Evolution of the Moroccan population in the Balearic Islands. Data taken from the National Statistics Institute (INE)

However, even though Moroccans in Spain have had an important historical presence for centuries, “the growing official discourse of Europeanization since the incorporation in the European Union puts in a serious danger the Africanity of Spain

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and leads to a growing racism.” (Toasije, 2009, p. 348). In this sense, this thesis aims to address in an impartial way - through literature and the opinion of experts on the matter- a reality that we must approach in our community, moving away from any type of prejudice and searching for real solutions oriented to achieve the inclusion of all the members of the community.

In conclusion, the motivation that leads us to carry out this final master's thesis is to understand the reality of second generation Moroccan students in our region, as well as to propose feasible alternatives to promote the inclusion of these students and their families in the education community.

1.2 Objectives

Throughout this thesis we intend to cover a series of objectives that will help us better understand the reality of second generation Moroccan students in the classrooms of our region. Below we have listed the main objectives we intend to achieve:

1. To know the state of the art of the social reality in which we live and be aware of the factors that motivate migratory flows from the Maghreb to our region.

2. To identify the social, educational and cultural reality of second generation Moroccan students and their repercussions within the classroom.

3. To understand the factors that benefit and hinder the integration of the second generation community.

4. To look into the role of languages, in particular of English, when promoting the inclusion of second generation students.

5. To enumerate the tools we can use in our EFL class in order to promote the inclusion of the entire education community.

6. To propose specific measures that English teachers could put into practise to improve classroom dynamics and enhance language learning proficiency.

1.3 Contextualization: Maghreb students in the Balearic Islands

“Since the beginning of the 1960s, Morocco has been a country of emigration thanks to a convergence of needs between certain European countries (France and Belgium in particular) and its own economic and social policies” (Lahlou, 2015, p. 98).

Mohamed Berriane (2017) explains that there are more than three million Moroccans

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living in European countries, such as France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Holland. For Bodega et al. (1995, p. 800) the reason why this emigration phenomena is happening is evident: “the contrast between the socio-economic development of Western Europe and that of North Africa or Eastern Europe is quite dramatic because of their proximity”.

During the 60s and 70s, Morocco was already a free country and the Spanish protectorate had come to an end. In the late 70s, Spain became the home country for many second generation communities due to the “anti-immigration policies of the industrialized countries of Europe, the unemployment existing in the countries of origin, and the triumph of authoritarian governments in Africa and Latin America that forced political dissidents to emigrate” (Bodega et al., 1995, p. 802). Since the beginning of the 90s and the 21st century, Morocco established a non-migration policy, in order to regulate the migration towards Spain and other EU countries (Lahlou, 2015).

With the rising of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt, Morocco unleashed the M20F movement. Under the motto “Freedom, Dignity and Social Justice”, the fundamental demands of Moroccans coincided with those of their fellow Tunisians and Egyptians.

In March 2011, Mohamed VI restored the consolidation of a democratic model for the country, together with the development of the nation and a reform of the Constitution.

According to Álvarez-Ossorio et al. (2013) the reign of Mohamed VI has allowed a public debate on the structural problems of the country, such as the unequal distribution of wealth, exclusion, embezzlement or the enormous differences between rural areas and cities. In this sense, according to El-Haddad (2020), it appears that the country is still dominated by the King and his entourage, but there seems to be a more inclusive policy in domestic markets.

These social changes, as well as factors of various kinds, have given room to a complex migratory process. In Spain, according to the National Statistics Institute, the Moroccan population living in Spain in the early years of the 21st century was about 5,000 and in 2020 there were about 30,000 Moroccans living in the BI. The following chart shows the reasons why second generation Moroccan communities moved to Spain:

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Source: Own elaboration. Data taken from the National Statistics Institute (INE)

The migration reasons for moving to Spain are various and varied. The two most important ones are family regrouping and better job opportunities. We also see that the quality of life takes on an important weight when emigrating, as well as the lack of employment in the country of origin. There are other reasons as well, such as political matters, educational factors or religious reasons.

2. Theoretical framework

2.1 Family factors: economy, culture and education

The 2008 economic crisis has not changed the place Moroccans occupy at the top of the list of migrant workers in terms of employment (Mohamed Khaldi, 2014). In fact, it seems that there is still a high unemployment rate. Bodega et al. (1995, p. 800) point out that “most emigrants tend to find employment on the fringes of the job market, or in unregulated parallel job markets”. As Palou Julián (2010) indicates, Today's Maghreb is a society subject to an unfavourable physical, social, political and economic environment:

The deep antagonism between the Mediterranean North and South is materialized by a division between religions, cultures, traditions and habits and

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a fragmentation between wealth and poverty, development and standstill, modernity or difficulty in accessing it. In conclusion, a division that engenders cultural distancing, distrust, prejudice, and sometimes hatred. (p. 51)

Khaldi (2014) also refers to other important aspects that have occurred in second generation Moroccan communities, such as the unemployment, which was especially hard with the 2008 crisis, since the Moroccan collective was largely dedicated to construction, a sector that was deeply affected by unemployment. The author also points out that since then, many Moroccan migrants work in the agricultural sector.

The per capita income of a Spaniard is twelve times that of a Moroccan. If we add to this fact the traditional inequality in the distribution of income existing in Morocco, the differences can be even more overwhelming (INE, 2002).

Regarding school, dropouts and the low rate of Moroccan students at universities are two aspects that have occurred over the last ten years (Mohamed Khaldi, 2014). In the words of the author, this means that a difficult future is looming for second generation Moroccan students, who generally have little or no education, some of them lack vocational training and have an alarming dropout rate. According to the data from INE (2002) it seems that a lower participation in education is observed among natives of the Maghreb. For Pàmies (2018, p. 180), international research shows “the relation between the results of young immigrants in school and social integration and, in observing their school situation, indicate that in most countries they are worse than their native counterparts”. This happens especially among those groups that have a history of critical contact with host societies'. In fact, Kaldhi (2017) points out that even though Moroccan students occupy the first place in terms of numbers, there is still a worrying situation when it comes to academic success. This is the case of young people of Moroccan origin in the BI, a region receiving second generation Moroccan communities in recent decades.

2.2 Linguistic reception: Catalan, Spanish and English

Under certain circumstances it seems that being bilingual is advantageous when learning another language (Sanz, 2000). However, “it is less clear if bilingualism in other contexts, such as bilingualism due to immigration, is associated with positive foreign language learning outcomes as well” (Maluch et al., 2015, p. 76). As

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Rodríguez-Izquierdo and Darmody (2017, p. 42) state “the academic and social integration of migrants is often influenced by issues around proficiency in the language of the receiving country”. This means that sometimes inclusion is much more difficult because of the language barrier. In fact, Solana et al. (2012) point out that the Moroccan migrant population who arrived in Catalonia have very little or no knowledge at all of the Catalan language. They state that more than 50% of the interviewees in the study indicated they did not understand, read or speak Catalan well.

Palou Julián (2010) remarks that young people under 14 years old living in Catalonia for less than a year had a low or no level of understanding the Catalan or the Spanish languages. However, according to the author, this changes when students of Maghreb origin are born in Catalonia, even though their origin is Moroccan: in this context Catalan or Spanish are combined with Arabic or Berber when they interact with friends and they use exclusively Catalan or Spanish in the educational center. According to Rodríguez-Izquierdo and Darmody (2017, p. 11) some Communities in Spain have adopted “specific linguistic classrooms” in order to support migrant students to “ensure that newly arrived migrant students acquire the language(s) of instruction to move as quickly as possible into mainstream classes”.

English is also affecting the Arabic language, the Arab culture and the Moroccan identity. For Ennaji (2005, p. 114), English “is gradually becoming a serious rival of French in higher education”. In the means of communication field, English seems to compete as well with French as the vehicular language of media in the Western world.

Globalisation will be making English both “accessible and necessary” for Moroccans thanks to business life, satellite television and the Internet. Ennaji (2005) proposes two areas that are being particularly affected by the rise of English in Morocco: education and mass media. In high schools, English is being taught as a foreign language. The reasons why Morocco teaches English are socio-economic and educational, since English is taught for communicative and socio-cultural purposes.

The English teacher also needs to keep in mind that English is taught from a Spanish/Catalan perspective, and our Moroccan students might experience some difficulties, since they do not understand the base language. In this sense, when the students in Morocco are learning English, “the textbooks they use are largely accepted

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by students, as they are fully designed by Moroccan textbook designers who are more aware of what Moroccan students need” (Baba Khouya, 2018, p. 156).

An assumption teachers might have is thinking that both the native student and the Moroccan student, when studying EFL, will find themselves at the same level, since it is an unknown language for both groups. In general terms, being bilingual is considered an advantage when studying another language (Sanz, 2000). However, the positive relation is not clear when it comes to bilingualism due to immigration. For bilingual students, there are a series of determining factors that affect the learning of an L2: socio-economic status, proficiency in the language of instruction (Catalan and Spanish in the BI), and parental education. The school environment must take into account that these variables condition the learning process of an L2. Once the economic issues do not occupy a key position, the students know the language of instruction (Catalan or Spanish) and the parental education is reinforced, the Moroccan students will outperform their monolingual peers (Maluch et al., 2015).

2.3 The profile of the second generation Moroccan student

Sotes and Izquierdo (2015, p. 361) confirm that second generation students tend to go to government-ruled schools: “the first results confirm that the percentage of Moroccan students enrolled in government schools is much higher than the percentage of the rest of the foreign and native population enrolled in these schools''.

According to the Yearbook on Education (2020), in Mallorca approximately 83% of the student body is enrolled in a government center, whereas a 17% is enrolled in a private subsidised and private unsubsidised. Pereira (2013) indicates the following:

The percentage of immigrant students is much higher in public centers than in subsidized and private ones. The data from our country is tremendously illuminating in this regard. In addition, we can conclude that the risk of school failure of immigrant children in Spain is higher - if they had attended private or subsidized centers, they would have been more protected at the level of academic results'. (p. 97)

Soriano-Miras et al. (2020, p. 635) conclude that “immigrants’ well-being is related to the way they reached the country, the reasons they came, whether they arrived before or after the crisis, and their region of residence in Spain”. The authors point out there

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are three large sectors where Moroccan migrants work: construction, the hospitality industry and agriculture. These areas employ low-qualified workers, they are male- dominated and more than 25% of the population under the age of 15. They draw attention to the key factors that promote the integration of the Moroccan community in our society: “education, health, housing, employment, and social cohesion”

(Soriano-Miras et al., 2020, p. 650), which are all determinant in the protection of migrants. “The welfare of Moroccan migrants is subject to the promotion of a local policy that takes into account the dimensions of the two-way process that implies social cohesion and identity belonging” (Soriano-Miras et al., 2020, p. 635).

2.4 Educational strategies for the inclusion of Moroccan students

In order to promote inclusiveness in high schools where there is a high percentage of Moroccan students, there are some key factors we need to consider: team management, teacher’s commitment and a continuous review of the methodology.

Other characteristics of the teaching profile would be fostering and facilitating discussion, favouring hostilities, guiding academic research, looking for strategies that develop the emotional skills with students, and possessing the necessary commitment in emotional teaching (Ocampo et al., 2020). To achieve a good classroom's climate, teachers must be aware of a series of elements linked to good teaching practices, such as: the attitude the teacher has towards the students, if they are easy to reach and they are willing to walk with the students without falling into stereotypes, and if they are seen as sentient beings who care about their students.

In order to establish the bases of coexistence, socialization and well-being of the educational community, the teacher must achieve coexistence (especially if it is a multicultural and diverse classroom) and must be able to include mediation in the classrooms as an essential part of the peaceful resolution of a conflict (Iglesias Ortuño, 2018). Ocampo et al. (2020) explain that empathy, cooperation and mediation are especially relevant in educational centers where the percentage of second generation students is high.

Giving a warm and personal welcome to the educational community to the students and to their families is an indicator of a good practice. On many occasions the relatives are left aside without taking into account they represent a fundamental pillar for the

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integral development of the students. The center must attempt to compensate for the academic level of origin, the linguistic and communicative aspects and the social skills to achieve the inclusion of the students and their educational success. In this way, the reception classrooms (Aules d’acollida in Catalan) can help the students in their learning process (Rosado Holguín, 2019).

● The center as a welcoming place for students and families

● Emotional education: commitment with the students and a listening attitude.

● Favouring conflict resolution throughout coexistence and mediation and facilitating the dialogue.

● Willingness to share with the students their educational progress and guiding their academic work.

● Sharing emotions and socialising with the students.

● Neutralising the stereotypes and excluding labels.

● Developing linguistic, communicative and social skills.

● Reception classrooms to welcome migrant students and offering them help in their learning process.

On the other hand, to achieve the inclusion of second generation students in our classrooms, we should consider the figure of the mediator as a key element that will help us develop this process correctly. Intercultural Mediation in the educational field is an essential tool to support the integration processes of second generation families and their sons and daughters, as well as unaccompanied minors in the host country.

Aguilera (2011, p. 1026) considers mediation as “a link, a bridge, a support” we use when we are facing the multicultural context that develops in schools. Thanks to the figure of the mediator we can achieve a social climate of coexistence, respect and tolerance, promoting the educational centers as a nucleus for agreements and disseminating the values of the community.

2.5 Inclusive English Education

Cross cultural understanding is essential, especially in a multilingual society such as the BI, where the Moroccan migration is growing in number in the last decades. Cross cultural competencies are defined by Garrido et al. (2019, p. 91) as a “multilevel and multidimensional process through which providers acquire capacities and create

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opportunities that enable them to operate effectively across different working contexts (i.e., intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and community)”. According to these authors, a way to promote ethnic health equity would be by exploring the concept of CCC (Community Cultural Competence), which is defined as a “process of personal development that implies the acquisition of critical awareness, responsiveness to diversity, capacity to act within the organization, and capacity to act within the community” (Garrido et al., 2019, p. 89). The subject of English as a foreign language can help us encourage students to develop their intercultural competence through international news, such as the ones reported in “The New York times” or “The Telegraph”.

The British Council (2010) stated the following about inclusiveness in educational centers:

Culturally inclusive schools reflect and celebrate the cultural, religious and linguistic diversity in the school, the community and the city. The school is a welcoming place for students and parents from different backgrounds, the makeup of the staff at all levels and the governing body reflects diversity within the community. (p. 22)

This way of understanding the inclusiveness of schools should be also extended to the English classroom. The British Council has launched a project called INDIE Schools (Inclusion and Diversity in Education) that tries to “focus the attention on useful and practical strategies for integration and educational achievement for all pupils” (British Council, 2010, p. 9).

Regarding this issue, Montaño Moreno (2012, p. 78) states that “inclusion has to do with accepting diversity. No matter who the individual is, the desire to be a meaningful part of society is inherent to all of us, making it essential to recognise every individual as an active member of a society which is built day by day”. According to Greenspan et al. (1998) there are three basic principles all inclusion-friendly classrooms should follow: know the students’ situation in order to respect their learning progress, adapt the environment to each student and help them develop greater competence in the subject and interact with the students to help them think and problem-solve their tasks.

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2.6 The EFL curriculum in a multicultural society

The subject of English as a foreign language (EFL) has become a priority in education as a consequence of the globalization process in which we live. In an increasingly interconnected society and in a world that continues to expand communicatively - due to the development of technology - it is essential that students have a multilingual profile, especially in the Balearic Islands, where tourism occupies a key place. The large number of residents from other countries and tourists has offered a worldview from the Balearic Islands in foreign languages (Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa).

Language is a vehicle for human thought and a learning tool, and it is as well used for communicative purposes. Hence, our curriculum defines that students should be able to use the foreign language in different real communicative contexts, depending on their profile and depending on their educational stages. Following this reasoning, the curriculum indicates that English is essential for the personal development of students, and as a resource to increase the possibilities of achieving their cultural, labour and professional objectives (Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa).

Our curriculum also refers to how foreign languages favour an open and positive vision of relationships with others, a vision that contributes to fostering attitudes of appreciation and respect towards other languages and cultures, towards other individuals with different habits, values and beliefs. Learning foreign languages helps us improve our perspective and contributes to appreciate new ways of living, which is a unique opportunity for mutual advancement and thus avoid intercultural confrontations. Social and civic competences and cultural awareness and expression are part of the skills that contain intercultural competence for foreign language learning (Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa).

In the EFL classroom we will be working all the key competences that appear in the curriculum, which are the following:

· Linguistic competence

· Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology

· Digital competence

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· Learning to learn

· Social and civic competences

· Initiative and entrepreneurship

· Cultural awareness and expression

These key competences are a mix of analytic skills, interpersonal skills and capacity for change. Interpersonal skills are an essential tool for functioning well in society and they enable us to participate in an effective dialogue with others. For example, the service sector is one of the most important in our region and good communication skills are of vital importance (Notabartolo, D. and Spencer, A., 2010). In fact, leadership and social influence are considered one of the Top 10 skills by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum (2020). Regarding social and civil competences, the OCDE (2005, p. 14) points out that individuals need to take responsibility for handling their own lives and “situate their lives in a broader social context and act autonomously”. Learning to learn is based on the idea of preparing the student for a changing, competitive, globalized, technological world, where information flows freely and where learning must be a vital attitude, which accompanies the person throughout their lives (Teixidó, 2011). For this reason, the competence of learning to learn is one of the most relevant, since the multicultural context in which we find ourselves demands this skill. Cultural awareness and expression are interpersonal skills and will be valued especially when we need to connect across cultures. Cross cultural fluency is more remarkable as the economy has become more global and will be particularly useful in a region like the Balearic Island, with a population that is increasingly global (Teixidó, 2011).

3. Teaching proposal

This teaching proposal is designed for a secondary school where there is a high percentage of second generation Moroccan students, such as the educational centers of Manacor, Felanitx, Inca or Sa Pobla. The main objective of this proposal is to achieve the inclusion of Moroccan students in CAIB classrooms through a series of activities designed to promote multiculturalism within the community.

The following activities are addressed to a small classroom of 3^rd of ESO. We must bear in mind that the English class is divided in two, so the English groups are usually

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small. In our English classroom, the architectural barriers are completely eliminated and it has good resources and facilities that are available to all students.

This teaching proposal is divided into seven blocks – which are the key competences specified in the curriculum – and there are two activities for each block. Each of the activities is designed to work on a key competence (for example, role plays to work on linguistic competence or webquests to promote cultural competence).

The following pages are devoted to the detailed explanation of the didactic proposal.

The objectives we intend to achieve will be specified and will be referred to the curriculum: contents, evaluation criteria, evaluation standards, specific objectives and transversal aspects. The activities are designed to take place in class time and the estimated duration is one hour. The material used is independent of the content of the textbook. In this way, we will try to combine the grammatical and vocabulary aspects of each unit together with cultural aspects and real-life communication.

The main objective we aimed at through these activities is the respect and mutual understanding of our students, regardless of their place of birth. To do so we put English in the central axis, which becomes a lingua franca. As Carbonara and Tarrona (2018) point out:

In the context of multicultural classrooms like those observed in this study, where such factors as integration, tolerance, respect and conflict are at issue every day, the use of ELF requires a multidisciplinary approach that considers the teaching/learning environment from a variety of perspectives, from the linguistic to the anthropological, from the pedagogical to the sociological ones.

(p. 263)

The activities we propose below are some examples when working the key competences. The four basic skills (reading, speaking, listening and writing) are also considered, as well as critical thinking and acceptance of other cultures as transversal aspects.

Below there is an annual schedule of the activities that have been designed. For November, February, April and May, two activities have been proposed. However, for the rest of the months, only one exercise will be carried out.

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Month Activities

September Put yourself in my shoes

October Daily news

November Sequencing

Immigration - The journey December Flipgrid - Youth Radio

January Activist you!

February Squeeze your ideas

Self-portrait

March What do you think?

April World Englishes

When they see us

May Interesting facts

John Lennon's Imagine

June My Italian pen pal

However, we consider that it is up to the teacher to choose how many activities will be carried out each month. The activities are designed so that they can be developed in class time (55 minutes).

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3.1.1 Linguistic competence (I) – Role-play: Put yourself in my shoes

According to Salies (1995, p. 1), “role-playing is proposed as an ideal technique to teach language because it prepares learners for the unpredictable nature of real-life communication, teaches appropriate language use, and boosts self-confidence. It also contextualizes language use and exposes the student to conversational routines and cultural discussion”. Ampatuan and San José (2016, p. 18) state that role-plays are “a valuable classroom approach to assist students in developing their communicative competence and to provide the students an opportunity to practice the English language with fluency and accuracy”.

For this activity (Appendix 1.1) we will need to divide the class into four groups. While the students are thinking about what to say or how to act, some stereotypes about the Moroccan community will probably come to light. The teacher should take notes on the comments that are made and write them down on the board. At the end of the role- play activity, the remaining time will be dedicated to think and reflect why some classmates think this way. Second generation Moroccan students should participate and explain how they feel when hearing these stereotypes. Our goal is to be able to put the students in someone else's shoes and understand how they feel when they hear stereotypes that denigrate their identity.

This activity is part of block 2 (Oral production, expression and interaction) and it is designed for a 1^st of Bachillerato level. Through this exercise, curriculum content will be developed, such as the following:

 Devising the message with clarity, distinguishing its principal idea or ideas and its basic structure.

 Building on and taking maximum advantage of previous knowledge (utilizing

“prefabricated” language, etc).

 Compensating for linguistic shortcomings through linguistic, paralinguistic or paratextual procedures.

 Using culturally pertinent body language (gestures, facial expressions, postures, visual or corporal contact, proxemics).

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These contents will be evaluated through the activity and it is expected that 1^st of Bachillerato students are able to develop the exercise correctly. We will try to make the groups as heterogeneous as possible so that the knowledge the most advanced students have can be shared with those who have some deficiency in the English language. While the students are preparing the role-play, they can use their computers to search for information about a term in English they do not know or a curiosity that has arisen as a result of the activity.

Regarding the evaluation tools, we have also relied on the curriculum and consider the following criteria should be taken into account:

 Producing clear and detailed texts, well-organized and appropriate to the interlocutor and communicative purpose, on various, general and more specific topics within the field of specialization or interest, and defend a point of view on general topics or related to the specialty itself, indicating the pros and cons of the different options, as well as taking an active part in formal or informal conversations of a certain length, experimenting with a degree of correctness and fluency that allows communication to be maintained.

 Integrating in the own intercultural competence, to produce oral texts well-adjusted to the specific context, the most relevant sociocultural and sociolinguistic aspects of the target language and cultures related to customs, uses, attitudes, values and beliefs, and to overcome the differences with respect to languages, and own cultures and stereotypes, showing confidence in the use of different registers or other contextual adaptation mechanisms, and avoiding serious formulation or behavioural errors that could lead to potentially conflicting situations.

In order to be able to evaluate this activity, it is convenient to take into account these two criteria. The student must be able to present in an organized and clear way the idea he/she wants to communicate, as well as to favour the intercultural skill.

3.1.2 Linguistic competence (II) - Discussion about current issues: Daily news Cinganotto (2019, p. 107) pinpoints that “the potential of a debate as a teaching strategy for language learning, as well as an innovative, student-centered technique is aimed at engaging the learner with interactive, collaborative and effective tasks”.

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According to the author, debates develop critical thinking, cooperation, collaboration and creativity. The paper states that debates and discussions might be an effective tool to foster language skills. According to Želježič (2017, p. 39) a structured debate is

“an effective pedagogical method for developing CT skills and oral interactional competence in argumentative discursive events”.

In this activity (Appendix 1.2) the students will be working on their listening skills. First, students will be asked to listen to a video from the Youtube Channel “BBC Learning English”, which talks about the protests in Russia for the arrest of the political opponent Navalny. The topic might be challenging for some students, therefore basic vocabulary on the topic will be screened, such as protest, demonstration and riot. After this, students will be asked to discuss in pairs two pictures showing a demonstration. Some questions regarding these photos will be asked, paying special attention to the latest:

can you relate these pictures to any event that has happened in your country? The teacher must guide the debate and must ensure two topics are discussed: the 15-M movement in Spain and the Arab Spring. In this sense, the objective we intend to reach is to shorten distances and understand that in both countries the civil society demands rights and fights to achieve them.

This activity is part of block 1 and block 2 (Oral comprehension and oral production, expression and interaction) and it is designed for a 1^st of Bachillerato level. Through this exercise, curriculum content will be developed, such as the following:

 Description of physical and abstract qualities of people, objects, places and activities.

 Narration of past events, both once-off and habitual, description of present states and situations, and expression of future happenings, in the short, middle and long run.

For the development of this activity, we will first hear a Youtube video about the arrest of the Russian opponent Navalny and then we will carry out an oral exercise in which the students must participate and present their ideas about what it means for them to

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exercise the right to demonstrate and protest. This activity may be complex for some students, but we expect it to be a debate where all students can participate and express their opinions.

 Being familiar with knowing how to apply the appropriate strategies to understand the general meaning; essential information; the main points; the relevant details; information, ideas and opinions both implicit and explicit from the text, clearly formulated; and nuances such as irony or humour, or the poetic or aesthetic use of language when the image facilitates comprehension.

 Producing clear and detailed texts, well-organized and appropriate to the interlocutor and communicative purpose, on various, general and more specific topics within the field of specialization or interest, and defend a point of view on general topics or related to the specialty itself, indicating the pros and cons of the different options, as well as taking an active part in formal or informal conversations of a certain length, experimenting with a degree of correctness and fluency that allows communication to be maintained.

These are the two criteria that should be taken into account when evaluating the activity. The first of them corresponds to block 1 (oral comprehension), while the second corresponds to block 2 (oral production). For those students who find it more difficult to express themselves in English, we will allow them more time to discuss with their classmates and even use ideas that have already been said and reformulate them.

3.2.1 Mathematical competence (I) – Reading activity: Sequencing

Developing the logical semantic relationship in order to improve the ESL students’

ability to link information is one of the key points for succeeding in English. According to Pretorius (2006), “An important component of this text connecting process involves the ability to perceive the logical relations between units of text and which are signalled by logical connectives”. In this activity (Appendix 2.1) we intend to develop the logical capacity of the students through two texts on current news (the banning of President

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Trump by social networks and the recent bombings in the Gaza Strip). The mathematical competence will be developed since the students will have to put into practice their logical knowledge in order to correctly order the texts.

This activity is part of block 3 (understanding written texts). In this exercise, curriculum content will be developed, such as the following:

 Description of physical and abstract qualities of people, objects, places and activities, procedures and processes.

 Narration of sporadic and habitual past events, description of present states and situations and expression of future events, in the short, middle and long run.

 Reformulation of hypothesis based on the comprehension of new elements.

These are the contents that this activity includes and that are designed for a Bachillerato level. Students must put into practise their logical knowledge to order a text already given. These texts include narration and description of events that they might have heart about (President Trump being banned from social media and the consequences of the bombings in Gaza). Students must work individually, although they can ask the teacher or a colleague whenever they need to.

 Identifying the main ideas, detailed information and general implications of texts of a certain length, well-organized and linguistically complex, in a variety of standard language and dealing with both specific and abstract topics, even if they are of a technical nature when they are within the own field of specialization or interest, in the personal, public, academic and work/professional fields, as long as the difficult sections can be reread.

 Being familiar with and knowing how to apply the appropriate strategies to understand the general meaning; essential information; the main points; the relevant details; information, ideas and opinions both implicit and explicit from the text if they are clearly signposted; and nuances such as irony or humor, or the poetic or aesthetic use of language, clearly formulated.

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These are the criteria that should be followed when evaluating this activity. Students must be able to understand the texts, the main idea and the general sense to be able to order the paragraphs correctly. This activity is also designed to be developed individually, although if the student needs it, they can ask for help.

3.2.2. Mathematical competence (II) – Reading activity: Immigration – The Journey

According to Crandall (1995, p. 6), “the concept of integrating language instruction with subject matter instruction is not new to language educators”. The activity that is proposed combine different areas of knowledge, which promotes an interdisciplinary and transversal education and leaves aside the traditional vision of the school, where the subjects are divided into hermetic compartments (Syahril, 2019). This exercise (Appendix 2.2) aims to awaken the logical reasoning found in mathematics. The mathematical faculty can help us solve this exercise, since we will have to focus on what to answer and where in the text the answer is found.

Working in pairs, students will be asked to answer the questions (what, when, why, how, who) and any other thoughts they might be having after reading the text Moroccan people want to get to Europe. Students must first read the text and then, based on the information they extract, be able to answer the six questions that are presented to them. Students are expected to be able to develop complete sentences, according to their level of English.

When evaluating this activity, we should take into account the following assessment criteria:

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 Knowing with depth and applying effectively to the comprehension of the text the sociolinguistic knowledge related to the social structuring, the interpersonal relations in diverse contexts (from informal to institutional) and the social conventions (including beliefs and stereotypes) predominant in the cultures in which the target language is used, as well as the most relevant cultural knowledge (e.g., historical or artistic) that allows to capture the most direct allusions about these aspects that the text may contain.

These two criteria will allow teachers evaluate the activity correctly – students must understand the general meaning of the text, its essential information and its sociolinguistic context. As the activity is done in pairs, we will try to make these pairs as balanced as possible so that all students feel comfortable and understand what is being asked.

3.3.1 Digital competence (I) – Flipgrid: Youth Radio

According to Palacios et al. (2020, p. 51), the importance of technology in the English classroom is unquestionable. However, technology in education is used in a

“superficial way despite the importance given by international bodies. There are many resources available for teachers, such as podcasts or social media, and their advantages for learning languages are well-known due to the communicative nature of the subject.”

Students will be divided into groups of two. Each group must pick a topic (BLM movement, Israel-Palestinian conflict, Apartheid in South Africa, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the COVAX initiative and Martin Luther King vs. Malcom X). They will be asked to look for information using the https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page webpage and any other resource they might find useful. For the first forty minutes, students will be analysing information about their topics, and then they must record themselves using the flipgrid page: https://info.flipgrid.com/. Our goal with this activity (Appendix

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3.1) is to promote a critical spirit and to offer the student different digital tools that contribute to their learning knowledge.

This activity is part of block 3 (understanding written texts) and block 2 (oral production, expression and interaction). In this exercise, curriculum content will be developed, such as the following:

The contents we will be dealing with in this activity are divided into reading and speaking. On the one hand, students must read and understand descriptions and narrations suitable to their level of English and, on the other hand, they must be able to present a message clearly and well structured. As the activity will be carried out in pairs, they must be balanced: those students whose level of English is higher must help those with more limitations in English.

When evaluating this activity, we should take into account the following assessment criteria:

 Producing clear and detailed texts, well-organized and appropriate to the interlocutor and communicative purpose, on various, general and more specific topics within the field of specialization or interest, and defend a point of view on

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general topics or related to the specialty itself, indicating the pros and cons of the different options, as well as taking an active part in formal or informal conversations of a certain length, experimenting with a degree of correctness and fluency that allows communication to be maintained.

When evaluating this activity, several skills must be taken into account: the reading that each group has done on their topic (Black lives matter movement, the Israel- Palestinian Conflict, the Apartheid in South Africa, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the COVAX initiative and the contrast between Malcom X and Martin Luther King) as well as the oral presentation on the subject.

3.3.2 Digital competence (II) - social media: Activist you!

According to Palacios et al. (2020, p.52) “There are many resources available for teachers (videos, MOOCs, gaming tools, wikis, edublogs, WebQuests, podcasts, online games, social media) and their advantages for learning languages are well- known due to the communicative nature of the subject”. The authors claim that social networks are one of the most useful tools when working the digital competence “due to their social power and their potential for the creation of relationships” (Palacios, et al., 2020, p. 53).

Our aim with this activity (Appendix 3.2) is to promote respect towards minorities and raise awareness about racism on social media. To do so, we have proposed an activity where students will see a user of a social network sharing images promoting racism.

Students should respond to these messages using the hashtag #endracialviolence.

Students will be able to search on their laptops the information they need on different topics (Black Lives Matter movement or Apartheid, for example) in order to build an anti-racist discourse to battle this type of hatred on social networks. The students will thus develop their critical spirit and equity among the members of the class will be fostered.

This activity is part of block 4 (production of written texts: expressions and interactions). In this exercise, curriculum content will be developed, such as the following:

 Expressing the message with clarity adjusting it to the models and formulae of each type of text.

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 Narration of sporadic and habitual past events, description of present states and situations, and expression of future happenings, in the short, middle and long run.

 Request and offer of information, instructions, opinions and points of view, advice, recommendations and warnings.

These are the contents that we will find in this activity. In general terms, students must be able to express a message clearly, where information, points of view, recommendations are shown. In this activity, which will be carried out individually, students must be able to respond, briefly and concisely to a racist message seen on social networks. Students are expected to be able to express themselves appropriately and send a clear message, adapted to the task.

When evaluating this activity, the following assessment criteria should be taken into account:

 Writing, on paper or in an electronic format, well-structured texts on a wide range of topics related to one's own interests or specialty, making clear and detailed descriptions; synthesizing information and arguments drawn from various sources and organizing them logically; and defending a point of view on general, or more specific, issues, indicating the pros and cons of the different options, using the appropriate linguistic elements to provide the text with cohesion and coherence and using a lexicon adapted to the context and to the communicative purpose being pursued.

 Being familiar with, selecting and applying the most appropriate strategies for producing well-structured written texts of a certain length, e.g., appropriately integrating relevant information from a variety of sources, or readjusting the register or style (including vocabulary, structures syntactic and discursive patterns) to adapt the text to the specific recipient and context.

These are the evaluation criteria that must be taken into account and that will help the teacher know if the students have understood the activity well. Special attention will be paid to the correct structure of the texts and their organization. Students should as well be able to structure their writings correctly.

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3.4.1 Learning to learn competence (I) – Brainstorming: Squeeze your ideas According to Cambridge University (2020, p. 3), learning to learn is an act of being capable to evaluate own learning success. In other words, “learners develop practical skills to support and take control of their learning and reflect on their own progress”.

Luzón and Ruiz-Madrid (2008, p. 29) consider that “learning is viewed as an active, creative and socially interactive process to be constructed and not simply transmitted or transferred”. Cambridge University (2020, p. 14) highlights learning to learn can help the students organise their thoughts and ideas: “a tool like this provides learners with a scaffold to produce more useful notes and notice opportunities for learning”.

This activity (Appendix 4.1) is thought to be a support for another exercise. Each student will be given a card and will be asked to do a brainstorming exercise. For instance, we could first brainstorm a specific topic – measures to improve the neighbourhood – and then discuss the ideas that have come up. The purpose of this activity is to promote entrepreneurship and creativity, as well as encourage students to develop their own ideas.

This activity is part of block 4 (production of written texts: expressions and interactions). In this exercise, curriculum content will be developed, such as the following:

 Expressing the message with clarity adjusting it to the models and formulae of each type of text.

 Using previous knowledge as a grounding and taking maximum advantage of it (using “chunks” of language, etc.).

 Expression of knowledge, certainty, confirmation, doubt, conjecture, scepticism and disbelief.

As this activity is a brainstorming, it cannot be simply classified into the large blocks (speaking, reading, writing or listening). In this work we consider that it can enhance the writing skills, as it develops new ideas and creativity and the student must put them into words. This activity can be done as a complement to any other exercise that requires imagination or innovative ideas. When evaluating, we will take into account the following section:

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 Being familiar with, selecting and applying the most appropriate strategies for producing well-structured written texts of a certain length, e.g., appropriately integrating relevant information from a variety of sources, or readjusting the register or style (including vocabulary, structures syntactic and discursive patterns) to adapt the text to the specific recipient and context.

For the ideal development of this activity, it will not be essential that the student write complete and complex sentences, but rather that he/she looks for strategies and develops his/her imagination so that the brainstorming unfolds correctly.

3.4.2 Learning to learn competence (II) – Rubrics: self-portrait

Rubrics are useful because they help students recognize learning goals and guide them in reaching for those goals. Particularly useful in student-directed teaching approaches, like inquiry-based learning, rubrics can be used to assess content mastery, skill development, or even attitude toward a topic (Cambridge University, 2020). Students might be asked to self-assess the rubric before handing in an activity, so that they will be developing their learning to learn skills.

Rubrics are an excellent tool for students to self-evaluate. Rubrics show the students’

strengths and weaknesses and make them participate in their learning process. The rubric we propose (Appendix 4.2) consists of a series of questions the students must answer (I do not understand, I’m getting there, I completely understand). Students should try to respond as honestly as possible: in order to do so, these rubrics will not be scored, but they would rather be a tool to achieve their learning goals.

 Formulation of hypothesis on content and context.

As with the previous activity (squeeze your ideas), we cannot classify this activity into one of the four major work blocks. We have considered that this activity is a reading exercise, because we can presuppose we do it after having worked on a reading.