Rationale Learning Opportunities and intercultural competence We wanted to create a curriculum that contained content-based instruction and task-based

activities to foster learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom. Learning opportunities refer to access to favorable learning conditions as well as specific conditions such as those required for language learning (Crabbe, 2003, p. 18). Based on information from our needs analysis, we learned that the students in Chile did not feel a personal connection to English, with most perceiving language classes and the learning process as something they had to do. Opportunities for meaningful communication seemed to be limited, with students feeling self-conscious and nervous when asked to speak in class. Student presentations usually consisted of information taken directly from Wikipedia and read out loud. We felt that creating a content-based syllabus, comprised of topics and meaningful tasks and activities, could help to raise student interest in using and improving their language skills. In addition to providing communicative opportunities, we wanted to help learners develop a sense of responsibility towards their own learning. Kumaravadivelu (2003) states, Teaching, however purposeful, cannot automatically lead to learning for the simple reason that learning is primarily a personal construct controlled by the individual learner (p. 44). We decided to begin the 8-week syllabus with a week of learner training, when students would be shown ways to be more involved in and aware of the learning process. Although we have developed a syllabus based on topics we believe would be interesting to the students, the topics and tasks are open to change and revision based on student input. Learning is often associated with formal instruction found in traditional educational settings, involving teachers, students, class schedules, and homework and it is likely that the students in Chile share this perception. However, learning opportunities are everywhere; inside as well as outside the classroom. Fostering learner autonomy and equipping students with the skills to manage learning in classroom settings can help learners to recognize and act upon learning opportunities as they arise in any setting (Crabbe, 2007). Our hope is that students will be able to develop a sense of involvement and autonomy through participation in the 8 weeks of lessons. Students in an EFL setting can develop communicative competence but still lack the knowledge of the culture that provides the foundation for the language. Magnan (2008) argues that communicative competence is incomplete without knowledge of the thoughts behind the words and discourse in the L2. These thoughts and thought processes are tied to the culture of a language. According to Magnan, it is not enough to speak French thoughts in English or American ideas in Spanish. We have incorporated a few of Magnans suggestions, including using authentic materials to point out cultural aspects of language and encouraging communication with speakers of the L2 both locally and globally, into our units with the hope that students will be able to communicate more effectively with English speakers from around the world. Content-based instruction We created a content-based syllabus that included topics relevant to the lives of the students in Chile. CBI enables learners to engage with meaningful language processing that allows them to gather, synthesize and evaluate information in the second language

(Kasper, 1997). Thus, students are simultaneously developing content knowledge and language skills (Met, 1998). Our CBI syllabus includes topics such as music, sports, and film, to engage students in learning about various aspects of the topic while also learning language. If the content is engaging and motivating, the students will be more likely to use the language inside and outside the classroom since they care about the material being presented to them. Although content will be used as a way to engage learners and raise interest and awareness in the language, attention to grammatical forms will be addressed in the lessons. Lyster, (2007), warns of the lack of sufficient information conveyed about grammar and grammatical subsystems in content-based teaching, stating that research suggests that attention to language is too brief..and thus can be considered neither systematic or apt to make the most of content-based instruction as a means of teaching language (p. 27). To ensure that students are sufficiently exposed to grammatical structures, inductive presentation of grammar, tasks requiring accurate production, and opportunities for both peer review and self-reflection of the tasks, activities, as well as the learning process, are addressed in lesson plans. Task-based activities The guiding criterion to our lesson plans was the principles of task-based activities. Crabbe (2007) defines task based learning as a way to engage learners in communication purposes that engage the individuals in implicit learning by giving students the opportunity for input, output, interaction, feedback, rehearsal, language understanding and learning understanding. Additionally, teachers need to engage the students in language awareness by treating the tasks as prompts and models for managing further learning for themselves (Crabbe, 2007, p. 118). In our lesson plans, we designed tasks to provide students ample opportunity to use the language. Furthermore, the tasks we created encourage students to use the language outside the classroom. For instance, students partake in tasks that extend the borders of the classroom by communicating in English with people outside the scope of the classroom through connecting them with a classroom in a different country also learning English.

References Crabbe, D. (2003). The quality of language learning opportunities. TESOL Quarterly, 37, 9-34. Crabbe, D. (2007). Learning opportunities: adding learning value to tasks. ELT Journal, 61, 117-125. Kasper, L.F. (1997). Teaching English through the Disciplines: Psychology (2nd ed). New York: Whittier. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macrostrategies for language teaching. New Haven: Yale University Press. Lyster, R. (2007). Learning and Teaching Languages through Content: A counterbalanced approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Magnan, S. (2008). The unfulfilled promise of teaching for communicative competence: Insights from sociocultural theory. In Lantolf, J., & Poehner, M. (Eds.). Sociocultural Theory and the Teaching of Second Languages, 349-379. Oakville, CT: Equinox Pub. Met, (1998). Curriculum decision-making in content-based language teaching. In Cenoz, J & Genesee F. (Eds.). Beyond bilingualism: multilingualism and multilingual education, pp. 39-63. Philadelphia: Multilingualism matter ltd.