IN-101 English I · A1.1

Description (nature and purpose)

IN-101 General English I (A1.1) is the first of three levels of the foreign language subject at UNAH, which together aim at the complete A1 level of the CEFR. It is designed for face-to-face, blended and virtual modalities nationwide, ensuring accessible, consistent and inclusive education. It follows an action-oriented, competence-based model that promotes active and meaningful learning, supported by the UNAH Virtual Campus, multimodal resources and physical and digital materials. The program integrates pluralistic approaches such as intercomprehension between languages, interculturality and translanguaging, strengthening students' autonomy and their plurilingual and pluricultural competence. At the end of this first level, students develop linguistic and intercultural awareness and a general view of how spoken and written English works; they understand simple texts by comparing them with Spanish, and they can greet, say goodbye, introduce themselves and their family, describe people, talk about their daily routine and express likes and opinions in everyday contexts, using English coherently and appropriately for their level.

Cross-curricular axes

Ethics: Takes part in activities, workshops and seminars that promote the fundamental principles of the university reform and their impact on language teaching and learning, in line with the ethical and educational guidelines of the institution.

Living conditions and quality of life: Promotes habits and practices that support quality of life, in order to enhance personal and professional development in learning and using the language, based on principles of overall well-being and self-regulation during language acquisition.

Prior capacities

• Shows language knowledge acquired in English and other languages, through life experience or formal study, and recognizes English words and expressions used in Spanish.
• Has a very general knowledge of cultural aspects of English-speaking cultures: food, literature, music, film, painting, theater and fashion.
• Uses digital and artificial intelligence tools for learning at a basic level (writing assistants, ChatGPT and other educational apps).
• Makes functional use of multimedia tools to create and edit audio, images or video, especially in academic contexts.
• Shows interest and curiosity in learning additional languages and discovering new cultures, and willingness to take an active part in collaborative and communicative activities.
• Acts with honesty and responsibility in assessments, showing their learning autonomously in face-to-face and especially in blended and virtual modalities.

Generic competences

• Manages autonomous learning in different environments to support personal, academic and professional growth, based on self-regulation strategies, time management and reflective use of available resources.
• Analyzes, synthesizes and applies knowledge in different contexts to build meaningful learning through reflection on practice, based on criteria of relevance, coherence and knowledge transfer.
• Proposes creative solutions to changing situations to face challenges and seize opportunities for improvement in different environments, based on criteria of flexibility, relevance and innovation.
• Promotes interaction and learning practices that respect the principles of equity and inclusion to ensure coexistence and educational quality in learning environments, based on ethical norms, social responsibility and institutional commitment.
• Manages information, knowledge and technological tools to solve problems and collaborate in academic and professional contexts, based on criteria of critical analysis, innovation and informed decision-making.

Specific competences

• Recognizes linguistic and cultural diversity, drawing on prior knowledge of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism, in order to build an overall view of how spoken and written English works and to support the understanding of simple texts, using the similarities and differences between English and the mother tongue as a reference.
• Interacts in basic social situations, using simple expressions to greet, say goodbye, introduce themselves and others, giving essential personal information (name, nationality, profession, place of origin) and applying the politeness norms of the target culture.
• Describes people and family relationships in a simple way, using basic vocabulary about physical appearance, personality and family ties, showing sensitivity to cultural and social diversity in how people are represented.
• Speaks and writes about daily life, household activities and personal habits, and expresses likes, preferences and frequency, using language resources and time expressions suited to the communicative context.

Sub-competences

• Recognizes elements of linguistic and cultural diversity in English and other languages, relating them to their own knowledge and experience.
• Compares English structures, vocabulary and uses with the mother tongue, using these observations to improve the comprehension and production of simple texts.
• Greets and says goodbye in formal and informal contexts, using basic polite expressions and showing understanding of the sociocultural norms of English.
• Introduces themselves and others, giving and asking for personal information clearly and coherently, respecting the politeness norms of the target culture.
• Recognizes and points out people's physical features (height, hair and eye color and other distinctive features) using simple and understandable expressions.
• Describes personality and family relationships in an organized way, showing sensitivity to cultural and social differences and applying the politeness norms of the target language.
• Describes daily routines and household chores with simple vocabulary and basic structures, ensuring clarity and coherence.
• Expresses likes, preferences and frequency of activities, using time expressions and connectors suited to the communicative situation.

Thematic areas

Unit I: Discovering a new language (awareness unit)

• Awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity
• Understanding texts in related languages
• Introduction to English (spoken and written)
• Communication in class

Unit II: First communicative encounters (introductions)

• Formal and informal greetings and farewells
• Introducing yourself and others
• Exchanging basic personal information
• Polite expressions in everyday contexts

Unit III: Personal portraits and family ties (description)

• Physical and personality description
• Talking about family and personal relationships
• Expressing likes and preferences
• Comparing people and characteristics

Unit IV: Habits and daily organization (routine)

• Talking about daily and household activities
• Describing schedules and personal routines
• Expressing opinions and frequency of activities
• Understanding and producing descriptions of daily life

Learning and teaching strategies

Face-to-face modality

In the face-to-face modality, students learn collaboratively through social interaction, working individually, in pairs, in small groups or as a whole class. The methodological strategies that guide the course include projects and contextualized communicative and pedagogical tasks based on the different language skills. The course combines oral, written and audiovisual reception, production and interaction activities.

Activities include conceptualization, language practice, information gap, pronunciation correction, simulations, role plays, gamification (kamishibai, escape rooms, storytelling), debates and intercultural reflection from an inclusive and critical perspective, as well as preparation for international exams. Contextualized activities promote intercultural reflection and plurilingual competence.

From a plurilingual and intercultural approach, this course promotes intercomprehension between related languages as a strategy to access written, oral and audiovisual texts. This practice develops receptive skills, strengthens language awareness and supports learner autonomy. Students' linguistic and cultural capital is recognized and valued as a key teaching resource. For this reason, the course includes presentations, dramatizations and plurilingual debates (translanguaging) that allow expression in different languages and encourage reflection on cultural diversity.

Authentic and teaching documents with a communicative and functional focus, adapted to young people's interests, are used: social media posts (memes, reels, TikToks), literary texts (poems, micro-stories, manga), digital materials (podcasts, vlogs), functional texts (reviews, forms, messages), visual documents (infographics, ads) and interactive resources (quizzes, escape rooms, digital portfolios).

Blended modality

The blended modality uses the flipped classroom model, combining face-to-face sessions with virtual meetings on videoconference platforms. It uses both physical resources and the university's virtual classroom, which brings together varied digital materials and language activities designed to support learning.

These include written, oral and digital reception, production and interaction tasks, as well as games, training exercises and video tutorials that help students understand grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. The activities and types of documents are the same as in the face-to-face modality and follow the principles and approaches of online learning.

Virtual modality

This course, hosted in the university's virtual classroom, follows a learner-centered methodology in which students take an active, autonomous and reflective role in building their learning. Based on self-study, it promotes self-regulated learning and the strategic use of digital resources. Contents are organized around students' interests, giving priority to real and motivating situations that help them make the language their own. During the course, students manage their progress, choose resources and assess their own progress, developing the learning-to-learn competence and their self-management.

A key axis is the development of autonomy through metacognitive activities to reflect, set goals, manage time, adjust strategies and transfer learning. Tips, self-assessments, reflective journals and portfolios support this process.

The virtual classroom is a repository, a communication channel and an assessment space. Optional synchronous sessions are offered for tutoring or collaborative feedback. The teacher guides the process through meaningful tasks, formative feedback and virtual support. Students access interactive materials and tools, including topic video tutorials, so they can progress at their own pace and autonomously.

Learning outcomes

• Communicates observations about linguistic and cultural diversity coherently, using basic English vocabulary and structures correctly to support understanding, through presentations.
• Clearly analyzes similarities and differences between English and the mother tongue in linguistic and cultural aspects, applying this knowledge to interpret simple oral and written texts.
• Produces greetings, farewells and introductions orally and in writing with intelligible pronunciation, ensuring that others understand and respecting the sociocultural conventions of the language.
• Understands personal information coherently and appropriately in real or simulated contexts, applying sociocultural norms and using basic vocabulary and grammar of the target language, through information exchanges.
• Interprets information about physical appearance, personality traits and family relationships accurately and coherently, including sociocultural norms and showing respect for diversity.
• Produces oral and written descriptions of people and family relationships clearly, with understandable pronunciation and appropriate basic vocabulary and grammar.
• Interprets information about routines, daily activities and personal habits coherently and appropriately, including expressions of frequency, likes and preferences in real or simulated contexts.
• Produces oral and written messages about daily life with clear and correct pronunciation, using basic vocabulary and grammar appropriately.

Assessment strategies

Face-to-face modality

Initial activities identify students' prior knowledge and difficulties in oral and written comprehension and expression and basic vocabulary, so that teaching can be adjusted to their needs.

Formative assessment is continuous, through direct observation, oral and written feedback and teacher support while students complete tasks. It includes self-assessment and peer assessment, which promote social learning as well as students' self-regulation and autonomy.

Summative assessment uses meaningful tasks that integrate several language skills (oral, written and audiovisual comprehension, interaction and production) and show the development of competences in real or simulated contexts. It includes collaborative projects, final task presentations, dramatizations, debates and problem solving, integrating linguistic and intercultural knowledge as well as analysis, collaboration and critical thinking. Competence- and outcome-based rubrics, checklists and portfolios are used to grade it. These instruments ensure coherent, valid and reliable assessment.

Assessment in this modality can be fully face-to-face or combined, partly online and partly face-to-face.

Distance modality

In the hybrid modality, diagnostic, formative and summative assessment are similar to the face-to-face modality. Summative assessment can be fully face-to-face or combined, partly online and partly face-to-face. Formative assessment mainly uses delayed feedback, self-assessment activities and, in group activities, peer assessment.

Synchronous videoconference meetings are used for personalized pedagogical support and direct guidance. Summative assessment is recommended at the end of each unit, using e-portfolios and rubrics based on the descriptors of competences, sub-competences and expected learning outcomes.

In these assessments, especially online, validity and reliability are guaranteed to ensure a fair and rigorous process. Assessment in this modality includes digital projects, multimedia products and online collaborative activities, as well as tasks for oral, written and audiovisual comprehension, production and interaction. All activities are set in real and meaningful situations to show the development of specific competences in the use of English.