English Language Teaching and the Common European Frame of Reference A comparison of ELT in Portugal and in the Republic of Kosovo

Abstract

All of English Language (FL) teachers, whether new career teachers or those with a long-teaching experience, don’t sometimes know where to begin a lesson and how to begin it. The uncertainty of appropriate balance between the learners’ interests and the national curricula has sometimes made teachers dream about ‘fundamentally’ or ‘slightly’ changing various aspects of English Language Teaching (ELT) and the national curricula i.e. change of teaching. Although there are few teachers who havecourage to make decisions about their
teaching, for some teachers this kind of (un)fulfilled wish may have become almost habitualand no step has been taken. The study is an observationof the detailed curriculum for English learning in Portugal called The National
Curriculum and Metas Curriculares de Ingles, Ensino Basico 1, 2, e 3 Ciclos, conducted by the Ministry of Education and Sciences of Portugal and a comparison with English language Curriculum of Kosovo. It examines different ELT skills and points of views all originating in the field of topics and activities conducted in a ELT class in control of a more sophisticated plan of teaching, that is the Common European Frame of Reference (CEFR) for language learning,
teaching and assessment. With respect to the teachers’ pedagogical responsibilities and professionalism shown in balancing teaching categories, such as the topic, the learners’ background, learners’ attitudes and teachers’ teaching
styles, the present studyassesses this new act and offers possible suggestions to generate it in different countries, of course in more efficient and structured way of teaching which is based on each county’s policy.

Keywords: Curriculum, Teaching practice, Challenge, Document.