Summary
Interdisciplinarity, in contemporary society, has ceased to be a trend and has become a law, hence, in the training of Cuban education professionals, it constitutes one of the principles of the curriculum present in the different study plans and processes. of teaching - learning of the different disciplines and subjects.
The objective of this work is to assess the need for the implementation of interdisciplinary relationships in the teaching of the English subject as part of the improvement of the teaching-learning process, so that it results in a process of optimization of the teaching of English.
Introduction
The Cuban educational system has qualities that distinguish it from the rest of the educational systems in the world. One of these qualities has been the constant concern to raise the educational level of the entire society.
That is why the Cuban school is socially asked to educate children, adolescents and young people with an education of excellence; Putting this effort into practice is not an easy task, this implies that the teacher needs to prepare better, on the one hand, to undertake educational work, which makes educational institutions a true working community; since educators need to interact with each other in order not only to instruct, but also to educate their students and on the other hand to be in a position to integrate a system of actions based on the optimization of the teaching-learning process as a way essential to achieve efficiency.
The objective of this work is to assess the need for the implementation of interdisciplinary relationships in the teaching of the English subject as part of the improvement of the teaching-learning process, so that it results in a process of optimization of the teaching of English.
Development
Certainly, the optimization of the teaching-learning process has as presuppositions:
- The identification of the fundamental problems that prevent raising the quality of education The projection of objectives and goals to be achieved and the deadlines to achieve them The determination of the ways, forms and periodicity to verify the fulfillment of the results of the actions.
Considering this way of proceeding implies taking into account the methodological-dialectical conception from practice and theorizing in it. Thus, interdisciplinarity as an integrating concept of work in the teaching-learning process reflects the growing interpenetration of knowledge as a reflection of natural and social reality.
In its essence, interdisciplinarity contains as key elements, deep knowledge of the disciplines, the activity of the people who develop them, their cooperation, flexibility of analysis, communication, mutual enrichment of knowledge, integration into the group in the formation of values, as well as the deepening and creative solution of problems.
For Dr. Diana Salazar Fernández (2004), the history of interdisciplinarity is related to the history of man's effort to unite and integrate situations and aspects that separate their own scientific and social practice. It demands knowledge of the object of study in a comprehensive way, stimulating the development of new methodological approaches that are more suitable for solving problems, although its organization is complex, given the particularity of each scientific discipline that has its own methods, standards and language.
Jorge Fiallo, (1996) believes that interdisciplinarity is an effective way that contributes to the achievement of the mutual relationship of the system of concepts, laws and theories that are addressed in the school, as well as a system of values, convictions and relationships towards the real and objective world in which it corresponds to live and, ultimately, as an essential aspect, to develop in students a job training that allows them to fully prepare for life.
This definition given by Fiallo from the point of view of the researcher is comprehensive since it goes beyond the limit of the relationship between the contents, reaching the formative work which allows us to take this knowledge to the different disciplines and in particular to English and Spanish.
He agrees with said author since interdisciplinarity allows unifying knowledge for a better study of reality, to solve problems that arise in everyday life through the application of scientific methods.
For her part, Martha Álvarez (2004) states that interdisciplinarity encompasses not only the links that can be established between the knowledge systems of one subject and another, but also those links that can be created between the modes of action, forms of thinking, qualities, values and points of view that enhance the different subjects. It allows to establish interrelationships of coordination and cooperation in the methodological work of the disciplines for the articulation of knowledge, skills, modes of mental activity around a problem and for the search for possible solutions.
Due to the diversity of definitions in relation to the concept of interdisciplinarity, the statement by Dr. Marta Álvarez is assumed since it is considered the most complete, it takes into account the methodological work, from which the priorities, goals, strategies and actions for overcome the insufficiencies of the personal and non-personal components of the educational teaching process, as well as the relationships that are established between the knowledge systems of the different subjects that allow the development of instruction and education through communication and cooperative work.
In Secondary Education, interdisciplinarity has been treated basically as a theoretical issue, but it is necessary to specify it in pedagogical practice through specific actions, conceived as a fundamental cell of the political and pedagogical work of the school, as a unifying and coordinating element between the subjects. Among these subjects is the Foreign language (English) and Mother tongue (Spanish).
In the characterization of the English language subject in the National Education System, it is expressed that it responds to political, economic, social and cultural reasons of foreign languages in today's world, where the exchange of delegations, technicians increases every day and students. Similarly, information sources in the English language are increasing and with the development of information and communication technology distances are shortened, new spaces are created for exchange and cooperation between peoples. In this context, English plays a very important role in guaranteeing Cuba's relationship with many countries in the world. (MINED, 2004).
On the other hand, the comprehensive training of adolescents requires that they know at least one foreign language as a way to expand their knowledge and assessments of universal culture.In Secondary Education, the English subject is structured in two cycles, one that covers Secondary Basic and another the pre-university. Among the objectives of the English subject in Basic Secondary are:
- Demonstrate political-ideological training through responsible social and civic behavior Assume a responsible attitude towards their own learning Demonstrate habits and skills of independent work and cooperation Use the skills developed in the language to understand information related to the content of other subjects and areas of the school curriculum Demonstrate understanding and identify with aspects of Cuban culture and universal culture, particularly with that of English-speaking countries that allows them to recognize and appreciate the communicative and cultural value of the foreign and mother tongue showing an attitude of respect towards them, towards their inhabitants and their cultures, which contributes to strengthening the bonds of solidarity and friendship with other peoples. (MINED, 2004)
In the characterization of the Spanish subject, in turn, it is expressed that the contents of the Spanish language have their logic and continuity in Basic Secondary by integrating a single subject with various components such as: reading, comprehension, oral-written expression, grammar and orthography. This characterization makes it clear that the essential objective is to develop the students' language skills, with the reading of different types of texts occupying a relevant place.
The practice of commenting orally, in writing and summarizing occupies a prominent place in the teaching of Spanish. As for the grammatical content, the study goes into depth in both the predicate and the verbal components. Emphasis is placed on paying special attention to vocabulary, which is expanded and precise with the performance of different activities related to each of the disciplines of the degree and the components of the subjects.
In the analysis of the methodological conception of the English subject, it is expressed ¨ The methodological conception of the subject is the communicative approach integrating by basic principles of the conscious practical method for the systematization of the contents that contribute to the development of skills and the teaching of the English through other content to promote interdisciplinarity.
But despite the efforts made by the Cuban educational authorities to make the teaching of the mother tongue and English an achievement, where children, adolescents and young people achieve a prominent development in their competitiveness or, linguistic performance and motivation, it has been verified that There are dissatisfactions on a family and social scale as an effective level in the development of these languages has not yet been achieved, which allows the learner, once they have completed their university studies, to perform in the foreign language, interact with counterparts from other latitudes, obtain and reproduce information from foreign sources, as well as extrapolate acquired knowledge to communicative situations of their daily reality.
The importance of language in the teaching-learning process cannot be avoided in this work, among others:
- Its direct intervention in the transmission and acquisition of knowledge and the close link between language and thought. Its instrumental nature, for contributing to the development of intellectual and teaching skills and for its interdisciplinary and enabling condition of knowledge, language constitutes one of the most effective tools for the performance of Basic Secondary students and teachers.
It is necessary to specify that there are different dimensions aimed at the comprehensive training of students, which are not effective without interdisciplinarity, since when carrying out the learning, with a proper articulation of the contents and revealing the links between phenomena and processes, which are object of study, facilitate a more comprehensive vision of the unity and diversity of the natural and social world, as well as its ethical implication in society, since interdisciplinarity has become a basic aspect of human activity (Fernández M. 1994, Núñez J. 1999, Perera F. 2000), which is fundamental to achieve the essential purpose of Cuban educational policy.
The author of this work has considered the following procedural elements to illustrate the contents that can be integrated from the English and Spanish subjects by determining the meeting points between the two.
In the teaching of English in Basic Secondary in the Mella municipality, a set of deficiencies are found that constitute barriers when establishing interdisciplinary links between this subject and Spanish. Among which are:
- The poor inter-subject relationship The use of inadequate methodological procedures in the integration of the content of the English subject program with Spanish Insufficient level of knowledge of the teachers on how to implement interdisciplinary relations between English and Spanish.
The relationship between these subjects will be given not only by the coordination of the contents, but also by the adoption of common criteria taken in the pedagogical group regarding the organization of contents and, of course, the methodology and evaluation.
The organization of the contents and the way of approaching them in the classroom become transcendent decisions that have to be shared by the teaching team.
The choice of a content arrangement implies certain methodological principles, specific teaching strategies, means and resources, as well as a learning environment of its own.
The organization that is given to the contents within the English subject must consider:
- The correspondence of the linguistic contents with the development levels of the students The functionality and degree of significance of the contents The organizing content and the contents that act as support The presence and relationship of the three types of contents (conceptual, procedural and evaluative), since they are complementary to achieve the development of the capacities raised in the formative objectives of the teaching and the discipline The difference between the conceptual, procedural, and evaluative contents that by their nature have to be sequenced differently. attention to diversity.
For the organization of the conceptual contents, the subject must determine its specific criteria, starting from these general criteria that will be assumed as actions:
- Adapt the contents, considering the necessary continuity and progression, to the evolutionary development of the students, establishing an adequate distance between what they are capable of doing and the new contents that are being taught Present the contents according to the internal logic of the subjects on which they depend Delimit the central ideas (basic nuclei) that structure the sequence and synthesize the fundamental aspects that are being taught Encourage the relationship between the contents, so that the students understand their meaning and promote meaningful learning Elaborate learning situations that respond to the contents:
- Words with prefixes and suffixes in both languages. (See Annex 1) The false cognate words. (See Annex 2) Prefixes that can be used in both languages on an interdisciplinary basis. (See Annex 3) Suffixes that can be used in both languages. See Annex 4
Conclusions.
In the teaching of English in Basic Secondary in the Mella municipality, a set of deficiencies are found that constitute barriers when establishing interdisciplinary links between this subject and Spanish. Among which are:
- The poor inter-subject relationship The use of inadequate methodological procedures in the integration of the content of the English subject program with Spanish Insufficient level of knowledge of the teachers on how to implement interdisciplinary relations between English and Spanish.
The proposal of actions for the establishment of interdisciplinary relations between English and Spanish taking English as an integrating axis is flexible, dynamic and in accordance with the particularities of the teachers of the ESBU ¨ Tania La Guerrillera ¨.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- ADDINE, Fatima. Didactics and optimization of the teaching process - Learning. City of Havana: IPLAC. 1998.ÁLVAREZ PÉREZ, Marta. Interdisciplinarity: An approach from science teaching - learning. City of Havana: Editorial Pueblo y Educación, 2004. AÑORGA, Julia. Lecture given at the II Latin American Workshop on Advanced Education, Science and Technology. Havana city. Cuba, 1995. WHITE, Antonio. Introduction to the sociology of education. Havana: Editorial Pueblo y Educación, 2001, Collective of Authors of the ICCP. Pedagogy. City of Havana: Editorial Pueblo y Educación, 1984.
6.HYMES, D. On Communicative Competence: Directions in Sociolinguistics, 1970.
7.MAÑALÍCH Suárez, Rosario. Interdisciplinarity and Didactics of the Humanities. Interdisciplinarity and didactics, in Education Magazine. No. 94, 1998.
8.MINED. Seventh grade programs. Havana: Editorial Pueblo y Educación. 2002
9.MINED. Seventh grade methodological guidelines. Havana: Editorial people and education. 2002
- . Precisions for the direction of the Basic Secondary educational teaching process. Havana: Editorial Pueblo and
Education, 1999
- NÚÑEZ JOVER, Jorge. Epistemology, interdisciplinarity and medicine.
Magnetic holder, 1999.
- PERERA, Fernando. The interdisciplinary training of science teachers: an example in the teaching-learning process of physics. PhD thesis. Havana: Higher Pedagogical Institute Enrique José Varona, 2000. HERSON SAYÚ, Margarita and Salcedo Estrada, M. Inés. Towards the improvement of teacher preparation: a challenge for the Cuban middle school. Havana: Editorial Pueblo y Educación, 2003. TORRES Santomé, Jurjo. Globalization and interdisciplinarity: the integrated curriculum. 3rd edition. Madrid: Editorial Morata SL, 1994 VALLE, Alberto. Some considerations on the transformation of the current school. In Compendium of Pedagogy. Havana city:
Editorial Pueblo y Educación, 2002.
- VALCÁRCEL, Norberto. Interdisciplinary Improvement Strategy for teachers of Basic Secondary Sciences. Thesis in option to the Scientific Degree of Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences. Havana. Cuba, 1998.
ANNEXES
Annex 1. Words with prefixes and suffixes in both languages.
Example:
| Name | Verb | Adjective | Adverb |
| Deformaly | Deform | Deformed | deformedly |
| deformity | Deform | Deformed | deformed |
| Activity | Activate | Active | actively |
| Exercise | Activate | Active | actively |
| Anxiety | anxious | Anxiously | |
| Anxiety | anxious | Anxiously | |
| Necessity | Need you | necessary | Necessarily |
| Need | Need | necessary | necessarily |
| Separation | Separate | separate | separately |
| Separation | Separation | separation | separation |
Annex 2. The cognate false words.
The most important thing about working with these words is to make students notice, in the course of their reading, the similarities between English and Spanish and thus strengthen interdisciplinary learning between both languages.
These cognate false words are proposed so that students can look up their meanings in the dictionary and thus develop this skill as well. Students will be asked to make sentences with them, in both languages.
Annex 3 Prefixes that can be used in both languages on an interdisciplinary basis.
Examples:
| Prefix | Meaning | Language | Example |
| Before | Before | (I) | antecedent |
| (AND) | antecedent | ||
| Bis | Two | (I) | bicycle |
| (AND) | bicycle | ||
| Circum | Round | (I) | circumference |
| (AND) | circumference | ||
| Against | Against | (I) | contrary |
| (AND) | contrary | ||
| Dif - dis | Apart | (I) | different |
| (AND) | different | ||
| Former | Outside | (I) | import |
| (AND) | to import |
Annex 4. Suffixes that can be used in both languages on an interdisciplinary basis.
Examples:
| Suffixes | Meaning | Language | Example |
| able - ible | capable of being | (I) | movable |
| (AND) | movable | ||
| Ance- ence | State | (I) | existence |
| (AND) | existence | ||
| Ant | The one | (I) | Assistant |
| (AND) | Assistant | ||
| Fy | Do | (I) | Prerify |
| (AND) | Purifier | ||
| Ory | A place to | (I) | Dormitory |
| (AND) | Bedroom | ||
| Ous | Full of | (I) | Famous |
| (AND) | Famous |
