A Proposal of an Alternative Model of Teaching English in Spain

Abstract

According to the latest edition of the EF English Proficiency Index Spain has one of the lowest levels of English as a Foreign Language in Europe. The education system in Spain invests time and money in teaching English and these poor results are a problem. This article proposes as a possible solution for the learning of English in Spain the imitation of the learning system of the mother tongue, which means that in the first courses only the oral skills of listening and speaking must be developed -four measures are proposed: an earlier start, Phonological Awareness Training, a inductive way of teaching grammar, and to avoid the dubbing tradition. Only when the students already dominate the oral skills, the written skills of reading and writing will be introduced. This possible solution is based on the idea of students should listen and speak before reading and writing.