ELT Guidelines for CPGE 1

1. Introduction

At the outset, it should be pointed out that the following document has been drafted in
line with the general principles set forth in the National Charter of Education and
Training (NCET) which aims to improve the quality of the Moroccan educational system
in general and the teaching and learning of English in „CPGE‟ schools in particular. The
driving aim is to cultivate the idea that the teaching and learning process must be
interactive and learner-centered. English language teaching and learning must reinforce
human relationships and promote, both within and outside the classroom, basic values
such as citizenship, tolerance, empathy, cooperation and collaboration through classroom
activities that foster sharing, turn-taking, creative and critical thinking skills. Teachers
should help learners develop the spirit of cooperative learning through well-designed
activities which include individual „think time‟, pair work and group work, debates and
discussion, interviews, problem-solving, and focused writing exercises. The approach to
English language teaching and learning adopted at this level should enable learners to
develop self-confidence, self-esteem and lead them to act as proactive individuals capable
of using information and logical reasoning to question both local and global issues. It
should also help them build up their own identities and develop effective communication
skills necessary to the requirements and challenges of their subsequent higher education
and to the needs and the job opportunities of the future.

These guidelines include among others, objectives, strategies, and techniques,

appropriate for the first and the second year of the English language teaching and
learning in the CPGE classes. They describe a number of aspects of communicative
competence (including the linguistic and the pragmatic ones) in the four major language
skills i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing. They also provide a general framework
for teachers to plan their lessons in order to adjust the self-directed language learning of
their students.

This document will also help teachers better construct their classroom activities, enliven
and enrich their English language lessons, and promote a fresh and questioning approach
to global and social issues. The teachers as facilitators and guides are requested to
encourage learners to develop a questioning attitude towards current issues, understand
the principles of human rights; duties and responsibilities and abide by them. Language,
in this respect, should be viewed as a natural vehicle of thought, fostering cross-cultural
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 2

understanding and raising awareness of local and global issues. To this end, teachers
should offer opportunities for meaningful debate, discussion, reasoning and expressing
different points of view, with the aim to help learners develop and improve their
communication skills.

2. Prerequisites

With very few exceptions, all students who join the CPGE classes must have studied
English, at least, for three full years. On this basis, teachers are invited to bear the
following prerequisites in mind:

o The learners are assumed to have acquired a fairly satisfactory and adequate
knowledge of the English language system.
o They are also supposed to have developed the necessary basic skills and study-
skills that enable them to communicate effectively and appropriately in a wide
variety of situations.
o The learners are equally expected to have developed an awareness of the
fundamentals of the Moroccan cultural identity and gained an insight into major
cross-cultural differences.

3. General main aims

The general main aims of teaching English as a foreign language in CPGE schools to
students who are preparing for a Common National Examination in order to integrate
High Schools of Engineers are as follows:

o to enable the learners to enhance their linguistic and communicative competence

in the four areas of the English language system (listening / speaking / reading /
writing),
o to promote the learners‟ awareness of their cultural identity and further their
understanding of cross-cultural differences,
o to help them develop their autonomy and independence and enable them to
interact effectively and appropriately with the local environment, and
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 3

o to equip them with the basic skills and study-skills to allow them cope with the
requirements and challenges of their subsequent higher education and the future
needs of the job market.

The teachers‟ main responsibility is to guide the learners through the fundamentals of
language acquisition; i.e. to facilitate the learning of reading, writing, speaking, listening,
and the interpersonal skills. It is of equal importance for teachers to enable their learners
to develop the basic content areas of comprehending, analyzing, organizing, evaluating,
and applying information in meaningful context. These skills, better known as high-order
thinking skills, also include investigating, decision-making, classifying, and problem-
solving. This collection of skills together with technological literacy would determine the
success or failure of the future student engineer in his or her career choice for the second
decade of the 21st century.

4. Main objectives

As stated earlier, students joining CPGE classes for the first time are, in principle, already
equipped with the basic EFL skills and adequate communication competencies. However,
most CPGE classes are heterogeneous in nature, containing students with different mixed
abilities. The task of the teacher is, then, to build on those linguistic, communicative and
cultural assets and devise activities and varied learning situations that stimulate bright
elements‟ interest and challenge their curiosity while, at the same time, ensuring that the
less good elements are never left lagging behind. Teachers, then, should continuously
provide support and guidance to the less performing students. The following objectives,
incomprehensive as they are, should therefore serve as fundamental reference hallmarks
for organizing, planning, and devising syllabus classes and activities.

4.1. Part One:

During the first part, teachers should plan their lessons and devise activities that:

o enable the learners to review and extend their linguistic knowledge by focusing
jointly on both accuracy and fluency-oriented tasks,
o equip the learners with more necessary study-skills to allow them use reference
material in English,
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o enhance the learners‟ overall /cultural and cross-cultural awareness and provide
them with authentic culturally-oriented material, and
o initiate them to translation from English to French “Version” at the word, the
phrase and the simple sentence level.

4.2. Part Two:

During the second part, teachers are requested to:

o enable the learners to enhance their general language proficiency with a special
focus on reading and writing skills,
o consolidate and extend the learners‟ cultural and cross-cultural competence by
exposing them to a variety of genres and material,
o promote the learners autonomy and self-development as well as foster the spirit of
cooperative learning by engaging them in pair, sub-group and team work, and
o initiate them to translation from French to English “Thème” at the word, the
phrase and the simple sentence level.

5. Methodological approach

The National Charter of Education and Training (NCET) specifies a host of referential
standards that learners should know and be able to do in order to be active and
productive members in the community. In the field of English language teaching and
learning, these standards can be translated into learning, thinking and technological
competencies that would prepare learners in CPGE schools for the Information Age.

5.1. Standards-based approach

To begin with, we have first to review the definition of the term „standards‟, then to
identify the core standards and finally, to clarify the basic components of the standards-
based approach that is believed to be the most suitable approach to adopt in the CPGE
schools.

According to Darling-Hammond, & FalK (1997), standards are models that serve as
guides to help educators achieve educational quality, especially in the content areas. They
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 5

also facilitate change in the curriculum. Standards direct teachers achieve the knowledge
and the necessary skills found in the curriculum. In addition, they help provide the means
of evaluation to determine whether the learners have attained mastery of the
competencies of the subject area.

Curriculum core standards are common to all subjects. While there are many definitions
of the term „standards‟, most educators agree that they encompass the following:

1. Content standards are what learners should know and be able to do.
2. Performance standards define the degrees of mastery or the level of attainment,
3. Assessment standards serve as strategies to evaluate how knowledge and
development of skills in the learners are being acquired.
4. Opportunity-to-learn standards concern the availability of the programs, staff, and
other resources that schools, delegations, academies and the ministry provide so
that learners are able to meet the challenging content standards and performance
standards (Marzano & Kendall, 1995; Resnick & Nolan, 1995; Noddings, 1997).

The basic components of the standards-based approach, introduced in the Moroccan ELT
classroom, are referred to as „content standards‟ (Chaibi, 2006). „Performance standards‟,
on the other side, are informative to the teachers and the supervisors about the teaching
efficiency of the content standards. In CPGE schools, teachers of English should endeavor
to help their learners acquire knowledge, values, attitudes and human virtues, skills and
competencies, cultural diversity, prevention, and study and work.

5.2. Critical thinking

Critical thinking as „an approach‟ to language learning is based on Benjamin Bloom‟s

taxonomy which categorizes levels of intellectual behavior in learning into three domains:
the cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Within the cognitive domain, Bloom identified
six levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

In higher educational settings, this taxonomy is adopted as a fundamental approach in

language teaching and learning. It helps to improve the thinking and the communication
skills of learners.
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 6

Critical thinking is a logical, “disciplined and self-directed thinking” (Paul et. al, 1995, p.
361). It requires from learners to “[think] about [their] thinking while [they]‟re thinking
in order to make [their] thinking better: more clear, more accurate and more defensible”
(ibid.). It involves the use of the scientific method as to asking questions, gathering and
assessing relevant information, coming to well-reasoned conclusions/solutions, and
communicating the results effectively (Buchanan, 1995).

In a classroom where critical thinking approach is adopted, students are active,

responsible and self-directed members in the group. They feel too much involved in the
process of learning. In Richard Paul‟s words, "When […] students are learning well, they
are employing the logic of their own thinking as a tool in learning. They are reasoning
their way into the logic of the content. They are getting their minds into the logic of a
somewhat new system, a somewhat new way of thinking, so [teachers] need to give them
assignments and design activities that help them to bridge between these two, their old
thinking and the new" (ibid.).

5.3. Critical thinking skills

The learner should be able to

o memorize, identify or recall information that does not change (e.g. list of
vocabulary items, names, dates, quotes, etc.)
o paraphrase, explain or summarize oral or written texts
o interpret, describe or represent information in a different way (e.g. use graphs /
diagrams or infer cause and consequence, etc.)
o apply, construct or use information in a new situation to solve a problem
o analyze, see parts and wholes, infer or explain why things work the way they do
o synthesize, create new ideas, predict and draw conclusions
o evaluate, assess, make judgments and justify standpoints

5.4. Strategies adopted in planning the lessons

While planning their lessons, teachers should select and integrate some of Paul, Binker,
Martin and Richardson‟s strategies in each lesson. The main concern of the teacher is to
guide the learner towards the achievement of the higher order thinking skills through the
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 7

use and practice of the Socratic types of questioning (c.f. 5.5. below). Strategies which
teachers should incorporate in their lessons are quoted from Paul, et. al, (1995, p. 56)

A- Affective strategies
S1: thinking independently
S2: developing insight into egocentric or sociocentricity
S3: exercising fairmindedness
S4: exploring thoughts underlying feelings and feelings underlying thoughts
S5: developing intellectual humility and suspending judgment
S6: developing intellectual courage
S7: developing intellectual good faith or integrity
S8: developing intellectual perseverance
S9: developing confidence in reason

B- Cognitive Strategies – Macro Abilities

S10: refining generalizations and avoiding oversimplifications
S11: comparing analogous situations: transferring insights to new contexts
S12: developing one‟s perspective: creating or exploring beliefs, arguments, or theories
S13: clarifying issues, conclusions, or beliefs
S14: clarifying and analyzing the meanings of words or phrases
S15: developing criteria for evaluation: clarifying values and standards
S16: evaluating the credibility of sources of information
S17: questioning deeply: raising and pursuing root or significant questions
S18: analyzing or evaluating arguments, interpretations, beliefs, or theories
S19: generating or assessing solutions
S20: analyzing or evaluating actions
S21: reading critically: clarifying or critiquing texts
S22: listening critically: the art of silent dialogue
S23: making interdisciplinary connections
S24: practicing Socratic discussion: clarifying and questioning beliefs, theories or
perspectives
S25: reasoning dialogically: comparing perspectives, interpretations, or theories
S26: reasoning dialectically: evaluating perspectives, interpretations, or theories
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 8

C- Cognitive Strategies – Micro-Skills

S27: comparing and contrasting ideas with actual practice
S28: thinking precisely about thinking: using critical vocabulary
S29: noting significant similarities and differences
S30: examining or evaluating assumptions
S31: distinguishing relevant from irrelevant facts
S32: making plausible inferences, predictions, or interpretations
S33: evaluating evidence and alleged facts
S34: recognizing contradictions
S35: exploring implications and consequences

5.5. Techniques/Questions to develop the learners’ reasoning abilities

The following types of Socratic questioning and the selected examples of questions are
quoted from Paul, et. al, (1995, pp. 29-30):

1. Questions of clarifications
e.g. What do you mean by ____? / What do you think is the main issue here? Etc.
2. Questions that probe assumptions
e.g. What are you assuming? / What is X assuming? Etc.
3. Questions that probe reasons and evidence
e.g. Could you explain your reasons to us? / How do you know? Etc.
4. Questions about viewpoints or perspectives
e.g. Can you see this another way? / What would someone who disagrees say? Etc.
5. Questions that probe implications and consequences
e.g. What are you implying by that? / What effect would that have? Etc.
6. Questions about questions
e.g. How could someone settle this question? / Is this question easy or hard to
answer? Why? / Do we all agree that this is the question? Etc.
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 9

6. Time distribution per mainstream

Mainstream Tutoring Number of Number of Number of Number of

mode hours hours per hours per hours per
per week trimester semester year
MP Class 2 20 30 60
PSI
TSI Colle 0.5 03 04.5 09
BCPST
LSH Total 2.5 23 34.5 69

Class 03 30 45 90
ECT
ECS Colle 0.5 03 04.5 09

Total 3.5 33 49.5 99

Table 1: Number of hours of learning per week/month/semester/year

7. Course content for semester ONE and TWO

7.1. Language and skills

7.1.1. Listening

The learner should be able to:

o listen effectively and comprehend a lecture, an interview, a filmstrip, etc.

o infer word meanings from the context
o listen and take notes
o distinguish the main ideas from details
o use clues to discriminate between facts and opinions
o identify the speaker‟s purpose or attitude
o identify the tone of the speaker
o react critically to a speaker‟s attitude
o recognize phonetic symbols using a dictionary
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 10

7.1.2. Speaking

The learner should be able to:

o make correct predictions and guesses

o summarize a text orally
o speak while using a text in note-form
o speak appropriately and effectively and exchange opinions or express feelings
o sustain a communication act using a variety of strategies and techniques
o recognize and produce the correct intonation and stress
o explore a text for personal or cultural relevance and act accordingly

7.1.3. Reading

The learner should be able to:

o skim a text for the main idea

o scan a text to identify specific information
o infer the meanings of unfamiliar words
o recognize and identify reference (anaphora / cataphora)
o understand explicitly or implicitly stated information
o transcode information into tabular form (tables, graphs, diagrams, etc.)
o discriminate between facts and opinions
o distinguish the topic sentence from supporting details
o identify the writer‟s attitude or bias
o identify the mood or the tone of the writer
o recognize and understand pragmatic inference
o recognize cohesive patterns
o recognize text organizational pattern (classifying, cause and effect, sequencing,
describing, etc)
o recognize logical fallacies
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 11

7.1.4. Writing

The learner should be able to:

o understand and use word-order and sentence structure correctly

o understand and use subject-verb agreement appropriately
o reorder the paragraphs to build a coherent text
o use cohesive devices appropriately
o write about oneself, family, community and the environment
o write a commentary synthesizing arguments
o summarize a paragraph, a short text or a longer passage
o analyze a statement or a quote
o edit, proof-read and self- correct one‟s written production
o develop awareness of the various types of discourse and their properties or
characteristics
o translate sentences from English to French “Version” and from French to English
“Thème”.

7.2. Vocabulary

The learner should be able to:

o recognize core lexis related to the themes under study

o recognize loan-words / false cognates
o distinguish formal from informal lexis
o distinguish between British and American English
o learn word collocations and idiomatic expressions related to the topics / themes
under study
o learn new lexis related to specific area of interest (ESP, EST, etc.)
o get acquainted with lexis required to use the WWW
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 12

7.3. Grammatical structures

The learner should review and master the use of the following structures both in speaking
and in writing:

o verb tenses
o verb forms (gerund, infinitive, base form, etc.)
o modals expressing possibility, probability, etc.
o conditionals sentences
o passive voice
o reported speech
o connecting words (conjunctions, transitional words, phrases etc.)
o relative, adverbial, and noun clauses
o nouns (singular, plural, abstract, etc.)
o pronouns (relative, reflexive, etc)
o articles and their use
o prepositions
o comparatives and superlatives
o prefixes, infixes and suffixes
o phrasal verbs
o question tags

7.4. Communication skills

The learner should be able to:

o understand the macrostructure of texts and quickly extract relevant information

o decide on the appropriate reading strategy to use for a reading task
o process and evaluate information while reading or listening
o respond fluently and accurately to oral or written messages
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 13

7.5. Study skills

The learner should be able to:

o use mono-lingual dictionary regularly and effectively

o underline, highlight, take notes, outline …etc. while doing an assignment in class
or at home
o cooperate preparing assignment and project works (individually, in pairs or in
group)
o think critically and solve problems
o participate in a debate (related to the themes under study)
o learn basic rules of standard oral presentations
o use the WWW to research information and assess credibility of reference sources
o develop confidence in addressing an audience and responding to their questions
o use the ICT tools to give a presentation (individually or in pairs)
o recognize logical fallacies to avoid them in cross-cultural encounters
o understand and react appropriately to culturally-oriented material
o compare and contrast cross-cultural attitudes beliefs and values
o develop research strategies (e.g. observation, experimentation, inquiry and
drawing conclusions)
o carry out research project individually, in pairs or in a small group
o lead surveys and write reports

8. Assessment

It should be noted that assessment is an integral part of the learning and teaching process
because of the various washback benefits it offers for both students and teachers. In
CPGE classes in particular, students should be tested on a regular basis bearing in mind
the administrative calendar. Generally, teachers are supposed to administer two types of
test, namely written tests (Devoirs Surveillés) and oral ones (Colles). (c.f. Term
assessment specifications grid, p. 13).

Over a semester period, students should take three written tests each of which is allotted
two hours. In principle, the test should mirror the actual classroom teachings and should
also comply with the general format of the Common National Examination which takes
place by the end of the two year period of the CPGE studies. These written tests should
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 14

also serve as a platform for identifying and diagnosing areas of potential difficulties for
which the teacher will devise remedial tasks. It is advisable that students be informed in
advance of the schedule of the test with a view to enabling them to prepare satisfactorily
and to ensure that the test scheduling be worked out in coordination with other teachers
of other subjects.

The other major assessment component, (Colles), on the other side, is of no less
importance. The teachers should make sure that the „colle‟ sessions follow a well-
structured and planned course, and are consistent with the incumbent themes of the year.
They should also complement and reinforce what has been taught in the previous class
sessions. Given the relatively larger amount of time available in these oral assessment
sessions, special emphasis should be laid on the communication skills. This, however,
should not exclude the possibility of giving students more practice in other skill-related
areas. Teachers are required to provide the students with activities that allow them to use
high-order thinking skills and further their practice in paraphrasing, commenting,
arguing and debating. It is left up to the teacher‟s discretion to choose from a variety of
written or audio-visual material that goes in line with the course objectives. Students can
even be assigned class or home assignments, conduct small-scale projects or
presentations.

Finally, it should be admitted that a full and fair assessment of the students‟ performance
is hard to achieve solely via written and oral tests. Therefore, the teacher should make a
room for other components such as the student‟s classroom participation, attendance,
assignments, and quizzes. The grading of diligence components should, nevertheless,
follow a standard format that lends it more objectivity and reliability.
ELT Guidelines for CPGE 15

Term assessment specifications grid

Type of test Frequency Time Weight Proposed

allotted schedule
Written tests 3 tests per 2 hours 50 percent of 1 test after
(Continuous semester the total mark every 5 weeks
assessment) of study
Oral tests 4 to 5 times a 10 to 20 30 percent of Following the
(Colles) semester minutes the total mark proposed
„colloscope‟
Diligence and All throughout Quizzes: 10 to 20 percent of All throughout
assignments the semester 20 minutes the total mark the semester

Table 2: Term assessment grid

9. Thematic program for the first year (SUP Classes)

The themes listed below are not to be viewed as mutually exclusive. A number of themes
do overlap with others (e.g. communication and development). Therefore, the themes are
suggested for ease of clarification. For each mainstream (MPSI, PCSI, TSI, BCPST, ECS,
ECT, or LSH), an administrative note will be dispatched to teachers specifying the bi-
annual theme(s) and the related sub-themes.

Main themes Examples of related sub-themes

 Types of pollution
 Environment  Strategies for renewal
 Healthcare
 Types of technologies
 Technology  Modern inventions
 ICT
 Mass media
 Communication  Public Speaking
 Verbal vs. non-verbal communication
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 Identity and diversity

 Culture & identity  Cross-cultural differences
 World culture(s)
 Arts and literature
 Education  Illiteracy
 Social sciences
 Citizenship
 Values  Human rights
 Tradition and modernity
 Management
 Leadership  Governance
 Leadership styles
 Sustainability
 Development  Economic issues
 Globalization
 Work and study
 Gender issues  Gender differences
 Social disparities

Table 3: Thematic program for the first year (all mainstreams)

ELT Guidelines for CPGE 17

References

Buchanan, A., (1995). Integrating critical thinking skills into the classroom. Retrieved
March 19, 2007 from http://www.accessexcellence.org/LC/TL/buchanan/

Chaibi, A., (2006). Competency-based education and Standards-based education: What, why,
and how?. MATE Newsletter. 26, (3-4), 4.

Darling-Hammond, L. & FalK, B. (1997). Using standards and assessments to support

student learning. Phi Betta Kappan. 79, (3), 190-199.

Marzano, R. J. (1993). How classroom teachers approach the teaching of thinking.

Theory into Practice. 32, (3), 154-160.

Marzano, R. J., and Kendall, J. S. (1995). The McREL database: A tool for constructing
local standards. Educational Leadership. 52, (6), 42-48.

Noddings, N. (1997, November). Thinking about standards. Phi Betta Kappan. 79, (3),
184-190.

Paul, R. W. (1993). Critical thinking: What every person needs to survive in a rapidly
changing world. Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking

Paul, R. W., Binker, A. J. A., Martin, D., & Adamson, K. (1996). Critical thinking
handbook: High school a guide for redesigning instruction. Santa Rosa, CA:
Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Resnick, L. & Nolan, K. (1995). Where in the world are world-standards?. Educational
Leadership. 52, (6), 6-10.

Resnick, L. B. (1987). Education and learning to think. Washington, DC: National

Academy Press.