A Trainee-centered approach in teaching a foreign language

       2 PROJECT-BASED TEACHING AS THE KEY STRATEGY OF THE LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACH 

       2.1 Guiding the Process of Carrying out a Project 

       Teachers who are successful in traditional classrooms where they are at the center of instruction often find it difficult to relinquish control to more student-centered activities that are less predictable and organized. “Why should I change when everything is going well?” they wonder. Like students who resist activities without clear-cut right answers, teachers occasionally have difficulty coping with the complexity of a classroom where students take control of their own learning.

       In order for students to learn 21st century skills, however, such as higher-order thinking, teamwork, and problem solving, they must be engaged in complex projects that resemble real-life work in different disciplines. They also must receive continual information about their learning progress. Research clearly shows the positive effect that this kind of assessment has on student learning [20].

       Although there is good reason to believe that student-centered instruction and formative assessment have the power to motivate students to become engaged in their own learning, the path to self-direction is often not an easy one.

       Teachers may also find giving up traditional practices difficult. Formative assessment de-emphasizes grades and emphasizes learning. Students are asked to set goals and monitor their own progress. They are encouraged to be creative, to take risks, and to ask questions. In short, they are expected to care about their own learning. 

       If students are to take control of their own learning, they need instruction and support in specific skills such as collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking. Teaching must become less about delivering subject-area knowledge and more about engineering instruction around authentic tasks that allow students to practice working with new content in ways that challenge their thinking and help them develop 21st century skills of self-direction and collaboration.

       Organizing pupils into pairs is an important job for the teacher at the project lesson. In pair work students can practise the language together, study a text, research the language or take part in information-gap activities. They can write dialogues, predict the content of reading texts, or compare on what they have listened to or seen.

       The most important advantages and disadvantages of using pair work at project lessons are the following.

       So, the positive sides are:

       It dramatically increases the amount of speaking time any one student gets in the class. It allows students to work and interact independently without the necessary guidance of the teacher, thus promoting learner independence.

       It allows teachers time to work with one or two pairs while the other students continue working.

       It recognises the old maxim that ‘two heads are better than one’, and in promoting cooperation helps the classroom to become a more relaxed and friendly place. If teachers get students to make decisions in pairs, they will be allowed to share responsibility rather than having to bear the whole weight themselves.

       It is relatively quick and easy to organise.

       There are disadvantages of pair-work:

       Pair-work is frequently very noisy and some teachers and students dislike this. Teachers in particular worry that they will lose control of their class.

       Students in pairs can often veer away from the point of an exercise, talking about something else completely, often in their first language.

       It is also possible to put students in large groups too, since this will allow them to do a range of tasks for which pair-work is not sufficient or appropriate. Thus, students can write a group story or role-play a situation which involves five or six people. They can prepare a presentation or discuss an issue and come to a group decision. Students can watch, write or perform a video sequence; teachers can give individual students in a group different lines of a poem which the group has to reassemble.

       In general it is possible to say that small groups of around five students provoke greater involvement and participation than large groups. They are small enough for real interpersonal interaction, yet not so small that members are over-reliant upon each individual. Because five is an odd number, it means that a majority view can usually prevail. However, there are occasions when large groups are necessary. The activity may demand it, or we may want to divide the class into teams for some game or preparation phase. Advantages and disadvantages of using group-work at project lessons are nicely described by J. Reid, and T. Woodward in their works [5]. The main advantages are:

       Unlike pair-work, because there are more than two people in the group, personal relationships are usually less problematic; there is also a greater chance of different opinions and varied contribution than pair-work, and yet is more private than work in front of the whole class.

       It promotes learner autonomy by allowing students to make their own decisions in the group without being told what to do by the teacher.

       Like pair work, it dramatically increases the amount for individual students.

       There are definite disadvantages, too:

       It is likely to be noisy. Some teachers feel that they lose control, and the whole-class feeling which has been painstakingly built up may dissipate when the class is split into smaller entities. Groups can take longer to organise than pairs.

       In conclusion it should be mentioned that project work is topic-based which involves research/questionnaires project encourage cooperation and sharing, it may be very creative artwork.

       While project work it is possible to use such forms of class organization as pair and group work. It helps for developing all language skills at the project lessons. 

       2.2 Main Features of the Project Presentation 

       One of the most important features of project work is presentation. The form of presentation you choose will depend on the topic, the way of working, and the needs of your teaching situation. But it is important to present and preserve projects neatly. Projects can be presented in two ways:

       - as a poster. Students arrange their pictures and written texts on a large sheet of paper or card. The poster can then be displayed on the classroom walls. This is a particularly useful form of presentation for group projects;

       - as a book. Students keep their own project book. This is the best format for individual projects. Students can make two kinds of book. They can do their projects in a large format (A4 or A3);

       - scrapbook. Alternatively they can make a project file: students do their projects on separate pieces of paper and then collect them together in a ring file. This is more flexible than a scrapbook, but it is less tidy and is probably not so suitable for younger learners. If students have a project book, encourage them to personalize their book with some decoration on the cover. The value of project work is greatly increased if students display their work.

       Public display gives students an added incentive to do their best work. Both books and posters can be displayed.

       In this part of the present work I represent just a sampling of possible projects and outcomes that can be integrated into EFL classrooms for intermediate and high-intermediate EFL students. As part of this project students evaluate the effectiveness of the public transport system.

       By the conclusion of the project, students are able to do the following:

       - Gather information through various data-collection techniques, such as interviews, surveys, and library and Web research;

       - Engage in critical thinking activities, partially through synthesis activities;

       - See improvement in their language skills;

       - Use English with more self-confidence.

       The instructor conducts a lesson designed to raise students’ awareness of a public transport issue. This opening lesson, meant to encourage students to participate in shaping public opinion, elicits students’ attitudes toward public transportation, and provides them with the vocabulary and language needed to participate in the project.

       The instructor asks students where they live and how they travel to school. To facilitate this interaction, the instructor creates an overhead transparency with a grid that lists different forms of transportation. The instructor fills in the grid with students’ initials or tally marks to indicate who uses which forms of transportation. After filling in the grid, the instructor asks students to work in small groups, ideally with at least one student. Students are asked to discuss the effectiveness of their hometown public transportation. A handout providing relevant vocabulary and a list of possible questions guides students in group discussions.

       Follow-up activities are useful to guide students in comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the public transport system with the systems of other cities. At the conclusion of group discussions, each group reports its most important finding, most worrisome discovery, and any similarities discovered about public transport systems in other cities.

       After students complete these activities, the instructor elicits suggestions for improving the quality of public transport. The instructor asks students to judge whether it is possible to implement the solutions that they have put forward. Next, the instructor tells students about a project that will help them improve their English and might also improve the local public transport system. Finally, the instructor introduces the essentials of the project, giving students the opportunity to finetune the project so that they develop a sense of ownership.

       The teacher proposes that students report the results of their investigation, with suggestions for improved public transportation:

       - in a letter to the local government;

       - at an open public forum with invited guests;

       - on a bulletin board at school.

       At this stage, students help to structure the project. To do so, they consider questions such as:

       a) What information is needed to conduct an examination of the local public transport system?

       b) Where and how might pertinent information be found?

1) Who will be interviewed to determine public opinion? To identify the views of experts on public transportation?

2) What information might be found at the library? On the Web?

       c) How will information be gathered, compiled, and analyzed?

       During these deliberations, students decide on their primary roles and responsibilities. For instance, students determine who will conduct interviews; take photos; do library and Web searches; draw graphs, pictures, and charts; finalize the bulletin board display; and make opening remarks, present data, and entertain questions at the open forum. To balance the workload, students can pair up with others to offer assistance at different points in the project. With the deadline for the final outcome in mind, students reach a consensus about the sequencing of project tasks.

       The instructor prepares students for the upcoming language and skill demands of the information-gathering stage of the project. These lessons train students to conduct interviews (e.g., forming a question, posing follow-up questions, requesting clarification and/or elaboration) and introduce them to the standard parts of an interview: polite opening, body, and thank you. The instructor might help students determine the level of language formality and content of the questions to be asked of different interviewees. Mock interviews can be conducted with classmates, family members, teachers, or other language students on campus. Audiotaped mock interviews can be reviewed in class for appropriateness, politeness, pronunciation, stress, and grammar.

       For students who are responsible for writing formal letters, the instructor introduces writing conventions associated with formal letter writing by means of model letters. Students write several drafts of their letters, followed by editing and revision activities that examine levels of formality, formatting, and linguistic accuracy. Guided peer-feedback sessions represent effective ways to encourage student collaboration and writing practice.

       For students who are going to use the Web and library to gather relevant information, the instructor initiates brainstorming sessions in which students consider the best ways to search for information in these venues. As part of this preparation, the instructor may introduce students to relevant search engines or websites on mass transit. After practicing the skills, strategies, and language they need for gathering information, students are ready to conduct informal interviews with students.

         After data have been gathered, students need to compile, evaluate, and synthesize the relevant information. The instructor prepares students for this vital stage of the project by using model transcripts, letters, lists, and illustrate different categorization, evaluation, and interpretation techniques. This is a good time to introduce students to conversational gambits that they can use with each other to negotiate the meaning and relevance of gathered data, such as “I see your point, but…” and “Don’t you think that…?”

       After students have been introduced to techniques for compiling and analyzing data, they are ready to organize and synthesize their own data. Groups of students discuss the value of their data, discarding that which seems inappropriate and organizing and then evaluating that which seems particularly valuable. Students discuss the best ways to present relevant data to their varied audiences.

       At this stage, the instructor prepares students for the language, skill, and content demands presented by the final written display and oral presentation. A simulation of the open forum provides opportunities to work on fluency, pronunciation, intonation, and conversational gambits that will contribute to the flow of the event. Students who are not actually involved in the public forum might be assigned different roles for the simulation, such as a representative from the municipality. These students could be directed to anticipate what kinds of questions the actual audience might ask about the bulletin board display. At the conclusion of the simulation, the class can brainstorm about challenges that might be encountered during the actual open forum, such as irrelevant questions, hard-tounderstand questions, and public resistance to findings and suggestions. In addition, possible solutions to these challenges can be discussed, including a list of possible questions and responses, back-up visual displays, and conversational gambits to ask for clarification. A discussion of open-forum logistics (e.g., room set-up, invitations to audience members, videotaping) would be appropriate as well.

       Discussions of the bulletin board, with an emphasis on presentation of information, layout, visual appeal, clarity, and peer editing (that focuses on mechanics, grammar, level of formality, cohesion) are appropriate at this point. Students are now ready to mount the bulletin board display and participate in the open forum, representing the final outcomes of the class project. (Videotaping the open forum facilitates meaningful feedback in the final stage of the project.)

       Final outcomes of projects (Appendix B) should vary in response to curricular objectives and student needs.

       We have showcased the details of one project designed for an EFL setting. Although the theme itself may not be transferable to other settings, because of its very local relevance, basic features of the project could easily be transferred to other EFL classrooms. These transferable features, in the form of recommendations for EFL teachers and materials writers who attempt to integrate project-based learning into their own curricula, appear below.

       - Devise projects with students’ immediate and future language needs and content interests in mind, while at the same time remaining vigilant of institutional expectations and available resources.

       - Specify language, content, task, skill, and strategy learning objectives in line with students’ needs and institutional expectations to maximize the benefits of the project.

       - Strive to engage students in all stages of the project. Begin by giving students the chance to structure parts of the project, even if those contributions are small, with the aim of building a sense of student ownership and pride in project engagement.

       - Design and sequence tasks with great care. Make sure that:

       - skills are integrated to achieve real communicative purposes;

       - students are obliged to use various strategies for meaningful aims;

       - critical thinking is required for successful task completion;

       - students are held accountable for content learning.

       - Integrate tasks that require both independent and collaborative work. Help students reach agreement about different team member responsibilities. Students should view each other as single links in a chain that unite, through exchanges of information and negotiation of meaning, to produce a successful project outcome.

       - Be sure to plan an opening activity that promotes students’ interests, taps background knowledge, introduces important vocabulary, and builds up expectations for the final activity.

       - Allow time for feedback at the conclusion of the project and at other critical junctures as well.  

       2.3 Making Assessment Meaningful for Every Student 

       The last stage of the project serves multiple purposes. On the more traditional side, teachers provide students with feedback on their language, content, strategy, and skill use, using the videotape of the open forum as one means of interactive evaluation.

       Less traditional, but equally valuable, are the opportunities students will have to:

       - reflect on the language, skills, and strategies that they have mastered to conduct the project;

       - consider the content that they have learned to complete the project;

       - contemplate the impact of the project;