A Trainee-centered approach in teaching a foreign language

ify">       - offer suggestions for improved projectwork assignments for future classes.

       Assessment of project work is a difficult issue to tackle. This is not because project work is difficult to assess, but because assessment criteria and procedures. (Appendix C)

       There are two basic principles for assessing project work.

       The most obvious point to note about project work is that language is only a part of the total project. Consequently, it is not very appropriate to assess a project only on the basis of linguistic accuracy. Credit must be given for the overall impact of the project, the level of creativity it displays, the neatness and clarity of presentation, and most of all the effort that has gone into its production. There is nothing particularly unusual in this. It is normal practice in assessing creative writing to give marks for style and content, etc. Many education systems also require similar factors to be taken into account in the assessment of students’ oral performance in class. So a wide-ranging ‘profile’ kind of assessment that evaluates the whole project is needed.

       If at all possible, don’t correct mistakes on the final project itself, or at least not in ink. It goes against the whole spirit of project work. A project usually represents a lot of effort and is something that the students will probably want to keep. It is a shame to put red marks all over it. This draws attention to the things that are wrong about the project over the things that are good. On the other hand, students are more likely to take note of errors pointed out to them in project work because the project means much more to them than an ordinary piece of class work.

       So what a teacher should do with errors? There are two useful techniques:

       - encourage the students to do a rough draft of their project first. The students can then incorporate corrections in the final product.

       - if errors occur in the final product, correct in pencil or on a separate sheet of paper attached to the project. A good idea is to get students to provide a photocopy of their project. Corrections can then be put on the photocopy.

       But fundamentally, the most important thing to do about errors is to stop worrying about them. Projects are real communication. When we communicate, we do the best we can with what we know, and because we usually concentrate on getting the meaning right, errors in form will naturally occur. It’s a normal part of using and learning a language. Students invest a lot of themselves in a project and so they will usually make every effort to do their best work. Any project will only form part of the total amount of work that the students produce in the language course.

       There will be plenty of opportunities to evaluate accuracy in other parts of the language program. There is much more to language learning and education than just accuracy and it is a pity to make project work a hostage to accuracy-orientated assessment systems. Project work provides an opportunity to develop creativity, imagination, enquiry, and self-expression, and the assessment of the project should allow for this.

       Project work must rank as one of the most exciting teaching methodologies a teacher can use. It truly combines in practical form both the fundamental principles of a communicative approach to language teaching and the values of good education. It has the added virtue in this era of rapid change of being a longestablished and well-tried method of teaching.  

       Summary of Part 2  

       Project Approach offers a step-by-step guide for planning and implementing projects and for allowing the work to evolve with students’ interests and needs.

       During the preliminary planning stage, teachers select a topic of study based on students’ interests, the curriculum, and the availability of local resources. Teachers also brainstorm (and represent) their own experience with and knowledge and ideas about the topic in a web. This web becomes a central part of the project process, with teachers and students using it to record the progress of their work.

       Teachers discuss the topic with students to find out about their related experiences and pre-existing knowledge. Often, this process evolves over a few days, with teachers eliciting prior knowledge through the use of related stories, discussions, journals, or other activities. Students then represent their experiences and show their understanding of the concepts involved in explaining them. Teachers help students develop questions to pursue during their investigation; they also send a letter about the study home to parents, who are encouraged to speak with their children about the topic and to share any relevant personal experience of their own.

       Opportunities for students to conduct field work and to speak with experts are arranged. Teachers provide resources to help students with their investigations, such as authentic objects, books, magazines, newspapers, music, Web sites, and other research materials. Teachers then suggest ways for students to carry out their investigations. Meanwhile, each student is involved in representing what he or she is learning in a variety of ways; this may take the form of basic skills, such as 3D constructions, drawing, music, or dramatic play, and with older children, this could include journaling, editing magazines, dramatic performance, experimental design, Web site development, I-movies, PowerPoint, comic books, and more.

       Throughout the process, teachers use group discussions and displays to enable students to take note of the diverse range of work. The topic web designed earlier provides a shorthand means of documenting the many branches of the project.

       Teachers arrange a culminating event through which students share what they’ve learned with others (parents, administrators, other classes, experts). Students spend several days preparing for the event and selecting appropriate materials and displays. Teachers help students in this planning process, and, in doing so, involve them purposefully in reviewing and evaluating the whole project. Teachers also offer students imaginative ways of personalizing their new knowledge through art, stories, and drama. Finally, teachers use the students’ ideas and interests to make a meaningful transition between the concluding project and the topic of study in the next project.

       This outline summarizes some of the common features of projects, but each project is also unique. The teachers, students, topic, and location of the school all contribute to the distinctiveness of each project.

CONCLUSION 

       One of the outstanding peculiarities of the learner/trainee-centered approach in teaching the English language lies in the fact that very often the approach in question can be realized through the application of the task-based and project-based teaching. Project work is a valuable addition to teaching because it possesses the following characteristics:

       - student/trainee-centeredness;

         - a focus on content learning, real-world subject matter, and topics of interest to learners;

       - an emphasis on cooperation, which leads to different modes of interaction adopted by students during the work;

       - authentic integration of skills and processing of information from various sources;

       - both a process and a product orientation, which allows teacher learners in the EFL context to develop their language proficiency while cooperating at different project stages;

       - motivation and stimulation that lead to confidence, self-esteem, and autonomy.

       There are ten steps to realize the project work:

       Step I: Students and instructor agree on a theme for the project  

       Step II: Students and instructor determine the final outcome

       Step III: Students and instructor structure the project

       Step IV: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of information gathering

       Step V: Students gather information  

       Step VI: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of compiling and analyzing data 

       Step VII: Students compile and analyze information  

       Step VIII: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of the culminating activity

       Step IX: Students present final product  

       Step X: Students evaluate the project  

       Project-based learning activities require both students and teachers to plan carefully and adjust to unexpected developments. However, when they succeed, they are satisfying in ways that tests and other traditional modes of assessment are not. By combining English learning with the development of other skills, project-based learning enables students to connect the English of the classroom to their own real-life interests. Another benefit of this approach is the final product. In a world in which cooperative group efforts and achievement of tangible products is often a measure of success and accomplishment, project-based learning prepares students well for real world events.

       Project work is approached by the educators from a different perspective, project work, in its various configurations, shares these features:  

       Project work focuses on content learning rather than on specific language targets. Real-world subject matter and topics of interest to students can become central to projects.

       Project work is student centered, though the teacher plays a major role in offering support and guidance throughout the process.

       Project work is cooperative rather than competitive. Students can work on their own, in small groups, or as a class to complete a project, sharing resources, ideas, and expertise along the way.

       Project work leads to the authentic integration of skills and processing of information from varied sources, mirroring real-life tasks.

       Project work culminates in an end product (an oral presentation, a poster session, a bulletin board display, a report, or a stage performance) that can be shared with others, giving the project a real purpose. The value of the project, however, lies not just in the final product but in the process of working towards the end point. Thus, project work has both a process and product orientation, and provides students with opportunities to focus on fluency and accuracy at different project-work stages.

       Project work is potentially motivating, stimulating, empowering, and challenging. It usually results in building student confidence, self-esteem, and autonomy as well as improving students' language skills, content learning, and cognitive abilities.  

       Though similar in many ways, project work can take on diverse configurations. The most suitable format for a given context depends on a variety of factors including curricular objectives, course expectations, students’ proficiency levels, student interests, time constraints, and availability of materials.

       Project work provides two means for making English language classrooms more vibrant environments for learning and collaboration. Language teachers in more traditional classrooms can diversify instruction with an occasional project. Similarly, teacher educators can integrate projects into their courses to reinforce important pedagogical issues and provide trainees with hands-on experience, a process that may be integrated into future classrooms of their own.  

       Students of varying levels, psychological types and needs can benefit from the empowering experience which stamms from participation and collaboration in a project. It may be easier to implement in second language settings because of more readily accessible content resources, teachers in foreign language settings have already proven that with adaptation and creativity, the project approach can be successful and rewarding for teachers and students alike. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

REFERENCES 

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Appendix A

Project-work topics 

       1. Mainstream class subject matter: Project-work topics can complement themes covered in mainstream classes.

       a. Theories of the demise of dinosaurs (natural history, biology)

       b. The art of mummification (ancient history)

       c. Impressionist artists (art, art history)

       d. The causes of contemporary human migration patterns (history, civic education, anthropology)

       2. Vocational topics: Project-work topics can be connected to students’ vocational interests.

       a. The promotion of regional tourism (tourism)

       b. A holiday menu for people with various dietary needs (food services and catering)

       c. Adjusting to a new job: Guidelines for new service workers (retail and service work)

       d. Advances in computer technology (computer technology, mechanics)

       f. Trends in teenage buying (business)

       3. Sociopolitical issues: Project-work topics can be tied to students’ sociopolitical interests.

       a. Gender roles

       b. Rights of the handicapped

       c. In defense of human rights

       d. Drug trafficking at the international level

       e. Freedom of speech and press

       4. General human interest topics: Project-work topics can be linked to general human interest topics, dependent largely on students’ ages, maturity levels, interests, and concerns.