USING LEGO BLOCKS FOR TECHNOLOGY-MEDIATED TASK-BASED ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING

• Authors: Agnieszka Gadomska
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Lego blocks have been played with by generations of children worldwide since the 1950s. It is undeniable that they boost creativity, eye-hand coordination, focus, planning, problem solving and many other skills. Lego bricks have been also used by educators across the curricula as they are extremely motivating and engaging and, in effect, make learning effective. The toy has developed with time, as a result of technology impact as well as users’ needs and expectations. This paper describes the transformation of the use of Lego based activity in the academic writing class in the Institute of English Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, Poland spanning a period of the last seven years. Originally, the author’s idea was just to illustrate in theory the principle of cohesion and coherence on the example of Lego composition instruction, a concept described by Joseph Williams; however, it evolved into a highly successful technology mediated task-based activity. The activity has been conducted since 2008 and in the author’s newest 2014/15 version, it involves online writing, digital photography, computer editing programs, animation, e-learning tools and blogging; it boosts, apart from the above mentioned skills, writing, reading, teamwork and IT skills. Its teaching/ learning success results also from its multimodality, learner empowerment and authenticity. Moreover, the case illustrates teacher development due to both external and internal class factors, including the impact of learners’ competence and skills on the transformation of the activity itself and the resulting teacher training. Finally, the paper focuses on the role of the fast changing ICT technology in the development and adjustment of the English language learning task, the task based on the innovative use of Lego blocks in teaching academic skills to the students of the English studies program.

Keywords

EN

Technology-mediated learning; TBLL; LEGO blocks

• Publisher: IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group & University of Nicosia
• Journal: Teaching English with Technology
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 120-132

Contributors

author

Agnieszka Gadomska

• University of Social Sciences and Humanities

References

• Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36, 81-109.
• Branden van den, K. (2006). Task-based Language Education: From Theory to Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Buckley, C. (2015). Conceptualizing plagiarism: Using Lego to construct students' understanding of authorship and citation. Teaching in Higher Education, 20(3). Retrieved March 19, 2015, from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13562517.2015.1016418?journalCode=cthe20#.VQ3u_-HJ7es.
• Bygate, M., Skehan, P., & Swain, M. (2013). Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching, and Testing. New York: Routledge.
• Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Gadomska, A. (2014). Implementing blogs for teaching academic writing skills in multicultural groups. In Smyrnova, E. (ed.), E-learning and Intercultural Competences Development in Different Countries (pp. 280-297). Katowice-Cieszyn: University of Silesia.
• Garner, B. (2001.). Legal writing in plain English, exercises. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/garner/.
• Gauntlett, D. (2011) Making is Connecting. The Social Meaning of Creativity, from DIY and Knitting to YouTube and Web2.0. Cambridge: Polity Press.
• Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
• Hernandez, A. (2003). Making content instruction accessible for English Language Learners. In Gilbert G., Garcia (eds.), English Learners: Reaching the Highest Level of English Literacy (pp. 125-149). Newark, Del: International Reading Association.
• LEGO.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://www.Lego.com/en-gb/.
• Izadapanah, S. (2010). A study on Task-Based Language Teaching: from theory to practice. US-China Foreign Language, 8(3), 47-56. Retrieved from http://capswriting.pbworks.com/f/Task-based+Language+Teaching.pdf.
• James, A. R. (2013). Lego serious play: a three-dimensional approach to learning development. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 6. Retrieved from http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/ojs/index.php?journal=jldhe&page=issue&op=view&path%5B%5D=15.
• Lesikar, R., & Flatley, M. (2005). Basic Business Communication: Skills for Empowering the Internet Generation (10th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
• Long, M. H. (1985). A role for instruction in second language acquisition: Task-based language teaching. In Hyltenstam, K., Pienemann, M. (eds.), Modeling and Assessing Second Language Acquisition (pp. 77-99). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
• McNamara, S., Cyr, M., Rogers, C., & Bratzel, B. (1999). LEGO brick sculptures and robotics in education. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Charlotte, NC.
• Oshima, A., & Hogue, A. (2006). Writing Academic English. New York: Pearson Longman.
• Papert, S. & Harel, I. (1991). Situating constructionism. In Papert S., Harel, I. (eds.), Constructionism (pp. 1-12). New York: Ablex Publishing.
• Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Williams, J. (2003). Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, seventh edition. New York; London: Longman.
• Williams, J., & Colomb, G. (2010). Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (10th ed.). Boston: Longman.
• Writing Class M.A.- Using Blogs for TEFL, [online] at www.wordpress.com. (accessed 31 July 2014)
• Zinsser, W. (2001). On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (25th anniversary ed., 1st Harper Resource Quill ed.). New York: Quill.