LEARNING ENGLISH WHILE EXPLORING THE NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE: TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED PROJECT-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING IN AN UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL

• Authors: Pitura Joanna , Monika Berlińska-Kopeć
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The quality and content of English language courses offered in secondary schools require special attention as they affect many students who learn English as one of their school subjects. Despite curricular provisions prescribing balanced development of language competence and a number of so-called “key competences”, class work in Polish upper-secondary schools heavily focuses on developing students’ selected language skills and language systems, i.e. the areas that are tested during school-exit exams, neglecting civic competences (i.e. group work) and digital skills. It is suggested that technology-assisted project-based language learning can help remedy this situation. Accordingly, the aim of this article is to outline a class project that illustrates the integration of project-based learning approach in language (English) and content (Polish language and culture) learning, the execution of which necessitates collaboration in groups, as well as the use of technology. It is hoped that the presented project will provide inspiration and guidance on how to engage upper-secondary school students in meaningful project work so that the development of target competences can be facilitated.

Keywords

EN

project-based language learning; technology; upper-secondary school

• Publisher: IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group & University of Nicosia
• Journal: Teaching English with Technology
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 37-52

Contributors

author

Pitura Joanna

• Pedagogical University of Cracow

author

Monika Berlińska-Kopeć

• 21st Kołłątaj Secondary School in Warsaw

References

• Beckett, G. H. (2006). Project-Based second and foreign language education. Theory, research, and practice. In G. H. Beckett & P. C. Miller (Eds.), Project-based Second and Foreign Language Education: Past, Present, and Future (pp. 3–16). Greenwich, Conn: Information Age Publishing.
• Beckett, G. H., & Slater, T. (2005). The project framework: A tool for language, content, and skills integration. ELT Journal, 59(2), 108-116.
• Condliffe, B., Quint, J., Visher, M. G., Bangser, M. R., Drohojowska, S., Saco, L., & Nelson, E. (2017). Project-Based Learning. Retrieved 20 December 2017 from https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/Project-Based_Learning-LitRev_Final.pdf.
• Debski, R., & Gruba, P. (1999). A qualitative survey of tertiary instructor attitudes towards project-based CALL. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 12(3), 219-239.
• Doherty, D., & Eyring, J. (2006). Instructor experiences with project work in the adult ESL classroom. In G. H. Beckett & P. C. Miller (Eds.), Project-based Second and Foreign Language Education: Past, Present, and Future (pp. 95–122). Greenwich, Conn: Information Age Publishing.
• Dooly, M., & Sadler, R. (2016). Becoming little scientists: Technologically-enhanced project-based language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 20(1), 54-78. Retrieved 20 December 2017 from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/february2016/doolysadler.pdf.
• European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2017. Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe – 2017 Edition. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
• Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2015). Input, interaction, and output in second language acquisition. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in Second Language Acquisition: An Introduction (pp. 180–206). New York: Routledge.
• Gibbes, M., & Carson, L. (2013). Project-based language learning: an activity theory analysis. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 8(2), 171-189.
• Grant, S. (2017). Implementing project-based language teaching in an Asian context: A university EAP writing course case study from Macau. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 2(4). Retrieved 19 December 2017 from https://sfleducation.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40862-017-0027-x.
• Gu, P. (2011). Challenges to Project-based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for professional communication in China. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 54(3), 225-243.
• Jeon-Ellis, G., Debski, R., & Wigglesworth, G. (2005). Oral interaction around computers in the project-oriented CALL classroom. Language Learning & Technology, 9(3), 121-145. Retrieved 20 December 2017 from http://llt.msu.edu/vol9num3/jeon/.
• Kobayashi, M. (2006). Second language socialization through an oral project presentation: Japanese university students’ experience. In G. H. Beckett & P. C. Miller (Eds.), Project-based Second and Foreign Language Education: Past, Present, and Future (pp. 71-94). Greenwich, Conn: Information Age Publishing.
• Kolber, M. (2012). Metoda projektu – czy tylko ornament dydaktyczny? Języki Obce w Szkole, 2012/04, 32-35.
• Kolakowski, L. (1989). Tales from the Kingdom of Lailonia & The key to Heaven. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 21 January 2018 from https://books.google.pl/books?id=GqJgs5-2l3EC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=leszek+ko%C5%82akowski+outrages&source=bl&ots=gvAw54hxeR&sig=w-XXmr-Ezf3z4wvV5rEtFg23y1o&hl=pl&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7wc3cwuLYAhVLBsAKHRF_BNQQ6AEINjAC#v=onepage&q=leszek%20ko%C5%82akowski%20outrages&f=false
• Krajcik, J. S., & Shin, N. (2014). Project-Based Learning. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 275-297). New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Kuo, A. C. (2015). Navigating Problem-Based Learning across Content Areas: A Mixed-Methods Examination of English Learner Insights of Support and Participation (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved 22 December 2017 from https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/33746/Kuo_washington_0250E_15011.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=n.
• MEN [Ministerstwo Edukacji Narodowej] (2009). Podstawa Programowa z komentarzami (t. 3. Języki obce w szkole podstawowej, gimnazjum i liceum). Warszawa: Ministerstwo Edukacji Narodowej.
• Miller, L., Hafner, C. A., & Fun, C. N. K. (2012). Project-based learning in a technologically enhanced learning environment for second language learners: Students' perceptions. E-Learning and Digital Media, 9(2), 183-195.
• Petersen, C., & Nassaji, H. (2016). Project-based learning through the eyes of teachers and students in adult ESL classrooms. Canadian Modern Language Review, 72(1), 13-39.
• Pitura, J., & Chmielarz, D. (2017). “Creating a comic strip is very creative and thanks to it we learn and remember” – student perceptions of a biology challenge in a gamified extracurricular CLIL project. Teaching English with Technology, 17(3), 77-95. Retrieved 17 December 2017 from http://www.tewtjournal.org/issues/volume-2017/volume-17-issue-3/
• Poonpon, K. (2017). Enhancing English skills through project-based learning. The English Teacher, XL. Retrieved 17 December 2017 from http://journals.melta.org.my/index.php/tet/article/view/258/155.
• Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2017 from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32006H0962.
• Shafaei, A., & Rahim, H. A. (2015). Does Project-Based Learning enhance Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary recall and retention? Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 3(2), 83-99. Retrieved 17 December 2017 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1127235.pdf.
• Sieradzka-Bizoń, J. (n.d.). Stereotypy i uprzedzenia. „Nietykalni”, directed by Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano. Retrieved 5 January 2018 from http://legalnakultura.pl/pl/strefa-edukacji/strefa-Kla-nauczycieli/scenariusze-lekcji/edukacja-filmowa.
• Simpson, J. (2011). Integrating Project-Based Learning in an English Language Tourism Classroom in a Thai University (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved 22 December 2017 from http://researchbank.acu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1378&context=theses.
• Stoller, F. (2006). Establishing a theoretical foundation for project-based learning in second and foreign language contexts. In G. H. Beckett & P. C. Miller (Eds.), Project-based Second and Foreign Language Education: Past, Present, and Future (pp. 19-40). Greenwich, Conn: Information Age Publishing.
• Tsiplakides, I., & Fragoulis, I. (2009). Project-based learning in the teaching of English as a foreign language in Greek primary schools: From theory to practice. English Language Teaching, 2(3), 113-119.
• What is Project Based Learning (PBL)? (n.d.). Retrieved 29 December 2017 from http://www.bie.org/about/what_pbl.
• Zhang, Y. Y. (2015). Project-Based Learning in Chinese College English Listening and Speaking Course: From Theory to Practice. Canadian Social Science, 11(9), 40-44.
• Zhao, J., & Beckett, G. H. (2014). Project-based Chinese as a foreign language instruction: A teacher research approach. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 49(2), 45–73. Retrieved 17 December 2017 from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/38813319/05PBIZhao__Beckett_c.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1516531568&Signature=5hZ7TashD9JCkedhA87X3511elg%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DProject-based_Chinese_as_a_foreign_langu.pdf