Task-based Language Learning (TBLL)

Another interesting method we have had the chance to learn about in class is Task-based Language Learning (TBLL). We have seen that this method has been applied in Montessori schools, where children spend three hours per day engaged in individual learning activities that they choose freely following their interest. The teacher introduces each activity and explains how the materials should be used, and after that the child is free to use it.

Montessori schools were concerned that their methodology didn't encourage foreign language production when it was applied to learning English, as children were mainly engaged in individual activities. Therefore, they have designed tasks that require information exchange and lead to closed outcomes in order to increase the production of meaningful outcome in children when they learn a foreign language. That kind of activities are very adequate to use during free circulation, or whenever the teacher wishes to have children conducting exercises in pairs or small groups without the teacher's continued supervision.

We have been able to integrate two of the proposals in our project, and we think they are very interesting, because not only can children carry them on their own, but the can also assess how well they performed, as the exercises are self-assessed.

Where is our project?

At the end of this course, we have to present the project we have create. The rest of the classmates will post their project in the Blog, but we decided to do it in a different way. We have created a WIX page just for our project. We think that it's a easier way to read it because you won't have all the things in the same post. So, if you to know how our project is going, click here!

TPR: ways to express "I got it" without (necessarily) talking

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language learning method based on link motor activities with language learning. Learners listen to the teacher and perform reacting to what the are told with their bodies. They are also encouraged to speak when they feel ready to take that step. TPR is especially effective in the context provided by songs, games and stories.

Pointing to a picture when the teacher pronounces a certain word, mimicking the actions while they are told in a story by the teacher or sang in class, or raising hands when the teacher asks to do so would be typical TPR activities, just like games such as "Simon says" or charades.

We find that TPR is very well suited for our project and our principles about English learning, as we intend to base our set of exercises on a book.

Improving our role playing

We have done some more role playing during the past week. We have improved greatly compared to our first attempts, but we also realise we still have a long way to go before we become graceful stewardesses at EnglishAir! Stewardesses really do CLIL, because you manage to understand them even if you don't know the language (or even if they don't know the language, as often happens when you fly with a Spanish company and they talk in English).

One of the big issues we face is getting feedback from children. We talk to them making ourselves more clear now, but we need to improve the ways to find out if the message gets across. Do they understand us, how can we know if they do? What resources can we offer them to communicate with us in English?

The elephant in chains

Some days ago we read in class one of Jorge Bucays stories: The elephant in chains. We said that this story can be related to many things of our lifes, including English learning.We will never know if we can be good at speaking English if we never try to. As it says in the mentioned story:

"I can't and I never will."

"Your only way of knowing if you can do it is to try again, putting your whole heart into it... Your whole heart!"

Eleanitz project

Eleanitz is a project created by the Ikastolas to improve the English of their students. The reason of the creation of this project was the necessity of knowing another language to live in Europe. The purpose of the project is to join two things: get all the development that the Basque language needs to get its field and know and manage another language, which means, Eleaniztasuna, multilingualism. To be a multilinguist has some positive benefits, such as getting more creative mind and mind flexibility.

To put this project to work, the Ikastolas had to decide which was going to be the foreign language between French and English, and, at the end, they decided to teach the English language. In addition to that, they knew that everything we have said before wouldn't work if they used the method that they used to use. They needed another way to teach language but one which didn't take out the Basque language; so they decided to start teaching English at the age of four. Because of that, they created a proposal:

From 3 to 16	Basque language would be the main language
From 8 to 16	Start with the Spanish subject
From 4 to 16	Control of the English language
From 12 to 16	Start with the French language

 

Last week's role playing: our group's view

The role playing activities we did last week were very instructive and fun; we learnt a lot while having fun, although it was a bit hard for those who played as teachers because of the constant breaks and suggestions.

There was a lot of collective learning involved, because we saw a great difference from the ones that did it at the beginning to the groups that came last. So, we all learnt and improved through the activities.

We learnt as teachers to speak slowly, use short and simple sentences, repeat sentences and useful formulae so children can learn them. We also experienced that the teacher has to start certain activities on her/his own, such as singing, and that children will join in when they feel ready. We saw that flexibility is needed to shift activities when one doesn't work or connect with the children, or to conduct the same activity in a different way. But, at the same time, we realised that flexibility doesn't mean lack of planning; on the contrary, apparent improvising is necessarily based on very fine planning, because only when the teacher has thoroughly planned the activities will she/he be able to pick the right one for a particular situation.

Another interesting part of the role playing was to get into our children's shoes. It was amusing to see that we didn't manage to act as children at the beginning, and it took us some time to take that role. It seemed as if we found it easier to act as teachers, or we knew better what teachers are like. At the same time, during the role playing we paid less attention to how well we were playing the children's role, and we made very few suggestions about that. We think that this is a very important issue for two reasons: on one hand, if we don't act as real children, the teacher's role playing will be somewhat fake and, on the other hand, if we cannot act as children, it means we don't really know them, and it will be very difficult for us to design activities that will interest them.