The worldwide interest in getting of competent
knowledge of the English
language is growing. Language is the most recognized means of
communication. The life and
the development of any human society are based on communication through
language. The
vision of the world of a nation is conveyed by its language, which
reflects the moral
code, relations between people. So language is the main tool in acquiring other peoples’
lives,
traditions. Language use is creative. The learners use language to
express what they think
and what they want to say. To communicate better in a foreign language
they should have
the ability to use language appropriate to a context. Communicative
language learning is
not one method. It is an approach, an understanding of what language is
and how we can
learn a foreign language. This understanding leads us to teach in ways
that makes language
learning most successful. The communicative approach helps the learners
to achieve the
main issues in learning, they are expected to interact with other
people. Another peculiarity in successful teaching of a
communicative speech is
an activity where the students are put in the centre of the action,
where they use the
language and practice communicative speech. It is the project work , its
purpose is to
encourage the learners to work things out for themselves. It is an
extended language
activity, focusing on the topics, themes. The project work is a means of
communication and
enjoyment. The learners can experiment with the language as something
real. It is a highly
adaptable methodology, it is useful as a means of generating positive
motivation, because
it is very personal. The students tell about their own lives, their own
research into
topics that interest them. This work helps them to understand that they
can use English to
talk about their own world, it improves their ability to think. Project work allows students to consolidate the
language that they have
learnt and encourages them to acquire new vocabulary and expressions. In
addition, it
gives learners integrated skills practice. Throughout project work
students have extensive
practice of the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Using projects with
classes provides excellent opportunities for cross- curricular work. The
topics should be
carefully chosen and have to be presented in a lively and up-to-date
manner. It is
important to present a new project in an enthusiastic way and encourage
the class activity
in a discussion about the key topic. The more students are engaged in to
a project, the
more likely that the project will be a success. The teacher tries to
encourage learners to
think of their own ideas, to produce something new of their own. Before
setting up a
project it is essential to explain the final outcome, this will help
them to understand
what they are doing and why. The teacher explains the students that at
the end of the
project they will write or design a small leaflet on the topic, a wall
display, a
poster... There are some stages in presenting a project: Initial discussion of the idea. Decide a form of the project. Practicing language skills. Collecting information. Displaying the result of the research.
The project work "Countries, I’d like to visit” was
done by the
students of the Intermediate Level. The students gathered information
about different
countries, prepared video slides about the country they would like to
visit, prepared role
plays, songs, costumes. Their reports were informative and creative,
because information
was taken from different sources: Encyclopedia, Internet, magazines.
Then all groups
worked on the "Question Quiz” "Countries and Cities”. The song "It’s a Small World” was performed by the
whole class.
So by this kind of activity we may say that project work is a kind of
investigation,
active participation, which is held instead of passive listening and
memorizing. The role
of a teacher becomes that of a facilitator, provider of a feedback. The students of the Upper Intermediate Level prepared
the project
"Space? What is it?” The class was divided into two groups. They described
their imaginary
journeys to different planets, named the planets, wrote about the
adventures happened
during their trips. The second group presented their report about the
moon. They made a
video film about the moon, the role play about the adventures of the
girl who "was
caught by the alien”. Others described their trips to the planet of
dreams, showed
slides of these planets. The models of the spaceships by which they
could travel to other
planets were done by them. This project showed the advanced level of the
students, their creative
approach while presenting this topic. They themselves were impressed by
the breathtaking
views of home from different planets. All the students with different
levels of knowledge
were involved in this project, everyone tried to make contribution to
the group work. This
quote by Benjamin Disraeli " Like all other travelers, I have seen more
than I remember,
and remember more than I have seen proves that if learners are involved
in the creative
teaching process, learning becomes motivated and the successful result
in teaching a
foreign language is expected. So the meaning of the project work can be
best characterized
by the following Chinese proverb: "Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I’ll remember. Involve me, and I’ll learn.” Project work is also used to increase motivation and
retention, to help
students develop a positive image, to develop critical thinking and
problem - solving, it
develops fluency in the use of language features that they have learned. The project work on the theme "Technology” was done
to increase
student’s knowledge in the field of science, to acquire with the new
science vocabulary,
to widen creativity of the students. At the beginning of the project the students had the
task on listening.
Text "Alfred Nobel” was done for both groups, then they answered to the
questions,
adding new information about Alfred Nobel. On the interactive board were written words and the
definitions, the
students must find the correct definition to each word. Then the groups showed their presentations. Group I On the interactive board is written Dryden’s saying: "Genius must be born, And never be taught.” (The students explained the meaning of this saying) These words mean that great genius became famous,
though most of them
didn’t get good education at that time. They made great inventions,
really they were
talented from birth. For example, Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov founded
the first chemical
laboratory in 1748. He was a great physicist, chemist and an astronomer.
He formulated the
main principles of one of the laws of physics- the law of conservation
of matter and
motion. He was recognized as one of the outstanding persons in the world
in the 18th
century. He built the first generator, later he discovered the effect of
passing an
electric current through certain solutions. He called these effects the
laws of
electrolysis. Student 3: As a result of Faraday’s work Morse
invented telegraph and
Edison invented the electric light. Albert Einstein demonstrated the theory of
relativity. Edwin Hubble proved that the universe is expanding.
These discoveries
were of great importance for science. In the 19th century
Fleming discovered an
effective way of killing bacteria – penicillin. For medicine it was a
tremendous
contribution. Group 2 "Knowledge is a city To the building of which Every human being brought a stone.” (Emerson) Students explained this saying : Many years ago people didn’t have any instruments,
for every day life
they used simple tools made of stone and wood, they learned to make
fire, used to hunt by
simple tools. From century to century new important inventions were
made. The inventions
of telephone, telescope, microscope were the great achievements of that
time. And from
century to century new inventions changed people’s lives. That means
that each
generation made an important contribution to the development of science
and technology.
The 20th century became famous with the invention of
computers, mobile phones,
space exploration, etc. Future of science and technology. Video- interview: - Student: I’m taking an interview with the
astronomer Ros Watts. - Professor Watts, you go to a lot of international
conferences on
astronomy. Where have you been this month? - Well, I’ve just come back from Puerto Rico. We have
just had a
meeting there to discuss radio signals from space. - Have we ever received signals from outer space? - No, we haven’t. We have used mathematics to try to
communicate with
aliens. But we haven’t had any reply. - Just one more question, professor Watts. Have you ever seen an alien or a UFO? - No, I have never seen one. But I think that aliens
are more advanced
than we are. I believe that UFOs come to Earth to study us and to use
the planet in the
future. - Thank you, professor Watts for the interview. Then the students showed their video- film about the
aliens. The film
is about the future of our planet, when our technology will be highly
developed. People
will travel to other planets and will cooperate with the aliens in space
exploration. Discussion on the questions - Does technology make our lives easier?
- Do we rely too much on technology?
- What technical advances can you see happening in your lifetime?
- Would you like to be an inventor?
- What kind of things would you invent?
- How will the world change over the next years?
Science Quiz: 1. Who discovered the three laws of motion? a) Copernicus; b) Newton; c) Galileo. 2. Who developed the periodic system? a) Mendel; b) Mendeleyev; c) Mendelssohn. 3. Who discovered that electricity existed as a
current? a) Ampere; b) Volta; c) Faraday. 4. Who discovered the fundamental principles of
genetics? a) Darwin; b) Lamark; c) Mendel. 5. Who discovered that the Earth orbits the Sun ? a) Copernicus; b) Newton; c) Galileo. 6. Who discovered that light is made up of a mixture
of coloured light? a) Maxwell; b) Einstein; c) Newton. Conclusion. Students told about the future of our planet as they
imagine it to be ,
about new achievements: traveling to other planets , probably computers
will start
thinking for themselves, the cars will become completely obsolete. We
won’t be able to
tell the difference between reality and virtual reality. So this project showed high level of knowledge in
English, because they
could express their opinions, they properly used information taken from
different sources.
This project having links with physics showed good knowledge of the
students in this
field. The students not only improved their English but enriched their
knowledge in
physics too. Discussion on some points was a fruitful exchange of
opinions. The topic of
the project was chosen by the students, that’s why motivation was high
and the
effectiveness of such an activity was clear. Презентация |