Педагогические науки./Современные методы преподавания.

К.п.н. Гутарева Н.Ю.

Национальный исследовательскийТомский политехнический университет

Realizing of project work at English lessons for students of non-linguistic specialities

Let’s clear out the purpose of using project work at our lessons the role of a teacher, the main stages that it involves in this article. Consciously or unconsciously, students bring the outside world into the classroom, but they may not always have the opportunity to activate what they know and use it in the outside world. Project work takes the experience of the classroom out into the world and provides an opportunity for informal learning. The potential benefit for students is clear: they are working on a topic of interest to them and using language for a specific purpose, with a particular aim in mind. What has already been learnt can now be put to use and what is needed can be learnt when it is needed.

When did a project work start and why? The original reason for developing project work at the beginning of the 1980s resulted from the impact of the communicative approach on what teachers were doing in the classroom. Project work pushed forward the boundaries by bringing students into direct contact with authentic language and learning experiences not usually available within the four walls of an English language teaching classroom using textbooks.

What was new in this kind of work? Project work offered learners an opportunity to take a certain responsibility for their own learning, encouraging them to set their own objectives in terms of what they wanted and needed to learn. How can we define the term “project work”? Project work is student-centered and driven by the need to create an end-product. However, it is the route to achieving this end-product that makes project work so worthwhile. The route to the end-product brings opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence and to work together in a real-world environment by collaborating on a task which they have defined for themselves and which has not been externally imposed. Project work lends itself to many different approaches in a variety of teaching situations. It draws together students of mixed abilities and creates opportunities for individuals to contribute in ways which reflect their different talents and creativity. The less linguistically-gifted student may be a talented artist, able to create brilliant artwork, thus gaining self-esteem, which would be unlikely in a more conventional language lesson. The collaborative process, relying as it does on the involvement and commitment of the individual strength of a project.

How many stages should a project include? Each a project has three main stages:

1. The planning stage: in conjunction with you, students discuss the scope and content of their project in English or their mother tongue. This is the stage where you and they discuss and predict their specific language needs as well as the end-product. It is usually the stage where a lot of ambitious ideas get whittled down to realistic objectives! But it is also the stage where you should be able to judge whether the idea will take off or whether it is likely to present problems, either logistically or because only a minority of students seems to be really interested.

2. The implementation stage: at this stage students carry out the tasks in order to achieve their objective. It may involve working outside the classroom or not, depending on the nature of the project. For example, interviewing someone may rely on an individual visiting the class, but the real-world element remains in the form of the visitor and their contribution. Your role during this stage is one of support and monitoring.

3. The third stage is the creation of the end-product, which will be something tangible. As the projects in this book illustrate, end-products can take many different forms — poster, wall display, magazine, news sheet, three-dimensional model, website, video film, audio recording, etc. Colleagues and other students may be invited to share in the end-product. There may also be some kind of formal or informal evaluation and feedback on what students have produced [1].

If we consider a level of knowing English by the students, we should remember that many projects can be adapted to different levels. As fore the students’ age, we can assume that all the projects are usable within the whole range — from young adolescent to adult. Then considering the question of time we dare say that it depends on a particular teaching situation. However, lesson lengths and the number of lessons available per week vary enormously from university to university, so any recommendation must be regarded as flexible.

There are different aims in project work: general and language aims. General aims include both intangible aims like stimulating students’ motivation as well as the end-product. However, some projects require specific language skills. Often a project offers the opportunity to integrate all four language skills [2].

As for resources for project work, project works need not be expensive. In fact, some projects may involve no extra costs at all, but always make sure that a project falls within your budget before you consider embarking on it. Some classrooms are better equipped than others. However, some of the resources recommended may be optional. Always consider adapting a project if the idea attracts you or see whether colleagues or students can help with some of the equipment and resources.

As for the procedure in project work, it covers the stages of carrying out a project from introduction of the idea through to the end-product. You should be thoroughly familiar with the stages so that you can anticipate any problems, clarify your own role, and communicate this confidence to your students. However, be aware that the unpredictable nature of projects may require you to respond to events as they arise even if they are not foreseen within the outline procedure.

Bibliography:

1. Diana L. Fried-Booth. Project work // Oxford University Press. – 2003. – 127 p.

2. North S. Resource materials for library project work // Oxford University Press. – 1990 – 137 p.

3. Hedge T. Key concepts in EFL: Project work // Oxford University Press. – 2002. – 207 p.

4. http: // searchenginewatch.com

5. http: // www.ask.com

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