TEACHING INNOVATION USING PROJECT WORK AS A SUPPLEMENT TO PROMOTE 11TH GRADERS’ AUTONOMY IN ONLINE CLASSES Scope: Theory and Methodology of Teaching English skkn SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NGHỆ AN TRƯỜNG THPT HÀ HUY TẬP TEACHING INNOVATION USING PROJECT WORK AS A SUPPLEMENT TO PROMOTE 11TH GRADERS’ AUTONOMY IN ONLINE CLASSES Scope: Theory and Methodology of Teaching English TÁC GIẢ : 1. NGUYỄN THỊ BÍNH 2. CAO THỊ THU HOÀI TỔ : VĂN –NGOẠI NGỮ Năm học: 2021-2022 Số điện thoại: 0963003757 - 0914529015 1 skkn TABLE OF CONTENTS I- INTRODUCTION. Aims of the study.
Objects of the study. Methods of the study.4 II- CONTENTS OF THE STUDY. Using project work as a supplement in teaching Tieng Anh 11(new version). Results of applying PBL in ELT, English text book 11, new version.
Conclusions and suggestions. Rationale The SARS-CoV2 virus has threatened the activity of high schools, colleges and universities, which is why the issue of whether or not to continue teaching and learning has been raised, provided that the health of students and of education staff is protected. Educational institutions preferred to close traditional (face-to-face) teaching activities, including laboratories, and transferred teaching activities to the online environment in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Forcibly moving educational activity to the online environment allows for flexibility in teaching and learning because courses are easily accessed.
Therefore, it is very difficult for teachers to monitor the learning process and the progress of students. Or if so, it will take more time than usual. On the other hand, teachers' roles today are considerably different than they used to be. Their job is to counsel students, help them learn how to use their knowledge and integrate it into their lives so they will become valuable members of society.
That is why there is a high risk that formal education may affect learners’ autonomy (making their own learning decisions) due to the fact that students tend to be passive and likely just do what they are required to do without commenting what teachers implement in classes. As the theory and practice of language teaching enters a new century, the importance of helping students become more autonomous in learning has become increasingly prominent. To its critics, autonomy is an idealistic goal and its promotion a distraction from the real business of teaching and learning languages. Autonomy is like a precondition for effective learning; when learners succeed in developing autonomy, they not only become better language learners but they also develop into more responsible and critical members of the communities in which they live.
The idea behind the project was to foster learners’ autonomy through the application of cooperative work, allowing each student to be responsible for specific tasks and, in general, to take charge of her/his own learning process As teachers and researchers who have been involved with the promotion of the idea of autonomy for a number of years, we decided to choose the topic: “Using project work as a supplement to promote 11th graders’ autonomy in online classes” due to the following reasons: Firstly, improving autonomous learning in students is considered as the key method to insure students’ learning process in the context of learning from far distance. Secondly, autonomy is a legitimate and desirable goal of language education. The concept of autonomy is grounded in a natural tendency for learners to take control over their learning. Autonomous learning is more 3 skkn effective than non-autonomous learning.
In other words, the development of autonomy implies better language learning. Finally, project work has numerous positive effects on critical thinking, motivation and engagement. As we learn more about how the brain works and how humans acquire information, we are slowly tweaking our framework for learning. Providing projects can drive students to encounter and struggle with useful, real-world content knowledge that they could apply to a variety of tasks.
Aims of the study This paper endeavors to demonstrate the value of project work in promoting learners’ autonomy in ELT in general and English teaching in particular. Therefore, my theme focuses on making clear about some issues below: - What are the most difficult tasks to increase students’ interest in doing a project? - What are the most significant remains of making project work? 3. Objects of the study The research scope includes the three classes, namely class 11A1,11A2 and class 11D1 at Ha Huy Tap High School, Nghe An province. They are selected to be the participants of the study, all of them have fulfilled English text book 10 in the previous school year.
Methods of the study This study illustrates the findings of an action research developing learners’ autonomy through project work. It was conducted at Ha Huy Tap High school in Vinh city with secondary students. The instruments for data collection were journal, oral interviews, and video recordings. The results revealed that learner autonomy could be developed by means of cooperative work in order to achieve common interests and support each other.
Furthermore, students also are expected to display self-regulation by learning strategies, as well as enhance intrinsic motivation in order to achieve leaning goals. In order to do this kind of action research, we must make some attempt to foster autonomy among the learners we work with. In doing so we will frequently find ourselves in a position where we are able, through careful observation and analysis of empirical data, to contribute to theory. The qualitative methodology was employed to collect an amount of information, compare, and then, analyse data.
By using the combination of these methods, the study will make clear the questions in this topic, and reach effectively the targets of the essay with 134 respondents who are the students in class 11A1,11A2 and 11D1.Schedule In order to evaluate the practicality and validity of project work in improving students’ autonomy, I would follow the subsequence steps: a. Before applying this method: - Interview students to give their timetable doing tasks by themselves. - Ask students that have they ever make target to acquire in the near future? b. While applying this method: We intend to give students proper project tasks of some units in Tieng Anh 11.
After applying this method: In the post stage of doing the study, we would like to re-ask the initial questions to see the advancement as well as the progress in self-active learning II- CONTENTS OF THE STUDY 1. The concept of autonomy Discussions on autonomy are often characterised by misconceptions about the nature of the concept and its implementation. For example, autonomy is assumed to imply learning in isolation, learning without a teacher or learning outside the classroom. However, the concept of autonomy in language learning is relevant to the practice of language education and often seen as necessarily implying particular skills and behaviours and particular methods of organising the teaching and learning process.
Nature of LA Learner autonomy (LA) is a complex concept which embraces diverse facets related to language teaching such as teachers, learners, training facilities and learning purposes, and the educational context (Benson, 2001). Therefore, LA is interpreted in different ways since Holec (1981, p.3, cited in Benson & Voller, 1997) first defined it as “learners’ ability to take charge of their own study,” which involves making decisions about learning objectives, defining the content and learning process, choosing learning strategies, implementing and mangaging their learning, and self- evaluating. It is also defined as the capacity for critical thinking, decision-making and independent actions (Little, 1991), the status or situation in which learners take full responsibility for all decisions related in their education and execute those decisions (Dickinson, 1995), or learners’ identification of their needs and goals, and work to meet their needs and achieve their goals (Dam, 1995). Such definitions identify the multiple-dimension nature of LA.
First, it includes learnable skills such as independent working, critical thinking, decision 5 skkn making, and collaboration (Benson & Voller, 1997). These skills can be acquired either naturally and unintentionally or through training (Dickinson, 1995). Second, LA entails self-control and self- responsibility of learning activities, which can be completely independent from the teacher, or the school; in this respect, LA depends upon the different learning conditions although it is the property of human, not that of learning environments (Dick- inson, ibid. For LA to develop, the learning environment must allow a certain level of freedom in learning activities (Benson, 2007).
This relates to learner control of learning, i. students are allowed to participate in decisions and choices relating to learning objectives, methods of teaching and learning materials in the classroom. The concept also has a social attribute, which means skills and attitudes related to social interaction which allow learners to work collaboratively (Benson, 2001). The importance of LA Learner autonomy (LA) plays an essential role in language education since it can help promote learning achievements, especially during the SARS-CoV2 time.
To this end, various approaches to developing LA have been put forward, and project-based learning claimed to develop learner autonomy (Skehan, 1998) has been documented as an approach which could develop autonomous learning skills and foreign language skills. This is why project work has been integrated into foreign language education. In this study, project work was used as the central tasks and contents for teaching and learning. This current paper reports the results of using project work as a supplement to to promote 11th graders’ autonomy in online classes.
Promoting LA by project work There are multiple ways to promote LA. Ikonen (2013) summarizes six approaches to promoting LA. These include resource exploitation and use of technology for self-study; study skills; allowing decision making in the classroom; granting learners the right to participate in lessons; and promotion of teacher autonomy. The five pedagogical principles of Dam (2011), however, could be applicable in the classroom.
They involve providing learners with choices for learning contents and activities; providing clear guidelines and expectations to facilitate self-responsibility; focusing on learning process, and not transmitting knowledge; creating authentic communication and actions in the classroom; and encouraging learners to reflect on their learning. Such conditions can be optimized through project activities as applied in this current study. The position and nature of a project is an important issue. In fact, proposals labeled as project-based learning take project work as the centre for teaching and learning activities and contents (Fragoulis, 2009).
Through conducting projects, learners construct their knowledge. Some basic features identify the nature and role of project work in project- based learning. These include: 6 skkn a focus on content learning through project work, a series of progressive tasks structured to give students the opportunity to reproduce and use their knowledge and skills, choice during implementation process, inspiring learners, equal opportunities for learners to use the individual skills during group work, ensuring that all learners are responsible for their assigned tasks, supporting activities to help practice skills and focus on language, teacher feedback and opportunities provided for self-assessment and reflection. 163) In short, projects used as the central teaching and learning activity have shown a positive impact on learning attitudes and motivation, achievements, and skills related to learner autonomy.
What is PBL? 1. Definition of PBL PBL has been defined in many ways. For this reason, there exists no single definition. PBL is based on the constructivist learning theory, which finds that learning is deeper and more meaningful when students are involved in constructing their own knowledge.
Constructivism is a theory based on observation and scientific study about how people learn. People construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences (Vygotsky, 1978). When we encounter something new, we have to connect it with our previous ideas and experiences, it may change what we currently 11 know and believe. As we acquire new information we need to continue to ask questions, explore, and assess what we currently know.