Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm THPT: Creating English space_classroom-based zone by project based activities to improve high school students' communicative competence

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The purpose of the topic is to help students have more chances to interact and experience with English, create a language practice environment where learning and using English can take place at all times. In this process, Students can react flexible in all situations by using topics, differents areas of knowledge being suitable for Vietnamese culture, customs and habits. With simple activities and the simplest space like the classroom, students have the opportunity to experience, use foreign languages in real situations, actively support for the regular class time.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS  CONTENT Page A. INTRODUCTION 3 I. REASON FOR CHOOSING THIS TOPIC 3 II. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 4 III. DUTIES OF THE STUDY 4 IV. OBJECT OF THE STUDY 5 V. METHODS OF THE STUDY 5 B. CONTENT 5 I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 5 1. English space - classroom-based zone. 5 1.1. The definition of English space - classroom-based zone. 5 1.2. The management in the space - classroom-based zone. 5 2. Project-based learning. 7 2.1. The definition of Project-based learning. 7 2.2. Types of projects. 7 2.3. The steps of project method. 7 2.4. The advantages of project method. 8 3. Communication Competence. 9 3.1. The definition of Communication Competence 9 3.2. The ways to develop the communicative competence. 9 II. PRACTICAL BACKGROUND 9 1. The current state of teaching and learning English at Le 9 Loi Upper- Secondary school. 2. Creating English space_classroom-based zone by project based activities to improve high school students' 10 communicative competence. 2.1. Photo exhibitions 10 2.2. Class Mag 14 1
2.3. A day as a journalist 17 2.4. Poster design 20 2.5. Vocabulary desk labels 24 III. FINDINGS AND EVALUATION 26 C. CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION 27 I. CONCLUSION 27 II. APPLICATION 28 REFERENCES 29 APPENDIX 30 2
A. INTRODUCTION I. REASON FOR CHOOSING THIS TOPIC Today, English has proven to be an indispensable international language, and an essential factor for social integration and business development with countries around the world. Vietnam has determined the importance of the English language, and English is considered as one of the compulsory subjects in the school curriculum in the early stage. For this reason, English is taught throughout Vietnam, from urban to rural areas. Recently, creating a positive learning environment outside of regular classroom hours to help learners use English in real-life situations has really attracted the attention of students, teachers, educational administrators and the whole society. It has brought conditions for learners to practise language skills and apply knowledge learnt in real-life. Therefore, They will improve gradually their skills such as confidence, dynamic, interest in learning and using English. This is a key factor that has greatly affected the proficiency and fluency in English communication of learners. They can develop the use of language in all aspects and areas of life, express their own abilities and passions, thereby raise awareness and positive learning attitudes towards learning spoken foreign languages in general and English in particular. With the desire to help students have the opportunity to practice the language as much as possible, in the process of teaching myself, I have created an English space in the classroom through project-based learning activities. Besides the regular class hours, The author has created an environment where students get "bathed" in the language with close real-life situations, so that students are not afraid of speaking English. As a result, They can develop the habits of reacting quickly and flexibly to all situations in real life. Being an English teacher at Le Loi Upper-secondary school, Tan Ky District, Nghe An Province and with 13 years working with the students, I truly understand the difficulties my high school students encountering when they learn a foreign language. During the teaching process, I personally find that participating in project learning activities in the classroom space not only helps students develop language competence, but also develops the common competencies that the general education curriculum requires. These are self-control, self-study, communication and cooperation capacity, problem-solving ability and creativity in the process of teamwork. For the above reasons, I have summarized the creation of an English space in the classroom with engaging project-based activities in the experiential initiative. That is also the reason why I chose the topic “Creating English space_classroom-based zone by project based activities to improve high school 3
students' communicative competence” I hope it will be a useful way to help students and teachers improve the quality of teaching and learning English. II. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The purpose of the topic is to help students have more chances to interact and experience with English, create a language practice environment where learning and using English can take place at all times. In this process, Students can react flexible in all situations by using topics, differents areas of knowledge being suitable for Vietnamese culture, customs and habits. With simple activities and the simplest space like the classroom, students have the opportunity to experience, use foreign languages in real situations, actively support for the regular class time. To teachers, using “English space_classroom-based zone” will help them solve difficulties in teaching reading effectively. According to the theory of multiple intelligences (Theory of Multiple Inteligences), each student has a different type of intelligence, with different strengths such as: linguistic intelligence, mathematical logic intelligence, musical intelligence, physical intelligence, personal interaction intelligence, inner intelligence, natural intelligence and so on. Therefore, when the children participate in activities with each other, work on different projects, students might have the opportunity to show their strengths and teachers assess students' abilities more accurately and fairly. In addition, I personally want to share this teaching experience with my colleagues so that they can apply it in the teaching process to bring the highest efficiency. I chose the tenth graders to illustrate my topic for several reasons. Firstly, students who have just entered the grade 10 will have many difficulties in approaching new programs and study environment. Secondly, the lessons in this textbook will be longer and more complicated than those they studied at Lower- secondary Schools. Moreover, choosing these students will soon help them improve their critical thinking and develop language skills. III. DUTIES OF THE STUDY In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the following tasks need to be performed: - Research the requirements in the new high school program for English subjects. - Learn and research the focus of knowledge and teaching topics in high school English. - Research and design activities outside of regular school hours in an attractive and interesting way for students to have an environment to use English. 4
- Read documents related to the method of creating English space in the classroom, discuss with colleagues. - Check and evaluate the results of students' acquisition of knowledge, so that there can be reasonable additional adjustments. IV. OBJECT OF THE STUDY The students of the Grade 10 at Le Loi Upper-secondary school, Tan Ky District, Nghe An Province. V. METHODS OF THE STUDY The research methods used in the study are: - Observation method: I research, collect, process, analyze, select and systematize documents related to the topic. - Interview method: I have directly interviewed different types of students about their wishes when learning English. - Method of exchange and discussion: From the moment I formed the idea, I and my colleagues conducted an exchange and discussion to draw effective implementation plans. - Experimental method: I have carried out plans to create space and create an English environment for students in two experimental classes and two control classes outside of the regular classes. - Method of investigation: I have examined and evaluated the results of the process of participating in activities in the English space. - Method of collecting information: I have made questionnaires for students to comment and evaluate their satisfaction with the activities so that appropriate adjustments can be made. B. CONTENT I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1. English space - classroom-based zone 1.1. The definition of English space - classroom-based zone The English space in the classroom is a place where teachers and students use English as much as possible to communicate in an optimal learning environment. At the same time, students try their best to achieve knowledge effectively. More than that, teachers and students apply practices to deal with communication situations. Especially both teachers and learners make use of the use value of the classroom. 1.2. The management in the space - classroom-based zone There are several ways teachers and administrators can ensure that both the classroom environment and curriculum are responsive to the increasing cultural 5
diversity of our society. These strategies will encourage all students’ cultural awareness, enhance each student’s sense of identity, and foster inclusion in the classroom community. a. Get to Know Your Students Teachers should ensure that cultural awareness is promoted in the classroom because of the understanding of teachers with each individual student. They might take the time to learn about each student’s cultural background, hobbies, learning styles, ect. Learning about each student and their culture will help establish trust and allow teachers to form a bond with them. If students feel appreciated and comfortable with the teacher, they will feel more comfortable to talk in the class. b. Maintain Consistent Communication Teachers should also continue to maintain ongoing communication throughout the semester or school year. Scheduling meetings with students will allow the teachers to consistently improve how accessible the classroom. c. Acknowledge and Respect Every Student It is also necessary for students to respect their own diverse backgrounds, as well as others’. In other words, teachers should encourage students to research and learn about their own ethnic and cultural backgrounds. This allows them to better understand their own culture as well as the differences between cultures. As a result, This will allow students to give presentations about their family traditions and culture. Learning how to talk about other cultures in a respectful, mature way is essential for success in life outside the classroom. d. Practice Cultural Sensitivity Although It is important to keep an open dialogue amongst students, the teachers should make sure you are being sensitive to everyone’s culture, beliefs, and language.Time should be used to understand each student’s culture – from learning styles to the language they use . This will help teachers easier to design their lesson plans. e. Incorporate Diversity in the Lesson Plan The classroom environment is important for fostering cultural awareness, but teachers also should ensure diversity is represented in their actual lesson plan. Regardless of the subject, teachers ought to always try to present and connect lessons to real-world issues. It’s easier to promote cultural awareness within the lessons when students can relate to a real example. f. Give Students Freedom and Flexibility As a teacher, you can act as a facilitator and encourage conversation and healthy debate between diverse opinions. Group assignments are also a great way to expose students to diverse perspectives, allow them to work together to explore and 6
solve a problem. This will also help them become a diverse workforce where they will have to partner with a lot of people to accomplish their professional goals. 2. Project-based learning 2.1. The definition of Project-based learning Project-based learning is simply defined as “an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop” (Moss & Van Duzer, 1998, p.1). Project-based learning is different from traditional instruction because it emphasizes learning through student-centered, interdisciplinary, and integrated activities in real world situations (Solomon, 2003). In particular, PBL activities can be characterized as follows (Srikrai, 2008) (Stoller, 2002): • focusing on content learning rather than on specific language patterns, • being student-centered so the teacher becomes a facilitator or coach, • encouraging collaboration among students, • leading to the authentic integration of language skills and processing information from multiple sources, • allowing learners to demonstrate their understanding of content knowledge through an end product (e.g., an oral presentation, a poster session, a bulletin board display, or a stage performance) 2.2. Types of projects According to structure and size, project can be into the following suggested categories. Individual and Social projects: In each project, all students solve their problems in their own interests, capacity, attitude and needs. In group projects the problem is solved by the group of pupils in the class. As a results, the social, citizenship qualities and synergism are develops. Simple and Complex project: In the simple projects, the students are completing only one work at a time. It gives the deep information about the project in a one angle. The students get deeper and broader knowledge about the problem. In the complex project, the students carry out more than one work at a time. They focus on the work in various subjects and angles. Consequently, the students get the knowledge about the work in various activities and dimensions. 2.3. The steps of project method The Nine Steps of Project-Based Learning 1. The teacher-coach sets the stage for students with real-life samples of the projects they will be doing. 7
2. Students take on the role of project designers, possibly establishing a forum for display or competition. 3. Students discuss and accumulate the background information needed for their designs. 4. The teacher-coach and students negotiate the criteria for evaluating the projects. 5. Students accumulate the materials necessary for the project. 6. Students create their projects. 7. Students prepare to present their projects. 8. Students present their projects. 9. Students reflect on the process and evaluate the projects based on the criteria established in Step 4. 2.4. The advantages of project method a. As students get proper freedom to execute the project in accordance with their interest and abilities, because of which they get their psychological needs satisfied to considerable extent. b. This method is not only subject centered, but due importance is being provided to the students also. c. Through this method, students are provided with various opportunities by which they can satisfy their interests and desires. d. Habit of critical thinking gets developed among the students through this method. e. With this method, students get the ample chances in which they can develop coordination among their body and mind. f. Through this method, teacher can lead a well-balanced development of the students. g. Through this method, science teaching can be done with considerable success, as science is a practical subject and this method is also scientific and practical in nature. h. This method helps in promoting social interaction and co-operation among the students, as they have to work in a group and have to interact with various persons for gathering information. i. As students gain knowledge directly through their own efforts, thus, they acquire permanent kind of information, which is retained by them since a long period of time. 8
j. Mostly the projects are undertaken in classroom as classroom assignments, because of which load of homework from the students get reduced to considerable extent. j. It helps to widen the mental horizon of pupils. k. It sets up a challenge to solve a problem and this stimulates constructive and creative thinking. 3. Communicative competence 3.1. The definition of communicative competence Communicative competence of English is the ability to use language knowledge (phonetics, vocabulary, grammar) to participate in communication activities (listening, speaking, reading, writing) in interesting situations. Context means with different communication objects to meet their own communication needs or the communication requirements of society. 3.2. The ways to develop the communicative competence There are many factors that influence the development of the communicative competence. The first things are external factors such as classroom space, teacher’s instruction and teacher’s teaching style, students’ level, teaching’s materials, lesson plan. The second factors are innovative activities including Power Point presentation, warm-up activites, Video Clip, Games..ect. In these factors, classroom and the management. II. PRACTICAL BACKGROUND 1. The current state of teaching and learning English at Le Loi Upper- Secondary school I am currently working as a teacher at Le Loi High school in a rural area. There are a lot of dificulties for learning and teaching in many subjects in general and in English in particularly. First of all, There are too many students in a class. Actually, It has more than 40 students with different English entrance scores. It is not easy for teachers to promote the language for each student. It usually takes me a long time to stabilize the order as well as cover all the students especially the students at the back of the class. Therefore, many students do not have the opportunity to practice and develop language skills. These cases mainly fall on passive, shy, and self-conscious people. Consequently, They can not have enough chance to practise and develop all aspects of learning. Secondly, In our country, most of classes are mixed level students. Therefore, in the class, there are both high and low level students. Applying teaching method in the class is mainly dependent on students’ level and their interest. Students with different levels make it difficult for teachers to make progress as well as use 9
measures that are appropriate for all students. Because students' entry scores are in other subjects, there is a difference in English proficiency. As a result, some students who are good at it will find it very boring if the activity is too simple. while low level students will feel frustrated if the activity is too difficult and will be more self- conscious in the process of learning English. As a result, I have felt difficult to design suitable activities for all students in class. Last but not least, time and facilities are also obstacles. Although the classrooms have already installed TVs, there are no networks or projectors. Facilities for English classes are limited, there are no specialized rooms, and are not fully equipped with a projector system, which is really necessary for illustrating specialized activities during the lesson. Students will be more interested in the lessons with lectures through vivid and realistic images. Students do not have enough ideal conditions to learn English. In addition, when the children complete the products and display them in the classroom space with the specified positions, it also takes time for the groups to present and evaluate the projects. In conclusion, It is necessary to create an English communication environment for students outside of regular school hour. Therefore, I will introduce some ways to create an English space in the classroom with some project-based learning activities that are simple, easy to implement for teachers. 2. Creating english space-classroom-based zone by project-based learning activities to improve high school students' communicative competence 2.1. Photo exhibitions *Activity description: Students collect or draw and take the pictures on their own following the topic given by the teacher, then name and annotate their own pictures in English. * Purpose of the activity: - To help students strengthen with English outside of regular school hours, improve reading and writing ability in English. - To help students practice the skills of searching, selecting and synthesizing information, expand basic knowledge and enhance creative thinking. *Time and scope of exhibition: Students have about 3 days to prepare and a week-long exhibition in the classroom space. *Implementation plan: (1) Grouping: The teacher divides students into 4 groups, gives them a topic and guides them in how to do it. (2) Forming ideas: Students collect pictures, draw/take pictures following the creative ideas of the group. 10
(3) Completing the product: Students name the product and attach the captions below the pictures. (4) Posting on the class's Fanpage: After completing the product, the groups will post on the class's English learning Fanpage. (5) Product display: Students display products in the classroom following the assigned positions. (6) Product Evaluation: Marking the products is given in the afternoon elective lesson. The groups send a representative to give a brief introduction to the collection, the other groups listen with the marking teacher, and can ask questions if they want. (The score sheet is in APPENDIX 02) (7) Summary of performance evaluation: The teacher summarizes the scores of 4 groups and announces the winning group with a small gift to encourage students' morale. In the next lessons, the teacher can ask any student about the information that they learned from the exhibition. (8) Collecting feedback from students about the exhibition: The teacher gives each student a feedback form on the level of satisfaction with the exhibition. (The feedback form is in APPENDIX 06) Example: Relating to the topic of UNIT 07. VIET NAM AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS (ENGLISH 10 – GLOBAL SUCESS)  The teacher gives the students a task to make a photo exhibition about the topic “The place you want to work”. There are some following specific steps:  Firsly, teacher divided class into 4 groups.  Next, teacher gave some ideas about the topic such as: The name of place, the name of the organisation, the reason of choosing it, the head of office and so on.  Then, I finished the task( time allowance is a week) and posted the products on the Fanpage of class.  Students displayed the products in the class.  Next, Students gave a presentation and other groups made evaluation for each product with the criteria given in the hand-out.  Teacher summarized the scores of 4 groups and announces the winning group  Teacher gave each student a feedback form. Below are pictures that students have done the task. (Some other pictures are in Appendix 08) 11
Photo exhibition space with the theme: The place you want to work Exhibition of Group 1 12
Exhibition of Group 2 Exhibition of Group 3 13
2.2. Class mag *Activity description: Students collect or compile several English articles classified by category, design their own products, and exhibit them. * Purpose of the activity: - To enhance students' practice of reading and writing English skills. - To train skills of analyzing and synthesizing information in English, expanding background knowledge related to many fields of life, society, economy, science for students. - To share the creative experiences, memories about school and all the concerns of students about life issues. *Time and scope of implementation: A magazine is displayed in the classroom every month. *Implementation plan: (1) Grouping: The teacher divides students into 4 groups. (2) Forming ideas: Each group collects or writes articles according to the categories suggested by the teacher and students. Each journal includes at least 05 different entries, each entry consists of at least 02 articles. (3) Discussing: The groups discuss selected articles according to the given topics. Within a week, students need to design and complete the journal (cover page, introduction page, table of contents, content decoration and so on.) (4) Posting on Fanpage: After completing the journals, students proceed to post them on Fanpage. (5) Exhibiting: By the second week, groups will exhibit their journals according to their assigned positions in the classroom. Each group will send a representative to present their journal. (6) Evaluating the journal: The teacher and the rest of the groups will listen to the presenter, evaluate the journal and complete the score sheet (one score sheet per group). (Score sheet - APPENDIX 03) (7) Announcing the results: After the four groups have completed, the teacher collects the score sheet from the groups and sums up the results (group scores with coefficient 1, teacher scores with coefficient 2), then announces the winning group and rewards that group. (8) Feedback: After finishing this activity, teachers can survey students' opinions on the level of satisfaction with the content and form of the "class journal" 14
activity. This opinion will help teachers make some appropriate adjustments to the next activities more effectively. (Feedback form – APPENDIX 06) Example: Class Mag The implementation steps are taken as above. Teachers can suggest items in the journal such as: Vietnamese teachers’ day, learning English tips,travel around the world, sports pages, film reviews, cinema news, fashion, photo stories, comic strips, puzzles, technology pages, music, favourite poems, interviews with famous people, recipes, jokes, problem pages and so on. Students discuss in groups to decide on items for writing or collecting. After that, students will set the layout of the magazine and decorate it according to the ideas of the group. Below are pictures that show the journals of 4 groups of students I teach. (Some other pictures are in Appendix 08) The products of “Class Mag” of 4 groups are displayed in the classroom 15
The “Teachers’ day” section of Group 1 The “ Learning English tips" section of group 2 16
Some pictures of class mag on APPENDIX 08 2.3. A day as a journalist *Activity description: Students work in groups to make a reportage clip in English about a problem in the learning environment or a social issue or a good example of a good person or good deed. Students can interview their classmates right in the class or the figures outside in the break time or 15-minute activity time. record for reportage and slideshow. Then they film the reportage and show it in class when it is completed. * Purpose of the activity: - To improve students' speaking and writing skills in English through the reportage. - To develope creative thinking, research, teamwork skills, information search and processing skills as well as problem solving skills for students. - To strengthen exchanges and connections, share together, and raise the sense of community responsibility. *Time and scope of implementation: At least twice a semester. Reportages can be made inside or outside the school and are shown in the classroom space and on the class's English learning Fanpage. *Implementation plan: (1) Grouping: The teacher divides students into 4 groups. (2) Register topics: Students register for the topic of reportage based on the lesson topics they have learned or are about to learn. (3) Making reportage: Students will discuss to bring up the content and detailed plan for the reportage and then complete it. (4) Submitting products to Fanpage: Students make a reportage into a video clip and send it to the class's Fanpage, then there will be a slideshow in the classroom. (5) Evaluating the product: Teachers and other groups will watch clips of each group together, then conduct assessments, and score points based on available score sheets. (Score sheet - APPENDIX 04) (6) Announcing the results: Teacher announces the first prize and award the group with the best reportage clip from the score sheets of the audience and teachers. (audience scores with coefficient 1, teacher scores with coefficient 2) Reportage time: From 3 to 10 minutes. 17
(7) Feedback information: The teacher gives each student a feedback form on the level of satisfaction with the activity to make necessary adjustments for the next activities. (Feedback form APPENDIX 06) Example: With regard to the school's anniversary and Unit 8 – NEW WAYS TO LEARN – (ENGLISH 10 – GLOBAL SUCESS), I suggested 4 groups of students in the class make reportages related to this issue. The groups can exploit in different aspects related to their chool such as: The campus of our school, The history of our school, the teachers and students in my school, volunteer work at the weekend, school achievements and so on. This activity helps students to be active and proactive with the lesson topic, as well as exploit the lesson topic in many different aspects. With this activity, students can have chance to know about their schools, the effective ways. Along with the development of language ability, children can develop self-control and self-study, communication skills and teamwork with other members, also solve problems in many different directions creatively and radically.  Below are a few photos taken from students' reportage: Topic: NOT FALLING DOWN (Group 1) 18
Topic: MY HOBBY (group 2) Topic: FAVOURITE SPORT (Group 3) 19
Topic: A TRIP TO LELOI HIGH SCHOOL (Group 4)  The students’ reportage videos are sent to the following link: https://www.facebook.com/100004322921651/videos/600395865345383/ https://www.facebook.com/100004322921651/videos/612223374090049/ https://www.facebook.com/100004322921651/videos/1580807259091790/ https://www.facebook.com/100004322921651/videos/745973870520483/ 2.4. Poster design *Activity description: This is an activity in which students design posters on the topics required by the teacher. When participating in this activity, students have the opportunity to practise and develop English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through 20