IATEFL 2015 presentation - The World Is My Classroom
1. The World Is My Classroom
Richard John Osborne (Cambridge DELTA)
richardosborne14@gmail.com
richardjohnosborne.wordpress.com
@richardosborne1
Langage Forum, Paris
www.langageforum.com
A Practical Guide to Excursion-Based Lessons
2. Contents
Part 1
◦ The Classroom
◦ Dogme
Part 2
◦ Pre-Excursion preparation
◦ Excursion Activities
◦ Post-Excursion Follow-up
◦ Logistics and Risk
◦ Conclusion
4. “It is easy to forget how much stimulus there is around us. There is
space, to make our own. There is sound, inside and outside the room.
There’s the world, seen and heard through a window.” (1)
(1) Thornbury, S. & Meddings, L. 2009, “Teaching Unplugged,” p.24, Delta Publ
• The classroom is, by nature, artificial
• Real stimuli make classrooms more authentic
IIs it
real
enough
?
5. The Dogme Approach
The Dogme “vows of chastity” (2)
◦ Abandon coursebooks
◦ Abandon pre-planned lessons
Students’ personal material drives the lesson
Teacher reacts to opportunities for language
learning – activities emerge
Grammar is a natural part of the conversation
Planning is retrospective
(2) Thornbury, S. 2000. “A Dogma for EFL.” IATEFL Issue 153 Feb/Mar
6. Part 2
From Classroom to the Real World
Two Excursion Examples:
• Pre-excursion Preparation
• Activities
• Follow-up
• Logistics and Risk Assessment
• Conclusion
7. Pre-Excursion Preparation
Big Towns / Cities
◦ Museums
◦ Religious sites
◦ Theatres
◦ Tourist hotspots
Small Villages / Rural Areas
◦ Walks
◦ Statues / Public art
◦ Local businesses
Content : on-site texts, listening, visuals
8. Ancient Greek Legends
• Lead-in activities
Interesting Greek legends
• Group work (gap-fills etc.)
Presentation preparation
• Grammar / Language
focus e.g. Past Tense
• Prepare for live
presentation in The
Louvre Museum
9. Santa María del Berrocal
A municipality located in the province
of Ávila, Castile and León
Population 486
… Ruta del Corneja y el Hocino
10.
11.
12.
13. Pre-excursion lesson(s)
General lead-in themes
Specific study of the excursion items
Group / Individual tasks
Speaking, listening, reading, writing
Predict Language / Grammar points
14. Excursion Activities
Pre-excursion activates interest / schema
Ungraded written / audio materials on-site
or online form lesson content
Treasure hunt
Summary writing
Prepared presentation made on site
Interaction with physical objects
15. On-Site Communication
Venue dependent
Teacher does trial run
New level of realism
A push from the nest is needed
Public speaking becomes a dawdle
16. Follow-up Activities
Individual homework
Summaries / Emails / Reports
Language consolidation
◦ Trainer takes notes during excursion
◦ Find a quiet place to discuss afterwards
◦ On-site error correction
OR
◦ Type up and email language to students for
further consolidation activities
17. Logistics
What are the potential logistical problems?
The public
Weather / Environment
Group size / management
Site / Venue rules and restrictions
18. Risk Assessment
Hazard Who’s concerned? Solution
Weather – outside work
in cold / hot conditions
Students and Teacher,
especially ones sensitive
to temperature
Check weather reports
and advise students on
appropriate attire, bring
water / plan a coffee
break
The public – moving
through crowded streets
or road traffic
Students, teachers for
group management, also
public safety
Choose spacious
meeting points away
from roads. Give
students emergency
phone number and
meeting points on paper.
Terrain – walking tours
with difficult climbs /
unpaved paths
Students and Teacher,
especially those with
mobility issues
Test route, advise
students of appropriate
footwear, plan breaks
… … …
19. Conclusion
“Is there no getting away from the fact that classrooms
are just not good places to learn languages in? And that,
instead of flogging the present perfect continuous to
death, it might not be better simply to take
a walk around the block?”
(1) http://scottthornbury.wordpress.com posted on 01/01/12 titled "A is for Affordance"
• Excursions needn’t be exceptions
• Foundation of a new type of syllabus
20. Thank you for your attention
Audience Questions
Richard John Osborne
richardjohnosborne.wordpress.com
richardosborne14@gmail.com
@richardosborne1
Editor's Notes
Hello everyone and welcome.
My name is, I work at, the name of my presentation
I’m here today to convince you that going outside on excursions shouldn’t be just an exceptional treat to get students out of the classroom, they can be so much more, and can even form the foundation stones of the syllabus itself.
Two parts
CLICK First, short theory background
CLICK Second, practical advice excursions
Leave time questions end
Start pose question – major changes
Two pics, 18th cent and modern classroom
Group work – differences?, equipment, organisation, method
Progress, one thing stays same
safe environment, simulation of real life (like next)
Classroom is an artificial environment
Try to make more real with materials
Celta first time real material in classroom, leaflets, etc.
Scott said QUOTE
CLICK But is it real enough?
Article Thornbury 2000 vows of chastity
Abandon courebooks, pre-planned lessons, return to purity
In Dogme, what student brings themselves drives lessons, e.g. personal texts or possessions
Stimuli lead to conversation, to emergent grammar / vocab, teacher generates activity
Grammar activities become natural part of convo
Emergent language summarised
Retrospective planning and core values important later
As genuine the classroom, only a simulation
My solution, unlock true Dogme potential
Stop, as Scott said, looking through window, take class real world
CLICK I will show two examples with considerations + advice
CLICK First, trad lessons form pre-exc prep
Activities during exc
Trad lessons follow up activities
Logistics, group size, venue, risk
Conclude, open to Qs
First, most important, where to go
Want Plenty of language opportunities, consider entrance fees, venue size, later
CLICK Who here is currently living in a big town or city? (AUDIENCE) museums
However, who here teaches in a smaller town or more rural area? (AUDIENCE)
CLICK Only anglo 100 km, slight disadvantage, walks, statues
Applied carefully, approach done anywhere,
Content on-site texts, listening, or visual stimulus depending
Now organise visit into lesson
Local museum, special exhibitions?
CLICK : Winged Victory of Samothrece, 2000 year old. recently returned restoration.
Google gives hundreds of English news
Other greek statues, info on google
CLICK Need coherent lesson, call Ancient Greek Legends, cool
CLICK In class, lead-in fun stories ancient greece, present to class
Group study : Nike, Aphrodite, Arthemis gapfills, vocab, past tense, write summary to present
Old news, just the ground work
Students know next step present in front of peers, teacher, public
New level of motivation
Confess, big city easy
CLICK Naysayer “Well, Sir, I can tell you in Santa María del Berrocal there certainly aren’t any ancient Greek statues to conveniently Google stories about.”
CLICK Google maps, click random
CLICK Santa María del Berrocal, wiki municipality province of Ávila, Castile and León, 2006 census 486.
CLICK Challenge accepted. board of tourism website. Ruta del Corneja y el Hocino inauguration this month (at least, I think that’s what it said).
Show you
Turn outing into lesson
Group work pre-excursion activities
Lead-in, think about subject before reveal
Activities main sites, more meaningful
Group or indiv tasks speaking, listening, reading, writing
Try predict language points relevant. (AUDIENCE)
Primed, schema activated, time to face site
Pre-plan activities to guarantee flow, not too prescriptive
Louvre, audio guides Eng, also panels
Ungraded language content, think carefully, not overload lower levels
Treasure hunt adds gameplay, focus on manageable parts of text
E.g. send groups to find five 19th cent Dutch paintings, write summary
They use language understand, ignore difficult, sake of game
Really low level, no text, e.g. Spanish lesson
Objects on excursion, groups prep presentations before
Treasure hunt objects, e.g. flowers, prepped before
Gradeable, and no less meaningful
Ultimate activity needs help locals
Anglo country simple, big cities guaranteed a little Eng in tourist zones
Rural Spain, chances slim
Nevertheless, go to site, ask people, note results
Worth a try, new level of pressure and realism to efforts
Students slow to start, need teacher behind, push out of next
once initial embarrassment overcome, students liberated,
speaking English a bit of fun, not dreaded nightmare, comfort of the classroom.
follow-up individual homework, summary of the day or follow-on email or document
Hopefully some language pre-exc practiced, consolidated at home or next lesson
I focus fluency, you could develop error correction
I took quick notes mistakes during exc
Quiet spot to discuss mistakes and consolidate language
Trainer could note mistakes, new language, email to students, even use in follow-on activites
So far so good, irresponsible to just lead students outside
Logistical considerations, risk
CLICK Group work potential logistical problems Louvre and Spain examples (AUDIENCE)
CLICK (Take examples, put up mine)
Great, essentially risk assessment, anyone excursions, e.g. summer camps, knows
Here simple risk assess
Not elaborate, study hols
Check insurance companies, some require specific info
For me, enough. Key examples, e.g. weather, student and trainers concerned
patronisingly obvious, but risk student show up 30 degree no headgear or liquids, pass out half way round
Need to say “I did everything in my power to plan for this risk”
Check weather, send email, remind students equip attire
Anyone wants template, I’ll put slideshare blog, link at end
That brings me to the end of my presentation.
Let me just say that what I’ve presented you today was intended to convince you that excursions shouldn’t continue to be just an exceptional treat to get students out of the classroom,
they can be so much more, and can even form the foundation stones of the syllabus itself.
CLICK It was Scott Thornbury, Dogme creator himself, who said, “Is there no getting away from the fact that classrooms are just not good places to learn languages in? And that, instead of flogging the present perfect continuous to death, it might not be better simply to take a walk around the block?”