Making full use of the application of project based learning in teaching unit 9, English text book 11, education publishing house

 THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
 HOANG HOA 4 HIGH SCHOOL
 	 EXPERIENTAL INITIATIVE
MAKING FULL USE OF THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN TEACHING UNIT 9, ENGLISH TEXT BOOK 11, EDUCATION PUBLISHING HOUSE
 	 Author: Dang Thi Hoai Thu
 Position: Teacher
 Subject: English
 THANH HOA, 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Contents
Page
I- INTRODUCTION
1
1. Rationale
1
2. Aims of the study
1
3. Objects of the study
2
4. Methods of the study
2
II- CONTENTS OF THE STUDY
3
Theoretical background
3
Practical background
4
Applying PBL in teaching unit 9
7
Results of applying method
15
III- CONCLUSION
18
Reference books
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
Appendix 5
Appendix 6
I- INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Today the demand for English to study, research, work and live in the domestic and international conditions is increasing in both quantity and quality. Especially, in the context of rapid and deep integration as today, the need becomes even more urgent for not only individuals but also the whole nation.
The needs of teaching and learning foreign languages require a comprehensive change in all levels of education, disciplines, materials, facilities, methods and motivational attitudes of all participants in the process of teaching and learning foreign languages, in English. Facing such demands, the Ministry of Education and Training has implemented the project of foreign language 2020 according to Decision No. 1400 / QĐTTg (Decision of Prime Minister) dated 30 September 2008. The project has set the overall goal of "comprehensive reform of teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system". By 2020 most Vietnamese young people will be able to use their competence of foreign language confidently in communication, learning to work in an environment of integration, multi-lingual, multicultural; Foreign languages become the strength of Vietnamese people, serving the industrialization and modernization of the country."
To achieve that goal, the Ministry of Education has implemented a number of specific measures, including changing textbooks as one of the solutions to help teaching and learning foreign languages have many positive changes.
The new English book 11 is one of the pilot materials in some high schools nationwide. In the book, the difference from the old one is the Project section at the end of each unit.
To better understand the methodology of project-based teaching, as well as to maximize the effects it brings, I forcefully chose and applied Project based learning (PBL) in teaching many units in English textbook, Education Publishing House, with the aim of enabling my students to “experience what they are learning about and the opportunity to relect on those activities” (Silberman, 2007:8), since “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984).
In what follows I shall concentrate on “Making full use of the application of PBL in teaching speaking skill in unit 9, English textbook 11, Education Publishing House”, but many of the points apply to other languages, too.
2. Aims of the study
This paper endeavors to demonstrate the value of PBL in ELT in general and English teaching in particular. Therefore, my theme focuses on making clear about some issues below:
What is PBL?
Why is PBL?
How is PBL applied?
3. Objects of the study
This study was conducted in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam. It has 3,496,000 inhabitants (GSOV, 2014). In this province, the predominant native language is Vietnamese. However, English is currently the most used language in the world (Michel, 2014) in different fields such as science, technology and education. This is the reason why there are many bilingual schools and schools that teach ESL in Thanh Hoa province. Here, there are a total of 798 high schools: 89.6 % public schools and 10.4 % private schools (GSOV, 2012). This study was carried out at a public high school that teaches ESL: Hoang Hoa 4 high school, Thanh Hoa province. The participants were 11th grade students. In total, 100 students took part in this study, all of them have fulfilled English text book 10 in the previous school year.
4. Methods of the study
My study is conducted by qualitative methods in order to collect a number of information, compare, and then, analyse data. By using the combination of these methods, my theme will make clear the questions in this topic, and reach effectively the targets of the essay.
II- CONTENTS OF THE STUDY
1. Theoretical background
According to Wikipedia, Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems.[1] Students learn about a subject by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, challenge, or problem.[2] It is a style of active learning and inquiry-based learning. 
The experience of thousands of teachers across all grade levels and subject areas, backed by research, confirms that PBL is an effective and enjoyable way to learn - and develop deeper learning competencies required for success in college, career, and civic life. Why are so many educators around the world interested in this teaching method? The answer is a combination of timeless reasons and recent developments.
PBL makes school more engaging for students. Today’s students, more than ever, often find school to be boring and meaningless. In PBL, students are active, not passive; a project engages their hearts and minds, and provides real-world relevance for learning.
PBL improves learning. After completing a project, students understand content more deeply, remember what they learn and retain it longer than is often the case with traditional instruction. Because of this, students who gain content knowledge with PBL are better able to apply what they know and can do to new situations.
PBL builds success skills for college, career, and life. In the 21st century workplace and in college, success requires more than basic knowledge and skills. In a project, students learn how to take initiative and responsibility, build their confidence, solve problems, work in teams, communicate ideas, and manage themselves more effectively.
PBL helps address standards. The Common Core and other present-day standards emphasize real-world application of knowledge and skills, and the development of success skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration, communication in a variety of media, and speaking and presentation skills. PBL is an effective way to meet these goals.
PBL provides opportunities for students to use technology. Students are familiar with and enjoy using a variety of tech tools that are a perfect fit with PBL. With technology, teachers and students can not only find resources and information and create products, but also collaborate more effectively, and connect with experts, partners, and audiences around the world.
PBL makes teaching more enjoyable and rewarding. Projects allow teachers to work more closely with active, engaged students doing high-quality, meaningful work, and in many cases to rediscover the joy of learning alongside their students.
PBL connects students and schools with communities and the real world. Projects provide students with empowering opportunities to make a difference, by solving real problems and addressing real issues. Students learn how to interact with adults and organizations, are exposed to workplaces and adult jobs, and can develop career interests. Parents and community members can be involved in projects
2. Practical background
It is a matter of fact that TIENG ANH 11 is the second of a three-level English language set of textbooks for the Vietnamese upper secondary school. It follows the systematic, cyclinical and the theme-based curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education and Training on the 23rd November 2012. The aim of this set of textbooks is to develop students’listening, speaking, reading and writing skill with a focus on communicative competence so that when finishing upper secondary school, they will have achieved level three of the Foregn Language Proficiency Framework for Viet Nam (Equivalent to B1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
GETTING STARTED contains a menu listing and the skills taught in the unit, a conversation introducing the overall topic of the unit, some topic-related vocabulary and the main grammar points, a number of activities to check’s students’ comprehension and provide practice of the teaching points in this section.
LANGUAGE includes Vocabulary, Pronunciation as well as Grammar. Vocabulary give in- depth practice of the words and phrases presented in GETTING STARTED and additional vocabulary for use later in the unit. Pronunciation include aspects of pronunciation that can be problematic to Vietnamese students such as sound clusters, weak form, stress patterns and intonation. Grammar introduce and practice the main grammar points in focus. They are presented in meaningful contexts and follow the thre- stage approach to language teaching.
SKILLS includes Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing. Reading contain a topic- related reading text developed to suit students’ interest and age. The vocabulary and grammar points learnt in the previous sections are recycled in the reading text. The text also provide an imput of language and ideas for students to use in the Speaking, Listening and Writing sub- sections that follow. Speaking includes three or four activities which are designed and sequenced in a way that ensures an uninterrupt link between them. Listening consists of four or five activities which aim to develop listening skills such as listening for general ideas and/ or litening for specific tinformation. Writing guide students through the writing process and focus on the specific text types rewuired by the syllabus.
COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE includes 2 sub - sections. Communication provide language consolidation and free practice of intergrated skills. This section recycles what students have learnt in the previous sections and introduces extra vocabulary for extension. The activities are less controlled. Students are encouraged to express their ideas and opinions freely. Culture providing information about the ASEAN countries and English speaking countries around the world connected to the cultural aspects of the unit topic. It helps students to broaden their knowledge of the world cultures as well as deepen that of their own Vietnamese culture.
LOOKING BACK offers revision and consolidation of the language learnt in the unit. 
PROJECT is aimed at providing students with an opportunity to apply the language and skills they have learnt throughout the unit to perform a task in real – life situation. Students are aked to do survey or carry our research to get information about their friends, their neighbourhood or to broaden their knowledge about the real world. The project activities often involve teamwork which develops team spirit. Much of the work for the Project can be done outside of class, at home or during break time. 
It goes without saying that many teachers have been trying hard to find suitable teaching methods and, to a certain extent, these methods can fulfil the aim of helping students understand and know thoroughly the contents of the lessons. Nonetheless, how will the class be if these methods are applied in all the lessons? Will the students find it interesting to learn whereas they can find the exact answers for the tasks in many reference books? Will the completing tasks in the text book help students learn how to take initiative and responsibility, build their confidence, solve problems, work in teams, communicate ideas, and manage themselves more effectively? Will the students have chance to build important skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication in a variety of media, and speaking as well as presentation skill? More important, will the students be connected with comunities and the real world while studying in textbook only?
PBL bearing many good points as mentioned above can bring to a new change in teaching process. I therefore forcedly implemented PBL in teaching many units, of which Unit 9, English text book 11, Education Publishing House brought my students as well as my teaching much joyful experience and core value.
3. Applying PBL in teaching Unit 9, English text book 11, Education Publishing House.
	 The process of PBL can be varied, depending on the real situation in terms of students’ ability and the content of each unit. By my experience in learning and teaching English, instead of teaching lessons in each units; that means teaching Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing skills and language focus in turns traditionally, I have forcefully and successfully applied PBL in teaching unit 9, English text book 11, Education Publishing House in the following stages.
English 11, Unit 9: CITIES OF THE FUTURE, P. 57 (Volume 2)
Project: CITIES OF THE FUTURE
 1. Work in groups of four to six. Discuss and decide on your own ideal city of the future. You can expand the ideas you braned stormed in the COMMUNICATION section. Include the following points:
- The city’s name
- Geographical features: location, area, population, weather conditions
- Infrastructure: means of transport, environmental conditions, energy souces, treatment of waster
- People’s life and work: education, health care, working hours
Take notes of your group’s ideas and think about how to organize them. Then design a poster to promote your ideal city. Add some pictures to illustrate it. 
2. Introduce your poster to the class. Present the features of your city and explain what makes it the most liveable city in the world.
3. Time: 7 days
3.1. Stage 1: Discovering real situation related to the content of the lesson.
Many students find schoolwork meaningless because they do not perceive “a need to know” what they are being taught. They are unmotivated when told they will need it later in life or simply because “it’s going to be on the test”. With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevant material becomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I have accepted.
In this stage, as a classroom teacher, I could powerfully activate my students’ need to know content by launching a unit in a way that engages interest and inititates questioning. This could take the form of a lively discussion. 
Also, in this stage, I gave out many driving questions to my students. Good driving questions capture the heart of the project in clear, compelling language, giving students a sense of purpose and challenge. The question should be provocative, open-ended, complex, and linked to the core value of what you want students to learn. It could be abstract (What are features of a liveable city?/ to what extent do you think a liveable city should be?); concrete (Is the city you are living in a liveable one?); or focused on solving a problem (How can we change the attitude of the people to make a liveable city?)
3.2. Stage 2: Negotiating the Criteria for Evaluation
I and my students decided that the projects should be assessed by fullfiling the questions in rubrics including self assessment rubric, peer assessment rubric and teacher assessment rubric (See Appendix 6) and checklist. (See Appendix 4)
Once the criteria were clearly defined, the students realized that they might have to be modified in the future.
3.3. Stage 3: Deploying projects
- Dividing groups
In the first place, I divided my class in to groups of six, and appointed the leader of each group. 
(Students worked in groups of 6)
- Assigning tasks
The group’s leaders assigned the task for each members. In terms of making a project feel more meaningful to students, the more voice and choice, the better. The leaders should assign the tasks depending on each member’s ability. On one end of the scale, groups’ members should also discuss on how to design, create, and present products. In the middle, I might provide a limited menu of options for creative products to prevent students from becoming overwhemed by choices. On the other end of the scale, students could decide what products they will creat, what resources they will use, and how they will structure their time. Students could even choose a project’s topic and driving questions. Basing on the topic in units 9, Cities of the future, my students chose posters to be their final products. During this stage, students in each group use the check list (See Appendix 4) and Project team work plan (See Appendix 1) and Assessment for group work skill (See Appendix 5) to check the work and the duty of each member. 
(Groups’ leader distributed work to members)
3.4. Stage 4: Conducting the project.
A project should give students opportunities to build such 21st century skills as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use of technology, which will serve them well in the workplace and life. This exposure to authentic skills meets the second criterion for meaningful work—an important purpose. A teacher in a project-based learning environment explicitly teaches and assesses these skills and provides frequent opportunities for students to assess themselves.
Being given the Guidelines for poster layout (See Appendix 3), the students in each group worked on preliminary sketches until they decided on a final design. Besides, students gathered information from many resourses such as websites, newspapers and their real lives. They then compiled imformation, deciding on what pictures and information to paste on the posters. Finally, they decided on how and where to put information and pictures on the posters. During this stage, Check list for poster (See Appendix 4) was also used to check the tasks of all the members.
	(Students gathered and compiled information and pictures)
	(Students drew their poster)
 During this stage, I served as coach, moving from group to group to guide the students' work. As I did so, I asked myself the following coaching questions:
Do the students have a clear understanding of the task?
Does each student have ownership of her role within the group?
Are the students attentive and working together cooperatively?
Are the resources that students use geared to their comprehensive level of understanding?
Are any groups stumbling in a way that is blocking their work due to heightened emotions?
My role as coach obtained a clarity of purpose throughout this process. Prompted by the coaching questions and the checklist, the students used their own intellects to solve problems while attaining a higher level of learning.
3.5. Stage 5: Presenting the project
In this stage, students became aware of the ways their presentations meet the criteria of assessment. The teacher-coach using Teacher’s assessment (See Appendix 6), observed how engaged they were in presenting their projects. Each group in my class showcased its poster to the class, explaining how the product was achieved as well as presenting the content, the core value of the project. Not one student was absent on the day of the competition.
 “HAPPY CITY” (Group 1‘s presentation) 
 “SFELCITY”(Group 2‘s poster and presentation) 
 “SINGAPORE CITY” (Group 3‘s poster)
 “PARADISE CITY” (Group 4‘s poster)
 “DREAM CITY” (Group 5’s poster)
	“SMART CITY” (Group 6’s poster)
 “NATURE CITY” (Group 7’s poster)	
3.6. Stage 6:  Reflecting on the Process and Evaluating the Process
In this simulation, the students discussed what they enjoyed about working in their groups, and how one student's idea would spawn another student's idea. They discussed what they liked about the materials and what they found to be