Использование метода пректов на уроках английского языка

Project as a Kind of studentsʼ Creative

Activity

Светлана Митянова

учитель английского языка,

МБОУ «Малыгинская СОШ»

Ковровского района Владимирской области

  Проект - это самостоятельная плановая и реализованная школьниками работа, в которой речевое общение введено в интеллектуально-эмоциональный содержание  другой деятельности.
       Наиболее принятой технологией "обучения в сотрудничестве" является проектная методика. Поэтому уже несколько лет я работаю над проблемой "Проектная методика как эффективное средство изучения иностранного языка."
        На своих уроках, используя проектную технологию, я ставлю перед собой задачу развивать интеллектуальные способности школьников, имеющих непосредственное отношение к формированию творчества, раскованность, непринужденность, способность мыслить критически и креативно, оригинальность, нестереотипность, заинтересованность.
       Проектная работа помогает детям свободно выражать свои мысли в непринужденной, но педагогически направленной обстановке. Кроме того, ученики учатся работать в коллективе, где от каждой отдельной мысли зависит, каким будет результат. Важным в создании проекта является и то, что такая деятельность позволяет непосредственно увидеть "конечный" результат.
      Проектная технология повышает как уровень интеллектуального развития ребенка, так и социально-коммуникативную роль каждой личности в коллективе, стимулирует интерес учеников к новым знаниям, развитие ребенка через решение проблем и применение их в конкретной деятельности.

       The basic social, economic and political changes in Russia  today are affecting the lives of everyone, especially the young people. Russia at its current transitional stage is a rather dynamic society. The population of  Russia is facing a lot of problems today.  We are on the eve of great changes today.  We’d like the pupils we educate will be the designers and executors of this process. It`s, therefore, important to us as teachers to give these children the tools to perform their task successfully.

       The main purpose of teaching English is to develop students` ability to use foreign language as a perfect instrument for dialogue of cultures and civilizations of the modern world. To teach communication and to make this process successful and affective teachers should create conditions for language interaction. This work will be possible only if it`s really interesting and informative for student, if it covers  the problems of their inner world, beliefs, life experience.

             I`ve been working at school for twenty years already and the more I teach the more I realize I should constantly be in creative process. I`d like to compare our children with seeds, if we put then into fertile soil, they`ll give us rich harvest . So the one of the most important tasks to us is creating the best conditions and to invite students to the Wonderful World of Knowledge. And the method of project creation, to my mind, is very helpful for solving some teaching problems.

          What is project? It`s a kind of students` activity, which involves their experience, imagination, knowledge and great desire to share them with others. This type of work doesn`t mean only something which is done once or twice a month or a year separately from lessons and the language learning, projects are aimed at training multi-skill abilities of students, they are focusing on topics of themes rather than on specific language targets. It provides students with opportunities to rives their knowledge and practice their  skills in a relatively natural context because specific language aims are not prescribed, and because students focus their efforts and attention on achieving an agreed goal. Students play an important part in making decisions on appropriate working methods, the project timetable and the eventual “end product“.

          Project work isn`t a replacement for other teaching methods; neither is it something that`s appropriate only to older or more advanced students. It`s an approach to learning which complement mainstream methods and can be used with students of almost all levels, ages and abilities.

          Project can be intensive activity which takes place over a short period of time or extended  studies which may take up one or two hours a week for several weeks.

There are some main categories of projects

 

     Working  on projects students should get involved in and be responsible for all major decisions , especially those related to the choice of topic, working methods and nature of any end product. The involvement isn`t incidental  to the project but is a crucial and integral part of it. Such kind of work allows students to use language more creatively and effectively and, by dealing with “real“ subject matter, to increase their knowledge of  the world, because project work takes personal interest as its starting point. These can be regarded as “authentc“ rather  than linguistic objective.

      Projects are more likely to succeed if students work cooperatively with others and independently of the teacher towards a mutually agrred goal. The joint end product replaces high marks and teacher`s approval  as the accepted measure of success.

     Although at certain stages of most projects, grammatical accuracy is of  great importance, only rarely will a particular project lend itself naturally to the systematic practice of specific, predictable language structures. By contrast, most projects involve a number of related skills.

       The end product is a very essential feature of project work. It should be the final result of  the various tasks during the project. Without it any project would have no natural conclusion and activities might become meaningless, unrelated exercises. There are some examples of ending:

¾                                               a formal written report;

¾                                               a newspaper;

¾                                               a radio programme;

¾                                               a performance;

        In addition, this end product also provides students with an incentive to co-operate with each other and to present their best work in an attractive form.

       Projects provide contacts with real world subject matter, which require students to apply and adapt what they already know. Students` involvement in makin choices and decisions tends to increase their motivation and interest in learning a foreign language. Project work enables and encourages students of different abilities to work co-operatively on task of equal importance. Relatively weak learners may be able to use their other talents which are as valuable to the success of the project as writing in good English, or understanding of  complex texts.

      Most projects will include some non-linguistic tasks as:

 

 

 

 And we can use cameras, CDs or videos doing it. Students who undertake these tasks will be participating actively in the process conducted throught the medium of the English language. This participation may give confidence to less able students and so improve their attitude to language learning in general.

      It would be misunderstanding of the purpose of projects to assume that they are simply  a way for fluency practice. In most of the projects there are the stages in which the need of accuracy will be quite apparent to students themselves. In the proofreading, rewriting and reporting back stages clarity and accuracy of expression are crucial to successful communication. If the end of the project is a display, a piece of writing, or a performance, it`s in students` own interests to produce language, which is both accurate and fluent.

       This approach to language learning, with its emphasis on interesting topics and student autonomy, and its apparently informal methodology, can in many circumstances provide a welcome break from normal classroom routines. As such it may be seen by students as an antidote to the “system“. It`s one of the teacherʼs responsibilities to guide students without reducing their interest and enthusiasm. Projects should all be adapted to suit students learning surrounding. Whether a particular topic appeals to a particular class may depend upon some factors such as students` age, background and interests, students` previous language learning experiences, students` expectations and needs.

      It`s impossible to prepare students to project work if it`s the unpredictable, dynamic learning process. However, there are certain skills and activities that can be practiced before students become involved in a full project.

       Some authors have called these pre-project tasks “lead-in activities“. They may be the following ones:

Lead-in activity:

¾   giving a short task;

¾   proofreading;

¾   writing a questionnaire;

¾   conducting an interview;

¾   making notes;

¾   writing letters;

Relevance to project work:

¾ reporting back summaries;

¾correcting written work;

¾collecting information or opinions;

¾recording information or opinions;

¾recording information efficiently;

¾requesting information/invitations/making aviangements.

       If students are more used to competing than to working co-operatively with each-other, the following group work activities may be a useful preparation for the discussions which should form the basis of all decisions concerning the direction and development of project work:

¾   coming to an agreement;

¾   allocating tasks;

¾   discussing a plan of action;

        Each project should have appropriate lead-in-activities. They may be done either before the beginning of the project or during the project.

      According to the project`s aims, it may last a day, a week or even longer. The larger the group the longer the project. You should think about content ides, agreed objectives and working methods, and, of course, timetable.

For example:

 

 

 

       At different stages of project work pupils can expect to work in different combination. All projects can start and end with whole class discussions. But sometimes many tasks are best done by individuals or pairs. In general, it`s better let pupils to do their work themselves, to form their own groups and pairs, on the basis either of specific interests or friendship.

       Every teacher should remember that as project work is co-operative learning method , they should always allow-sufficient time for purposeful discussions and reporting back sessions.

So as you can see the project work:

¾   gives teachers a helpful direction in their unconventional work;

¾   serves to make the process of learning brighter;

¾   reveals various inclinations and talents  of children;

¾   attracts students of different levels.

      The result of the project work encourages the participants and makes them feel more confident and experienced. Then this experience helps pupils to solve other problems and the main feature of project teaching it is communicative approach. It gives and widens the students` possibilities to communicate and to cooperate. Here some of pupils` project works are represented.