ADVANTAGES OF TEACHING ENGLISH THROUGH PROJECTS

Sorina Mirela Lungu - profesor

Colegiul Tehnic Reșița

The article concentrates on the positive aspects of teaching English in a more natural way, through projects. By applying this method, the students are encouraged to express themselves by creating different projects on themes of great interest to them. In this way, learning becomes a normal process, giving the students the feeling that learning is a part of everyday life.

Key words: projects, learning English, personal matters

One of the most efficient ways of teaching a foreign language is restoring to personal matters and things that learners like talking about. Hence the need of introducing alternative materials and methods of aquiring language in a positive and natural environment. A good method to do this is to restore to projects. The importance of the projects is of real value, because of its numerous benefits. One important thing in choosing the theme of the project is to assign interesting, challenging and integrative tasks, so that the implication to be complex. The tasks should appeal to students, should integrate language skills and should be of appropriate level. Moreover, project work is very personal and the students are writing about their own lives: their house, their family, their town, their dreams and fantasies, their own research into topics that interest them. Because it is such a personal experience, the meaning and the presentation of the project are important to the learners.

Another positive aspect is the fact that they provide authentic language exposure, since the students are able to see the relevence to the real world of what they are learning.They also promote learner autonomy, cooperation among learners, creating a quite comfortable atmosphere.

Project work helps to integrate the foreign language into the network of the learner’s own communicative competence. It encourages the use of a wide range of communicative skills, enables learners to exploit other spheres of knowledge, and provides opportunities for them to write about the things that are important in their own lives. More than that, project work helps in making the language more relevant to the learners’ actual needs. Project work thus enables students to rehearse the language and factual knowledge that will be of most value to them as language users.

To offer more reasons in favour of creating projetcts is to mention another great benefit, which is its adaptability. Projects are often done in poster format, but students can also use their imagination to experiment with the form, inviting them to be as original as possible.

Project work is a highly adaptable methodology. It can be used at every level from absolute beginner to advanced and with all ages. What we have to keep in mind as teachers is the positive motivation which is the key to successful language learning, and project work is useful as a means of generating this. Pupils no longer feel that English is a chore, but it is a means of communication and enjoyment, while creating their works. By doing this, their performance would be of greater quality.

A project is a great instrument for developing real-life skills as well as implementing technology. While presenting it, students need to handle different technical devices.

In conclusion, language is used in real life settings ans collaborative work ,and critical thinking and creativity is greatly engaged.It is also a way of making students acquainted with information technology and multimedia gadgets. Among its positive aspects, we shoul also mention the fact that project work is very much in tune with modern views about the purpose and nature of education, which implies connecting education to real life matters ans to make learning a part of everyday life.

Bibliography:

http://www.centralischool.ca/~bestpractice/project/benefit.html

Hutchinson, Tom, Intorduction to project world, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991