Presenting on Extensive Reading and Task-based Learning |
First we began by discussing our own usage of Extensive Reading in the classroom. There were some attendees who had experience making use of ER to various degrees as well as some attendees who hadn't made much use of the facility.
We began by throwing out our own definition of ER. Participants came up with some of the following ideas:
- Reading lots.
- Reading with a plan.
- Putting vocabulary in context for learning
- Reading simplified materials for pleasure and knowledge.
- Pure; student choice; tasks rarely used
- Integrated; variable choice; tasks used
- Class (Waring 2010;2011)
- Tasks balance the learing process (Day and Bamford, 1998)
- Tasks develop core competencies (Green, 2005)
- Class reading creates an alternate... (missing note here)
Brendan also pointed out that in only one instance did someone rail against the idea of using task-based activities in the ER context simply because the researcher (citation needed) determined that tasks take away from the purity of ER.
What are some examples of tasks for ER?
- Reading circles, conversation-based
- Writing tasks
- Project based
- Goal: Purpose of the task
- Input: Materials, medium, distribution of information
- Conditions: Groupings, time, environment
- Procedures: Steps to complete the task
- Process outcome: How students accomplish the task
- Product outcome: What students produce
In the end of the first session, we spent time brainstorming ideas for making tasks associated with various examples of ER books. Each team came up with good ideas for projects surrounding a book they chose.
In the 2nd half of the meeting we covered Task Evaluation:
- Pre - Planning
- During - Interactive
- Post - Evaluative
After, Brendan took us through a case study of using Task-based learning in an Extensive Reading context with one of his classes at NIU.
- Class - 1st year English Exercises
- 29 students, 14 males 15 females
- Major: International Tourism
- ER Book: The Mysterious Island - Jules Verne
- Rationale: Student self-identification: Level 2 or above
- Familiar premise: five people stranded on an island
- Reading Time/Discussion circle: discuss the main points of the day's reading
- Island life: predict challenges faced by characters. Discuss and justify
- Island writing: write in role - letter, journal, comic, or picture book (invent content based on what you've seen)
- Frozen picture: physical-ize one moment from the story. Groups create a tableau and speak one line each.
- Final project: creative expansion on the story. Make a tourist brochure for the island.
----- Nagasaki JALT Announcements -----
PanSIG Preregistration Deadline is Sunday, April 20th. Don't forget!
Meeting attendees: 5
JALT Members: 5Non-JALT: 0
No comments:
Post a Comment