V Tutorial—Project-Based Learning
Project 1 Become resourceful
Work in a group. If you need to recommend 5 resources of English learning to the class, what will they be and why? Make a presentation to the class. When you are preparing for this, you may find the following questions helpful.
• Are you happy with the foreign language learning resources around you? Have you been to the university library to check on the English books available? Write down several English books that you find interesting in the library.
• Do you know any website reporting news or providing information of countries around the world as listed below? Can you write down other ones you know?
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn
http://www.npr.org
http://www.countryreports.org
• Do you know any English learning website as listed below? Can you write down other ones you know? http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
http://www.esl-lab.com
http://www.hjenglish.com
• Do you know any English learning public accounts on WeChat as listed below? Can you write down other ones you know?
chinadaily_mobile
i21st Century
英文巴士
• Do you know any English learning app as listed below? Can you write down other ones you know?
Quara
Coursera
英语流利说
百词斩
扇贝系列
薄荷阅读
Project 2 Survey on University English Corner
A couple of years ago, Chen Biyun (陈必云) and Chen Juan (陈娟), two undergraduates of Fuzhou University who often visited University English Corner, found this learning experience beneficial. They decided to do a formal research on this to determine its impact on the development of active participants’ speaking competence. As a result, they wrote a research proposal and applied to the University Undergraduate Student Research Training Program (SRTP) for funding. Luckily, their proposal was approved. The following graph is one of their research findings. As shown in the graph below, 93% of the 42 subjects who have frequented University English Corner believe it has benefited the overall development of their speaking competence, 93% is fluency, 90% is confidence, 88% is world knowledge, 80% is appropriateness, 80% is pronunciation, 75% is listening, and 55% is vocabulary.
Impact of University English Corner on the Development of Active Participants’ Speaking Competence（N=42）
Visit University English Corner, and interact with other participants. Identify one regular goer. Then work in groups and give your group members an interview on how going to University English Corner has impacted him/her.
Presentation
Work in groups and present your findings to the class.
Project 3 Be inspired by TED Talks
(1) What are TED Talks and why are they so good?
TED Talks are
• short form for Technology, Entertainment, and Design.
• short videos (around 18 minutes).
• from some of the most engaging speakers around the world.
• free to distribute and share.
Explore them on http://www.ted.com, and find out more!
Have a Go!
Watch the following TED Talks and find out your favourite one. Are you in any way inspired? Share your insights in your group.
• “The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain” by Mia Nacamulli
• “How Language Shapes the Way We Think” by Lera Boroditsky
• “How Language Transformed Humanity” by Mark Pagel
Project 4 Develop your speaking skills
We can develop speaking ability in different ways, such as reciting texts, retelling stories, engaging in conversations with other speakers, making public speeches, etc.
Time to Discuss!
Share and discuss the following questions in a group.
• How many ways have you tried?
• How may the result of each way be different from one another?
Situation
The moment Lucy entered the university she set herself the goal of reciting a text every three days and writing it out from memory. She has improved considerably in vocabulary and grammar. At the end of the third month, she went to the English Corner organized by the University Oral English Association for a test of her English ability. But she was greatly frustrated as she found herself not being able to converse with other participants.
Role-play Time!
Pair up and do a role-play. One acts as the solution seeker, while the other as the problem solver.
Project 5 Develop your listening skills
Situation
John is upset with a problem in his listening. When practicing listening, if he meets an unfamiliar word or a couple of unfamiliar words, he will get stuck with it or them and miss the rest.
What strategies can he use to cope with this problem?
Role-play Time!
Pair up and do a role-play. One acts as the solution seeker, while the other as the problem solver.