https://padlet.com/project87/h4x9j1ep79363zaj Language learning is much more than worksheets and tests. en-us 2022-09-20 15:02:14 UTC 2022-09-23 16:55:34 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png project87 https://padlet.com/project87/h4x9j1ep79363zaj/wish/2305266047 As ESL teachers, we already know that creating the right spaces for student participation is key to getting learners talking. If students are speaking, they are practicing, thus, owning their language. 

However, this isn't an easy task. It is actually a real challenge to adapt these spaces to rigurous, old-school curriculums (that are still very much around in schools all over the world) as content tends to be favored over accuracy, which leads to little practice and conversation opportunities. Another recurring issue is the lack of teacher preparation: even if they are professional teachers, they still need constant updates through workshops and courses, which unfortunately aren't priorities for schools and language institutions. 

Speaking of these issues and implications of communicative language teaching, I'd like to share a particular activity that really impacted students in the most positive way, allowing them to test their own knowledge of the English language in order to work as a team and solve the challenges presented to them: A Scavenger Hunt. 

A little background: These 4th grade students are taught most of their school subjects in English, however, these students come from full Spanish speaking households, which means that the only opportunity they have to practice their skills is at school. To maximize this time, a communicative curriculum is implemented, taking advantage of each subject to practice speaking for correct language appropriation. 

The introduction: Students are introduced to the topic of "Biomes". Using the vocabulary they already know to build up and learn the new topic, students are encouraged to speak and look for verbs and adjectives to describe the images the teacher presents. 

The Scavenger Hunt: The class is split into five groups, one group per Biome. Each group is given a map and information, and will search for a specific Biome. The teacher has already set up different stations around the school grounds. The group works together, looking for each station and working on the activities each station suggests. They work as a team, and the only rules are to speak in English and finish the activities of the station before moving on to the next. 

The final activity: With all the information they retrieved, they now must prepare a short conference about their Biome. They must include specific information found in each of the stations they worked on. Each group will present their Biome to the rest of the class. 

The outcome: During this activity, students are playing the roles of leaders and team players. They are learnign a science topic while practicing their English and building on their vocabulary. By creating spaces that go beyond strict grammar learning and worksheet-filling, we are allowing students to transform the skills we are encouraging in the classroom to an actual, real world ability, which is the ultimate goal for teachers and students: honing language skills to eventually have a true speaking ability in the target language. ]]> 2022-09-20 16:04:27 UTC https://padlet.com/project87/h4x9j1ep79363zaj/wish/2305266047