92-pages-GUIDELINES-FOR-SECONDARY-SCHOOLS-All-Streams-and-Sections

• acquiring independent thought and critical thinking through reflection on the project – both process and
product - in order to identify its strong and weak points
• Last but not least, developing curiosity, interest and enjoyment in and through the target language.
Topics
Project work involves activities that focus on meaning rather than language per se. It consists of activities that
target a theme of interest to learners rather than specific language forms. Project work can be anchored in the
syllabus by linking it to the themes covered in the textbook or to themes that emanate from the learning context
itself (i.e. classroom or community). Learners may extend their work in any direction they wish to illustrate their
understanding of ideas and questions related to these themes. They can research, describe, analyse and compare
social, environmental, health or other issues. They can also evaluate and react to effects or impacts and find out
about ways to improve the quality of life.
Stages
To ease the learners into project work and highlight the fundamental tasks and procedures involved in its
development, a series of steps are usually undertaken. The eight-step process suggested is just an example:
1. Narrow down the scope of the project.
In collaboration with the teacher, learners brainstorm and pool ideas, discuss to identify a topic which inspires
them and achieve consensus on it. The theme agreed upon may be broken down into many related topics which
deal with the issue from different perspectives thus allowing a depth of treatment. For instance, if we consider
“brain drain”, it is possible to investigate the following aspects:
Emigration
The multi-ethnic nation
The history of a cosmopolitan society
Racism
Tolerance or how to integrate a minority
The global village
Types of minorities
Social /political/cultural conflicts or issues, etc.
2. Determine the final outcome.
The learners and the teacher state the objective(s), and decide on the most appropriate means to culminate the
project. They can select one or more techniques of presentation from a variety of options (e.g. report, handbook,
journal, leaflet, brochure, video, etc.)
3. Structure the project. Collectively outline the steps to be followed in developing the project, identify
sources of information and the mode of collection (e.g. library research, letters, interviews, surveys, web search,
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التوجيهات التربوية وبرامج تدريس مادة اللغة الإنجليزية س ت ث ت 2007