kalliope vrinioti & eleni griva university of western macedonia - greece 20-21 january 2014,...

Kalliope Vrinioti & Eleni Griva

University of Western Macedonia - Greece

20-21 January 2014, Copenhagen

COMUNACT: “Play, interact and communicate”

THE GREEK PROJECT

The Greek PROJECTThe Greek PROJECT, which we perceive as a Module contributing to the development of the broader BA / MA SIGNALS-project, (application, step 2), falls into the area of Applied Linguistics from the perspective of social constructivism. The Exemplary Co-coperative Educational Practices are situated within such a theoretical framework “in order to generate questions and/or other measures to be used in the initial assessment” (application, Step 1, p. 47).

My colleague Elena Griva, assistant professor- expert in Applied Linguistics, will present briefly the purpose and the approach of the proposed project based on the specifications of the Application. We’ll accommodate some adjustments to our proposal after the common decisions will have taken here in the first meeting.


THE GREEK PROJECT

We therefore regard the ‘initial needs analysis’ on national level (including children, teachers, parents) as a prerequisite for the development of an innovative project.

Before calling upon Elena to speak, I would like to highlight four important findings of EASE in the Greek context, that have been taken into consideration in designing our proposal for SIGNALS.


The Participants

The Greek team consists of 6 members: 3 course The Greek team consists of 6 members: 3 course leaders and 3 research assistants leaders and 3 research assistants

Course leaders Course leaders

•Kalliope Vrinioti, national project co-ordinator, educationalist, specialist in ‘transition’ •Eleni Griva, specialist in applied linguistics•Klio Semoglou, specialist in psychomotor development Research assistantsResearch assistants•Genovefa Kopsachili, preschool teacher, former EASE- research assistant •Spyros Bouras, primary school teacher, Postgraduate student (UOWM) •Vasilis Iosifidis, primary school teacher, Postgraduate student (UOWM)


The two school partnership

One public school, located in Florina, a city in Northern Greece, agreed to collaborate with us.

This primary school is supervised by the School of Education of the University of Western Macedonia.

An attempt will be made to experiment and implement an ‘innovate approach’, which could constitute an in-service training event, as well as an initial education module on an experiment basis


RATIONALE AND PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The basic purpose of the proposed project is to develop communication oral skills and strategies along with social skills of children attending the 1st and 2nd primary school grade in an interactive context.

“…“…interaction is, in fact, the heart of interaction is, in fact, the heart of communication: it is what communication is all communication: it is what communication is all

about” about” ((BrownBrown, , 2001: 165)2001: 165)..


In the proposed project interaction is developed through a ”task-basedtask-based” approach (Ellis, 2003; Willis, 1996; Willis

& Willis, 1996), with the cooperative games being the core of the project.


Children learn by being involved in making choices and decisions, and by

solving problems.


In a “game-basedgame-based” context

Children have the opportunity for listening and speaking in a meaningful environment,

by interacting and communicating verbally and non-verbally,

while participating in child oriented games, as well as interactive simulation and physical activities (Griva, Semoglou & Geladari, 2010; Griva & Semoglou, 2012).

In such a context, high levels of fantasy, curiosity and creativity will be sustained, where children have to discover and explore their own space by themselves (Fisher, 2011).


Benefits to be achieved

Benefits related to children’s oral communication skills development:

• Communication skills and strategies development • Social and cooperative skills development• Vocabulary development


Benefits to be achieved

Benefits related to teachers’ teaching practices:

•Reflection on the current practices and improvement of the practices in relation to task-based approach, in line with the end-users’ needs (the teachers of the target group)- enhancement of the quality of in service teacher training .

• Transferring of good practices in initial education and training (develop a teaching module in initial training at University level).


Project Framework

Duration FRAMEWORK OF THE PROJECT

February-May 2014

INITIAL NEEDS ANALYSIS

June – August 2014

I) INSTRUMENT DESIGN and SELECTION II) PROJECT MATERIALS DESIGN

September- October 2014

FIRST STAGE (PRE-STAGE) OF THE PROJECT

November- April 2015

MAIN STAGE OF THE PROJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERVENTION

May- June 2015

POST-STAGE OF THE PROJECT: EVALUATION OF THE INTERVENTION

Project Framework


Initial Needs Analysis(February-May 2014)


A pre-record and analysis of the target situation

will be conducted.


CHILDREN

A needs analysis will be carried out with the purpose to identify:

1st grade children’s profile, are organized into the following parts: Children’s demographic data; Language background in Greek and the other language; language difficulties and preferences in relation to learning styles

1st grade children’s perceptions on classroom interaction and cooperation


TEACHERS

Ιnterviews nterviews will be conducted with the school teachers in an attempt to identify:

• their needs in taskbased approach• their perceptions on issues related to

classroom interaction • their awareness on personal beliefs and tacit

theories


PARENTS

Focus group interviews Focus group interviews will be conducted with parents.

Keeping a clear focus on the outcomes that parental support is aiming to achieve for children, an attempt will be made to identify and record their engagement in literacy practices as well as their attitudes to children’s involvement in the project.

Parental involvement in their children’s school life as well as in out of school activities has been proved to have a lot of advantages for the children’s school attainment


ASSISTANT RESEARCHERS

Training seminarsTraining seminars for the assistant researchers on the following topics:

• Task-based approach• Early literacy: Communicative skills and

strategies • Evaluation of children’s progress in

communication skills


INSTRUMENT DESIGN and PROJECT MATERIALS DESIGN

(February-May 2014)


INSTRUMENTS

Instrument of communicative strategies

Sociogram (to map the social/ interactive dynamics of the classroom)

Standardized test of expressive vocabulary (Word Finding Vocabulary Test, RENFREW, C. E., 1995 (This test allows investigation of children’s naming on a set of items unrelated to the intervention or control). (Greek version)

Journals will be kept by the teachers once a week in order to reflect on learning, communication and interaction issues in relation to the game-based ontext.

interviews will be conducted with the teachers Structured interviews will be conducted with the

children


A task-based approach

topic-based teaching module

Principles (4 Cs)Principles (4 Cs)

PROJECT DESIGN


Topic-based teaching module

The topic-basedtopic-based teaching module consists of ten (10) main topics based on children’s needs and interests:

*Diversity *Health and nutrition*Communication and Media*Culture *Ecology*Seasons*Books *Social relations *Toys and games*Olympic games


A task-based approach is followed:

Activities Activities •Enhancing work in groups and pairs, which is indicative of cooperating learning (Ellis, 2003);

•including two categories of activities, outdoor physical activities such as races, chases and hopscotch, role play games, dance activities, and in classroom activities, such as constructions, sorting, ordering, or arranging puzzles, pantomime etc Indicative activities•Treasure hunt•‘Human’ Board game•The postman•Constructions in groups ( Rhymes, Pictures )•BABEL: The ‘foreign’ language (discover what they say and how)•Show must go on (with judges, competitors …)• Story relays in groups – read along next•Drawing relays in groups – the ‘most beautiful’ monster


THE PROJECT


PROJECT – three stages


PRE-STAGE OF THE PROJECT

(September- October 2015)


In the In the pre-stagepre-stage, the following instruments will be , the following instruments will be implemented:implemented:

•Instrument of communicative strategies

• Sociogram to map the social/ interactive dynamics of the classroom)

•Standardized test of expressive vocabulary

•Teacher training events

Task-based approachEarly literacy: Communicative skills and strategies Evaluation of children’s progress in communication skills


ΜΑΙΝ-STAGE OF THE PROJECT

(November 14- April 2015)


PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 6 MONTHS


Pre-task phase

•Introduction to the topic and task in a multisensory learning context (eg. stories, ppt, video clips, songs)

•Contextualization of the task ( through pictures, realia, questions and answers etc) •Exposure of the class to language related to the theme (children learn new content words and phrases that are essential to the theme and the task)

•Group Scaffolding and motivation to participate in the games and communicative playful activities that follow The purpose of this phase is to prepare the children to perform the task in ways that will promote interaction and enhance communicative skills. Type of interaction: Type of interaction: Teacher- student interactionTeacher- student interaction is is attempted.attempted.


Task cycle

Framework: Task - Planning – ReportFramework: Task - Planning – Report

The teacher splits the class into groups of 4-5 children, asks them to observe a model of how to perform the task and presents “The Group Work Rules” *The teacher a) is a coordinator, supervisor and experienced member of the group.

b)involves children in developing classroom displays that showcase their case and encourage them to explain or describe these displays to their classmates.


Task cycle

Framework: Task - Planning – ReportFramework: Task - Planning – Report The children:

•are encouraged to use language creatively and spontaneously through participating in games and performing the task ( a problem-solving activity) in groups.

•have to work together on a common group task, helping each other, interact with each other during “problem-solving negotiation and assuming responsibility for contributing to the group task (the task is discovery-based and interaction is vital to productivity and creativity).


Task cycle

•Need to communicate with each other for effective performance (Skehan & Foster, 2001), to speak among themselves to organize and complete task.•Present/ perform the final task (prepare a ‘report’ for the whole class on how they did the task).

*Type of interaction: *Type of interaction: children are exposed to within group children are exposed to within group interactioninteraction


Follow up phase

Feedback and evaluationFeedback and evaluation The teacher:

•gives feedback on the content and quickly reviews what was presented

•picks up and draws attention to relevant language and se mantic points and communicative issues. Teachers’ feedback leads children to modify their output .

• provides an opportunity for a repeat performance of the task. This activity should be repeated and at least two or three groups should be asked to present their task. •Students vote and choose their preferred task Practice through participation in a cooperative Practice through participation in a cooperative physical activityphysical activity **Type of interaction: Type of interaction: children are exposed to within group interactionchildren are exposed to within group interaction


POST-STAGE OF THE PROJECT

(May- June 2015)


EVALUATION OF THE INTERVENTION

An evaluation study will be conducted in order to record the feasibility and effectiveness of the multi project by using the following instruments:

i)At the end of the project, pre-instruments will be repeated in the form of a post- instruments -Standardized test of expressive vocabulary-Instrument of communicative strategies-sociogram to map the social/ interactive dynamics of the classroom


EVALUATION OF THE INTERVENTION

ii) Structured interviews will be conducted with the children, at the end of the project, to record their satisfaction from the project, and the difficulties they encountered.

iii) interviews will be conducted with the school teachers. iv) Focus group interviews will be conducted with the children’s parents.


Broady, E. (2006). Learning and Interaction: Developing Through Talk. Language Learning Journal, 34.

Burgess, P. (1994). Achieving accuracy in oral communication through collaborative learning. English Teaching Forum, July 1994.

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Griva, E., Semoglou, K. & Geladari, A. (2010). Early Foreign Language Learning: implementation of a Project in a game –based context. Selected Volume: Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, ELSEVIER, Volume 2, 3700-3705.

Griva, E. & Semoglou, K. (2012). Estimating the effectiveness and feasibility of an early EFL learning project based on physical activities. English language teaching, 5 (9).

Johnson, D. W. & Johnson, R. T. (1999). Learning together and alone. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Robinson, P. (2001). Task complexity, task difficulty, and task production: Exploring interactions in a componential framework. Applied Linguistics, 22(1), 27-57.

Skehan, P. & Foster, P. (2001). Cognition and tasks. In P. Robinson (Ed.). Cognition and second language instruction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Willis, J. & Willis, D. (1996). Challenge and change in language teaching. Oxford: Heinemann ELT.

Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Harlow,U.K.: Longman Addison- Wesley.

Willis, J. (1998). Task-based learning: What kind of adventure? Retrieved from http://www.education.auckland.ac.nz/webdav/site/education/shared/about/centres/lipis/docs

Indicative References


ACTIVITY: TASK CYCLE

This works great with music. Music can start and stop this activity. Talk to the kids about trust and how they need to trust their partners and classmates. Get students into groups of two. One is the driver and the other is the car.

The driver stands behind the car student with their hands on their shoulders. This is how they “drive” and “Steer” the cars. Cars have to walk and have their eyes closed. Drivers do not drive their cars into other cars. This is where trust comes into play. Cars should be relaxed (should not have their hands out in front of them like a mummy) and walking, trusting their driver. After about two minutes switch drivers to cars and cars to drivers.

Now have students get into groups of six. They will do the same thing, except the truck (first person in line) is in control with their eyes open and the other five behind them (hands on shoulders) are the trailer of the truck. All the students that are trailers have to have their eyes closed. Trucks do not crash their trailers into other trucks. Trucks have to walk. Teacher plays the role of the police officer. If you give a car or truck a ticket for reckless driving or their eyes are open, you give the entire group an exercise (10 pushups, sit ups or jumping jacks).

Indicative Activities – Topic: Transport


ACTIVITY: FOLLOW UP

Activity 3-THE SECRET SOUND

The children are divided into pairs. Each pair picks a secret sound-code to communicate with. With eyes closed the players should walk about and find their own pair by making the appropriate sound. The sounds could be sounds of animals like ‘baa’‘meow’ etc, When the couples come across each other they should hold hands and find others of their kind until all the groups are complete.

Indicative Activities – Topic: social relations


kalliope vrinioti & eleni griva university of western macedonia - greece 20-21 january 2014,...

Documents

greek project

national project

innovative project

proposed project interaction

primary school teacher

school of education

primary school grade

public school