Our own guide to london

OUR OWN GUIDE TO LONDON

English project designed by: ​Àngels Pascual · apascu8@xtec.cat· and Victoria Soler Puertes · msole458@xtec.cat •​ 2017 Images sources: ​Project authors, pixabay, Google Images Creative Commons and openclipart.org ​ Template adapted from: ​Sonia Guilana

Project GUIDELINE

v.

Project GUIDELINE 1. Preface 2. The project/sequence 2.1. The context 2.2. Objectives, competences, contents and assessment criteria.

2.3. Activities 2.4. Evaluation 2.5. Class management and methodology 3. Final thought

​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

1. Preface.

Every year the school organizes a trip to a European English-Speaking City, and the teachers make the Guide. This year we are going to London, but the teachers are too busy, so they asked their students for help creating our own guide to London.

This problem is the starting point of this project. Students are challenged to make their own guide to London, which will cover not only the sightseeing, but also, and most importantly, the possible communication situations we may/will encounter. In order to create a good guide, and to get ready for the trip, we will put into practise as much of the language we’ll need during the trip as possible.

2. The project.

2.1. The context Target group: Adult students attending an adults’ school, in their 3rd year, grouped into a class of 20 to 28 pupils. They are around level A2. However, many of them may have a higher or lower level, since adult students’ background, experience and skills is typically more varied than with high-school students.

Timing: 6 sessions of 120 minutes. (3 weeks) This project could be carried out during the first or second term.

2.2. Objectives, competences, contents and assessment criteria.

a. ​Objectives​: The project wants the students to: 1. Improve their communicative skills in listening and speaking, reading and writing.

2. Improve their knowledge of language and vocabulary related to travelling and tourism.

3. Learn about the life and culture in an English-Speaking city.

4. Use ICT and Internet to find information and create a guide.

5. Develop abilities to work collaboratively and learn autonomously.

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• apascu8@xtec.cat • msole458@xtec.cat ​ Images sources: authors, Google Images CC, pixabay.com and openclipart.org

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​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

b. ​Competences​: Linguistic competence: ❏ Understand and use simple sentences to communicate in context. ❏ Use vocabulary related to travelling and tourism. ❏ Understand basic information from texts (written and spoken). ❏ Express simple opinions. ❏ Give and follow directions.

Social and civic competence: ❏ Value the importance of formal and informal language in English. ❏ Respect turn-taking and other conversational aspects.

Information processing and digital competence: ❏ Use text, image and sound editing software, as well as internet tools for presentations. ❏ Value and respect copyright in images and other online content .

Autonomy and personal initiative: ❏ Work in small groups autonomously, organizing tasks. ❏ Respect other ways to work. c​. ​Contents of the curriculum (Continguts del currículum): ​Competència pragmàtica​

​Competència ​ ​ discursiva

​ Competència lingüística

Funcions i aspectes sociolingüístics

Organització del discurs i tipus de text

Lèxic i aspectes semàntics

Morfosintaxi

Ortografia i aspectes gràfics

Fonètica i fonologia

Preguntar i respondre per demanar i donar informació.

Mantenir una conversa, demanar i donar torn de paraula.

Menjar, beure.

Serveis de la ciutat: botigues, llocs públics.

Transport.

Adjectius per descriure.

Verbs d’acció.

Imperatius Can / Could Formació de preguntes.

Puntuació.

Spelling.

Edició i correcció de textos orals i escrits.

Entonació de preguntes i respostes. (rising/falling) Repàs de la pronunciació dels sons de la llengua anglesa.

Organitzar informació trobada a internet per simplificar-la i fer-la entenedora als companys.

Template adapted from Sònia Guilana

Text escrit i oral descriptiu dels llocs d’una ciutat.

Repàs del present simple.

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​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

d. Assessment criteria (Descriptors d’avaluació de la dimensió comunicativa) Comunicació oral Utilitzar vocabulari i expressions bàsiques i d’ús quotidià per fer front a necessitats bàsiques i concretes.

Comprendre i produir frases amb estructures lingüístiques i gramaticals simples i bàsiques i enllaçades amb connectors simples..

Comprendre globalment una conversa quotidiana cara a cara, un text o una intervenció oral breu.

Identificar la informació essencial d’un missatge o text oral breu i pronunciat d’una manera lenta i clara sobre temes habituals i Utilitzar fórmules lingüístiques bàsiques.

Formular i respondre a preguntes simples i directes de companys/es i del professorat.

Participar en situacions comunicatives habituals (simulades) utilitzant frases senzilles i expressions de cortesia bàsiques..

Produir les paraules o expressions amb una pronúncia intel·ligible globalment i, si cal, utilitzar recursos del llenguatge no verbal.

Comprensió lectora

Expressió escrita

Reconèixer i comprendre paraules i expressions bàsiques i frases simples relacionades amb característiques personals o necessitats bàsiques.

Utilitzar lèxic bàsic, relacionat amb un mateix, l’entorn immediat i necessitats bàsiques.

Entendre missatges escrits útils per resoldre necessitats bàsiques Identificar l’emissor, el receptor i el tema d’un text escrit acompanyat d’un suport visual, breu i senzill, sobre temes quotidians o de l’entorn immediat.

Identificació de la informació bàsica de missatges escrits verbals i/o icònics.

Comprendre les paraules i expressions bàsiques d’una postal, correu electrònic o nota, breus i senzills.

Comprendre el contingut global (identificació de la informació bàsica i el tema) de textos d’ús social molt curts i senzills i que vagin acompanyats d’imatges, llegits frase per frase.

Utilitzar vocabulari bàsic per descriure aspectes de temps, lloc, quantitats i qualitats físiques de persones o objectes.

Escriure expressions senzilles i frases estereotipades simples i ordenades sobre si mateix/a i l’entorn immediat.

Escriure paraules o frases simples estereotipades per satisfer necessitats personals immediates, amb l’ajuda del diccionari.

Escriure frases simples i aïllades per descriure les característiques físiques bàsiques.

Omplir formularis amb dades personals.

Demanar o donar per escrit informació personal bàsica.

Utilitzar els signes gràfics i respectar l’ortografia natural en les frases escrites.

Comprendre descripcions bàsiques de trets físics de persones, llocs o objectes que vagin acompanyats de suports visuals.

Seguir instruccions escrites de l’entorn classe, molt breus i senzilles (p.e. com desenvolupar una tasca o un exercici).

Aplicar estratègies satisfactòries per a la comprensió de textos, com l’observació d’imatges per fer hipòtesis sobre el tema què tracta.

Consultar fonts en paper i digitals per comprendre el significat de mots.

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​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

2.3. Activities

Session 1​ : ​Project Presentation and Written Guide.

ACTIVITY 1: Project Presentation.

TIMING: 20 minutes RESOURCES: Dossier with Project description, objectives, activity proposal, checklists, rubrics and other materials.

PROCEDURE: Teacher explains the problem/challenge. Students brainstorm and decide the information a guide needs to include and ways to present it to others.

DYNAMICS: Students listen to the teacher. Student and teacher guided discussion and agreement.

ACTIVITY 2: Group formation and distribution of tasks​.

TIMING: 10 minutes PROCEDURE: The teacher assigns the groups according to students’ abilities. Groups will have three or four members, so there will be six groups. Groups may choose a name for their team. Tasks are assigned to each group, so that they will each create a chapter in the same guide, according to the agreement in activity 1.

DYNAMICS: Group work.

ACTIVITY 3: Listening task.​ This activity serves to introduce London attractions and tourism vocabulary.

TIMING: 20 min.

RESOURCES: ​Tour of London​. It is a listening activity with exercises by the British Council for A2 level. It includes worksheet, script and questions to discuss.

PROCEDURE: Students listen to the audio twice, do activities and a short group discussion.

DYNAMICS: Individual work, pair work and big group final comment.

ACTIVITY 4: Writing a guide.

TIMING: 60 minutes RESOURCES: London Tour by ego4u​ , a tour to London’s sights.

Welcome to London:​ A free London guide​ by ​visitlondon.com​. A lot of info on the website.

London in the Simple English wikipedia A few ​London guides​ in printed form. ( LonelyPlanet, Eyewitness,...)

PROCEDURE: Students read and analyse various written guides (parts, content, language…), take notes and create their own version, with the sections assigned to their group. Within each group, the following tasks are to be distributed: reading, note-taking, draft-writing ,typing, editing and proofreading. .

DYNAMICS: Students work in groups. Teacher monitors, guides, assigns tasks if students lack initiative.

Session 2: Asking for and giving directions.

ACTIVITY 1: Warm-up: listening TIMING: 25 minutes RESOURCES: ​Giving directions in London​. Listening activity to practise receiving directions. It includes a preparation exercise to do before the listening, listening activities and the script.

PROCEDURE: Students do the preparation activity in order to review the vocabulary. Then they listen to the audio twice and do the listening activities. Finally, students read the script in order to analyse the use of the structures to give directions.

Template adapted from Sònia Guilana

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​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

DYNAMICS: Individual work and class work in the final part.

ACTIVITY 2: Giving directions in London TIMING: 60 minutes RESOURCES: Victoria’s podcast​: Vocabulary and expressions to give directions and to serve as a model.

London map PROCEDURE: 1. Students listen to the example podcast to have a model of how to give directions and to know what a podcast is.

2. The teacher projects the London map with the main sightseeing locations.

3. Each group will be assigned two different itineraries from one location to another one. For example, one group will have to give directions to go from The Tower of London to the Tate Museum and from Buckingham Palace to Westmister Abbey.

4. Students use the map to write the script for their assigned directions.

DYNAMICS: Students listen to the example podcast and work in groups to write the scripts for their itineraries.

ACTIVITY 3: Recording a podcast to add to their guide TIMING: 25 minutes RESOURCES: ​Vocaroo​ (or any other mobile app like SpeakingPhoto to record voice) PROCEDURE: Students in groups already have their scripts to create the podcast from the previous activity so first they practise reading aloud and then they record them using a voice recorder.

DYNAMICS: Students work in groups to practise the scripts and then record their own podcasts. Teacher moves around the class and helps with problems.

Session 3: Sightseeing Session Objective​:​ After the work done in session 2 about directions, each group will make a short description of the sights that have been assigned to them, in order to plan the route for half a day.

ACTIVITY 1: Listening​: planning a day out in London TIMING: 20 minutes RESOURCES: Easy listening about sightseeing PROCEDURE: Students listen to a conversation about sightseeing and answer a Comprehension Quiz.

DYNAMICS: Individual work, group work.

ACTIVITY 2: Watching a video​ about a popular attraction.

TIMING : 20 minutes.

RESOURCES: ​London Eye Video Quiz ​ , ​Top 10 London Attractions Quiz​ and ​London City Video Guide PROCEDURE: Students watch one of the 3 videos about London attractions and answer a Comprehension Quiz. Then, groups analyse the videos again and the script, to use as an example for their assignment.

DYNAMICS: Students work individually and then in groups.

ACTIVITY 3: Record a video​ or audio podcast about two London sights.

TIMING: 80 minutes.

RESOURCES: Àngels’ Podcast example:​ Welcome to London (Created with SpeakingPhoto Mobile App) Information sources: Visitlondon.com​. A lot of info on the website.

Tripomatic’s free city guide: London​.

You’re in London. An issuu magazine.

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​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

Timeout’s London City Guide​.

A local’s guide to the 50 best places to visit in London by Onestopenglish​. Article with a list of places.

Wiki travel The London tourist​. A lot of links about travelling to London, by a teacher, Nuria Brichs.

Pound saving tips for your London vacation PROCEDURE: Part of the guide will be audio-visual, so students will: 1. gather information about the visits assigned to them, pictures included.

2. Write a short description with basic information.

3. Record a video or podcast about them.

DYNAMICS: Students work Individually to find information and write drafts and then in groups create final script to record.

Teacher monitors, guides, and helps students with advice.

Session 4: Real situations​: at the restaurant, shopping, airport, hotel, at the museum...

ACTIVITY 1: Watching videos to prepare our trip TIMING: 25 minutes RESOURCES: Tips for a safe Trip​ by Àngels. Video with instructions about packing and airport security issues.

At the airport​: how to check-in and get on the plane.

Funny airport situation​ from the TV series ​Friends.

PROCEDURE: Students watch different videos to have examples of possible real situations when travelling. They take notes of the useful vocabulary and expressions. The teacher guides the students with the taking notes process.

DYNAMICS: Class work and individual work when they take notes.

ACTIVITY 2: Role-play: checking at a hotel TIMING: 25 minutes RESOURCES: At a hotel Role-play handout PROCEDURE: Students watch the video to have a model and write down possible expressions they find useful. Then students form pairs and the teacher distributes the handout to each pair. They need to perform a dialogue using all the conversational moves mentioned in the handout. Finally, students change roles and perform the dialogue again.

DYNAMICS: Class work when watching the video and pair work when they do the role-play.

ACTIVITY 3: Recording videos with real situations when being abroad TIMING: 60 minutes RESOURCES: They can use any app they know to record video and audio or they can use one of the following: Online tools: ​Wevideo​ - ​Animoto Desktop tools: Windows Movie Maker - Avidemux PROCEDURE: Students get into groups and teacher gives each group a different situation to record (at a restaurant, at a museum, at a clothes shop, at a gift shop, at the metro station, and at the police station).

DYNAMICS: Students work in groups to practise the dialogues and then record their own videos. Teacher moves around the class and helps with problems.

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​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

Sessions 5 and 6 Group presentations and evaluation.

ACTIVITY 1: Getting ready for presentations.

TIMING: 40 minutes.

RESOURCES: Students’ partial products from each session.

PROCEDURE: Students must get their products together and prepare the way to present it to the rest. Some work will need to be done at home, now it's time to decide on final details and get teacher's feedback and advice.

DYNAMICS: Group work and teacher guidance.

ACTIVITY 2: Group Presentations of guides and evaluations TIMING: 20/30 minutes per group RESOURCES: Project rubrics: group presentation rubrics.

Guides of each group and all the things they need for their oral presentations.

PROCEDURE: Each group will present their guide and evaluate the other guides and oral presentations. They’ll use the rubric we had presented at the beginning of the project to self-evaluate their guides and oral presentations as well as the other groups.

DYNAMICS: Students work individually and in workgroup to make their guide presentations and fill in the rubrics (guide rubric and oral presentation rubric) ACTIVITY 3: Evaluation of the project TIMING: 10 minutes RESOURCES: ​Google form​ and project rubrics.

PROCEDURE: Each student will answer the Google form so as to give their opinion of the project with their smartphones or classroom pc. Later, students and teacher will use their rubrics to discuss their performance in the project.

DYNAMICS: Students work individually. Big group discussion.

2.4. Evaluation Assessment will be made both by the teacher and students: TEACHER​: a) ​PROCESS (20%)​: Observation of students’ work throughout the project: Individual work and group work

b) PRODUCTS (50%)​: Results in the different activities, that will result in the guide created by students:

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​ ​English level A2

A TRIP TO LONDON

❖ WRITTEN GUIDE to London (leaflet…) ​Link to rubric for written Guide. ❖ PODCAST with directions to/from two sightseeing locations. ​Link to rubric for the podcast ❖ AUDIOVISUAL description of two monuments/sightseeing attractions. ❖ VIDEO roleplay of a real conversation or travel tips. c) ORAL​ ​PRESENTATION (30%)​: How each group and its members show their products to the rest of the class and to the world (using a web tool). ​Link to rubric for group Presentation.

STUDENTS​: SELF-ASSESSMENT:​ Fill in a checklist/rubric to make sure they followed and completed everything they needed to.

PEER-ASSESSMENT:​ Fill in a checklist to evaluate the other groups’ presentations. They can use the same rubric for group presentation as the teacher or a simplified version of it.

PROJECT ASSESSMENT: Before and after the project, teacher will use this ​essential project design checklist​ to evaluate the adequacy to this project to PBL. This is further explained in the methodology chapter below.

Students will assess the project with this Google Form: ​Students project evaluation.

2.5. Class management and methodology This unit can be developed following a project based learning methodology (PBL). This means that this project must meet the following criteria: ❖ There is key knowledge from the curriculum, which students learn using problem-solving skills, critical thinking, collaborating and becoming more independent learners. ❖ There is a starting challenge or question, in this case “Can we create our own guide to London?” ❖ Students have to keep working, asking themselves questions in order to fulfill each task throughout the project, using different sources. ❖ The project is connected to the students’ interests and has a real-world application,

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A TRIP TO LONDON

​ ​English level A2

since the trip to a European city is a real activity at the school they attend. ❖ Students can make some choices, such as choosing the contents and organization of the guide at the start of the project, and also choosing the ICT tools to record their tasks. ❖ Students are encouraged to reflect on their work as they advance in the project as well as at the end by filling in their project evaluation form. ❖ Groups will be made up of students with different skills and abilities to encourage revision. The teacher will constantly give feedback to help the process. ❖ Students share their products with the class and, using ICT tools, they can share it beyond the class.

Students will work in groups of four throughout the whole project. The teacher will help making the groups, trying to group students with different abilities.

In order to take advantage of each student’s strengths, we will consider Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences. For this reason, each member of the team will be in charge of the task they find more suitable for their capacities. For example, visual-spatial students can prepare the maps, interpersonal students can be the coordinators of the team, and verbal-linguistic students can search on the Internet the information the team wants to include.

The teacher will describe the project, set the objectives, mark the start and end of each task, provide input and guide students throughout the project.

3. Final thought The best way to finish this project is with an actual school trip to London, so that students can put their guide to the test and really see what they learnt. However, the project can also be broken up into pieces, so that any of the tasks presented in the different sessions can be accomplished on their own.

To make sure the project’s results are shared with the world, a google site website could be created so as to put together all the different products created by the students thus giving unity and outreach to the project.

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