Additional Info

• Name: Now and Then - a Photo Story

• OVERVIEW

• Linguistic dimension

• CEFR Level: B1
• Linguistic dimension - Skill(s): Writing Reading Speaking Listening
• Duration: 180 to 220 minutes depending on the working pace of the students
• Target language: Any language

• ICT dimension

• ICT resources:
  • smartphone or digital camera
  • Internet access
  • word processor, spell checker
  • Blog, YouTube or any other platform for publishing results
• ICT competences: Taking a selfie with a smart phone or a digital camera Using a word-processing programme, activating the spell check functions Optional: digitalizing/scanning paper images using… a scanner. Importing images into a document uploading products onto the Internet e.g. YouTube or a blog.

• Detailed description of the task

• Situation / theme(s): Comparing a selfie with a picture taken of you about 8 years ago
• Product requirements or prerequisites: students should be able to • use a digital camera, word processor and scanner (optional) • apply descriptive vocabulary and expressions to talk about pictures of themselves and their lives now and then in detail • use a projector • upload their photos and written products onto the Internet, YouTube or other platforms
• I can...:
  • take a picture of myself (selfie) with a smartphone or a digital camera
  • compare two pictures of myself in detail, concerning facial expression, posture, surrounding, situation, etc.
  • narrate a story of my life when I was little and relate and compare it to my present life; i.e. describe how I lived then as a small child, infant or even baby and today
  • write asimple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.
  • write my descriptions using a word processing programme
  • upload pictures and descriptions onto YouTube
  • use a digital camera or scan paper pictures to import them into a layout programme
  • I connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams, hopes and ambitions then and now;
  • briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions
  • present my product according to my language level and skills
  • accept and give constructive criticism
  • quickly identify the content and relevance of a text uploaded by others onto YouTube or a blog
  • apply the correct grammatical forms of past and present tense for describing the photos.
• Product: descriptions of oneself and comparison of an old photo of the student to a selfie
• Product requirements or prerequisites:
  students should be able to
  • use a digital camera, word processor and scanner (optional)
  • apply descriptive vocabulary and expressions to talk about pictures of themselves and their lives now and then in detail
  • use a projector
  • upload their photos and written products onto the Internet, YouTube or other platforms

   

• Process:

  Teacher

  • instructs the students to find photographs of themselves from 8 years ago that they can bring to class to share
  • then students are asked to imitate their posture, expression, etc. of the old picture for an up-to-date selfie

  Students

  • collect criteria of what to consider when giving a description in class, which is put down on a board and has to be copied
  • then compare the two pictures and describe the differences in writing.
  • compare their younger lives from when the old picture was taken to their lives now considering the following aspects:
  • houses
  • town
  • clothes
  • tastes in food
  • leisure activities
  • likes and dislikes
  • write this into a word processing programme and activate the spell check
  • upload the description and pictures onto a blog or onto YouTube
  • read what their classmates have uploaded and compare these descriptions to their own development

  Class

  • evaluates the tasks which is attended by every student.
• Consolidating activities suggested or follow up plan:

  Students have to

  • read the different stories and give written feedback on at least two descriptions
  • comment on the task in a short paragraph, pointing out problems they had with doing the task
  • give helpful feedback to the other contributions and consider the feedback from their colleagues
• Authors: Christa Doil-Hartmann, Timo Marksfeld This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Acknowledgements: This example is based on a proposal by Roland Buehs

• Didactic added value of the task and other information

• Practical hints for teachers:
  • be of assistance to correct or help students when they have difficulties describing themselves
  • prepare a hand-out with terms for characterizations and useful phrases
• Additional methodological or didactic comments:

  Make sure that

  • all students bring an old picture of themselves to class
  • sufficient feedback is given to all students.
• Reasons why this task is a model of best practices:

  Students

  • are to use the target language.

  might enjoy finding out about themselves and the development they have made over the last 8 years. 

• Impact that it is expected to have on the teaching practices and attitudes:

  Teachers might

  • become interested in using computer software for teaching
  • might want to use smartphone activities for further teaching and for various subjects
• Reasons why this task travels well:

  The task travels well because it is easy to understand and be carried out. It furthers creativity and requires the application of ICT in the target language on the basis on CEFR

• Rationale and/or theoretical underpinnings of the task: The task can be used for topics for which you compare old pictures, photos, of e.g. houses, working conditions, leisure time activities to today. Although the main CEFR level is B1, this task can be applied to all language levels. If designed for higher levels, the teacher could ask the students to focus on specific grammatical aspects or have students write a biography of their lives since the first picture was taken or why they have developed certain skills or dealt with certain hobbies, etc. They could also include the historical development in their country or the world during their years of growing up or focus on cultural phenomena.