Additional Info

• Name: Sports and the Glasgow Games 2014

• OVERVIEW

• Linguistic dimension

• CEFR Level: A2
• Linguistic dimension - Skill(s): Reading / Listening / Writing / Speaking
• Duration: 3 x 60 minutes but variable dependent on individual circumstances and degree of outcome
• Target language: Any

• ICT dimension

• ICT resources:

  PC, Internet access, online dictionaries, PowerPoint, projector

• ICT competences: To browse/search the internet for information the Commonwealth Games 2014, host city, Glasgow. To identify key sports and venues throughout the City and in other locations. To prepare a brief PowerPoint report on the main findings to talk to peers about their chosen sport and venue.

• Detailed description of the task

• Situation / theme(s): Chose a sporting event from the Commonwealth Games 2014 and prepare Powerpoint presentation about it. . Alternatively, the situation could be any similar sporting event that provides appropriate contexts e.g. European Championships, Olympics etc.
• Product requirements or prerequisites: Students should already be familiar with the vocabulary related to places and amenities in a town and to sport, hobbies and pastimes.
• I can...:

  • work effectively in a group and fulfil the role allocated to me

  • understand and use language appropriate to the theme

  • produce a persuasive presentation of the research done on the chosen sporting event

  • assist in the production of the draft and eventual final presentation

  • present the documentary to peers and teacher(s) for comment and approval

• Product: To produce a PowerPoint presentation to be presented to peers
• Product requirements or prerequisites:

  Students should already be familiar with the vocabulary related to places and amenities in a town and to sport, hobbies and pastimes  

• Process:

  • Students (in groups) are asked to compile a list of sports in the foreign language. The teacher takes feedback on the lists compiled to reinforce vocabulary, thus building on prior learning.

  • Those featuring in the Games 2014 are indentified. Each group is allocated a sport by mutual agreement which will be the sport to be researched and feature in a Powerpoint presentation

  • For each sport the teacher should provide a brief outline of the information that can be researched e.g. venue, geographical location within the city (points of the compass revised), dates, participants, medalists.

  • Now, the groups do some detailed research online to identify the key elements suggested by the teacher. In order to do this efficiently, groups should subdivide the research required to be done among the group members.

  • The information from this task is then distilled into a short Powerpoint presentation of no more than 6 slides

  • Roles for this task are negotiated within the group

  • The finished Powerpoint is presented to peers

  • Peer groups evaluate and comment on the presentations

• Division of roles (optional): Groups assigned at the outset by mutual agreement or by the teacher as deemed appropriate Roles within the groups are negotiated by the group with the teacher acting as adviser where necessary
• Consolidating activities suggested or follow up plan:

  Groups watch and listen to the presentations and make notes of the features they liked/disliked. These comments are shared with the whole class. The teacher should point out any key vocabulary or structures that have commonly been used throughout the task and assist with any language difficulties.

• Success factors or evaluation criteria:

  Students will have succeeded if they achieve the following:

  • identify appropriate information for the chosen sporting activity

  • negotiate roles fairly within the group

  • complete a Powerpoint presentation

  • present in a coherent and fluent manner

  • be informative and entertaining

  • be able to provide constructive criticism on peer work

  • act on feedback provided making amendments as required

   

• Authors: John De Cecco, Lindsay Dombrowski.

• Didactic added value of the task and other information

• Practical hints for teachers:

  Students should already be familiar with PC software, Powerpoint and internet searching. Presentation skills and working collaboratively are will be further developed.

• Additional methodological or didactic comments:

  Some assistance may be required at the outset regarding the contents and style or format of the presentation.  

• Reasons why this task is a model of best practices:

  The ICT skills are key competences for educational, social and work-related use.

  The task requires essential competences in working with others.

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

  The task facilitates the incorporation of ICT into the classroom and encourages collaborative working. Student motivation is enhanced by the development of useful, real-life skills which will serve students well throughout their lifelong learning.

• Reasons why this task travels well:

  The task incorporates many significant features of language competences across national curricula, development of ICT skills and collaborative working.

  The specific situation however can be modified, adapted, or expanded where necessary, to suit curricular constraints while still maintaining the essence of the task’s products and skills set. Any such modifications might require adjustments to the CEFR levels.  Indeed, the original CEFR levels, as stated for this task, should not in themselves impose restrictions on the range of abilities for which the task is appropriate.  Teachers will use their professional expertise to determine what modifications are necessary.

• Rationale and/or theoretical underpinnings of the task: TBLT using CEFR common reference levels