Using project work at English lessons as a means of developing pupils’ personalities

У.Н.Байгалиева,
Алматы облысы, Іле ауданы,
№24 лицейдің ағылшын тілі пәні мұғалімі
«Ағылшын тілі сабағында жоба жұмысы әдісі арқылы оқушыларды жан-жақты дамыту»«Using project work at English lessons as a means of developing pupils’ personalities»
The importance of using project work as pupils’ self-dependent work in teaching foreign language Today information field of students is unusually wide and it has multiplied the need for new technologies and interaction with other fields. One of the new technologies which allow students to master foreign language on the communicative level is the method of project. The aim of this method is that it aims to develop an active independent thinking of the child and teach him not just to memorize and reproduce the knowledge, which gives it a school, and be able to apply them in practice[2,1]. It gives the teacher an opportunity to include students in real communication and see the real results of their work. The founder of the pedagogical method of projects considered to be John Dewey (1859-1952), American philosopher, psychologist and teacher. It is this American scientist a hundred years ago proposed to build learning based on active, purposeful activity through the pupil, consistent with his personal interest and personal goals. In order for a student perceived knowledge as really needed him, personally relevant, the problem is required, drawn from real life, a familiar and meaningful to the child. “To solve the problem” means a real and tangible result. As we can see it is not a new method. At the beginning of the XX century it was one of the perspective methods based on earmarked for a specific purpose and individual work of learners. In teaching foreign language this method began to be used at the end of 80s of the 20th century. In our foreign language teaching practice project methodology is being used at the end of 90s of the last century and now it is becoming worthwhile. Nowadays this method is being used in more advanced level and it is popular almost in all spheres of life. Doctor of Education, known in the field of modern learning technologies, E.S. Polat defines a method of projects as “definitely organized search, research or individual or group work which includes not just the achievement of a result issued in the form of concrete and practical function, but also the organization of the process of achieving this result”[3].Project work is considered to be one of the actual technologies that that allow learners to use the knowledge that they got on a subject. Learners broaden their horizons and improve their language competence using them in practice. Through practicing they learn to perceive and listen to the foreign language speech and understand each other while making presentation. Children work with dictionaries and computer and at the same time there will be created an opportunity to work with authentic materials which are not available in ordinary lessons [4,31].2. Relevance of using project workThe project is an opportunity for students to express their own ideas in a convenient for them creatively thought out manner. Much in the projects comes from the dream, the fantasy, but the basis of a fantastic development of thought is real awareness to contemporary life. Mastering the culture of the implementation of project tasks, the child learns to think creatively to plan their actions, anticipating possible solutions to challenges ahead, implement the lessons of the means and ways of working.There are a number of features of using the project for teaching foreign languages:Firstly, the project is most often cross-cutting and requires knowledge from various educational areas, contribution to the integration of academic subjects.Secondly, this inclusion of foreign language in other activities: research, work, aesthetic.Thirdly, work on project-a combination of self-study student working in pairs, group or team work to solve any problem that requires the ability to put the problem, identify ways to solve it, pick up the necessary material, discuss it with group members and present to the audience[2,2].The influence of project work on pupils’ personal developmentThe new system of education is not only directed on giving the knowledge, skills and habits, but also on personality's intellectual and moral development. Nowadays the main aim of teaching is to form creativity and critical thinking, the ability to use the received knowledge in different situations. The method of projects is the exactly the method that gives learners the opportunity to analyze and search needed information [5,38].The aim of each project work is not only the development of speech abilities; it also aims at developing pupils’ personality. Project work is work which focuses on completing a task. Project work normally involves a lot of resources - time, people and materials - and learners practice a range of skills and language systems [6]. So it influences on pupils personal development. It helps to develop pupils’ cognitive mechanisms such as memory, perception, comparison and analysis and other skills.Polat E. S. is one of the methodologists who investigated the use of project work in teaching foreign languages. In his/her article “Method of project work in foreign language lessons” he/she pointed out the abilities and skills which are needed to fulfill project work and developed through it [7,2]. According to Polat E. S., “There is one problem on the base of each project work. Only the knowledge of language is not enough for solving these problems, there also should be knowledge on different subjects. Apart from that, pupils should master definite intellectual, creative and communicative skills”[7,3]. According to E.S. Polat “Intellectual skills include the ability to work with information and texts(to find the main idea and relevant information to the topic in foreign language), analyzing the information and to make generalization and conclusions”[7,4]. It may be difficult for pupils at first, but after some time they get used to finding information and analyzing it. “Creative skills include the ability of generation of ideas which demands being informed in different spheres, the ability of finding many variants of resolutions and the ability of forecasting the consequence of each resolution”[7,5]. In this way pupils learn to approach to problematic tasks creatively and it develops their imagination. They learn to give their own solution of each problem.“Communicative skills include the ability of discussing the problem, listening to the partner and defending your point of view through giving relevant arguments, the ability of coming to compromise with partner and the ability of expounding ideas in a laconic way”[7,6]. So pupils learn to give their opinions and discuss the problem with classmates. It develops their critical thinking. They learn how to convince the audience that their solution of the problem is the best and the most effective one.We can see that in order to fulfill project work pupils need lots of range of abilities and they should be developed during the work on the project. This technology may be used at English lessons as pupils’ independent work. Even it has some difficulties project work can be used at any level of language. Only the choice of the problem and the ways of solving this problem should be relevant to pupils’ personal peculiarities such as age and the stage of psychological development[7,7]. Project work prepares them for more serious activities in the future. Pupils slowly master how to solve different problems and they will be ready for overcoming difficult obstacles in their lives. Project is a work that is independently planned by learners and realized and in which speech communication merges into intellectual-emotional context of another activity (games, trips, magazines, etc). Project-oriented activity is one of the directions of creative and researching works of learners. This project activity as one of the learning activity forms is capable of making the learning process personal oriented in which they can create their creative potential and activate their abilities to investigate, fantasy, creativity, activeness, and self-dependence. 3. Problems that may occur while working on project workWhile working on projects teachers have to face with some problems that disrupt the process of teaching foreign language. Using this method I had to face with some of these problems too. 1. Learners using their own languageIf the class are monolingual they may use their L1 a lot (it often happens anyway in young learner classes) so you should decide whether the benefits of doing project work outweigh this factor. The problem with children speaking their first language instead of English may appear in monolingual classes. It is also a precious opportunity for realistic translation work because children use various materials and make interviews and surveys in their mother tongue but must report them in English [11,8]. The using of L1 can be treated in lessons in a similar way. According to Phillips, Burwood and Dunford, in low level classes the introduction can be done in children’s mother tongue, whereas with high level students it can be an ideal opportunity for using the target language [11,14]. However, even the lower level students can use a certain amount of English during their work. According to Hardy-Goud, in order to help them there can be a poster with classroom English and relevant phrases placed on the wall. A teacher should discuss the importance of using English and remind them to speak English all the time or nominate an “English monitor” in each group who will encourage using English in the particular task [9,7].2. Some learners doing nothingBy giving more freedom to the learners you may also be giving them the freedom to do nothing! If the project is planned carefully and roles decided at the proposal stage this is less likely to happen. Some teachers might be afraid that without their control the weaker students will be lost and not able to cope. Tom Hutchinson again tries to see the positive side of it. He concludes that the teacher’s constant supervision is not necessary for all students in the class and the brighter students can be encouraged to work independently so that the teacher can devote his or her time to those students who need it most [11,9]. The teacher should ask them about the problems that they have and help in solving it. In most cases the weak students work with brighter students they strive to fulfill their tasks. If some students cannot keep up with other students the teacher can give easier tasks.3. Groups working at different speedsOne group may have 'finished' the project after some time and say they have nothing to do. The teacher should remind them it is their responsibility to fill the time allocated to project work and discuss ways they could extend the work they have already completed.4. Lack of timeIf pupils have English only two or three times a week it will be difficult to organize project work with them, because there is not enough time for introducing the theme and explaining pupils their task. Pupils come for consultation out of lesson times. Even though project work should be pupils’ independent work they need teacher’s help. It is difficult to cope with the school timetable and devote one lesson for preparation stage.In conclusion we can say that while using project work at English lessons we can motivate and encourage pupils. Learners learn how to be responsible and how to work in groups. They are free to choose what to do and how to do, but the teacher guides learners and helps them to follow the stages of work. Project work gives the opportunity to use the received knowledge in real life situations. While working on projects pupils understand that English is not so difficult and they can use this language in order to express their opinion and feelings. They can be involved in discussion on an actual issue that interests them and they face with in their everyday lives. Of course, they also can create something on their own and present. Also projects helpful for students not to be isolated only with linguistic knowledge, but also to broaden their horizons in different fields. It means that while working on projects they don’t only use their linguistic knowledge, but also get information from various resources.
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