Developing speaking skills to university students through environmental service learning.Huyen+Alesia.g

Lesson Overview

Topic

This lesson aims to develop students’ speaking skills in the context of environmental service learning. Specific skills involved are interviewing, investigating facts and information, making posters and reporting, and using appropriate vocabulary related to the topic of the lesson to link their ideas together.

Description

Time: 2 classes of 45-50 minutes

Structure of the lesson: 

The lesson requires 2 class periods. 

The first class period is for leading in (watching a video), introduction of the topic (problems related to the environment in the local regions), focusing on vocabulary, and giving guidelines for service learning projects to help them effectively debate in small groups to make plan for their own project. 

Students are going to have a week to investigate and collect data and information about the current environmental issues in their local community, then interview and make videos  of the citizens, generate the collected data, create posters. These are more student-led activities.

The second class period is for student project presentations, and for an extended independent discussion about their experience to improve environmental situation in their region such as planting trees, cleaning streets and water bodies, collecting rubbish.

Student Characteristics

Student Group

First year university students 

Skill and Language Level

A2-B1 spoken interaction

Students can express their opinions concerning the topic quite clearly, but do not feel free to give contrast arguments in debate. 

Students can initiate, maintain and close simple face-to-face conversation on the topic of the lesson.

Students briefly explain reasons and opinions, as well as summarize and report about the results of their investigations. 

Curriculum Alignment with Learning Outcome(s)

Supported Outcomes

- design a survey questionnaire (online or offline) and collect information and data by interviewing other people.

- demonstrate the ability to discuss, initiate conversations.

Student Learning Objectives

Students will be able to

- use appropriate vocabulary to talk about environmental problems, to write survey questionnaires;

- understand, explain, and compare some current environmental issues; then generalize several ideas and generate a common one;

- use speech formulas to establish contact with other people; and interact with people;

- find out the ways to improve the environment in their community or region.

Materials

This section should identify all of the necessary materials that teachers and students will need in order to successfully complete the lesson.

Teaching Materials

- Video Global environmental problems about some main environmental issues facing people nowadays;

- Questions for class discussion after watching the video;

- Optional website: YouTube, www.mentimeter.com, www.flipgrid.com.

Student Materials

- A worksheet that contains new vocabulary, speech formulas to establish contact;

- Website www.surveymonkey.com to create survey questionnaires.

- A cellphone to film.

- An A0 size paper to make a group poster.

- A document about project guidelines.

Technology Requirements

This lesson plan was designed with the sense of applicability to various educational contexts.

Followings are the mandatory specific technologies for the lesson to be conducted,

- Teacher needs to use a computer connect with a television or a projector, speakers.

Optional:

If your classroom has Internet connection and your students can access Internet during the lesson,

- Use www.mentimeter.com for knowledge check and warm-up.

- Use a projector to display the photos and vocabulary, the debate questions for students.

- Use www.surveymonkey.com to assist students to create survey questionnaire.

Lesson Plan

The first class period (50 minutes)

Activity 1- Knowledge check and Activate students' prior knowledge (5-10 minutes)

1. Teacher asks the students if they know anything about the environmental problems in their city or their neighborhood. Elicit students' ideas.

Optional: Using www.mentimeter.com

Here is an example of using this website to elicit ideas from students. But teachers need to create their own account.

Example: https://www.mentimeter.com/s/6e173621cae359cad815d4cc4f76db46/41da43fce834

Questions for warming up:

           1.       Is our environmental essential for human beings?

           2.       What environmental problems can you name?

2. Get students onto www.mentimeter.com, and do the task online. "Write a word/phrase related to environment that you know."

Here is an example of using this website to elicit ideas from students. But teachers need to create their own account.

Example:https://www.mentimeter.com/s/e715e494d30cb788e34806f8c9b065c8/d642a0775322

3. Play the video once to arouse students' interests in the topic of environmental issues.

4. Teacher provides question: " What are some serious environmental problems that you have seen/known about your city?" Teacher puts students into groups of 4 or 5 for a short discussion. 

5. Students brainstorm some issues.

Activity 2 - Lead in (10 minutes)

1. Teacher presents the environmental situation facing people nowadays and introduces the topic.

2. Teacher explains the goals and procedure of the lesson: 

Activity 3 - Guided practice (20 minutes)

1. Teacher gives 10 key words that are going to be included in the video, ask students to guess the meanings

2 Have students watch the video the second time, then discuss in groups using Speaking cards.

3. Students are instructed to discuss within their group how to support and present their ideas; they should write down the environmental problems that they can elicit from the video.

Teachers should monitor for how the groups interact and take note of any language difficulties they may have.

4. Teacher give guidelines for students to do their own project. 

Activity 4 - Guided further practice (10 minutes)

1. Assign students into groups of 4 or 5 

2. Have students discuss within their group, and come up with a plan for their project.

3. Ask students to create a survey questionnaire (Optional: using www.surveymonkey.com).

The second class period (50 minutes)

Student Production ( 35 minutes)

1. Students have presentation to report what they have investigated.

2. Students discuss the ways to help improve the environment situation in their neighborhood.

Feedback (10 minutes)

The teacher initiates a discussion of posters which illustrate the results of the students' interviews. The students in groups discuss their peers' presentations and results, compare with their own findings and evaluate the depth of the obtained results.

The teacher comments the vocabulary the students used, give recommendations, points out the noticed drawbacks if there are any. The teacher provides examples of specific errors that s/he observed students make. Teachers are encouraged not to single out particular students, as this can lead to embarrassment or shame.

Closing Activity/Wrap-up (5 minutes)

The teacher asks students to summarize the current problems in their region which they can cope with. S/he encourages students to think of an action to improve an environmental situation in the neighborhood.

The teacher formulates the home-task: "Choose a way you can help our environment (plant a tree, clean a street etc.), do it and make a short video about it with comments".

Assessment

Assessment Methods

The students will be assessed by categories including attendance, participation, presentation skills, appropriate vocabulary and communicative structures.

Grading Criteria and/or Rubrics

10%: of total mark is for students' attendance and participation into the lesson and their own project.

30%: Presentation skills + report skills + poster.

60%: Content, appropriate vocabulary, and communicative structures (speech formulas).

- Teacher provides students with the rubric before the assessment.

The rubric