TBLT and Technology An attempt to incorporate technology into TBLT-style lesson Real-world exposure from the classroom Momoyo Kubo Lowdermilk Stanford University, Language Center
Abstract Choosing gifts for your host family: To live with a Japanese family while studying abroad for the first time is an enormous task to accomplish. In the society where gift-giving customs are very important, the students who successfully finished their home-stay may want to show their gratitude by giving a gift to their host family. After approximately 7 hours of instruction on the unit of “gift giving”, students will utilize the pertinent vocabulary and newly learned information about the gift- giving culture, in order to find the best gift for their host family. To do so, the students visit and explore Japanese online shopping websites selected by the instructor, while following the directions on the task sheet given. The purpose of this exercise is to raise students’ performance to a level at which they can search and find an item that they wish to purchase using their Japanese. While they extrapolate the purchasing procedure at a Japanese site from their own online shopping experience, they are also asked to take notes on the language and/or culture specific features, and then to present their findings at class discussion.
Background “PPP” style instruction Little language use Weak connection to real world Real-world task inside classroom Do things with the language
Unit Overview Class activities + Skills focused Day 1 ~ 3 (50-minute class session X 3) Listening: listening strategies, communicative strategies, Vocabulary: pronunciation, Kanji Grammar: new grammatical structures Day 4 ~ 5Reading: reading a passage from the textbook Day 6Speaking: role plays, discussion Day 7 ~ 8Real-world Task activities
Day 7 ~ 8 Location: computer lab or technologically enhanced classroom equipped with laptop computers + Projection screen(s)
Day 7 Pre-task: speaking Students briefly discuss: 1) words likely to appear in the context of internet gift shopping, 2)what kind of gift they are going to find for whom and on what occasion, and 3) which category of the shopping site they are going to explore
Day 7 During-task: Reading and writing Students search, explore, and find the gift they want to purchase. They also answer the questions on the task sheet. Focus on form sample questions from the task sheet: Pay attention to the sentence endings. What style/features do you see? Confirm the meaning of the following words: 「送料無料」「お届け 先」 「メッセージカード」、「ギフト対応」 Brand new words
Day 7 Post-task: Students complete the reflection sheet in English. They write briefly whether or not they succeeded in finding the gift they would like to buy. The instructor gives directions to students. 1)Send the web address of the page of their gift to the instructor 2)Prepare themselves for oral presentation next day
Day 8 Pre-task: Speaking skill focused Students rehearse their presentation with their classmates. During-task: presentational speaking skill focused Students do their presentation while being videotaped. The instructor gives recasts. Post-task: conducted on a Coursework site Students view their own presentation on the web (privacy protected) and give themselves reflection/correction. The instructor gives written feedback and grade.
Room for improvements Person-to-”machine” interaction– no negotiated interaction( “interpersonal” communication is not reinforced) More formal assessment? More systematic collection of outcome data? More accurate/standardized way of measuring the outcome data?