Sharing Good Practice
films from different genres are helpful tools to analyse what , when , why , and how we use certain conventions to communicate better .
Let them inquire !
When we approach language acquisition , curiosity plays a crucial role in its effective development . “ Language development is a continuous process . Even the move onto written language , which is often made to seem as if it was a totally new experience unrelated to what the child has already learned , is simply part of the same massive project in which every child is engaged ; the construction of the ability to mean .” ( Halliday , 1980 ). Students must find the language process meaningful , and inquiry-based learning opportunities empower students in their acquisition of an additional language .
In order to succeed in an inquirybased language classroom , Lorna Caputo states that we must place emphasis on :
• Exploration
• Authentic quality texts ( oral and written )
• Analysis
• Conceptual connections
• Active deduction of meaning
• Intellectual engagement
• Collaboration , negotiation - Authentic communication - Whereas you develop topics or units , there is a conceptual understanding you wish students to comprehend ; therefore , we must provide interesting and motivating learning opportunities for them to naturally embrace those concepts through inquiry . Once students are tuned into the concept , they will independently find out more about it . Once they access more information , the perfect opportunity will be present to teach them how to sort out the information gathered . Many students in this stage are eager to present their findings to the class , so they can go further and deeper into their learning process . In the end , they
will be able to make conclusions and even design ways to take action .
As a language instructor , all those stages of inquiry grant valuable chances to highlight language conventions in context . In grade 2 , we are working hard to comprehend how unbalanced lifestyle choices affect health and well-being . That enduring understanding , which leads our unit of inquiry , has allowed students to discover how their body works and how their choices may or may not help them to take care of it . A few weeks ago , they read an informational text about bones , and they realized adults have 206 bones . One of them raised the question : “ Do animals have 206 bones as well ?” and that question was enough to start what I like to call the “ inquiry snowball effect ” in our class . Many students brought their inquiries , and one of them presented how the number of bones in babies is larger than the number of bones in an adult . She explained it and showed our class a drawing accompanied by a written paragraph . I realized she had forgotten about capital letters at the beginning of each sentence and had some spelling mistakes in words like “ merge ” or “ life ”. So , that became a perfect opportunity to develop language in context , supported by inquiry .
We use proofreading codes to selfassess writing and edit students ’ work , so I facilitated the symbols , and the class started the quest to discover what was wrong . Some used dictionaries to check how to spell , while others focused on what could be wrong with punctuation . They all worked collaboratively and discovered the errors , editing the final written piece . In the end , that inquiry was used as a collective driver to enhance language conventions .
As a teacher , flexibility is required when planning to reinforce these types of learning opportunities . All your planning time can feel like it goes to waste ; however , these instances are so meaningful for the students , so much that , redesigning our language teaching is completely worth it . Let ’ s make the English language learning meaningful again !
References :
- Caputo , L . 2014 . Using Inquiry-Based Learning to Teach Additional Languages in a High School Context in P . Blessinger & J . Corfora ( Eds .) Inquiry-Based Learning for the Arts , Humanities and Social Studies : A Conceptual and Practical Resource for Educators ( Vol . 2 ), UK : Emerald Group Publishing .
- Halliday , M . 1980 . “ Three Aspects of Children ’ s Language Development : Learning Language , Learning through Language , Learning about Language ”. Oral and Written Language Development Research . Goodman , Y , Haussler , MH and Strickland , D ( Eds ). Urbana , Illinois , USA . National Council of Teachers of English .
Experienced IB PYP teacher and leader . Certified Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Presenter and Trainer , as well as professional development designer and facilitator . Bachelor ' s Degree of Education and Diploma in Measuring and Assessing Learning . Advocate for inquiry-based and differentiated teaching approaches . Certified ESL Primary and Secondary Teacher who believes collaboration and creativity are the main skills to succeed in education .
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