Course Introduction
This course is designed for Chinese college ESL students (Grade One). Different from the commonly seen ESL courses, which are separated into Listening and Speaking course, Reading course and Writing course, this ESL course is a comprehensive one, which includes the training of listening, speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking skills. The purpose of such design is to provide a holistic view about the target theme, so that students may construct meaning in an environment where all the related information and resources are available.
The students, who have access to their learning management system, are expected to finish this online course in one hour. It is assumed that before their online learning, the students are asked by the teacher to do some pre-class activities. The course requires both individual work and group discussion. During their learning process, students are provided with learning management tools such as Notebook, Learning Record, and Ask a Question. With these tools, students are allowed to make notes, check learning record and ask questions. At the end of the lesson, students are asked to review their learning progress and make self-evaluation. The course also provides some optional learning resources for the students to explore after class.
This course is designed based on the Constructivist Instructional Model (CIM), which presents the following process:
1. Identify learners' views and ideas (prior knowledge);
2. Create opportunities for the learners to explore their ideas and test their robustness in explaining phenomena,
accounting for events and making predictions;
3. Provide stimuli for students to develop, modify and where necessary, change their ideas and views;
4. Support their attempts to rethink and reconstruct their ideas and views.
The students, who have access to their learning management system, are expected to finish this online course in one hour. It is assumed that before their online learning, the students are asked by the teacher to do some pre-class activities. The course requires both individual work and group discussion. During their learning process, students are provided with learning management tools such as Notebook, Learning Record, and Ask a Question. With these tools, students are allowed to make notes, check learning record and ask questions. At the end of the lesson, students are asked to review their learning progress and make self-evaluation. The course also provides some optional learning resources for the students to explore after class.
This course is designed based on the Constructivist Instructional Model (CIM), which presents the following process:
1. Identify learners' views and ideas (prior knowledge);
2. Create opportunities for the learners to explore their ideas and test their robustness in explaining phenomena,
accounting for events and making predictions;
3. Provide stimuli for students to develop, modify and where necessary, change their ideas and views;
4. Support their attempts to rethink and reconstruct their ideas and views.
Unit Organization
Starting Point introduces the unit theme by a questionnaire survey and a drag-and-drop activity. These two tasks also aim to identify students’ prior knowledge about the unit theme.
Pre-Viewing invites students to make predictions about the video clip they are going to watch.
Viewing and Understanding provides the video clip that allows students to test their predictions and explore new ideas. There are three activities in this part.
Task 4 is designed to test students’ listening skills by letting them complete some key information in a form.
Task 5 is a role play activity, which aims to train students' listening and speaking skills. Students are asked to choose a role and complete the conversation. This activity will help create an environment where learners experience the language in the expected situation. After the exercise, they can replay the conversation in which their voice is recorded. They can also submit their conversation to the teacher to evaluate it. Rather than letting the learners recite and imitate the conversation, this “Role Play” activity highly engages them in their own learning. It makes the construction of meaning “a continuous and active process”.
It is assumed that students are asked to go to a local travel agency or phone an agency before class to enquire about booking a trip. In Task 6, students are asked to report their experience and to make comparisons between the video clip and the practice in a local travel agency. This task trains not only students’ speaking skills but also their critical thinking skills.
Reading and Writing provides a theme-related reading task and a reading-related writing task. In this part, students get a chance to rethink and reconstruct their ideas and views.
Self-Evaluation allows students to review the learning objectives and make self-evaluations of their learning progress. This activity provides an opportunity for the students to think about their learning and thus develop their metacognition.
While doing these activities, the students are encouraged to share ideas with their classmates on the Discussion Board, so that they will not only experience multiple perspectives, but also get a chance to develop, modify or change their ideas and views in an active and natural process.
Learning Resources provide some optional resources for students to explore after the lesson. The resources include theme-related further reading materials, online resources and optional video clips. Students are also allowed to add more resources on this page and share them with other students.
Pre-Viewing invites students to make predictions about the video clip they are going to watch.
Viewing and Understanding provides the video clip that allows students to test their predictions and explore new ideas. There are three activities in this part.
Task 4 is designed to test students’ listening skills by letting them complete some key information in a form.
Task 5 is a role play activity, which aims to train students' listening and speaking skills. Students are asked to choose a role and complete the conversation. This activity will help create an environment where learners experience the language in the expected situation. After the exercise, they can replay the conversation in which their voice is recorded. They can also submit their conversation to the teacher to evaluate it. Rather than letting the learners recite and imitate the conversation, this “Role Play” activity highly engages them in their own learning. It makes the construction of meaning “a continuous and active process”.
It is assumed that students are asked to go to a local travel agency or phone an agency before class to enquire about booking a trip. In Task 6, students are asked to report their experience and to make comparisons between the video clip and the practice in a local travel agency. This task trains not only students’ speaking skills but also their critical thinking skills.
Reading and Writing provides a theme-related reading task and a reading-related writing task. In this part, students get a chance to rethink and reconstruct their ideas and views.
Self-Evaluation allows students to review the learning objectives and make self-evaluations of their learning progress. This activity provides an opportunity for the students to think about their learning and thus develop their metacognition.
While doing these activities, the students are encouraged to share ideas with their classmates on the Discussion Board, so that they will not only experience multiple perspectives, but also get a chance to develop, modify or change their ideas and views in an active and natural process.
Learning Resources provide some optional resources for students to explore after the lesson. The resources include theme-related further reading materials, online resources and optional video clips. Students are also allowed to add more resources on this page and share them with other students.
Learning Objectives
After learning this lesson, students will get a holistic idea of traveling and get familiar with the commonly used words and expressions about traveling. To be more specific, students will:
- Know how to book flights and accommodation at a travel agency;
- Know how to express their opinions about travelling and making travel plans;
- Get familiar with some of the cultural differences concerning travelling;
- Get familiar with the idea of ecotourism;
- Learn how to write about travelling and give examples in their writing.
Course Evaluation
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