- Endless opportunities with blogging. A blog can also be made "private" which means that public viewers, viewers without a password, will not have access to the blog, nor to post, neither to read.
- Provides an opportunity for a different approach to teaching "culture" where the focus is on the dynamic concept of culture and not the static concept
- Because you want to prevent prejudice and cultural misconceptions in your EFL learners (or learners in general)
- Your pupils will learn more English and discover some of the joys and learning opportunities the internet provides, enabling them to take more action in their own learning processes
- People who understand a little English - or at least the teacher has to understand English
- The webquest was originally ceated with young learners in mind (age 9-10), although it will ultimately be up to the teacher to estimate whether or not this webquest is suitable for his/her learners. Notice! This webquest and it's contents are public, so feel free to make alternations to fit your pupils' individual needs.
- Pupils who have internet access. It is possible to do the webquest in pairs or small groups.
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| Addressing Culture in EFL Classrooms |
- Create a class blog (See the tutorials)
- The biggest stress on your role will be in the beginning of this webquest when the blog has to be created and you read everything about this quest as well as help the pupils get started (there will probable be students who have difficulties finding a picture that they have any questions about).
- Support your pupils with technical difficulties they might run in to
- You have to be a supporter of the dynamic concept of culture!
Which learning principles is it built on?
- Hypothysis Testing
- Responsible and active learners
- Social learners - Vygotsky
- Young children are not locked solidly in prejudice placed upon them from other people in their surroundings. They ask questions and are continuously on a hunt for more answers. As they get older they will adapt their beliefs and predictions to what of their social surroundings. This webquest aims at developing a class culture where you always can ask questions! There are no stupid questions and no dumb answers, only dumb fossilization of misconceptions.
- That the pupils will become better at asking questions and predicting possible answers to apposed questions
- They will be able to find multiple answers to their questions
- They will realise that they can get different answers depending on where they search and whom they ask
- These findings will make the pupils aware of the importance of asking questions and not getting stuck in prejudice
- Teacher as a supporter etc. ? What is that approach called?
- When pupils are introduced to, in this cas, pictures, that make them wonder they will ask questions, predict and alter their answers along the way. This ability - when internalized - will hopefully transfer to every-day situations, where the pupils are bombarded with "still images", "moving images", "tales" etc.
- The pupils might find it difficult to ask questions at first and to find answers. They might only know one way to find answers - and rely only on that ie ask the teacher.
- As they gradually get closer to the goal, they should find it easier to ask questions and discover different options of answer seeking
- When the pupils add the final entry to the blog - or present their working process in some other way, you will see how their questions become more genuine and how their answers change
- The two evaluation tasks work as evaluation AND scaffolding tools. Is there any difference in the way the pupils approach the contrasting pictures in the beginning and in the end? You can use the same pictures - or different pictures, if that suits your pupils better.
- If you show them an interesting, strange or maybe even provocative picture before and after this webquest, you might see a change in the way the pupils approach the picture. What makes them wonder. Which answers they find and if they think the answers are the final answers or not. Open for other answers. Maybe even searching for other answers
- By not being afraid of asking questions - and asking questions being the commonly accepted behavior, the pupils will learn to gradually come closer to the truth - knowingly that what they think is right now is not necessarily the ultimate truth
- Constantly and consiously altering and modifying ones predictions will prevent fossilisation of wrong predictions, e.i. prejudice and cultural misconceptions
- Questions, predictions, modifications to predictions, and making mistakes is welcome in the classroom and is a part of the classroom culture.
- The internet, technology, centralisation, and migration have made the unknown, undiscovered world more accessible to people, everything is closer now and this, ans stereotyping had become very a common and is a threat to the overall well being of people.
- English is no longer just a language. It is the "lingua franca". It is with English we communicate with people from the whole world - not just outside our country but inside the country as well. An integral part of TEFL is to develop communicative competences in the learners. See: English as the "Lingua Franca"
- This includes the development of cultural awareness and capability of moving around in a multicultural society without cultural prejudice (Look at dynamic view on culture - every society faces the challenges of a multicultural society!
- The evaluation task before the webquest is a "ground zero". This is what the teacher can measure the end-result with.
- The evaluation takes place throughout the working process. The pupils' blog entries with the picture and questions, predictions and answers found along the way towards the goal will be a tool in the individual assessment of pupils - and a product for their own joy.
- The evaluation task after the webquest is what the teacher uses to see if there is a difference in the way the pupils approach pictures, questions, predictions, answers etc
- Please feel free to add comments on this blog. All feedback is more than welcome, and will help me make reasonable changes to the blog for the better good. Thank you
