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Trabajo Fin de Máster Especialidad de Lenguas Extranjeras: Inglés Mixed Ability Teaching and Learning: A didactic unit to narrow the gap between students with different levels of proficiency in the classroom Autora Sara Arévalo Viñas Directora M. Rosario Artiga León Profesorado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idiomas, Artísticas y Deportivas Facultad de Educación Curso 2019/2020 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Purpose and Objectives 2 3. Justification, curricular framework and theoretical framework 3.1. Justification 5 3.2. Curricular Framework 7 3.3. Theoretical Framework 9 4. Methodology 13 5. Didactic Proposal 16 5.1. Contextualization 16 5.2. Contribution to key competences 17 5.3. Objectives 20 5.4. Contents 22 5.5. Sequencing of activities 23 5.6. Materials and resources 26 5.7. Evaluation 27 6. Conclusion 29 7. References 31 8. Appendixes 8.1.Appendix I:Assignments used as evidence 33 of the necessity of improvement 8.2. AppendixII: Objectives 34 8.3. Appendix III: Contents 35 8.4. Appendix IV: Unit Plan 36 8.5. Appendix V: materials & resources 54 8.6. Appendix VI: Evaluation criteria & tools 74 Abstract This dissertation and the didactic unit proposed emerge from the observation of a group of students at the school Escuelas Pías de Zaragoza, in which there were some noticeable differences among students regarding language performance. This dissertation tries to look at different mixed-ability teaching and learning theories and strategies in order to create a didactic unit that could narrow the gap between higher, average, and lower proficiency students, as well as to cater for students’ individual needs. Moreover, this didactic unit also tries to follow a communicative approach, since one of the main goals of current methodologies and approaches is to develop students’ communicative competence Key Words Mixed-ability groups, Project Based Language Learning (PBLL), Cooperative Work, integration, language performance, differentiation, individual needs, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Resumen Este trabajo de fin de master y la unidad que se propone son el resultado de la observación de un grupo de estudiantes en el colegio Escuelas Pías de Zaragoza, en el que había diferencias notables entre los estudiantes en relación a sus habilidades lingüísticas. Este trabajo plantea una unidad didáctica que toma como base diferentes teorías y estrategias planteadas para este tipo de clases con una variedad de niveles, y tiene como objetivo reducir las diferencias entre aquellos estudiantes con un nivel más alto, normal y más bajo, así como cubrir las necesidades individuales de los alumnos. Además, esta unidad también intenta integrar metodologías y enfoques actuales en relación a la materia de Inglés como lengua extranjera, como es el caso del método comunicativo. Palabras Clave Habilidades mixtas, aprendizaje basado en proyectos, trabajo cooperativo, integración, habilidad lingüística, diferenciación, necesidades individuales, método comunicativo. 1. INTRODUCTION This paper aims at addressing mixed-ability issues in the English language class through the design and implementation of a didactic unit for a group of third year ESO students, which makes use of several effective strategies in order to cater for different levels of performance, learning styles and preferences. This proposal emerges from the observation of a class consisting of 23 students of 3rd year ESO. In this class I was able to observe some noticeable differences among students, especially in terms of language proficiency, as in this class, at least 6 of the students had a lower level of proficiency in English than that of the rest of the class. The gap between these students, the rest of the group, and some other students with a higher level of proficiency in English, was at least of one level (average level: B1.1/ low proficiency students: A2), according to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment, 2001). This situation seemed to be recurrent in different groups and different school years, which could also mean that other schools presenting the same number of students in the classroom may face the same challenge. Nevertheless, the development of this unit plan, is especially motivated by the fact that the form teacher followed a rather traditional methodology, in which differentiation was not taken into account, and in which the needs of these students were only addressed by separating them and making them work on different activities from those of the rest of the group. As a result of this observation and considering this specific context, the unit plan I propose in order to cater for this group of students needs will take into account current ESL theories about differentiation and mixed-ability, as well as CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) as the basis for its design, aiming to provide all students in the classroom with equal opportunities for learning, and to promote the inclusion of students with different levels of language proficiency in the group through PBLL (Project Based Language Learning) and Cooperative Work. Moreover and, in relation with mixed ability teaching, a series of strategies proposed by Susan Bremner in her article entitled Some Thoughts on Teaching a Mixed Ability Class (2008) 1 will be also addressed, both in the creation of the activities for this unit plan and in the theoretical framework that supports this unit, together with other studies and research related to this specific topic. The topic of the unit, which is entitled Pack your Suitcase!, is based on travel and holidays and it consists of 7 lessons. It revolves around a project, whose final outcome will be the elaboration of a video about a specific holiday destination. In this video the students will present a village or city of their liking including information that they may find relevant when choosing a travel destination, such as the places to visit, where to eat, how to find accommodation, etc. This topic has been selected since it is a recurrent topic in the syllabus of different years in secondary education, therefore students will possibly be quite familiar with the contents of the unit, which can be helpful for the development of the project. Moreover, and, as students are supposed to be working in groups, those of a lower level will feel more confident if they have some background knowledge about the topic and benefit from the input that higher proficiency students can provide them with. The following section will establish the purpose and objectives of this unit plan, and the third section will be devoted to the presentation of the curricular and theoretical framework that work as the basis for its design. Then, the fourth section will discuss and introduce the methodological guidelines for this proposal, and the fifth section will describe and analyze the different lessons included in this unit plan. 2. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this dissertation is to create a unit plan that could narrow the gap between students with different levels of proficiency in the classroom, as well as addressing students’ differences in terms of individual needs and learning styles, which can contribute to their successful learning. Apart from developing activities that could cater for all the students’ needs, this unit plan aims to promote integration of all students in the class by promoting pair and group work and presenting activities that foster communication and equal participation among all of 2 the students in the classroom. In order to do so, a series of main and subsidiary aims for the unit plan have been established. The main aims of this dissertation are the following: To increase students’ motivation through a variety of input sources, appealing to all students’ different learning styles. As a way to increase students’ motivation and interest towards the subject, the input will need to be varied to address multiple intelligences and learning preferences (i.e. using visuals to present new content or support understanding, providing the students with different texts and presenting them with a variety of activities) To promote integration of all students in the learning group. Collaboration between students with different levels of proficiency will be promoted throughout the unit, for the students with lower levels of proficiency to be able to participate as much as students with higher levels of proficiency. To develop students’ communicative competence. Communication between students will be promoted through several activities in this unit plan. In fact, communicative language teaching will be used throughout the unit as a way to address the needs of a variety of students and promote learning. To promote a learner-centered classroom, minimizing teacher’s talking time. To this aim, activities will try to promote autonomous work for students to have a greater control of their own learning progress, as well as to promote communication among students. A learner-centered classroom also aims to encourage the development of students’ learning to learn competence. To provide tasks that can be suitable for students with different levels of proficiency integrating activities which aim to address the needs of all students and be suitable to their level. Moreover, the activities can be adapted regarding the students’ level of 3 proficiency. (i.e. providing additional materials to those students which may need support, as well as extra materials and tasks to students which may have a higher level and that may finish the tasks early) The following subsidiary aims will also be taken into consideration: To develop students’ self confidence by presenting activities that students can carry out with their partners’ or teacher’s guidance. Cooperative work will enable students to help each other in order to achieve a final and common goal. In addition, adopting different roles in their teams according to students’ abilities aims to balance the amount of contribution that each member of the team makes to the project, which will also contribute to develop students’ self-confidence. To promote positive interdependence as well as individual and group accountability through group work. Sharing a common goal and depending on one another in order to achieve this final goal will allow the students to build new relationships and develop positive interdependence with the different members of the team. To contribute to students’ development of key competences. This unit plain aims to develop students’ communicative, learning to learn, digital and sense of initiative and entrepreneurship competences through the creation of a project and the completion of different tasks that foster the use of ICTs, communication between students, autonomous work and building positive relationships with their classmates, based on respect and tolerance towards all the students in the classroom. The following section will focus on the theoretical foundations and the methodological approaches this didactic proposal is based on. 4 3. JUSTIFICATION, CURRICULAR AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 3.1. Justification Firstly, the concept of mixed-ability classes should be discussed in order to provide a clearer example of the type of context in which this unit plan aims to be developed. A mixed-ability classroom could be defined as that in which students present noticeable differences regarding several factors such as language learning ability, language knowledge, learning styles, attitude to the language, influence of students’ mother tongue, learning experience, age, gender, personality, confidence or motivation (Ur, 2008). Another definition that can be suitable to describe this type of class is that of a heterogeneous group formed by a large number of students. Among some of these students, there might be some similarities, but there will always be some variety of levels of proficiency, learning styles and individual needs that should be considered when selecting and designing the materials for the lessons since students are not all “alike when it comes to learning any more than they are alike in terms of size, hobbies, personality, or likes and dislikes” (Tomlinson, 2001:1). A way to address the needs of a greater number of students is maximizing the sources of input, as well as following different approaches that take these differences into consideration, so that all students can benefit from the input provided and achieve the different tasks presented in the lessons. Regarding the term “mixed-ability” itself, it must be pointed out that in several papers that deal with this type of learning environment, the term heterogeneous, together with the terms mixed-ability or mixed-proficiency are used to refer to similar contexts and that researchers have different opinions about the connotations of each of these words, nonetheless, the term that will be used in this dissertation to refer to this type of class is mixedability. As previously stated, class size should be also taken into consideration, as it is a significant factor directly linked to mixed-ability classes. According to a report published by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2019) the average number of students per class in Spanish secondary schools was around 24 students. This number can lead to students’ variety in the classroom, as larger numbers of students imply a wider variety of levels of proficiency, learning styles and preferences for learning. Moreover, class size and multi-level 5 intelligences, these students can also become more engaged with the activities and consequently, with the subject itself. To sum up, three of the main benefits of using multiple intelligences in the classroom are the development of students’ motivation, selfconfidence and engagement with the tasks and the subject. These aspects are directly related as developing students self-confidence may lead to an increase in students’ motivation and motivation can foster students’ engagement in the tasks. All these elements have been discussed by Dörnyei (1994) in the contexts of the L2 classroom, as well as the influence that anxiety has on the development of all of them. As a result, anxiety is another element that should be taken into consideration when designing tasks for EFL classes, and, especially for mixed ability contexts. According to Dörnyei (1994:279), there are three “classroom goal structures”: competitive, cooperative and individualistic, where students either work against each other, with each other or individually. All these three structures may have benefits depending on the situation but, in general, cooperative work could be considered more beneficial for students as it seems to lower students’ anxiety and increase their intrinsic motivation, which can be defined as “whenever students' natural curiosity and interest energise their learning. When the educational environment provides optimal challenges, rich sources of stimulation, and a context of autonomy, this motivational wellspring in learning is likely to flourish” (Deci & Ryan, 2013:245). As a result, the input provided is quite relevant regarding motivation, as the variety of materials and tasks that present a challenge for students may have a positive impact on students’ motivation. Moreover, cooperative and group work in mixed ability classrooms also seems to have a positive effect on students’ motivation. A study carried out by Ireson and Hallam (2001), in which different secondary education students were interviewed about mixed-ability grouping and its influence on motivation, showed that students seem to agree that mixed-ability grouping provides more equal opportunities to all students in the classroom while avoiding discrimination. Students stated that it helps them to reduce the anxiety and develop self-confidence on students that may have a lower level of proficiency, as they do not feel left out or that they belong to a group in which they are perceived 12 as “less able”. This is one of the reasons why this unit plan tries to avoid homogeneous grouping, placing higher and lower students in terms of performance in the same group. Lastly, this unit plan also follows a communicative approach, as one of the main goals of current methodologies and approaches is to develop students’ communicative competence. Furthermore, CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) can have a positive influence on students in mixed-ability classrooms. In terms of language proficiency, by using this approach “students can contribute according to their ability and confidence” (Belchamber, 2007:1), which can be engaging for students with different levels. Belchamber (2007) states that students with higher levels of proficiency can benefit from CLT as, when students are allowed to speak in a freer way, there is still a challenge for more advanced students to use the language they already know for a variety of purposes and in different communicative situations. Moreover, students which may have more difficulties regarding language use, can still make valid and interesting contributions regardless their language ability, which can have an influence on their selfconfidence and motivation, as they can feel more valued within the group. 4. METHODOLOGY The main methodological approach used for the design of this unit plan is PBLL (Project Based Language Learning), as well as cooperative work. Through projects, students can work on the language but in a more subtle way as “language is a tool rather than an end in itself” (Dudley & Osváth, 2016: chapter 17). Projects allow students to develop their creativity and work on their self expression. By using the language as a tool, students can create a non-linguistic and tangible outcome which can be more approaching and on which their own personality and interests are reflected. This is one of the reasons why PBLL can address a wider variety of students, as low proficiency students can still make useful contributions to the project using the language according to their level. Additionally, there is still a challenge for more advanced students, as being able to use the language is no longer the only means to succeed in the tasks. By working on projects, students also rely on 13 themselves or on their teammates, rather than on the teacher, which makes this methodology quite suitable for student-centered rather than teacher-centered classes. The audience is also a determinant factor when talking about PBLL. Knowing that their work will be published or presented to a specific audience can motivate students to do better, devote more time to the project and “use the language conscientiously, resulting in better outcomes and higher self-esteem” (Dudley & Osváth, 2016. Chapter 17). This methodology is both suitable for individual and group work, however, in the case of this unit, students will develop a group project, as group work offers more possibilities in the mixed ability classroom. One of the reasons is that it enables students to adopt different roles within the group, which can vary depending on the students’ language proficiency and abilities. By using different roles, the teacher can also monitor each student’s contribution to the final outcome. Using different colors for each student in the group to write down their ideas for a specific task is also another strategy for both the teacher and students to see how much each learner has contributed to every task. For instance, when writing collaboratively, Fairley and Fathelbab explain that giving students different color pens can be useful since, in this way, “all of the students will have contributed ideas for each paragraph, and written part of a group paragraph” (Fairley & Fathelbab, 2011:48). Moreover, it also allows the teacher to check on the students’ individual progress, which will be also taken into account when it comes to assessment. Another methodology that will be used in this didactic unit is cooperative learning or cooperative work. In his article on Language Learning Theories and Cooperative Learning Techniques in the EFL Classroom, Apple states that “teachers can use cooperative learning teaching methodologies to help students satisfy the three needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy in the classroom” (T. Apple, 2006:279) and presents some basic principles of cooperative learning that this didactic unit tries to follow. The first principle is “cooperation as a value”. In this sense, the didactic unit proposes activities and a group project for students to become aware of the benefits of cooperating with other students. The second principle makes reference to group formation. In this case, students 14 will be grouped in heterogeneous groups since, grouping students according to their level, does not allow students to move out of their “comfort zone” and provide as many opportunities to learn from students with different levels, experience, backgrounds or motivation. The third and fourth principles refer to the development of “positive interdependence” among students as well as to students’ individual accountability. PBLL and cooperative work are useful methodologies to develop positive interdependence between students. All students in the group share a common goal, therefore, the differences regarding level or ability are somehow blurred, as they depend on each other to achieve this common goal. This dependence on each other in the mixed ability classroom can be beneficial for both high and low proficiency students as, more advanced students will devote more time to help their teammates. This can motivate lower level students to make more contributions and raise their self-confidence, which will be eventually helpful regarding their social skills as well as the final outcome. Moreover, cooperative work also allows students to become more aware of the importance of their individual work, which can also have a positive effect on students’ motivation. The fifth principle is “simultaneous interaction”, and is related to the sixth one, which makes reference to “equal participation”. According to these two principles it is of high importance that all students in the group participate in the activities “regardless of perceived ability or social status” (T. Apple, 2006:280). Moreover, and in order to promote equal participation and interaction between students, the teacher can also give students some “talking chips”. This strategy was proposed by Kagan (2013) and argues that, by using these talking chips, “students think before speaking, are more aware of how much they are dominating the conversation, participate more equally, and focus more intently on the speaker” (Kagan, 2013:2). The last two principles refer to “collaborative skills” and “group autonomy”. By working in groups, students will develop their collaborative skills, such as trying to find common solutions, agreeing with their teammates, selecting information and ideas proposed by the different members etc. Finally, each group will be autonomous from the rest of the groups in the classroom. 15 5. DIDACTIC UNIT PROPOSAL 5.1. Contextualization The unit plan included in this dissertation has been designed for a group of 24 students of third year of ESO in the secondary school Escuelas Pías de Zaragoza. In this year, students’ ages range between 14-15 years old and classes have a small number of students who are retaking the year, which was also the case of the class this unit plan has been designed for, in which 4 students were retaking the course. The students’ variety of levels regarding English proficiency is the most relevant characteristic to bear in mind for the purpose of this unit plan, as the main problem in this third year of ESO class was that there were some clear differences in this regard. Some students in the classroom had to do some remedial work outside the class, as their level was clearly lower, and carried out activities individually without much assistance from the teacher, as he had to devote most of his time to teaching the rest of the class. Moreover, in the rest of the groups there were also some differences among students. Most of the students had a similar level corresponding to the average level that students should have in this year of secondary school (around lower B1), nevertheless there were also more advanced students which seemed to be above this average level. This unit plan proposal tries to respond to the needs of a variety of students in the classroom, mainly regarding levels of performance, but also taking into consideration students’ learning styles and individual needs. Apart from the diversity of performance levels, the fact that many of the students needed to develop their speaking skills and communicative competence was also noticeable. Since the teacher usually followed a rather traditional methodology where students mostly participated just to provide the answers to the activities proposed in the textbook, most students seemed a bit insecure when asked to speak in public or carry out activities that required them to speak in a freer way. A positive aspect was that, despite this, students were usually willing to take an active part and were quite supportive with each other when it came to providing peer feedback and communicating with each other or the teacher. This is why, even though this didactic proposal aims to work on the development of students’ writing, reading, listening and speaking skills, the last one will have more weight in this unit plan. 16 The topic that has been chosen for this unit plan is “Traveling and Holidays”. In my opinion, dealing with a topic that can be familiar to all students in the classroom and in which students may have previously worked, offers lower level students the possibility to make more contributions to each of the tasks that students will carry out throughout the unit. Students of a lower level may already know some vocabulary and grammar structures related to the topic, which may also reduce their level of anxiety. 5.2. Contribution to key competences The “Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council” on key competences for lifelong learning (2006/962/EC), introduces a series of competences that students should develop. These competences have been taken into consideration by the Spanish government, adapted to the Spanish educational framework and included in the Orden ECD/65/2015, de 21 de enero, por la que se describen las relaciones entre las competencias, los contenidos y los criterios de evaluación de la educación primaria, la educación secundaria obligatoria y el bachillerato. Taking both documents into account, this unit plan aims to develop students’ Communication in foreign languages, Digital, Learning to Learn, Social and Civic, and Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship competences. Communication in foreign languages or communicative competence (CC) Students develop this competence by interacting with one another. This interaction does not only refer to oral interaction, but also to the students’ ability to socially interact through different media, formats and modalities (i.e. texts, videos, presentations…). The CC competence has its basis on the linguistic component, but, since it is developed in specific communicative situations and contexts, the students also need to develop their knowledge regarding discourse, pragmatics and socio-cultural elements. As the communicative competence has been labeled as the most important competence to be developed by students in EFL, this unit plan has been designed following a communicative approach and setting a communicative outcome, which will be both written and oral: writing a travel guide about a city and recording a travel guide video. 17 Moreover, many of the activities have a communicative outcome or require students to interact with each other. In this way, apart from developing accuracy in terms of grammar and lexis, students will also develop pragmatics, communicative strategies and discursive patterns related to the communicative situation. Regarding mixed ability classes, developing students’ communicative competence and choosing a communicative approach can be beneficial for both low and high proficiency students due to two main reasons. On the one hand, high proficiency students will continue to develop fluency in the foreign language, but they will also have more opportunities to develop accuracy while engaging in meaningful conversations with their classmates. On the other hand, for lower-proficiency students, the communicative approach offers an opportunity to develop their fluency and benefit from these interactions as they receive feedback and input from their classmates, which can reduce their anxiety towards using the language in public, as well as become more motivated. According to Richards (2006), in CLT, students need to become “comfortable with listening to their peers in group work or pair work tasks, rather than relying on the teacher for a model”(Richards, 2006:5). For those students which can be shy, seeing all students in the group collaborating and using the foreign language can also be helpful, since, with more time and confidence, they will feel more comfortable in the group, which can encourage them to make more contributions. Digital Competence (DC) As stated in the Orden ECD/65/2015, de 21 de enero, the digital competence implies the creative, safe and critical use of ICTs to achieve the goals set in their learning environment. The final outcome of this unit plan implies students’ use of ICTs, since they will use different digital tools to record and edit a travel guide video. In the creation process, students will also use different search tools to get information about the different cities they may have chosen for their project, evaluating and selecting useful information from the internet that can be suitable to their aims. Moreover, students will have to solve problems that may arise in the research and creation process, such as deciding which tool can be more suitable for the recording, the editing process or being aware of the limitations that ICTs can have. ICTs will be also used as a source of original materials and input in some of the activities. Students will watch some YouTube videos, collaboratively edit a Google Docs and create an 18 online Wordcloud. The use of ICTs in the mixed ability classroom can be a useful way to engage students in the tasks, since secondary students are particularly interested in new technologies and many of them have good knowledge of how to make use of these devices. Lower-proficiency students can become more interested in the tasks, which can be beneficial in terms or language performance. Moreover, as previously pointed out, high proficiency students often show boredom due to the lack of interesting input or challenges. In this case, ICTs can also be motivating for high proficiency students, as they present an extra challenge for them, as well as an entertaining medium to carry out the activities. Learning to Learn Competence (L2L) This unit plan aims to promote students’ development of the Learning to Learn competence, putting an emphasis on student-student interaction and a methodology which is quite student-centered rather than teacher-centered. Nevertheless, the role of the teacher regarding this competence is also relevant, as he/she will provide clear instructions and explanations which can guide the students through the activities and the final project. Some activities such as the creation of an organizer, an outline or a draft for their final project aim to help students to become aware of the creation process, so that in the future they can be able to follow all these steps in an autonomous way. Moreover, this competence makes reference to autonomous work and the ways in which students organize and plan their work and time. Students will have to work on the management of these elements as well, taking into consideration the time needed to develop their projects and collaborate with their teammates to manage their time. Moreover, this competence also makes reference to students’ ability to increase their intrinsic motivation. One of the main aims of this unit plan is to present activities and materials that can be engaging for students and can increase their motivation towards the subject, which can result in a more efficient way of learning. Besides, as previously mentioned, becoming more motivated towards the subject can have substantial benefits for a successful learning of all students in the classroom (low-proficiency, average, and high proficiency students). 19 Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship (SIEC) This competence aims to be developed through group work and the development of the final project. In order to be successful and achieve the final goal students will have to develop strategies to work cooperatively, organize and divide the work together, reach agreements, solve problems that may arise within the group, develop positive interdependence and critical thinking, as well as to accept the other members’ opinions. This competence highlights the importance of developing students’ capacity to work cooperatively as well as to perform different roles within the group. In this unit plan, students will have different roles that will be assigned to them at the beginning of the project and that can be changed according to students’ needs. Another important aspect of this competence is the development of students’ creativity and innovation. In this sense, the creation of a video allows students to show their creativity, as there are not any specific to follow, which gives students a space to innovate and include things that they may be good at and can be original. 5.3. Objectives The objectives of this unit plan have been established taking into consideration the evaluation criteria stated in the Aragonese curriculum for 3rd year ESO (Orden ECD/2016, de 26 de mayo). The objectives have been adapted taking into consideration the the specific context of the group which this unit has been designed for, a mixed-ability class, as well as the characteristics of the didactic unit (topic, project work...) The list of objectives is included in the appendix II section in this dissertation. Furthermore, a series of specific objectives have been also included at the beginning of each lesson in Appendix IV. The general objectives Regarding the general objectives for this didactic unit, students will: •Identify the main characteristics of the Travel Guide text type through several activities that make use of these texts throughout the unit and present a variety of travel guides can be used as guidance to the project. In this way, both the teacher and the students can make sure that this objective can be fulfilled. 20 •Use digital tools to create a Travel Guide video. Through the recording of this video, students will develop their Digital competence. •Select, organize and classify information retrieved from the internet according to their needs. Students will select the information that they think can be more engaging or interesting for their writings and presentation. Through the different stages (creation of an organizer, outline, first draft, editing and final copy) the teacher will be able to see if students have made right choices. •Reflect on the different steps involved in the creation process. Students will carry out different activities that focus on different steps in order to produce a writing. The teacher will be able to monitor and see if students have understood what to do in each of the stages though different activities that students will hand in and are devoted to each stage separately. •Use different grammar forms and vocabulary presented in the lessons in their writings and videos. This didactic unit pays more attention to developing students fluency, nevertheless, previous and new grammar forms and vocabulary will be also part of the activities and the teacher will encourage students to use these new contents both during the lessons (in different activities and specially in oral production) and in their projects. •Develop cooperative skills: students will have to develop cooperative skills in order achieve a final goal (project creation). •Develop their communicative skills through activities that require Ss-Ss interaction, as well as their oral production skills through the creation of a travel guide video. The didactic unit aims to promote interaction among all students in the classroom and especially between students with different levels of proficiency, learning preferences and styles… •Reflect on their individual and group work, as well as provide feedback to other groups and students in the classroom. Students will be able to reflect on their own work by 21 Another aspect that has been taken into account when evaluating the activities is the difference between individual and group activities. The group project constitutes a 50 % of the mark, and group work activities are worth 10 %. In both the project and the activities, students belonging to the same group will be awarded the same grades. Individual activities will constitute a 20% of a student final mark. As previously pointed out, evaluating students in an individual way is important for the teacher but also to make students more aware of their individual progress, as well as their weaknesses and strengths. Students’ effort and participation will be also assessed and constitute a 15% of students’ final mark. Throughout the unit, the teacher will provide oral feedback to students on their performance, encourage them to participate and try to create a good and respectful environment in which learners can feel confident whenever they participate and make contributions during the lessons. Nevertheless, a way of further motivating and encouraging students to take part actively in future lessons is also to take into account students’ effort and participation in the final mark. This strategy can foster lower performance students’ participation, but also that of higher performance students, since sometimes they may not participate so much or make much effort if they consider the tasks’ marks can be enough. Peer assessment will also constitute a 5% of students’ final mark. Peer evaluation allows students to receive feedback from other classmates rather than just the teacher. For instance, Cooper(2011) explains that “selfand peer assessment are essential processes by which students come to internalize performance standards, and thereby to know precisely what they must do to improve their learning and the quality of their work”(Cooper,2011: Moreover, since all of them will highlight their classmates’ strengths and their weaknesses, but in a constructive way. In relation to the way in which students will receive their final mark on this didactic unit, the teacher will give students a short written report, which they can also hand to their parents. In this report, apart from the final mark, the teacher will comment on students’ attitude towards the subject. A lower performance student may have a final mark of 4, but that does not really mean that his/her performance has not been good enough, and this is something that the teacher should transmit to these students, as well as highlight the progress they have made and the objectives 28 they have achieved. This can have a positive impact on students’ motivation in the future sessions. Moreover, there might be students who obtain a higher mark, but whose effort and attitude may not be enough, therefore, adding these comments can be useful for students to reflect on their work and take actions to improve. To sum up, in order to cater for students’ individual needs, evaluation should to focus on each individual student in a more detailed and positive way and constitute a motivating tool for their progress. 6. CONCLUSION The main aim of this paper has been to propose a didactic unit in which students with different language performance levels can work collaboratively, arranging students’ groups in a balanced way to blur these differences and adapting the materials adequately in order to the cater for their different needs. In this way, the didactic unit presents different strategies that seek to be beneficial when dealing with mixed ability classes, such as adapting the language input and making it more varied, taking into consideration students’ effort, building heterogeneous groups in which students can help each other, designing materials that can be used as support for class activities and, overall, creating a good class environment in order to reduce students’ language anxiety, increase their motivation, and work on their self-confidence. Moreover, and, as authors such as Tomlinson (2001) argues that increasing students’ motivation is of paramount importance and this has also been a priority for this didactic unit, since motivating students and designing materials that can arise students’ curiosity and interest towards the subject is a key factor in mixed ability teaching and learning. This is why the didactic unit revolves around a project, rather than following a textbook, includes original and authentic materials, and gives relevance to students in a student-centered rather than teacher-centered classroom. The selection of the topic of this unit plan aims at making some positive effect on mixed ability teaching. Since it is a recurring topic in EFL and many students are familiar with it, it is expected to be a good starting point for the design of this didactic unit. The fact that the topic can be familiar to all students regardless of their level of proficiency, allows students from a variety of levels to make contributions throughout the lessons and, therefore, foster communication among students, which is another main aim of this unit plan. Moreover following a 29 communicative approach and focusing on students’ development of fluency rather than accuracy, which is also worked in an inductive and more subtle way, can as well be helpful when it comes to reducing students’ level of anxiety towards speaking in a foreign language. It should be pointed out that this unit plan has not been implemented so that relevant changes could or should be made to adapt to the characteristics of a specific classroom. For instance, group rearrangement if students in the group do not seem to work well together or present differences that can be difficult to overcome, the use of talking chips to motivate students to make an equal amount of contributions if students seem to be shy or not willing to participate etc. Nevertheless, and even though it may be subject to changes, I think this didactic unit could be considered innovative and could be beneficial for students with different levels of language performance as well as promote the integration of all students in the classroom. 30 7. REFERENCES Apple, M. T. (2006). Language learning theories and cooperative learning techniques in the EFL classroom. Doshisha studies in Language and Culture, 9(2), 277-301. Belchamber, R. (2007). The advantages of communicative language teaching. The internet TESL journal, 13(2), 122-149. Bremner, S., Teacher, C., & Lanarkshire, S. (2008). Some thoughts on teaching a mixed ability class. Scottish languages review, 18(1), p1-10. Cooper, D. (2011). Redefining Fair: How to Plan, Assess, and Grade for Exellence in MixedAbility Classrooms. Solution Tree Press. Council of Europe. (2001) Common European Framework Of Reference For Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. [pdf] Modern languages division, Strasbourg: Cambridge University Press. Available at: http://rm.coe.int/1680459f97 Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Springer Publishing. Dörnyei, Z. (1994). Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. The modern language journal, 78(3), 273-284. Dudley, E., & Osváth, E. (2016). Mixed Ability Teaching-Into the Classroom. Oxford University Press. Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators (2019). [pdf]. Retrieved 15 June 2020, from https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2019_CN_ESP.pdf Fairley, M. J., & Fathelbab, H. (2011). Reading and writing communicatively: Six challenges addressed. Issue One: Spring 2011, 45. Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. Basic Books. Ireson, J. & Hallam, S. (2001). Ability grouping in education. Sage. Jacobs, G. M. (2000). Reading alone together: enhancing extensive reading via student-student cooperation in second language instruction. 31 Kagan, S. (2003). A brief history of Kagan structures. Kagan Online Magazine. Learning, Teaching, Assessment. [pdf] Modern languages division, Strasbourg: Cambridge University Press. Available at: http://rm.coe.int/1680459f97 O'Niel, T. (2013). The concept of distributed intelligence in Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences. academia.edu. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/8943400/Gardner_s_theory_of_Multiple_Intelligences Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning. Brussels: Official Journal of the European Union, 30(12), 2006. Richards, J.C. (2006). Communicative Language Teaching Today. Cambridge: CUP. Şalli-Çopur, D. (2005). Coping with the problems of mixed ability classes. The Internet TESL Journal, 11(8), 1-5. Sevy, J. (2016). Teaching a large multi-level class using different strategies and activities to motivate English language learning. Studies in English Language and Education, 3(2), 91-99. Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. ASCD. Ur, P., 2008. A Course In Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. Legislation: Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa. Boletín Oficial del Estado. Disponible en: www. boe. es/diario_boe/txt. php. Orden ECD/489/2016, de 26 de mayo, por la que se aprueba el currículo de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y se autoriza su aplicación en los centros docentes de la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón. Boletín Oficial de Aragón, (105), 12640-13458. Orden ECD/65/2015, de 21 de enero, por la que se describen las relaciones entre las competencias, los contenidos y los criterios de evaluación de la educación primaria, la educación secundaria obligatoria y el bachillerato. Boletín oficial del estado, 25, 6986-7003 32 8. APPENDIXES •Appendix I: Assignments used as evidence of the necessity of improvement. 1. Altas capacidades en el aula: diseño de una unidad didáctica en torno al tema de las redes sociales. Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1utyyq7WukDrvGX72OF0WcMLl3JuQRbTHHHIl RM0Z8xg/edit?usp=sharing This didactic proposal includes a didactic unit which revolves around the topic of social media, and reflects on the impact that they have on personal relationships. Moreover, it also tries to approach high performance students in the classroom, adapting some of the activities and using different strategies to integrate these students in the classroom. 2. Portafolio Prácticum II. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hf1RAV24_blCaNnnBpm3pm2aBbHNVys/view?usp=sharing This essay revolves around my personal experience during the Practicum II period. This document analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of my teaching experience as well as the characteristics and needs of the different groups and students I was assigned. 33 •Appendix II: Objectives General objectives of the unit plan At the end of this didactic unit students will: •Identify the main characteristics of the Travel Guide text type, as well as collaboratively produce a Travel Guide text and video. •Use digital tools to create a Travel Guide video. •Be able to select, organize and classify information retrieved from the internet according to their needs. •Reflect on the different steps involved in the creation process. •Use different grammar forms and vocabulary presented in the lessons in their writings and videos. •Develop cooperative skills •Develop their communicative skills through activities that require Ss-Ss interaction, as well as their oral production skills through the creation of a travel guide video. •Reflect on their individual and group work, as well as provide feedback to other groups and students in the classroom. • Participate and contribute regularly to the project • Become aware of the importance of collaboration and develop students’ positive interdependence * An additional list of the main aims and subsidiary aims for each of the sessions can be found in the specific chart that precedes each of the lessons in Appendix III. 34 •Appendix III: Contents Contents 1. Comprehension and production abilities - To deduce meaning from context in written and oral texts about traveling and holidays - To activate previous knowledge on the topic of traveling and holidays - To identify general and specific information in written and oral travel guides - Composition of a creative travel guide text about a chosen city 2. Sociocultural and sociolinguistic aspects: - To identify the type of register used in Travel Guides 3. Communicative functions: - Exchange of personal information and point of views about the project that students will develop - Give advice and suggestions to the audience of their text about their chosen destination - Describing places and activities - Communicating and maintaining communication with their teammates 4. Syntactic and discursive structures: - Modal verbs of ability, possibility and advice - The articles, quantifiers - Place relations: position, direction, motion and origin - Existential clauses: There is /there are 5. Common use Lexis - Use of vocabulary related to traveling and holidays 35 •Appendix IV: Unit Plan * All the lessons are 60 minute lessons, nevertheless, the activities are designed to last 50 minutes, taking into consideration the fact that some students or groups may work slower, and, if not, giving students time to work on the additional class project. Unit Plan: Pack your Suitcase! Group: 3rd year ESO Level of language: (A2 – B1) Number of students: 24 Lesson 1: Activation // What are your plans? Length: 50 min Main aims of the lesson - To discuss in groups useful information for traveling. - To identify the main characteristics of travel guides. - To read and understand the post introducing the project. - To reflect on the implications of the project that has been presented through a “compass points” thinking routine. Subsidiary aims - For students to practice interaction patterns related to group discussions (ex: What do you think, in my opinion, don’t you think, I agree, I disagree...) - To develop students’ social skills through group work. Skills and language exponents Skills: reading, speaking, writing Vocabulary: - Nouns and adjectives related to the topic “Travel and Holidays” Grammar: - Use of present simple 36 - Yes/no questions - Expressions to express opinions Stage Activity Procedure Interaction Timing Teambulding/ Classbuilding 1. The teacher will organise 6 groups of 4 students each. The teacher may make changes depending of the students’ performance or needs. 2. Each student in the group will be assigned a different role in every class. The teacher will explain the different roles to the students and give them flashcards with tips and instructions, so that they can know what to do in each lesson depending on the assigned role 3. In each group there will be a “hotel supervisor”, a “flight attendant”, a “tourist guide” and a “travel agent. T - Ss 5 min Pre – Task 1 What do you want to know? 1. Teacher will ask students to imagine they are planning their next holidays so that they can decide on the destination and on the things they should consider important before traveling. Each group can decide on a T – Ss Ss - Ss 10 min 37 Task 1 Where to stay?: Video: How to find cheap accommodatio ns. 1. Teacher will play a video about accommodations. Teacher will ask students to individually take notes about the listening using the think chart. (Ex: for how many people, which are the most comfortable ones...) 5 Task 2 How to go there? 1. Teacher will play another video on how to travel around Europe and means of transport. Students will again take notes individually and complete the think chart 2. Once they finish students share their ideas with the rest of the team, adding more information to their think charts using a different color. 3. Students will hand their think charts to the teacher 20 Task 3 Accommodatio n and transport priorities 1. Students will act as researchers in order to get information on the peoples’ choice regarding means of transport and accommodation. 2. They will fill a chart with information about other students in the classroom. Each student will ask at least 3 different classmates in order to know which type of accommodation and means of transport people usually prefer. 3. Once they have asked their partners, students will go back to their groups and discuss the results. (ex: I asked 3 people and two of them prefer to travel by plane 15 44 because...) PostTask Reflection Students will discuss their last travel experience with their teammates, explaining how they went and where they stayed. Lesson 4: What will you do? Length: 50 min Main aims of the lesson - To practice descriptive adjectives through discussions and group activities - To learn vocabulary about activities and places to do and see in different cities in Europe. - To exchange information with other students in the classroom about activities that can be carried out while traveling. - To create and organizer about traveling activities from the information they find on the internet. - To evaluate information from the internet Subsidiary aims - To develop interaction patterns (what does___ think this mean? What do you use a_____ for? What do you say? - To become aware of the stages in the creation process - To develop students’ social skills - To promote the use of ICTs Skills and language exponents Skills: Speaking and writing. Vocabulary: - Descriptive adjectives - Nouns and adjectives related to the topic “Travel and Holidays” Grammar: 45 - Use of to+infinitive - Present simple - Expressions for giving opinions (I agree with, I believe that, in my opinion, I think that…) Stage Activity Procedure Interaction Timing Activation If I were a tourist guide... 1. Teacher will access Google docs. 2. Teacher will ask the students about which places they would take tourists who have never visited the city, if they were tourist guides. 3. Each group will think of 5 places and use their phones, a tablet or a computer to write down their ideas on the google docs, so that the rest of the groups can see their suggestions. T-Ss Ss-T 7 Pre-task What’s there in…? 1Teacher will hand out 4 cards to each group, each one containing the name of the city and one activity that you can do in this city. 2. One student per group will join students in the rest of the groups containing a matching city and form an “experts’ group”. 3. Each of these students will have a different place to see in the city they have been assigned so, they will Ss - Ss 15 min 46 exchange information with the members of the experts’ group until all of them have a list of 6 activities to do in this city. 4 Then, they will go back to their team. Each member of the team will tell their partners what they can do or see in this city. Task Planning: Research and organizing information 1. Students will work with their teammates in order to decide which city they will choose for the project. Once they have decided on the city, the teacher will ask them to create an organizer. If students do not know how to do it the teacher will explain the process to them. 2. Teacher will hand the students a piece of paper and ask the students to write the name of the city in the middle, as well as to include the main sections of the writing, considering the activities that they have been carrying out throughout the lessons (What will you pack? How will you go? where will you stay? What will you do? 3. Students will use different colors and will be allowed to use their mobile phones to look for information to be included in the mind-map. Ss - Ss 18 min 47 4. All of the students will write down information about, places, means of transport, restaurants, accommodation, weather...that they think can be relevant. Post-Task Evaluating information 1 Teacher will ask the students to discuss in their groups which information included in the organizer can be relevant or more engaging to convince the readers to visit the city, and which information can be replaced or removed from their organizer. 2. Students will make changes if necessary and hand in their organizers SsSs 10 min Lesson 5: Time to go! Length: 50 min Main aims of the lesson - To reflect on the teacher’s feedback and take actions considering other peoples’ recommendations. - To create an outline with the information that they will use for their travel guides following a coherent and cohesive structure. - To carry out extensive research on a specific city. - To write a first draft of their final Travel Guide. 48 Subsidiary aims - For students to collaborate and reach agreements with their teammates. - To develop students’ social skills - To promote the use of ICTs Skills and language exponents Skills: Speaking and writing. Vocabulary: - Descriptive adjectives - New vocabulary related t o means of transport, accommodations, travel items and travel activities. Grammar: - Present simple - Whquestions - Expressions for giving opinions (I agree with, I believe that, in my opinion, I think that…) Stage Activity Procedure Interaction Timing Activation Organizer’s feedback 1. Teacher will give students’ their organizers back. The organizers will include the teacher’s feedback on students’ ideas, as well as suggestions for improvement. 2. Teacher will comment on students’ general progress and highlight students’ good ideas. T-Ss Ss-Ss 5 min Pre-Task 1 Project Research 1. Teacher will give students time to further research on the ideas Ss-Ss 15 min 49 included in their organizers. Pre-task Outline creation 1. Teacher will hand out students two different travel guides that students’ can use as examples for the following tasks. 2. Teacher will ask students to think about the structure of their essays in order to create an outline using the information from their organizers. 3. Students will create an outline and the teacher will provide feedback. T-Ss Ss - Ss 15 min Task First Draft 1. Students will work in teams in order to create the first version of their final essay. 2. Students will hand in their first draft so that the teacher can give them feedback on the following session Ss-Ss 20 Lesson 6: Ready to land! Length: 50 min Main aims of the lesson - To reflect on the teacher’s feedback and take actions considering other peoples’ recommendations. - To edit their draft for the final version of: a Travel Guide of a specific city. - To make use of ICTs to record a Travel Guide video. - To practice fluency and accuracy by presenting a city in a travel guide video. - To put into practice their recording and editing skills. Subsidiary aims 50 - To promote a collaborative attitude in the classroom and within the teams through an engaging task. - To develop students’ social skills - To promote the use of ICT Skills and language exponents Skills: speaking and writing Vocabulary: - New vocabulary related to means of transport, accommodations, travel items and travel activities. - Descriptive adjectives and adverbs Grammar: - Grammar for descriptions (there is/there are, it has, it hasn’t…) - Modal verbs to give advice: can, could, may, should. - Present simple and future simple Stage Activity Procedure Interaction Timing Pre-task 1 First Draft feedback: discussion 1. Teacher will give students’ their essay’ drafts back with feedback on their mistakes, suggestions for improvement, also highlighting their strengths. 2. Each team will take some time to read the teacher’s feedback and discuss possible changes and T-Ss Ss-Ss 5 min 51 improvements for their final version. Task 1 Writing: Final copy. 1. Teacher will give students time to write the travel guide final version, taking into account the teacher’s feedback and students’ new ideas on how to improve it. Ss-Ss 15 min Task 2 Lights, Camera, Action! 1. Students will plan how to make their travel guide video, taking their final copy of their writings as a basis. 2. Teacher will allow the groups to go out of the classroom in order to find a place to record their videos. 3. Teacher will recommend students to look for travel guide videos on the internet that they can use as examples. T-Ss Ss - Ss 30 min Lesson 7: End of the journey Length: 50 min Main aims of the lesson - To listen to and understand their classmates’ Travel Guides. - To assess their classmates’ work Subsidiary aims - To develop students’ social skills - To promote the use of ICTs Skills and language exponents Skills: Listening, reading and speaking. 52 Vocabulary: - New vocabulary related to means of transport, accommodations, travel items and travel activities. - Descriptive adjectives and adverbs Grammar: - Grammar for descriptions (there is/there are, it has, it hasn’t...) Stage Activity Procedure Interaction Timing Publishing Students’ Travel guides 1. Teacher will show students travel guides. 2. At the end of each video, the teacher will give students 2 minutes to fill a peer-assessment chart on their classmates’ work. Ss-Ss 40 min Peer Assessment on students’ projects Rate your project experience! 1. The teacher will hand out a self reflection project work chart so that students can fill it individually. 2. Once the students have finished they will hand in their self reflection charts to the teacher. T-Ss Ss-Ss 7 min Teacher’s feedback Amazing work! 1. Teacher will thank the students for their projects and praise their good work. Teacher will explain to the students how they will be assessed. 3 min 53 Guidebook Backpack Toiletries Map Sleeping Bag Luggage 60 •Talking Chips: •Writing tips: 61 From: To: Dear ___________: We are really excited about our trip to ___________! We are making a packing list of the most essential items that we will need for our stay in __________. We will need… Tips: Do not only include a list of the items. Try to answer questions such as: Why do we need this item? When will we need it? Why is this item important? If you don’t have this item, what else can you take? We are really looking forward to see you on _________________. (when are you leaving?) See you!, (include your names) Talking Talking Chip Chip Talking Talking Chip Chip Talking Talking Chip Chip Talking Talking Chip Chip Talking Talking Chip Chip Talking Talking Chip Chip Talking Talking Chip Chip Talking Talking Chip Chip LESSON 3: •Video about finding cheap accommodations: Link to youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgj2-PAAtE •Means of transport in Europe: 62 •Think chart: How to find cheap accommodations and means of transport in Europe. Student’s name: Group: Video Discoveries (what have you learned from the videos?) New words and key concepts! Which type of accommodation and means of transport would you choose? Accommodations Means of transport 63 •Questionnaire about accommodations and means of transport: Student’s Name: Team: Accommodation Means of Transport Questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Traveler 1 64 Accommodations: Discoveries: You can think about … For how many people? Types of accommodations? Any fun facts? How expensive is it? New words and key concepts: take a look at the subtitles! Try to write down words that you find useful or interesting for your project such as : accommodations’ names or types of rooms. Which type of accommodation would you choose? Take a look to the information you wrote on the discoveries and key concepts charts. You can ask yourself questions such as: do I prefer cheap or expensive accommodations? Do I prefer to travel with friends, family, alone? Which type of accommodation do I find cooler? Means of Transport: Discoveries: you can think about: which means of transport is more comfortable, fast, cheap, expensive… New words and key concepts: Once again, take a look st the subtitles! Try to write down words that you find useful or interesting for your project such as : transports’ names, places such as stations or airports… Which type of means of transport would you choose? You can ask yourself: Do you prefer land, sea or sky trips? Which one do you think is cooler? Which one do you think is more comfortable? Traveler 2 Traveler 3 Traveler 4 Traveler 5 Traveler 6 65 LESSON 4 •Experts’ group: Paris The Louvre is the world’s largest art museum. You can see the highlights (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory) in just an hour or two. Paris Walk along the “ChampsElysees”. This is one of the most recognizable streets in the world, running from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. Paris Ile de la cité : is the small island in the center of Paris that is home to Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame. It is the historic heart of Paris Paris The Notre Dame Cathedral is one of the oldest and grandest cathedrals in the world. the highlight of a visit here is the gargoyle’s view over Paris from the top of the cathedral. Paris Versailles is a royal castle. During your visit to Versailles you will tour the palace and stroll through the gardens. Paris Eiffel tower: Paris would not be complete without a trip up the Eiffel Tower. 66 Berlin East Side Gallery: Is an outdoor art gallery of murals painted on one section of the Berlin Wall Berlin Pergamon Museum: Three mini-museums which include the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Museum of Islamic Art. Berlin The Reichstag: The German parliament and a stunning work of architecture Berlin TV Tower: Experience the best city views from the TV Tower. TV Tower is to Berlin as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Berlin The DDR Museum: An interactive museum about East German life during the Cold War. Berlin Charlottenburg Palace: Berlin’s largest palace located in the west of the city. A trip there will make you feel like royalty! 67 Rome Colosseum: This structure is one of the most iconic places in the world and a trip to Rome would not be complete without visiting the Colosseum. Rome St Peter’s Square: A small country inside a country: The Vatican. The square is circular and has a lot of columns. In each column there are statues of religious figures and popes. Rome St. Peter’s Basilica: The Basilica has a beautiful design. Inside, the decoration is simply divine and it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world! Rome Trevi Fountain: The fountain pays tribute to the Roman God Oceanus. The sculptures are wonderful and the fountain is a true work of art. It has become a tradition to throw coins into the water over your shoulder for good luck Rome Roman Forum: One of the most important Roman ruins in Italy, the Roman Forum is an ancient site that consists of many ruins that were once the centre of Roman public and political life. Rome Sistine Chapel: Is particularly famous for its extensive and detailed decorations, including the Last Judgement fresco by Michelangelo and the ceiling artwork. 68 London Westminster: Home to the Houses of Parliament and the world-famous Big Ben. Big Ben is the name of the bell housed within the iconic clock tower, and it still chimes every hour. London Camden Market: An enjoyable and diverse market, with street food from international cuisines, lots small selling stands and unique artwork to take home. London London Eye: The Eye is a giant ferris wheel offering amazing views across the city. At night, the wheel is lit up in seasonal colors and is the centerpiece of London’s annual New Year’s fireworks display. London Chinatown: A neighborhood filled with authentic Asian restaurants as well as supermarkets and secret bars. There is always something new to explore in Chinatown! London Piccadilly Circus: Piccadilly Circus is instantly recognizable, a square filled with bright lights and big electronic screens. Piccadilly Circus has been a busy London spot since the 17th century. London Oxford Street: Oxford Street is not only London’s top spot for shopping but is Europe’s busiest shopping street. It has 300 shops and receives over 500,000 visitors every day. 69 •Rubric for teacher (video assessment) Outstanding Good At expected level Needs improvement Content / Organizati on The content is well organized, cohesive and follows a coherent structure. Information included is really original. The content is in general well organized. There are some minor mistakes that affect cohesiveness but overall the video follows a coherent structure. Information is original. There are expected mistakes regarding content organization. There are some minor mistakes that affect cohesiveness and some mistakes regarding coherence. Information is okay, even though some additional and interesting information could have been included The content is not well organized, which results in a lack of cohesiveness and coherence. Information is not really original, it seems that students have not spend enough time on research. Fluency Pronunciation is very good, with none or few mistakes. They look comfortable and confident while speaking and there are minimum interruptions and pauses between sentences. Their pronunciation is good. They made some mistakes that do not affect understanding. They made some pauses but are usually fluent. Their pronunciation was okay. They made some mistakes that affected understanding , but were not really important. They made pauses but some of them were fluent. They made some pronunciation mistakes that clearly affected understanding Most of the group members made several pauses and were not really fluent. Vocabulary They included several new words that they have learned in the unit. They used many new words in the video. They often repeated words in the video but also used new ones. They used very few new words and often repeated the same words 76 Use of grammar / Accuracy Students did only make slight grammatical mistakes that were not relevant. Student used new grammatical structures learned in the classroom, but also new ones. Just a few mistakes were made. Their use of grammar was good and included grammatical structures learned in the classroom. They made some grammatical mistakes. Their use of grammar was okay, but often used the same grammatical structures. They often made grammatical mistakes. Used the same grammatical structures throughout the video. Body Language Students’ body language was really good and tried to approach and engage the audience. Students use of body language was good and engaging. Students use of body language was okay, although not really engaging or approaching. Students did not use body language to make the video more engaging or approach the audience. •Rubric for teacher (written travel guide assessment) Outstanding Good At expected level Needs improvement Planning / organizer All students in the group wrote down ideas on what to include in their writings. They came up with a lot of interesting information to include. All students wrote down ideas in the organizer, even though more ideas could have been added. Students wrote down a few ideas, but all of them were okay and all the group members collaborated in the creation of the organizer. Not all members of the group wrote down ideas and, in general, information included was quite poor. 77 Outline Students election of information included in their organizer was good. The different sections were arranged in a coherent way. Student election of information was good. There were a few mistakes regarding organization of information. Students election of information was good, even though more ideas from their organizer could have been included. There were some mistakes regarding organization. Students election of information was not good enough, since there was not enough content for each of the sections. There were many mistakes regarding organization First Draft Students followed the outline corrections and managed to create a well organized, coherent and cohesive first draft. There were a few grammatical and spelling mistakes. Students made good use of the outline and there were few mistakes regarding coherence and cohesiveness. There were few grammatical and spelling mistakes. Students used their outline. There were some mistakes regarding coherence and cohesiveness, as well as grammatical and spelling mistakes. Students were not able to follow their outline correctly. There were many grammatical and spelling mistakes and the text lacked cohesiveness. Revision/ editing Students corrected all the mistakes and added changes and further improved their writing. Students corrected all the mistakes but few changes were made to further improve their writing. Students corrected all the mistakes, even though they did not make any further changes to improve their writing. Some mistakes were not corrected and did not make any further changes to improve their writing Final Copy Students handed their copy using good handwriting, following teacher’ feedback and adding decorative elements. Students handed their copy using good handwriting, taking into consideration teacher’ feedback. Handwriting was not really good, but students took the teacher feedback into consideration. Poor handwriting. Students did not take teacher’ feedback into consideration 78