Mo d u le 5 A c tiv i tie s (P ro j ect -B ased L earn in g )

Activity 1: Travelling Together (from Giovanna Ferrer, her friend at school)

In this project, students plan a travel itinerary to an English-speaking country. They research destinations,
accommodation, transportation, and activities, creating a travel plan. The teacher introduces the project,
offers language support, provides guidance on research and planning, and monitors progress. The idea is
that students use the language to gather information, make reservations, and present their plans. This
can take 2-3 weeks (approximately) and is to improve students' research and planning skills as well as
their ability to use English in real-world scenarios, to allow student input and choice.

Activity 2: Cultural Exchange Fair (from Giovanna Ferrer, her school principal)

Students organize a cultural exchange fair where they present information about an English-speaking
country's culture. They can create booths, presentations, and interactive activities. The teacher only
provides guidance on the research and helps students with language and presentation skills. Students
research the culture, history, traditions, and customs of the country they chose. They create displays and
presentations and engage with visitors (the rest of the school) during the fair. They also have to assess
their peers' work. The purposes of this activity are to strengthen connections at a large scale, to enhance
students' cultural awareness, presentation, and research skills, to reach a wide audience, and to
incorporate best practices for assessment. This needs 4 weeks to do.

Activity 3: Young Sustainability Champion (from Giovanna Ferrer, https://www.schoolbag.edu.sg)

Students work in small groups to design and present an eco-friendly invention that addresses an
environmental issue. They must describe the invention, its benefits, and its impact on the environment.
Students conduct research, create prototypes or design presentations, and share their inventions with
the class. The teacher introduces the project, facilitates brainstorming, and provides guidance. It might
take around 2-4 weeks to finish. The purposes are to make a project that is authentic and meaningful to
the context, to allow student choice, and to foster creativity, problem-solving, and language skills.

Activity 4: Invention Challenge (from Nurlan Tleubayev, his colleague)

The purpose of this activity is to foster creativity, problem-solving, and innovation skills in students. It
encourages students to think outside the box and develop their own unique solutions to a given problem.
The teacher presents an invention challenge to the students, such as creating a device to solve a particular
problem or accomplishing a specific goal. Students then work individually or in small teams to brainstorm
ideas, sketch designs, and create prototypes. They test and iterate on their prototypes, document their
process, and make adjustments as necessary. At the end of the project, students present their inventions
to the class, explaining their design choices and demonstrating how their invention solves the given
problem. This activity encourages students to think critically, work collaboratively, and develop their
communication skills.

Activity 3: Create a Podcast on Social Issues (from Nurlan Tleubayev, professional development course)

In this project, students work in small groups to create a podcast on a social issue of their choice. The
purpose of this activity is to empower students to research and address social issues that they are
passionate about, while also improving their communication skills. Teachers can begin by discussing the
power of podcasts as a medium for spreading awareness and initiating conversations. Students can then
choose a social issue that they are passionate about, such as climate change, inequality, mental health,
etc. They can conduct research to deepen their understanding of the issue and gather different
perspectives. Next, students plan their podcast episodes, outlining topics, interview questions, and
potential guests. They can then record and edit their episodes, ensuring they incorporate a mix of
interviews, personal stories, and facts/statistics. Finally, they can publish their podcast episodes online,
allowing them to share their message with a wider audience. Throughout this project, students develop
skills in research, critical thinking, communication, and digital media production. This project can take
several weeks to complete, with dedicated class time for research, planning, recording, and editing.

Activity 5: Talk Show Class (from Joao Xavier)

The purpose of this activity is to enhance students' speaking, listening, and presentation skills by creating
a talk show. The steps of the activity are as follows:

1. Show Concept: Students brainstorm and create a talk show concept, complete with a host, guests,
interviews, a TV news segment, and a weather forecast.

2. Groups decide on their roles, create a script for the show, and prepare the interview questions. They
can use real news stories for the TV news and weather forecast.

3. Each group performs their talk show in front of a camera. The host interviews guests, discusses news,
and presents the weather forecast.

4. After recording, students watch their talk shows. They critique each other's performance and language
use, which leads to discussion and improvement.

5. The class discusses the experience and what they've learned about communication, presentation, and
teamwork. This activity promotes collaboration and public speaking in a fun and engaging way.

It needs 5-6 class sessions (approximately 10-12 hours). During the activity, students showcase their
talents and language skills. This not only helps the students improve their English but also built their
confidence and teamwork.

Activity 6: Lyrics Rewind (from Joao Xavier, an English teaching book - American English File)

The purpose of this activity is to foster creativity and language improvement by rewriting the lyrics of a
favorite pop song. It takes 3-4 class sessions (approximately 6-8 hours). Here are the steps:

1. Song Selection: Students choose a pop song they like and discuss its themes and lyrics in class. They
analyze the original lyrics and understand their meaning.

2. Rewriting: Students rewrite the song lyrics, keeping the original tune but changing the words to convey
a different message or story in English.

3. Performance: Students can either perform their rewritten songs individually or in groups. They can use
props, sing, or simply read the new lyrics in front of the class.
4. Feedback and Discussion: After the performances, the class discusses the changes and the message of
each rewritten song. It encourages students to express themselves and their thoughts in English while
having a blast with music.

Activity 7: Digital Storytelling Project (DST)

I learned about this in a seminar that I attended last year. The steps include:

a. Project Launching. The teacher shows a product of digital storytelling. I told my student about what
DST would be like. So basically students make a video telling their story. It includes a series of videos or
pictures (slideshow) while someone tells the story in the background. When I applied it in my class, the
topic was telling about their experience. So I told the students that they would work in groups, create
the experience (visiting a tourist destination), and tell what they do. I told them that everyone in the
group should say at least three sentences in the video. This stage can take up to 15 minutes, but we can
choose a short video and give students more time to ask questions if they have.

b. Brainstorming. During this stage, they discuss in groups the place they will visit. This can take around
15 minutes.

c. Online Research. Then, they search for information related to the place they will visit. It includes how
to get there, the money they need, activities they can do in that place, and so on. This might need 10-30
minutes depending on how many places you want the students to research.

d. Storyboarding / Picture collecting. They start to collect pictures and make a storyboard or storyline,
which will be shown first and next in the video. This will take another 30 minutes for them to create the
storyboard. We can make use of carton paper and markers for them to draw the storyboard or ask them
to make it digital.

e. Publishing and Reflecting. The students then present their plans in the class. We can use Galery Walk
or other methods so the group can comment on each other plans. They can do peer and self-
assessments during this process. (The teacher can provide a checklist of what should be included in the
video.)

f. DST making. Then they create the video outside the classroom and edit it. I gave them 2 weeks to
create and edit the video.

g. Watching together. Finally, the students watch the videos created together in the class. They can do
another reflection here.

The whole process might take weeks to do. Bali is famous for its tourism and I think that this activity can
help them to make a deeper connection with our nature and culture. During the process, students
practice collaboration in discussing the big picture as well as researching and doing the activities. In
video making, there should be someone acting as a cameraman, video editor, etc so they must decide
their roles and it will have students learn about effective teamwork. During the storyboarding, I also
asked the students to create the "script" so that I could help them with the language.

Activity 8: Book of Recipe Project

I do not have any resources for this, but I think many of us have tried it in our class. So this project aims
to develop students' collaborative skills. Students can also practice their vocabulary related to food,
ingredients, materials, and imperative verbs.

First, I told the class that they would work on a project of recipe book. Then we decided on what food
we wanted to make, whether it was international food, Indonesian Food, or Balinese food. I then divided
the class into groups (3-5 students). They decided on whether they would make the main course, snacks,
dessert, or drinks. Then, they brainstormed about what food to make, searched for information online,
and made the recipe on Microsoft Word, Canva, or any application they wanted. On the next meeting,
they submitted the printed recipe and I compiled them into one book. The whole process from teacher
giving direction to students finishing the digital recipe can take around 2 hours. To make it more real-
world experience, on the next meeting teacher can ask them to practice the cooking in the classroom
while explaining what they are doing just like a cooking show!

Activity 9: Group Blog

I did a similar activity when I was studying at the university. The steps are:

1. The class is divided into groups of students (1 group consists of 3-4 students). They are given a task to
write on a blog. One student should write one post. But all the posts should be under one theme. For
example, the students choose sports. They can write about football, volleyball, basketball, swimming,
etc.

2. After they decide what theme to choose, they start to write a draft. Then, they exchange the draft
within the group to do a peer assessment.

3. They then revise their writing and can exchange the writing with friends outside the group. For
example, group 1 and 2 exchange their work. During the process, the teacher can also give input and
have students revise it again.

4. They post their final writing on the blog they create. They choose the appropriate design for the blog
and publish it so everyone can see the blog posts.

The project can take around 1 or 2 weeks, depending on how frequently we meet the students. But we
can also have them work outside the class. This project does not only help them to learn about
collaboration. It can also help them practice their writing skills. Many jobs in their future require
students to write on a project, proposal, article, etc, so this experience can be beneficial to shape their
writing skills.