Ten steps to sequence and guide the project.

After the project assignment is discussed in class and students are provided with a handout containing some project ideas, they are invited to meet with their instructors to discuss their ideas and specify the project completion time. Students may choose to find their own materials or use those available in our self-access centre (e.g., videos, books, periodicals, and the Internet).

Step I: Students and instructor agree on a theme for the project

To set the stage, the instructor gives stu­dents an opportunity to shape the project and develop some sense of shared perspective and commitment. Even if the teacher has decided to pursue a structured project, for which most decisions are made by the instructor, students can be encouraged to fine-tune the project theme. While shaping the project together, students often find it useful to make reference to previous readings, videos, discussions, and classroom activities.

Step II: Students and instructor determine the final outcome

Students and instructor consider the nature of the project, its objectives, and the most appropriate means to culminate the project. They can choose from a variety of options including a written report, letter, poster or bulletin board display, debate, oral presentation, information packet, handbook, scrapbook, brochure, newspaper, or video.

Step III: Students and instructor structure the project. After students have determined the start­ing and end points of the project, they need to structure the "body" of the project. Questions that students should consider are as follows: What information is needed to complete the project? How can that information be obtained (e.g., a library search, interviews, letters, faxes, e-mail, the World Wide Web, field trips, viewing of videos)? How will the infor­mation, once gathered, be compiled and analyzed? What role does each student play in the evolution of the project (i.e., who does what?)? What time line will students follow to get from the starting point to the end point? The answers to many of these questions depend on the location of the lan­guage program and the types of information that are within easy reach (perhaps collect­ed beforehand by the instructor) and those that must be solicited by "snail" mail, elec­tronic mail, fax, or phone call.

Step IV: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of informa­tion gathering. It is at this point that the instructor deter­mines, perhaps in consultation with the stu­dents, the language demands of the information gathering stage . The instructor can then plan language instruction activities to prepare students for information gathering tasks. If, for example, students are going to collect information by means of interviews, the instructor might plan exercises on ques­tion formation, introduce conversational gam­bits, and set aside time for role-plays to pro­vide feedback on pronunciation and to allow students to practice listening and note-taking or audio-taping. If, on the other hand, stu­dents are going to use a library to gather materials, the instructor might review steps for finding resources and practice skimming and note-taking with sample texts. The teacher may also help students devise a grid for orga­nized data collection. If students will be writ­ing letters to solicit information for their proj­ect, the teacher can introduce or review letter formatting conventions and audience consid­erations, including levels of formality and word choice. If students will be using the World Wide Web for information gathering, the instructor can review the efficient use of this technology.

Step V: Students gather information

Students, having practiced the language, skills, strategies needed to gather infor­mation, are now ready to collect information and organize it so that others on their team can make sense of it.

Step VI: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of compiling and analyzing data. After successfully gathering information, students are then confronted with the chal­lenges of organizing and synthesizing infor­mation that may have been collected from dif­ferent sources and by different individuals.

The instructor can prepare students for the demands of the compilation and analysis stage by setting up sessions in which students organize sets of materials, and then evaluate, analyze, and interpret them with an eye towards determining which are most appropri­ate for the supporters and opponents of a given proposition. Introducing students to graphic representations (e.g., grids and charts) that might highlight relationships among ideas is particularly useful at this point.

Step VII: Students compile and ana­lyze information

With the assistance of a variety of organi­zational techniques (including graphic orga­nizers), students compile and analyze infor­mation to identify data that are particularly relevant to the project. Student teams weigh the value of the collected data, discarding some, because of their inappropriacy for the project, and keeping the rest. Students deter­mine which information represents primary "evidence" for the supporters and opponents of their proposition. It is at this point that top­ical teams divide themselves into two groups and begin to work separately to build the strongest case for the debate.

Step VIII: Instructor prepares stu­dents for the language demands of the culminating activity. At this point in the development of the project, instructors can bring in language improvement activities to help students suc­ceed with the presentation of their final prod­ucts. This might entail practicing oral presen­tation skills and receiving feedback on voice projection, pronunciation, organization of ideas, and eye contact. It may involve editing and revising written reports, letters, or bul­letin board display text. Stu­dents practiced their oral presentations and tried to hypothesize the questions that they would be asked by opponents. They timed each other and gave each other feedback on content, word choice, persuasiveness, and intonation. Students also worked with the "artists" in their groups to finalize visual dis­plays, to make sure they were grammatically correct and easily interpretable by the audience. Students also created a flyer announc­ing the debate , which served as an invitation to and reminder for audience members.

Step IX: Students present final product. Students are now ready to present the final outcome of their projects. The project can be videotaped so that students could later review their debate performances and receive feedback from the instructor and their peers.

Step X: Students evaluate the project.

It is worthwhile to ask students to reflect on the experience as the last and final step. Students can reflect on the language that they mastered to complete the project, the content that they learned about the targeted theme, the steps that they followed to complete the project, and the effectiveness of their final product. Students can be asked how they might proceed differently the next time .The teacher benefits from students' insights for future classroom projects.

5. Teacher’s functions during the project work.

1. The role of the teacher is that of a participant and coordinator, responding to a language point that may need presenting or revising, and anticipating linguistic or logistical problems.

2. The teacher should develop strategies for dealing with the language problems that arises, whether they can predict it or not.

3. Sensitive teachers provide moral support in such a way that students hardly notice them.

4. The teacher should give structured feedback in class on project topics and their progress, with a checklist for students to describe difficulties they had, benefits of the project, and whether they achieved what they hoped to.

5. The teacher should organize a short face-to-face meeting with the students to over­come any problems.

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