What is project work?
A project is an extended task which usually integrates language skills through a number of activities. These activities include planning, gathering of information through reading, listening, interviewing, discussion of the information, problem solving, oral or written reporting, display, etc.
Project work encourages imagination and creativity, self-discipline and responsibility, collaboration, research and study skills, and cross-curricular work through exploitation of knowledge gained in other subjects.
Successful use of project work will clearly be affected by such factors as availability of time, access to authentic materials, receptiveness of learners, the possibilities for learner training, and the administrative flexibility of institutional timetabling.
Project work involves multi-skill activities which focus on a theme of interest. In project work, students work together to achieve a common purpose, a concrete outcome (Power Point presentation).
Organizing Project Work
Defining a theme.
Gathering information.
Students gather information individually, in pairs, or in groups. It is important that students ‘regard the tracking down and collecting of resources as an integral part of their involvement’ in the project.
Compiling and analyzing information.
Working in groups students should compile information they have gathered, compare their findings, and decide how to organize them for efficient presentation.
Structuring the project.
Presenting final product.
Students will present the outcome of their project work as a culminating activity. The manner of presentation will largely depend on the final form of the product.
Evaluating the project.
Activity 1. Group discussion.
| What makes a good presentation? |
Teacher`s notes.
Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is infectious. Audience can’t help but be affected by it. And the best public speakers always make what they say sound as if it really matters.
Also they use:
1. New and unusual content
2. Clear structure
3. A good sense of timing
4. Imaginative use of visual aids
5. The ability to make people laugh and think
Activity 2.
How to become a good presenter
Students` card for group discussion.
| 1. Leave nothing to chance. 2. Know exactly how to start. 3. Get straight to the point. 4. Talk to your audience. 5. Know what works. 6. Be concise. 7. Speak naturally. 8. Know your audience. 9. Treat your audience as equals. 10. Be yourself. 11. Take your time. 12. Don`t make special effort to be funny. 13. Let your visual speak for themselves. 14. Never compete with your visuals. 15. Develop your own style. 16. Enjoy the experience. 17. Welcome questions from your audience. 18. Finish strongly. |
Teacher`s notes:
Leave nothing to chance.
Check everything before you are due to speak – room, seating, visibility, acoustics and equipment.
2. Know exactly how to start. Plan the first minute of your presentation down to the last detail. Try to memorize your opening words. This will help you to sound confident.
3. Get straight to the point. Don`t waste time on long boring introductions. Try to make at least one powerful statement in the first two minutes.
4. Talk to your audience. Many of the best presentations sound more like conversations. So, keep referring back to your audience, ask them questions, respond to their reactions.
5. Know what works. Certain things are always popular with the audience: personal experiences, stories with a message, comparisons, amazing facts they did not know.
6. Be concise. Keep your sentences short and simple. Use deliberate pauses to punctuate your speech.
7. Speak naturally. Don`t be afraid to hesitate when you speak, but make sure you pause in the right places. Remember you are not an actor trying to remember lines. A certain amount of hesitation is actually quite natural.
8. Know your audience. Speak for your audience not for yourself. Take every opportunity to show how much common ground you share with them.
9. Treat your audience as equals. Treat them as equals, no matter who they are.
10. Be yourself. As far as possible speak to five hundred people in much the same way you would speak to five.
11. Take your time. Whenever you make a really important point, pause and let the full significance of what you have said sink in … before you move on.
12. Don`t make special effort to be funny. If you make a joke, don`t stop and wait for laughs. Keep going on and let the laughter (if it comes) to interrupt you.
13. Let your visual speak for themselves. Good visuals are just that – visual. Don`t put boring tables of figures and long lines of the text on the overhead and read them out. Stick to the main points.
14. Never compete with your visuals. When showing a visual, keep quiet and give people time to take it in. Then give brief comments only. Point to the relevant of the visual as you speak.
15. Develop your own style. Learn from other public speakers but don`t try to copy them. Be comfortable with your own abilities. Don`t do anything that feels unnatural for you.
16. Enjoy the experience.
17. Welcome questions from your audience. When members of your audience ask you a question, it is usually because they have an interest in what you are saying and want to know more. Treat questions as an opportunity to get your message across better.
18. Finish strongly. When you are ready to finish your presentation, slow down, and lower your voice. Look at the audience and deliver your final words slowly and clearly.
Structure.
1. Opening a presentation/ welcoming the audience. Introduce yourselves and say what your topic is.
2. Introduction. Introduce the main terminology and unknown words.
3. The body/main part. Explain your objectives, talk about your topic, signal the beginning of each part, signal the end of each part/idea, highlight the main points.
4. Visuals.
5. Summary. Signal the end of your talk, summarize the key points, highlight one important point, explain the significance, make your final statement.
6. Answer the questions.
Useful phrases.
| Opening a presentation. | First of all, let me thank you all for coming here today. For those who don1t know me, I am …/ my name is … As you can see on the screen, our topic today is … The subject of my presentation is … The topic is very important for you because … By the end of this talk you will be familiar with … |
| Structuring a presentation. | I`ve divided my presentation into three (main parts). In my presentation I will focus on three major issues. First of all, I`ll be looking at …, second … I`ll start off by explaining … Then/ Next/ After that, I`ll go on to … Finally, I`ll offer some solutions. |
| Talking about (difficult) issues. | I think we first need to identify the problem. Of course, we`ll have to clarify a few points before we start. How shall we cope with the …? We`ll have to take care of this problem now. |
| Referring to other points. | In connection with/ concerning Regarding …. With respect to …. According to … |
| Adding ideas. | 
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| Conclusions | 
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