Introduction
In the modern world useful skills have become an absolute necessity for most people. It is a well known fact that a variety of skills, the so-called life skills are needed in everybody’s life and career. These skills include communication skills (both in a foreign language and also in the mother tongue), cooperative skills, research skills, management skills etc. Accordingly, it is an important task for all teachers to improve their students’ skills in real-life situations, and also to give them an opportunity to use those skills in a creative and meaningful way. Language skills and ’life’ skills, as it is attested by relevant research into this topic, can best be developed through project work. This is why in teaching methodology the concept of Project-Based Learning has recently gained a special significance.
The teaching material entitled Learning it by Doing: Project-Based Learning has been developed for teachers, teacher training students and for all those, who are interested in the topic, with the double aim of improving English language skills and offering methodological up-datedness. The material is especially useful in the methodology classes of the English specialization programmes of Lower Primary Teacher and Kindergarten Teacher Training.
The teaching material focuses on an internationally acknowledged and effective form of teaching. Project-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and acquire skills by working together for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question or problem or challenge. PBL as a teaching method has been widely and successfully used in many countries worldwide.
The teaching material comprises ten units of ’new’ teaching material, followed by two units for revision and practice.
Units 1-4 aim to bring together PBL theory and practice. These units give a theoretical approach and illustrate the interrelatedness of constructivist learning theory and project-based pedagogy, as well as the impact of PBL on motivation. Unit 5 will give an insight into European projects in the area of education. Unit 6 deals with the changing role of teachers in project pedagogy and the learning methods and strategies typical of PBL. Units 7 and 8acquaint students with the specificities of project work in general. These units describe the various phases of project work from initiation through implementation to quality control and evaluation.
Units 9 and 10 describe hands-on projects from the area of environmental education and language teaching. When working with these units students will have opportunities to learn and practice project-based terminology, and will also be given tips and tricks of using projects in their practical teaching.
Unit 11 is a comprehensive test. By doing it students can check how successfully they have acquired the individual vocabulary items and have improved their language skills and their methodological preparedness.
Unit 12 is offering concrete case studies for practice through videos, describing projects from various Englsih-speaking countries.
The lessons themselves are literally colourful and they feature a lot of pictures and videos; they all serve as prompts to compare and contrast, or, simply, to discuss a topic. Quizzes and mini-tests serve the purposes of revision or self-check.
All the learning materials have been digitalized in order to offer a more enjoyable learning experience and to make it possible for students to work on their own as well. On the other hand, all the materials can be adapted by teachers to pair work or group work. The projects, described in the material, may serve as examples of good practice, and hopefully, many similar projects will be designed and implemented by teachers and teacher training students.
By compiling these materials and offering them to a variety of readers, the authors would like to wish all users, including teacher training students, practicing teachers and all those interested in the topic, an enjoyable and successful learning experience.