AN EXAMPLE OF A TASK-BASED LESSON
Since it is quite important to include culture while teaching a foreign language, the following task will present an example about how teachers can add this component to their classes.
Language and culture are linked. Language is a part of the culture and the culture can be exposed through the language. In this way, if the learners have cultural knowledge about the target language, they could use expressions--for instance--bearing in mind the context, the receptor, the semantic and pragmatic meaning and so on.
There are a lot of topics used in teaching culture, some examples are:
-Festivities
-Food
-Clothing
-Traffic
-Religion
-Music
-Education
-Idioms and proverbs
-Customs
-Dancing
Books, Web sites, films, videos, songs, newspapers, magazines and pictures are some resources where the teachers can find information about culture topics.
Task title: Music around the world
Grade: 8th
Level: Pre intermediate I
Subject area: English
Context: Private bilingual school in Cali. A group of twenty five students
Time: 6 hours and 35 minutes (hour=45 minutes)
Topics: Music Genders
Objectives:
"Demuestro que reconozco elementos de la cultura extranjera y los relaciono con mi cultura" (MEN document on Standards, p.25.)
"Hago presentaciones cortas y ensayadas sobre temas cotidianos y personales" (MEN document on Standards, p.25,)
Pre-task
The group will be divided in 5 teams who are going to listen different kinds of music (Reggae, Tango, Samba, Country, Polka, Arab, Andina, Africana, Ranchera and Cumbia) played in CD player. Each team should identify where these pieces are from. The names of the countries and the nationalities will be pasted on the classroom's board for the matching exercice. (20-25 minutes)
Task-cycle
Stage 1
The teacher will give a piece of paper to each group with the following questions for discussion:
-From the music you've just listened to, Which one do you like the most? Why?
-Why can of music do you usually listen to? What do you know about it?
-Is it possible to find a relationship between your favorite music and one of the samples?
(10 minutes)
Stage 2
They share the information (10 minutes)
Stage 3
Students will listen to an interview about the music around the world. And then, they will answer to who, when, where and what is the interview about.
After that, the students will be given a worksheet to fill in the blanks with the information of the previous interview. (10 minutes)
Stage 4
The teacher explains to the students that they (in the same 5 groups) have to make a poster of a music gender. The names of the music genders (Reggaeton, Electronic, Bachata, Pop and Salsa) will be writen in pieces of paper (inside of a bag.) One student of each group will have to take one up.
Students will be taken to the resources center (Library or Computer's room) to find information about the following topics of their specific music gender:
-Origins
-Famous singers or groups
-Musical instruments
-The most popular songs
(1 hour)
Stage 5
In the classroom, the students will make a plan about how they are going to make the poster and how they are going to present it--with the information they have found. In that way, the teacher could give them support (materials or technological equipments)
The teachers will guide them in this process making suggestions and giving advices in order to keep the purpose of the activity. The students will have to give this plan to the teacher at the end of the class (one per a group.) (1 hour)
Stage 6
Two hours will be given to the students to make the poster and prepare the presentation. The teacher will continue guide the students making corrections in grammar and in pronunciation.
Stage 7
The students will present their posters and the information they have found about their music gender. (This presentation will be evaluated taking into account: Fluency, pronunciation, sintax and vocabulary) (1 hour)
Feedback
After the activities, the students and the teacher will make a conclusion about the subject (its importance and what they learnt about it); the activities (cooperative work, searching of the information and the poster); participation ( motivation, interest.) (30 minutes)
The posters will be pasted in the school's bulletin board in order to motivate the students.
By Ayda lucy Zambrano, Javier Hernández y Viviana González
