The use of project technologies in the educational process is extremely effective, because they allow us to solve both practical and educational tasks, stimulate students’ interest and develop their creative abilities. The use of these technologies for learning a foreign language in a non-linguistic educational organization is a process of mastering a set of educational cognitive activities.
The founder of the project idea is J. Dewey. Later, this idea was developed by K. Rogers in the model of free personal-oriented learning.
In Russian pedagogy, these ideas are reflected in the works of A.N. Leontiev, S.T. Shatsky, A.S. Makarenko, M.I. Makhmutova and others.
The main goal of the project method is the technology for achieving didactic goals by developing a problem, the solution of which should be completed with practical results. It involves a set of educational and cognitive techniques that provide an independent solution to the problem with the presentation of results. These technologies are a synthesis of search, research and problem methods.
There are essential characteristics of the project technology:
– socially-oriented focus;
– practice-oriented focus;
– problem-research focus;
– methodological focus;
– personality-motivated focus;
– self-governing focus;
– interactive focus;
– reflexing and evaluative focus;
– creative focus.
If we take the subject-content area as the basis of the classification, we should distinguish monoprojects and intersubject projects. Depending on the number of participants, projects can be divided into group and individual projects. In duration it may be mini-projects, designed for one lesson, short-term, multi-class, mid-term, one-semester and long-term, lasting for the entire school year. In addition, projects can be divided into internal and international, as well as projects with explicit and implicit coordination.
In the field of learning foreign languages, the following types of projects are distinguished: constructive and practical; game role-playing; information and research; projects based on the type of specific sociological research; publishing; scenario; creative works; situational analysis (case-study).
Let’s look at an example of a game role-playing project.
The name of the project «Educational organization».
The objectives of the project are:
1. to teach students to work together on a common topic, conduct an independent conversation in a foreign language, using active vocabulary on the topic;
2. to create a learning situation to use the language as a learning tool.
The main tasks of the project are:
1. to teach students the ability to exchange information, maintain a conversation; the ability to offer their topic and develop it; the ability to express their point of view and prove it.
2. to teach students to search for necessary information using various sources (electronic databases, video materials, dictionaries, reference books, etc.).
Stages of work on the project:
1. The first stage – searching. At this stage, students define the subject field and formulate the project theme. The problem is being searched and analyzed, and the project goal is being set. Small creative groups of three or four people are formed. They need to formulate their mini-theme. The following minitopics are offered: «Daily routine of the policeman», «British police», «Europol», etc.
2. The second stage is analysis. At this stage, information is collected and studied, the optimal way to achieve the project goal is determined, the available information is analyzed, and the project implementation plan is compared. Creative groups should collect material on their mini-topic and be able to ask questions about it. The «presentation» of the project is planned in the form of the game» PROJECT WORK». Small groups that have worked on mini-themes offer roles for members of their groups.
3. The third stage is practice. At this stage, planned technological operations are performed, current quality control and reflection of design subjects are performed, and changes to the project are made.
4. The fourth stage is presentation. Students prepare their presentation materials, and then present the project in the form of a game «PROJECT WORK».
5. The fifth stage is control. The results of the project are analyzed. The quality of the project is evaluated. Self-assessment of project participants takes place.
In conclusion it should be said that project methods are based on a personal-activity approach to learning, where independent work and creative tasks are very important. Teaching methods that involve models of life situations should be used in non-linguistic educational organizations.