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eBook task in a German primary school

Description

In this task, a group of primary school learners in Germany create ebooks and share them with primary school learners in Wales. In the pre-task phase, the teacher set the context by giving more information about the geographical position of Wales and some information about the school. Additionally, a model ebook was shared with the learners, giving them a clear idea of what the final outcome might look like. In groups of two, the learners worked on their own pages: identity page, favourite food and drink, favourite films and books, and favourite toys. In the post-task phase, pages were first corrected and then shared with the other learners in class, before being sent to the learners in Wales. Due to the privacy rights, material from the Welsh school is not featured in the video, but was used in the classroom.

Clips

I chose the app Book Creator because I think it has the potential for children to learn language especially because they are familiar with books, so using an electronic device for designing a book might be familiar to them. In the beginning, you could see that they were struggling. For most of them, it was their first time using a tablet, so their focus was more on working with the tablet, instead of producing language and using the English language. During the task, you could see that once they got used to the functions, their focus was more on using the language and producing the language, and especially they focused on the meaning so that the other children would understand them.
This short sequence focuses on the pre-phase of the whole task. This is the first time that the learners are faced with this particular app (Book Creator) and therefore, do not know how to use it. Even though it is often suggested in the literature to let the students learn by doing, the combination of a new language and using a new unknown app can lead to frustration and could have a negative impact on the whole learning process. For this reason, the teacher decided to first show how to go about this app, which is all shown in the video clip. By connecting the iPad to the IWB, the teacher ensures that all the learners can see what is happening on the screen and follow the instructions easily.

Details

Pedagog Rich linguistic input;Learners using their own resources;Collaborative learning (collaboration);Real-world outcome;Reflection on linguistic form
Target Language English
Learn Language German
Technology iPads/Tablets IWB
Area Life and Culture Listening / Viewing Oral Interaction Oral Presentation Reading Spelling Vocabulary Writing
Age 7-11
Level A1 Beginner
Education Sector Primary

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