Abstract
This chapter provides a rationale for how project-based language learning (PBLL) can play a key role in language teaching and what this implies for teachers and learners. PBLL not only allows for a practical and meaningful approach to teaching and assessing language learning; it also promotes effective learning strategies and critical thinking skills. First, the main criteria for competences are examined along with links to the underlying premises of learning in PBLL. Next, the chapter delves into the question of communicative competences and explores ways of integrating the notion of competences and PBLL to design and implement language learning activities in different scenarios. An example of a multiple-pronged, bi-focal PBLL design illustrates how PBLL can be successfully implemented at all levels of education.
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- 1.
This PBLL example was originally designed for a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) school placement tutorial session and for students training to become geography teachers, as part of the Comenius project entitled MICALL: Moderating Intercultural Collaboration and Language Learning (118762-CP-1-2004-NL-Comenius 2.1). The author of this example is Melinda Dooly (Department of Language Teaching Methodology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra).
- 2.
Town twinning was developed in Europe, after World War II, as a way of creating friendship ties and understanding between countries affected by the war. It is now quite popular world-wide.
- 3.
As future teachers, the students are expected to take part in placement teaching where they are responsible for overseeing the implementation of the previously described primary education PBLL projects.
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Dooly, M. (2013). Promoting Competency-Based Language Teaching Through Project-Based Language Learning. In: Pérez Cañado, M. (eds) Competency-based Language Teaching in Higher Education. Educational Linguistics, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5386-0_5
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