Page 75 - Beyond Methods

Maximizing learning opportunities 63
learner involvement and teacher questioning mediated through for- mal or informal collaboration can contribute to the creation and utilization of learning opportunities. I also pointed out how con- necting with the local and the global community promises even greater, perhaps unlimited, possibilities for the generation of learn- ing opportunities.
Let us now turn to sample microstrategies to illustrate how some of the ideas discussed in this chapter can be translated into classroom activities.
Microstrategies for Maximizing Learning Opportunities
The three microstrategies included here are designed to encourage learners to generate learning opportunities for themselves and for their classmates through participatory research. What follows are general guidelines. Teachers should feel free to adapt the guidelines (and even cut the project short) to suit the needs and wants as well as the linguistic and communicative abilities of their learners.
Microstrategy 3.1: Connecting with the Campus Community
3.1.0 Beyond the activities carried out inside the classroom, aca- demic campuses offer plenty of learning opportunities to practice the still-developing target language in several communicative contexts. This microstrategy is designed to help learners explore on-campus student-related services and activities, and, in the process, benefit from informational content as well as language practice. Even if the students have already attended an orientation program during which they may have obtained information about student services, it is still worthwhile to do a more detailed project as a language learning exercise. What fol- lows is one possible set of activities, and the teachers should modify any of them to suit the linguistic and communicative abilities of their learners.
3.1.1 Most colleges and schools offer a range of noninstructional services and activities for students. Ask your students whether they are aware of them. They may mention sports facilities, health services, stu- dent associations, counseling services, literary or artistic clubs, and the like. Try to elicit from them as much information as possible about any service they might mention. Make a list on the blackboard of available service centers or offices.